Hersey station explained

Style:MBTA
Hersey
Address:Great Plain Avenue at Broad Meadow Road
Coordinates:42.2758°N -71.2149°W
Line:Needham branch (Needham cutoff)
Tracks:1
Parking:360 spaces ($4.00 fee)
Bicycle:12 spaces
Passengers:525 (weekday average boardings)
Pass Year:2018
Opened:1917
Closed:October 13, 1979–October 19, 1987
Accessible:yes
Zone:2
Former:Bird's Hill (1917–1979)
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes

Hersey station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Needham, Massachusetts. Located in the Bird's Hill neighborhood, it serves the Needham Line. 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 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 57feet at Great Plain Avenue.[2] Needham Junction was originally the only stop on the cutoff; Bird's Hill opened as an infill station at Great Plains Avenue in 1917.[3]

The station was closed with the rest of the line on October 13, 1979, due to Southwest Corridor construction.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".[4] In addition to this station, the MBTA also honored Hersey by naming locomotive MBTA 1000 as Henry D. Hersey "Mr. Commuter Rail".[5] Newly designated Hersey station reopened with the rest of the line on October 19, 1987.

Unlike the other Needham Line stations, Hersey was not renovated during the closure with a mini-high platform for handicapped accessibility.[6] A mini-high platform was added between 1990 and 1992, making the Needham Line the first completely accessible line on the MBTA system; a parking lot was also added on the south side of the station[7] [8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years . Humphrey, Thomas J. . Clark, Norton D. . Boston Street Railway Association . 1985 . 9780685412947 . 45.
  2. News: 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 . February 4, 1906 . Newspapers.com . 7.
  3. News: Needham . The Boston Globe . March 26, 1917 . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  4. Web site: An Act Providing for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Bird Hill Section of the Town of Needham as the Henry D. Hersey Station . Massachusetts State Legislature . 21 March 1980 . 1 June 2014.
  5. News: Henry Dyer Hersey, 91; helped restore rail service to Needham . Boston Globe . May 19, 1993 . 21 . Newspapers.com.
  6. Web site: Ridership and Service Statistics . 3 . November 1990 . 1–5 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . Operations Directorate Planning Division . Internet Archive.
  7. Book: MBTA : ACCESS; The Guide to Accessible Services and Facilities . 15 . June 1992 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . Internet Archive.
  8. News: Public Notice of Environmental Review - Project: MBTA Hersey Station Improvements . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . March 19, 1990 . Boston Globe . Newspapers.com.