The Needham Line is a combination of two routes, the Needham Junction-Needham Heights portion of the Charles River Railroad (later a branch of the New York & New England) and the Forest Hills-West Roxbury section of the Boston & Providence’s Dedham Branch, plus a connection between the two built by the New Haven. The Charles River RR was built in stages between 1850 and 1863, stretching from Brookline Village to Woonsocket, RI; the Brookline Village-Cook Street (in Newton) section was sold to the Boston & Albany in 1883 and is now part of the Green Line’s Riverside Branch. The Dedham Branch was built in 1834 and made a circle through West Roxbury, Dedham, and Readville; only the section used by the Needham Line survives today. The last part of the line was built in 1906 to eliminate running over the B&A, although the two railroads cooperated on a circle commuter service from 1911-1914. Today only commuter trains use the line, although Bay Colony Railroad has rights to provide freight service should it ever be needed again.