Littleton/Route 495 station: Difference between revisions
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The [[Fitchburg Railroad]] was extended westward from Cambridge between 1843 and 1845, reaching Littleton around November 1844.<ref name=sne>{{cite book |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |author=Karr, Ronald Dale |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=1995 |isbn=0942147022 |page=200-205}}</ref> A large two-story station was placed at the intersection of King Street and Taylor Street in downtown Littleton.<ref name=depots>{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses |author=Roy, John H. Jr. |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780942147087 |pages=181}}</ref> In 1879, the Fitchburg replaced it with a Victorian-style depot building a few feet to the east. Although no longer used for railroad purposes, the 1879 depot is still standing and is currently used as a stove restoration shop.<ref name=depots /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ericksonsantiquestoves.com/ |author=Erickson, David |title=Erickson's Antique Stoves |accessdate=19 August 2011}}</ref> |
The [[Fitchburg Railroad]] was extended westward from Cambridge between 1843 and 1845, reaching Littleton around November 1844.<ref name=sne>{{cite book |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |author=Karr, Ronald Dale |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=1995 |isbn=0942147022 |page=200-205}}</ref> A large two-story station was placed at the intersection of King Street and Taylor Street in downtown Littleton.<ref name=depots>{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses |author=Roy, John H. Jr. |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780942147087 |pages=181}}</ref> In 1879, the Fitchburg replaced it with a Victorian-style depot building a few feet to the east. Although no longer used for railroad purposes, the 1879 depot is still standing and is currently used as a stove restoration shop.<ref name=depots /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ericksonsantiquestoves.com/ |author=Erickson, David |title=Erickson's Antique Stoves |accessdate=19 August 2011}}</ref> |
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Service continued to the Littleton station for over 120 years, run by the Fitchburg Railroad until 1900 and thereafter by the [[Boston and Maine Railroad]]. The B&M began to sharply cut back passenger service in the early 1960s, but in 1964 the newly formed [[MBTA]] began to subsidize their northside commuter services.<ref name=netransit /> However, on January 18, 1965, funding cuts resulted in Fitchburg Line service being cut back to [[West Concord (MBTA station)|West Concord]].<ref name="netransit">{{cite web |url=http://www.transithistory.org/roster/MBTARouteHistory.pdf|title=Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district |last=Belcher |first=Jonathan |date=12 November 2012 |format=PDF |publisher=NETransit |accessdate=23 December 2012}}</ref> After subsidy arrangements were made with several towns, service was partially extended back to Ayer - including the Littleton stop - on June 28, 1965. However, service was cut back |
Service continued to the Littleton station for over 120 years, run by the Fitchburg Railroad until 1900 and thereafter by the [[Boston and Maine Railroad]]. The B&M began to sharply cut back passenger service in the early 1960s, but in 1964 the newly formed [[MBTA]] began to subsidize their northside commuter services.<ref name=netransit /> However, on January 18, 1965, funding cuts resulted in Fitchburg Line service being cut back to [[West Concord (MBTA station)|West Concord]].<ref name="netransit">{{cite web |url=http://www.transithistory.org/roster/MBTARouteHistory.pdf|title=Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district |last=Belcher |first=Jonathan |date=12 November 2012 |format=PDF |publisher=NETransit |accessdate=23 December 2012}}</ref> After subsidy arrangements were made with several towns, service was partially extended back to Ayer - including the Littleton stop - on June 28, 1965. However, service was cut back to [[South Acton (MBTA station)|South Acton]] on March 1, 1975, ending service to downtown Littleton.<ref name=netransit /> |
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===Littleton/Route 495=== |
===Littleton/Route 495=== |
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Revision as of 17:45, 19 January 2013
LITTLETON/ROUTE 495 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New station under construction in November 2012 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Grimes Lane & Foster Street Littleton, MA | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°31′11″N 71°30′10″W / 42.51967°N 71.50264°W | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | |||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | at-grade | ||||||||||
| Parking | Public (free): 44 spaces Private (pay): 100 spaces[1] | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Fare zone | 7 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1980 | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2010 | 250 (weekday average)[2]  2.5% | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Littleton/Route 495 is a passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line located in Littleton, Massachusetts. The station is located at the intersection of Grimes Lane and Foster Street near Route 2 and I-495 and serves as a park-and-ride station for both highways.
The current station, which opened in 1980, is a replacement for the former downtown station which closed in 1975. The station is currently being rebuilt with a high-level platform as part of an improvement project on the Fitchburg Line.
