Hersey (MBTA station)
HERSEY | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hersey station in May 2012, facing east | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Location |
Great Plain Avenue at Broad Meadow Road Needham, Massachusetts | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°16′33″N 71°12′53″W / 42.275842°N 71.214853°WCoordinates: 42°16′33″N 71°12′53″W / 42.275842°N 71.214853°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking |
360 spaces ($4.00 fee) 8 accessible spaces | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | 11 spaces | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1917[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | October 13, 1979 - October 19, 1987[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | c. 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Bird's Hill (1917-1979)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers (2013) | 540 (weekday inbound average)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Hersey is a passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Needham Line, located in the Bird's Hill section of Needham, Massachusetts. The station serves as a park-and-ride, with easy access from Route 128. Hersey station has been open since 1917, except for an 8-year closure during Southwest Corridor construction. It is fully handicapped accessible.
History
The Needham Cutoff opened on November 4, 1906 from West Roxbury to Needham Junction, allowing trains from the former New York and New England Railroad to reach Boston without needing to use the New York Central's Highland Branch.[1] Building the cutoff required a significant length of difficult rock cuts - "one of the heaviest pieces of short railroad construction ever attempted in New England" - reaching a depth of 57 feet (17 m) at Great Plain Avenue.[4] Originally Needham Junction was the only stop on the cutoff; Bird's Hill opened as an infill station at Great Plains Avenue in 1917.[1]
The station was closed with the rest of the line from October 13, 1979 during Southwest Corridor construction.[2] On March 21, 1980, the Massachusetts Legislature directed the MBTA to rename the station to honor Needham selectman Henry D. Hersey, "an outstanding spokesman for commuter rail service in the commonwealth".[5] In addition to this station, the MBTA also honored Hersey by naming locomotive MBTA 1000 as Henry D. Hersey "Mr. Commuter Rail".[6] Newly designated Hersey station reopened with the rest of the line on October 19, 1987.[2]
Unlike the other Needham Line stations, Hersey was not renovated during the closure with a mini-high platform for handicapped accessibility.[7] A mini-high platform was added between 1990 and 1992, making the Needham Line the first completely accessible line on the MBTA system.[8]
References
- 1 2 3 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 45. ISBN 9780685412947.
- 1 2 3 4 Belcher, Jonathan (22 March 2014). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ↑ "LAST RAIL LAID.: Work on Boston's Newest Railroad is Progressing Rapidly--The Air Line From West Roxbury to Needham Has Been Cut Through Solid Rock Part of the Way.". Boston Daily Globe. 4 February 1906. Retrieved 1 June 2014 – via Proquest Historical Newspapers. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION BIRDS HILL SECTION OF THE TOWN OF NEEDHAM AS THE HENRY D. HERSEY STATION" (PDF). Massachusetts State Legislature. 21 March 1980. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ↑ "Pictures of MBTA 1000". Railroad Picture Archives. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ↑ Operations Directorate Planning Division (November 1990). "Ridership and Service Statistics" (3 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. pp. 1–5 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ MBTA : ACCESS; The Guide to Accessible Services and Facilities. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 1992. p. 15 – via Internet Archive.