Somerville station | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Somerville station on an 1884 map | ||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°22′54.5″N71°6′25.7″W / 42.381806°N 71.107139°W | |||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Fitchburg Railroad | |||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | July 9, 1938 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Former services | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Somerville station was a train station on the Fitchburg Railroad in Somerville, Massachusetts.
A short-lived station opened at Kent Street in 1842. [1] [2] [3] : 81 By 1851, Somerville station was located 0.2 miles (0.32 km) to the east at Park Street, near the junction of the Harvard Branch Railroad. [4] [5] The station building was located on the north side of the tracks, just west of Park Street. [6] [7] Like Union Square and other local stops, Somerville was served primarily by Lexington Branch trains in the mid-19th century. [8]
Planning to eliminate the eleven remaining grade crossings in Somerville, five of which were on the Fitchburg Route mainline, began in 1900. [9] In 1906, the city engineer proposed to raise 1.8 miles (2.9 km) of the line between Beacon Street and Somerville Avenue to eliminate the five level crossings, but that scheme was not adopted. [10] The other four crossings were eliminated in 1908–1912, but the Park Street grade crossing remained. [11] In 1935, the city requested that the crossing be replaced with a bridge as part of a Works Progress Administration-funded grade crossing elimination program. [12] It was not, and the location has continued to see collisions. [13]
Horsecar and later electric streetcar service cut ridership at urban stations; by 1917, Union Square and Somerville stations were served by 4–5 daily Watertown Branch trains plus several off-peak mainline local trains. [14] As passenger volumes dwindled, the station building was rented to an upholstery maker by 1924. [15] By 1929, their only service was two inbound and one outbound Watertown Branch train. [16] Service to the two stations ended on July 9, 1938, along with the end of passenger service on the Watertown Branch. [17] [18] [19]
Alewife station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station in the North Cambridge neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the northwest terminal of the rapid transit Red Line and a hub for several MBTA bus routes. The station is at the confluence of the Minuteman Bikeway, Alewife Linear Park, Fitchburg Cutoff Path, and Alewife Greenway off Alewife Brook Parkway adjacent to Massachusetts Route 2, with a five-story parking garage for park and ride use. The station has three bike cages. Alewife station is named after nearby Alewife Brook Parkway and Alewife Brook, themselves named after the alewife fish.
Porter station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) transit station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It serves the Red Line rapid transit line, the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line, and several MBTA bus lines. Located at Porter Square at the intersection of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues, the station provides rapid transit access to northern Cambridge and the western portions of Somerville. Porter is 14 minutes from Park Street on the Red Line, and about 10 minutes from North Station on commuter rail trains. Several local MBTA bus routes also stop at the station.
Davis station is an underground Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Red Line rapid transit station located at Davis Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform for the Red Line, as well as a dedicated busway on the surface. It opened in 1984 as part of the Red Line Northwest Extension project.
The Grand Junction Railroad is an 8.55-mile (13.76 km) long railroad in the Boston, Massachusetts, area, connecting the railroads heading west and north from Boston. The line is notable for its railroad bridge over the Charles River that passes under the Boston University Bridge between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sullivan Square station is a rapid transit station on the MBTA subway Orange Line, located adjacent to Sullivan Square in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is a major transfer point for MBTA bus service, with 13 routes using a two-level busway. The station has two island platforms serving the two active Orange Line tracks plus an unused third track. The Haverhill Line and Newburyport/Rockport Line pass through the station on separate tracks but do not stop.
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main line from Boston to Fitchburg is now operated as the MBTA Fitchburg Line; Pan Am Railways runs freight service on some other portions.
The Newburyport/Rockport Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running northeast from downtown Boston, Massachusetts towards Cape Ann and the Merrimack Valley, serving the North Shore. The first leg, operating via the Eastern Route of the former Boston and Maine Railroad, serves Chelsea, Lynn, Swampscott, Salem, and Beverly. From there, a northern branch continues via the Eastern Route to serve Hamilton, Ipswich, Rowley, and Newburyport, while other trains operate east from Beverly via the Gloucester Branch, serving Manchester, Gloucester, and Rockport. A bicycle coach is offered on the Rockport branch during the summer. With over 11,000 daily riders in October 2022, the line is the second-busiest on the system.
