Newton Corner was a streetcar and passenger rail station in the
Newton Corner
Newton Corner is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Newton Corner borders Brighton, a neighborhood of Boston, as well as the city of Watertown, Massachusetts. Newton Corne ...
neighborhood of
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
, 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
The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 station stops in Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashlan ...
(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
The A branch or Watertown Line was a streetcar line in the Boston, Massachusetts, area, operating as a branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line. The line ran from Watertown through Newton Corner, Brighton, and Allst ...
until 1969.
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
Railroad station
![Newton Corner station building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Newton_Corner_station_building.jpg)
The
Boston and Worcester Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. P ...
opened the segment from downtown Boston to
West Newton on April 7, 1834, with a station called Newton Corner opening then or soon after in the Angier's Corner neighborhood.
The station was located on the south side of the tracks west of Centre Street. 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
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
systems.
Newton Corner was among the most popular stations, with ridership of 26,000 in 1866.
A village petition around 1870 resulted in the station being renamed as simply Newton.
Third and fourth tracks through the station were built in 1884.
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
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Pass ...
in 1867, which itself was leased by the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
in 1900.
Trolley station
![MBTA 3102 at Newton Corner, September 1965](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/MBTA_3102_at_Newton_Corner%2C_September_1965.jpg)
The first trolleys in Allston-Brighton had been a branch off the
Cambridge Horse Railroad
The Cambridge Railroad (also known as the Cambridge Horse Railroad) was the first street railway in the Boston, Massachusetts area, linking Harvard Square in Cambridge to Cambridge Street and Grove Street in Boston's West End, via Massachusett ...
to
Oak Square
Oak Square is a former station on the Green Line A branch. It was closed in 1969 when service on the branch was Bustitution, replaced with buses.
References
Railway stations in Boston
Green Line (MBTA) stations
Former MBTA stations in Ma ...
, 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.
The line begun running to
Park Street in the new
Tremont Street Subway
The Tremont Street subway in Boston's MBTA subway system is the oldest subway tunnel in North America and the third oldest still in use worldwide to exclusively use electric traction (after the City and South London Railway in 1890, and the Bud ...
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.
On December 9, 1912, the transfer point was changed from Nonantum Square to
Watertown Yard
Watertown Carhouse is a bus maintenance facility and former streetcar carhouse located in the southern section of Watertown, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Watertown Square. As Watertown Yard, the site also serves as a bus depot se ...
.
This completed the Watertown Line from Park Street to Watertown Yard - its route for the next half-century. In the 1920s, a concrete boarding island was built in the square.
Closure
![Newton Corner former trolley platform location in 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Newton_Corner_former_trolley_platform_location_in_2013.JPG)
Both stations changed greatly when the
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...
was extended from
Route 128
The following highways are numbered 128:
Canada
* New Brunswick Route 128
* Ontario Highway 128 (former)
* Prince Edward Island Route 128
Costa Rica
* National Route 128
India
* National Highway 128 (India)
Japan
* Japan National Route 128 ...
in Weston to
I-93
Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
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
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...
to Riverside. All local stops east of the Boston-Newton border were discontinued in April 1959; of the stations in Newton itself, Newton Corner was closed,
Newtonville,
West Newton, and
Auburndale lost their depot buildings to construction but retained limited service, and
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
, the furthest west, was unaffected.
This marked the end of service on the Worcester Line to Newton Corner; it has not been a commuter rail stop during the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
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 automobile-trolley collisions.
In 1967, the #69 trolley was renamed as the
Green Line A branch
The A branch or Watertown Line was a streetcar line in the Boston, Massachusetts, area, operating as a branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line. The line ran from Watertown through Newton Corner, Brighton, and Allst ...
. After a series of temporary
bustitution
A rail replacement bus service uses buses to replace a passenger train service on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such as light rail, tram, streetcar, commuter rail, regional rail or heavy ...
s during the 1960s, the A branch was again "temporarily" substituted on June 21, 1969. However, the replacement
route 57 bus became permanent and the trolleys never returned.
The trackage was intact for non-revenue moves to
Watertown Carhouse
Watertown Carhouse is a bus maintenance facility and former streetcar carhouse located in the southern section of Watertown, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Watertown Square. As Watertown Yard, the site also serves as a bus depot se ...
until 1994, but, except for rare fan trips, Newton Corner has not seen rail passengers since 1969.
Bus connections
![North side bus stop at Newton Corner, March 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/North_side_bus_stop_at_Newton_Corner%2C_March_2013.JPG)
Although no longer served by rail transport, Newton Corner is a major interchange for
MBTA bus
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates List of MBTA bus routes, 170 bus routes in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance (defined as ) for all residents ...
routes including the rail-replacement 57, six other local buses, and four express buses. During morning rush hour, the eight express routes and two local routes combine such that over 60 buses traverse the rotary hourly, making Newton Corner one of the busiest MBTA bus stops.
There are two bus stops on the rotary itself, with a large brick bench and shelter (more prominent than standard MBTA bus stops) on the southern (eastbound) side of the rotary and two standard shelters on the northern (westbound) part. Eleven routes stop at these locations:
* : Dedham Mall–
* : Watertown Yard–
* : Watertown Yard–
* : Brighton Center–Federal Street & Franklin Street (express)
* : Watertown Yard–
Copley station (express); service suspended indefinitely
* : Brighton Center–
Copley Square
Copley Square , named for painter John Singleton Copley, is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to it ...
(express); service suspended indefinitely
* : Watertown Yard–Federal Street & Franklin Street (express)
* :
Roberts–Newton Corner
* :
Waverley Square–Newton Corner
* : Waltham Highlands–Newton Corner
* :
Riverside station–Newton Corner
Routes 553, 554, 556, and 558 each loop one-and-one-half times around the rotary in order to stop at both the south and north bus stops on each run in order to serve passengers who do not wish to cross the fast-moving rotary traffic on foot. Similarly, outbound 502 and 504 buses loop completely around the rotary (except during the afternoon peak) before proceeding to Watertown.
Routes 52, 57, and 193 only use the rotary stops in the southbound direction; northbound buses stop near the rotary on surface streets. Because these routes make local stops on both sides of the rotary, they do not make the extra loops. Routes 501 and 503 only stop at the rotary stops during afternoon peak outbound trips; inbound trips only use the route 57 stop on Park Street to the south.
When proposals to reactivate the A branch were considered in the 1970s and 1980s, a likely possibility was that the trolleys would only return as far as
Oak Square
Oak Square is a former station on the Green Line A branch. It was closed in 1969 when service on the branch was Bustitution, replaced with buses.
References
Railway stations in Boston
Green Line (MBTA) stations
Former MBTA stations in Ma ...
, 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 was considered wherein the
route 71 trolleybus would 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.
References
External links
Image of 1984 fantrip at Newton Corner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton Corner (Mbta Station)
Buildings and structures in Newton, Massachusetts
Green Line (MBTA) stations
Railway stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Former MBTA stations in Massachusetts
Railway stations closed in 1969
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1834
MBTA bus