History
Littleton Depot
The Fitchburg Railroad was extended westward from Cambridge between 1843 and 1845, reaching Littleton around November 1844.[3] A large two-story station was placed at the intersection of King Street and Taylor Street in downtown Littleton.[4] In 1879, the Fitchburg replaced it with a Victorian-style depot building a few feet to the east. Although no longer used for railroad purposes, the 1879 depot is still standing and is currently used as a stove restoration shop.[4][5]
Service continued to the Littleton station for over 120 years, run by the Fitchburg Railroad until 1900 and thereafter by the Boston and Maine Railroad. The B&M began to sharply cut back passenger service in the early 1960s, but in 1964 the newly formed MBTA began to subsidize their northside commuter services.[6] However, on January 18, 1965, funding cuts resulted in Fitchburg Line service being cut back to West Concord.[6] After subsidy arrangements were made with several towns, service was partially extended back to Ayer - including the Littleton stop - on June 28, 1965. However, service was cut back to South Acton on March 1, 1975, ending service to downtown Littleton.[6]
Littleton/Route 495
On December 27, 1976, the MBTA bought the Boston and Maine Railroad's northside commuter rail assets, including the entire length of the Fitchburg Line.[6] The closure of the Lexington Branch the next month represented the limit of the contraction of the northside lines; as a results of the 1970s energy crisis and especially the 1979 energy crisis, a period of rapid expansion began in the end of the 1970s. On January 13, 1980, service was extended back to Fitchburg and on to Gardner. However, the downtown Littleton station location offered little to no parking, and it was not reopened. A new station, Littleton/Route 495, opened with a small parking lot off Foster Street, some 1.6 miles to the southeast.[6] The station consisted of a 200-foot-long low-level asphalt platform with a small canopy shelter.
As part of a $75 million upgrade project on the Fitchburg line, Littleton/Route 495 station is being completely rebuilt. A second track is being added through from South Acton to Ayer, which necessitated replacement of the low-level platform. The new station, which is being built just outbound of the current station, will have an 800-foot-long high-level platform for speedy, fully handicapped accessible boarding. An overhead pedestrian bridge will be built to connect the platform to the parking lot. The former 44 public parking spaces have been eliminated by the second track, but the MBTA may buy the larger 100-space private lot. In turn, Nordblom, who owns the private lot, may build a second lot on its adjacent land.[1] Bidding for the new construction opened on 18 August 2011, with the bidding period lasting until September 20.[7] Construction work on the new platform started in early 2012; the platform was in place by midsummer, and the main span of the pedestrian bridge was lifted in early November. The new station is expected to be completed in mid 2013.[8]
When the double-tracking and new station are complete, most Fitchburg Line trains that currently short-turn at South Acton will be extended to Littleton.[9] This is expected to occur in 2014.[8] Expanded parking at Littleton is also expected to mitigate the current parking lot overcrowding at South Acton.[9]
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New platform supports under construction in May 2012 -
New platform installed and pedestrian overpass under construction behind the old station in August 2012 -
Second track through the Foster Street crossing and new interlocking installed in 2012 -
Pedestrian bridge under construction in November 2012
Other Littleton stations
Several other railroad stations, now closed, were located in or adjacent to Littleton.
North Littleton station was located on the Stony Brook Railroad at Great Road (MA 119).[10] The line opened in July 1848, and local passenger service ran until April 1953, with a single Budd RDC trip lasting until 1960.[3] However, North Littleton station had been closed decades earlier in 1928.[11] The Stony Brook also served two stops just outside of Littleton. Forge Village was located at Pleasant Street (MA 225) in Forge Village in Westford.[10] Willows (also called Sandy Pond) was a combined station with the Fitchburg Railroad, located at their junction at Willow Road in Ayer.[3][10]
Besides Willows and Littleton, the Fitchburg Railroad also stopped at Boxboro at Depot Road, just south of the Littleton town line.[3] However, West Acton station was closer to Boxboro proper, and the Boxboro stop was abandoned by 1935.[12]
The Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad, which ran from Concord to Nashua, ran through Westford with two stations near the eastern part of Littleton. Passenger service on the line ran from 1876 to 1924.[3] East Littleton station was located at Littleton Road (MA 110), about a mile east of Littleton Common.[12] Pine Ridge station (also known as Westford) was located at Patten Road.[3][12]
References
- ^ a b Lamb, Nathan (22 Jan 2011). "Littleton rail station upgrades slated for 2011". Littleton Independent. Retrieved 20 February 2011. (Includes image)
- ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. p. 200-205. ISBN 0942147022. Cite error: The named reference "sne" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 181. ISBN 9780942147087.
- ^ Erickson, David. "Erickson's Antique Stoves". Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Belcher, Jonathan (12 November 2012). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- ^ "Construction Bid Solicitation for Littleton Commuter Rail Improvement Project". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Transit Projects: Littleton Station". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ a b Martin, David (5 January 2012). "South Acton Train Station Project Information". Acton Patch. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
- ^ a b c United States Geographic Survey (1936). "Groton, MA-NH Quadrangle". USGS 15 Minute Series. University of New Hampshire. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
- ^ Bowers, Nancy (2009). "North Littleton Station". Littleton Historical Society. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
- ^ a b c United States Geographic Survey (1935). "Lowell, MA-NH Quadrangle". USGS 15 Minute Series. University of New Hampshire. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
