Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Blue Line rapid transit service.

The 1904 Independence Day celebration included a staged collision between two obsolete Boston and Maine locomotives, and the rowdy crowds caused the town to cancel the Pines Hotel liquor license.

1906 festivities included a large papier-mâché structure which would spew a cloud of souvenir post cards with smoke and flashing lights as the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

By 1914 over seven million passengers were carried annually, making it one of the most heavily traveled stretches of railroad in North America.

By 1928, all existing cars were fitted with electric motors, trolley poles, and control stands and the steam locomotives were disposed of.

After a railfan excursion train on 15 October the abandonment petition was granted, and the railroad ceased operations on January 27, 1940.

[1]: 117 On July 1, 1891, the BRB&L merged with the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad.

The BW&PS was organized on July 3, 1876 and opened a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge line on June 7, 1877.

This prompted a public outcry with demands for conventional overhead-powered cars; instead, the BRB&L introduced two lighter battery-powered streetcars with better performance to the line in May 1919.

[4]: 182  In addition, Harbor View, closed earlier than the rest of the line and moved slightly from its original location, remains as a private residence.

[1]: 118  After the Eastern Mass relocated its bus terminal to Central Square, the company no longer needed the land and it was fragmented into commercial properties.

[10] The first part of the Revere Extension opened to Orient Heights on January 5, 1952, with intermediate stations at Airport and Day Square, and to Suffolk Downs on April 21, 1952.

The former right of way from Revere Street to Point of Pines is owned by the Massachusetts Electric Company, a National Grid subsidiary, and used as a utility corridor.

Most of its length is covered in brush or wetlands, although several residential buildings and parking areas incur on the utility-owned right of way in Point of Pines.

[13][17] The Alternatives Analysis / Draft Environmental Impact Statement, released in 2011, considered two potential routes: one following the Narrow Gauge right of way through Point of Pines, and one sharing the Newburyport/Rockport Line right of way.

Much of the right of way is owned by the town, including the sections used for Veterans Road and Walden Street as well as a baseball field near Fort Banks and the embankment through Crystal Cove.

[13] During the 1990s, a short section of track was installed as a memorial to the line in Winthrop Center, and portions of the Crystal Cove embankment are still extant.

[9]: 117 [11]: 90  The two routes split at Winthrop Beach and roughly paralleled the two halves of the Loop; a connecting service also operated through to Point Shirley.

[20] The right of way from Byron Street to Tomahawk Drive was acquired by the Massachusetts Port Authority for the expansion of Logan Airport.

[10]: 90 General Electric acquired most of the right of way through Lynn for expansion of the River Works plant during World War II, likely as settlement for debt still owed on the electrification project.

[23][24] New England Power Company (also a National Grid subsidiary) maintains an easement through the western section for electrical transmission lines.

Today, one can drive along Veteran's Road (current path of the old line) to experience the course of the commuter train as it ran parallel to Shirley Street.