Winchester Highlands station

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Winchester Highlands
Winchester Highlands station, circa 1915.jpg
Winchester Highlands station around 1915
LocationCross Street, Winchester, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°28′04″N 71°07′54″W / 42.46772°N 71.13154°W / 42.46772; -71.13154Coordinates: 42°28′04″N 71°07′54″W / 42.46772°N 71.13154°W / 42.46772; -71.13154
Line(s)New Hampshire Main Line
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
History
Opened1870s
ClosedJune 1978[1]
Previous namesWinchester Heights[2]
Former services
Preceding station MBTA.svg MBTA Following station
Wilmington
toward Lowell
 Lowell Line
limited service
 Winchester Center
toward North Station
Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station
toward Concord, NH
 Boston – Concord, NH Winchester
toward Boston

Winchester Highlands station was an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Winchester, Massachusetts. It opened under the Boston and Lowell Railroad in the 1870s and was closed in June 1978.

History[]

The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) opened in 1835, with most intermediate stations opened by 1850.[2][3] In the 1870s, the B&L was willing to stop some local trains at Cross Street in Winchester Highlands, but would not accept the cost of a station building. A two-story house was constructed by a private citizen on the west side of the tracks south of Cross Street. The upper level served as the station (as the tracks were on an embankment); the lower level housed the station agent and his family.[4][5]

A church prayer group (which later became the Second Congregational Church of Winchester) held meetings in the station from 1881 until their own chapel was completed in 1887.[5][6] The B&L became part of the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1887 as its Southern Division.[3] By 1889, a new two-story station was built north of Cross Street.[4]

The aftermath of the 1923 derailment

Winchester Highlands received less service than Winchester Center and the Woburn Branch stations. It was served by six daily round trips in 1917 (mostly peak-hour and Wilmington locals), with a slight reduction by 1929.[7][8] Twenty-four passengers were injured when a southbound train from Concord derailed near the station on May 23, 1923. The train's consist of newer steel cars, rather than older wooden cars, was credited with preventing deaths.[9][10]

Service continued to decline during the mid 20th century: 4 round trips in 1946, 2+1⁄2 in 1952, and 1+1⁄2 in 1957.[11][12][13] The station building was abandoned around 1943 to reduce the B&M tax bill; it is no longer extant.[14][15][16] Stoneham Branch service ended on May 18, 1958, after which Winchester Highlands was served by Lowell trains.[3][17]

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service. Southern Division service was subsidized as far as Wilmington beginning on January 18, 1965, with subsidies for all Lowell service beginning on June 28.[1] It became the Lowell Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. In 1967, the MBTA proposed to modernize Winchester Highlands as a park and ride facility.[18] The B&M commuter rail assets were purchased by the MBTA on December 27, 1976.[1] By that time, only a single inbound trip was scheduled to stop at Winchester Highlands.[19] The peak-hour-only stops at Winchester Highlands on the Lowell Line plus Clematis Brook and Beaver Brook on the South Acton Line were closed in June 1978 due to low ridership.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ^ a b Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. p. 283. ISBN 9780942147124.
  3. ^ a b c Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 55–57. ISBN 9780685412947.
  4. ^ a b Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. George H. Walker & Co. 1889. pp. 134–135 – via Ward Maps.
  5. ^ a b Marmon, Douglas, History of the Second Congregational Church, Second Congregational Church of Winchester
  6. ^ "Winchester". Boston Globe. May 5, 1931. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Local Train Service. Boston and Maine Railroad. September 30, 1917. pp. 39–42 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  8. ^ Time Tables. Boston and Maine Railroad. September 29, 1929. pp. 28–31 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  9. ^ "Train Derailed at Winchester". Boston Globe. May 23, 1923. pp. 1, 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Wreck Causes Injuries to 24". Boston Globe. May 24, 1923. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Table 52". Northern New England Travel Guide. Boston and Maine Railroad. April 28, 1946 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  12. ^ Passenger Train Schedules, Boston and Maine Railroad, April 27, 1952, pp. 22–25 – via Wikimedia Commons
  13. ^ Complete Rail Schedule, Boston and Maine Railroad, October 27, 1957, pp. 24–25 – via Wikimedia Commons
  14. ^ "Winchester". Boston Globe. November 2, 1942. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "B.& M. Wants Shelters Instead of 13 Stations". Boston Globe. December 15, 1942. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780942147087.
  17. ^ Passenger Train Schedules, Boston and Maine Railroad, April 29, 1962 – via Wikimedia Commons
  18. ^ Plotkin, A.S. (August 17, 1967). "MBTA May Trim Some Commuter Runs". Boston Globe. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Timetable No. 21, Boston and Maine Railroad, November 26, 1976 – via Wikimedia Commons

External links[]

Media related to Winchester Highlands station at Wikimedia Commons

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