Newton Corner (MBTA station)
NEWTON CORNER | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1880s-built Newton Corner depot on an early color postcard | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°21′27″N 71°11′04″W / 42.35756°N 71.18441°WCoordinates: 42°21′27″N 71°11′04″W / 42.35756°N 71.18441°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) |
Worcester Line | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks |
2 (Green Line) 4 (commuter rail) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened |
Circa 1834 (commuter rail) May 21, 1898 (Green Line) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed |
April 1959 (commuter rail) June 21, 1969 (Green Line) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Newton Corner is a former streetcar and passenger rail station in the Newton Corner neighborhood of Newton, Massachusetts, located near where Washington Street crosses the Massachusetts Turnpike. The Newton Corner station, known simply as Newton for much of its lifetime, served commuters on the Worcester Line (run by the New York Central Railroad and its predecessors) from 1834 to 1959. The trolley stop, located on the surface streets, served a number of routes beginning in 1898, including the Green Line "A" Branch until 1969.[1]
Newton Corner is now a stop and transfer point for a number of bus routes including high-frequency express routes to downtown Boston as well as local routes.
History
The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened the segment from downtown Boston to West Newton on April 7, 1834, with a station at Newton Corner opening then or soon after.[2] A second track was added in 1839, and in 1843 the railroad began offering season fares for around $60, making it one of the first commuter rail systems.[2] Newton Corner was among the most popular stations, with ridership of 26,000 in 1866.[3] Although the village had been known as "Newton Corner" since the railroad was built, a village petition in the 1870s resulted in the station being resigned as simply "Newton".[3] Third and fourth tracks through the station were built in 1884.[4] Around this time, a new station building was built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The Boston & Worcester became part of the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1867, which itself was leased by the New York Central Railroad in 1900.[2]
The first trolleys in Allston-Brighton had been a branch off the Cambridge Horse Railroad to Oak Square, and ran to Cambridge rather than downtown Boston. On June 13, 1896, trackage on Commonwealth Avenue (part of the future "B" Branch) and Brighton Avenue opened as a direct electrified route to downtown; at the same time, the line was extended to just short of Newton Corner.[1] The line begun running to Park Street in the new Tremont Street Subway on November 8, 1897. On May 21, 1898, the line was extended to Nonantum Square at Newton Corner, where it met lines running from Cambridge via Watertown.[1] On December 9, 1912, the transfer point was changed from Nonantum Square to Watertown Yard.[1] This completed the Watertown Line from Park Street to Watertown Yard - its route for the next half-century.
Both stations changed greatly when the Massachusetts Turnpike was extended from Route 128 in Weston to I-93 in downtown Boston. The highway occupied a significant portion of the right-of-way, dropping the Worcester Line from 4 to 2 tracks from Back Bay to Riverside. All local stops from Newton east were discontinued in April 1959; Newtonville, West Newton and Auburndale lost their depot buildings to construction but retained limited service.[4] This marked the end of service on the Worcester Line to Newton Corner; it has not been a commuter rail stop during the MBTA era. In 1964, the exit 17 rotary was constructed at Newton Corner. Expecting little traffic at the intersection, the trolley tracks were placed in a counterflow lane, while the platforms were moved to the north side of the rotary in a dedicated median. However, the rotary proved to be busy and congested, resulting in frequent delays and crashes with the trolleys.
In 1967, the #69 trolley was renamed as the Green Line "A" Branch. After a series of temporary bustitutions during the 1960s, the "A" Branch was again "temporarily" substituted on June 21, 1969. However, the replacement #57 bus became permanent and the trolleys never returned.[1] The trackage was intact for non-revenue moves to Watertown Carhouse until 1994, but except for rare fan trips Newton Corner has not seen rail passengers since 1969.
Bus connections
Although no longer served by rail transport, Newton Corner is a major stop for MBTA bus routes including the rail-replacement #57 and eight express buses. A large bench and shelter (more prominent than standard MBTA bus stops) serve passengers waiting for inbound express buses on the Washington Street rotary. During morning rush hour, the eight express routes and two local routes combine such that over 60 buses stop hourly, making Newton Corner one of the busiest MBTA bus stops.[5]
- 52 Dedham Mall or Charles River Loop - Watertown Yard via Oak Hill & Newton Center
- 57 Watertown Yard - Kenmore Station via Newton Corner & Brighton Center
- 501 Brighton Center - Downtown via Oak Square & Massachusetts Turnpike
- 502 Watertown Yard - Copley Square (St. James Avenue at Dartmouth St.) via Newton Corner & Massachusetts Turnpike
- 503 Brighton Center - Copley Square via Oak Square & Massachusetts Turnpike
- 504 Watertown/Newton Corner - Downtown via Massachusetts Turnpike
- 553 Roberts - Downtown Boston via Newton Corner & Central Square, Waltham
- 554 Waverly Square - Downtown Boston via Newton Corner, Central Square, Waltham & Bentley College
- 556 Waltham Highlands - Downtown Boston via Newton Corner & Central Square, Waltham & Newtonville
- 558 Riverside - Downtown Boston via Newton Corner & Turnpike
When proposals to reactivate the "A" Branch were considered in the 1970s and 1980s, a likely possibility was that that trolleys would only return as far as Oak Square, with trolleybuses filling the gap between Watertown and Oak Square. The City of Newton did not approve of overhead lines, however, and the proposals never came to fruition. However, a limited version of the proposal is under consideration wherein the 71 trolleybus will be extended from Watertown to Newton Corner. In the 2004 Program for Mass Transportation, the $1.5 million project was estimated to add 600 new daily transit riders but was given low priority compared to other bus expansion projects.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Moore, Scott. "The Watertown Line". NETransit. Archived from the original on 3 February 2002. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 279–280. ISBN 0942147022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hatch, Kathlyn et al. (c. 1977). "Newton's 19th Century Architecture: Newton Corner and Nonantum". Newton Historical Commission and Newton Department of Planning and Development. p. 5. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Humphrey, Thomas J. and Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 21–22. ISBN 9780685412947.
- ↑ Alicia Wilson, Seth Asante, and Efi Pagitsas (19 September 2006). "Memorandum Re: I-90 Interchange 17 (Newton Corner): Traffic Patterns and Operational and Safety Improvements". City of Newton. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ↑ Central Transportation Planning Staff (January 2004). "Chapter 5C: System Expansion" (PDF). Program for Mass Transportation. Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