The Fitchburg Cutoff was a rail line running 2.8 miles (4.5 km) from Brighton Street in Belmont, Massachusetts, to Somerville Junction in Somerville, Massachusetts. It was constructed in two segments in 1870 and 1881 to connect the Lexington Branch and Central Massachusetts Railroad to the Boston and Lowell Railroad. Passenger service lasted until 1927. Freight service ended in 1979–80 to allow construction of the Red Line Northwest Extension; the line was abandoned in three sections in 1979, 1983, and 2007.
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was a railroad company chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846 that operated in eastern Massachusetts. It and its successors provided passenger service until 1977 and freight service until 1980 or early 1981.
Haverhill station is an intercity and regional rail station located in downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States. It is served by Amtrak's Downeaster service and the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill/Reading Line; it is the northern terminus of MBTA service. Haverhill is one of two major hubs for MVRTA local bus service; the Washington Square Transit Center is located 1⁄5 mile (0.32 km) east of the rail station.
Norwood Depot is an MBTA Commuter Rail Franklin/Foxboro Line station located in downtown Norwood, Massachusetts. The station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Franklin Branch, each with a mini-high section for accessibility. The Norfolk County Railroad opened through South Dedham in 1849, with a station at the modern location. It was renamed Norwood in 1872. The line came under control of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1895. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service in 1966 and purchased the line in 1973. Under the MBTA, renovations to the station were made around 1977 and 1992.
West Concord station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located in West Concord, Massachusetts. It is served by the Fitchburg Line. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks, with mini-high platforms for accessibility. The adjacent station building, now a restaurant, is not used for railroad purposes.
Ayer station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located off Main Street in the Ayer Main Street Historic District of Ayer, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line. There are three tracks through the station, two of which are served by a pair of low-level side platforms, which are not accessible. There is a shelter on the inbound platform.
Waverley station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Belmont, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line. It is located below grade in Waverley Square in the triangle of Trapelo Road, Lexington Street, and Church Street in western Belmont.
Waltham station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Waltham, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line. It is located in downtown Waltham adjacent to Central Square. The station is the transit hub of Waltham, with MBTA bus routes 61, 70, 553, 554, 556, and 558 stopping on Carter Street adjacent to the station.
The Watertown Branch Railroad was a branch loop of the Fitchburg Railroad that was meant to serve the town of Watertown and the City of Waltham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, as an independent short line railroad; it also serviced the Watertown Arsenal. The line has been formally abandoned and portions have been converted into a rail trail, the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. A section from School Street to Arlington Street in Watertown was completed first. A small portion in Waltham has been converted into a park called Chemistry Station Park after the railroad station once located there. Construction of an extension to Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge began in the summer of 2018 and was completed in June 2022.
Magoun Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Lowell Street south of Magoun Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
Union Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located in the Union Square neighborhood of southeastern Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible terminal station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Union Square Branch, which parallels the Fitchburg Line. It opened on March 21, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line.
Arlington station was a regional rail station in Arlington, Massachusetts. Located in downtown Arlington, it served the Lexington Branch. It was closed in January 1977 when service on the Lexington Branch was suspended.
Lake Street station was a commuter rail station on the Lexington Branch, located in the East Arlington section of Arlington, Massachusetts. The line opened as the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad in 1846, with a station at Pond Street among the earliest stops. It was renamed Lake Street in 1867. The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) acquired the line in 1870 and built a new station building in 1885. Service continued under the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) – successor to the B&L – though it declined during the 20th century. Lake Street station and three others on the line were closed in May 1958. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service in 1965, and Lake Street station reopened in March 1968. All passenger service on the Lexington Branch ended on January 10, 1977; it was converted into the Minuteman Bikeway in the early 1990s.
