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Beaconsfield station (MBTA)

Coordinates: 42°20′09″N 71°08′26″W / 42.33583°N 71.14056°W / 42.33583; -71.14056
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Beaconsfield
An inbound train at Beaconsfield station in 2024
General information
LocationBeaconsfield Road east of Dean Road
Brookline, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°20′09″N 71°08′26″W / 42.33583°N 71.14056°W / 42.33583; -71.14056
Line(s)Highland branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Parking11 spaces
Bicycle facilities8 spaces
AccessibleNo
History
OpenedFebruary 1, 1907 (original station)
July 4, 1959 (modern station)[1]
ClosedMay 31, 1958[2]
Passengers
20111,075 daily boardings[3]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Reservoir
toward Riverside
 Green Line Brookline Hills
toward Union Square
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Reservoir
toward Riverside
 Highland branch Brookline Hills
toward Boston
Location
Map

Beaconsfield station is an MBTA light rail station in Brookline, Massachusetts. It serves the Green Line D branch. It is located off Dean Road and Beaconsfield Road just south of Beacon Street. Like the other stops on the line, it was a commuter rail station on the Boston and Albany Railroad's Highland branch until 1958, when the line was closed and converted to a branch of what is now the Green Line. The station reopened along with the rest of the line in 1959.[1] Beaconsfield is not accessible, though a reconstruction for accessibility is planned.

History

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B&A station

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1910 postcard of Beaconsfield station

The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) branch from Brookline Junction to Brookline on April 10, 1848.[2] The Charles River Branch Railroad extended the Brookline branch to Newton Upper Falls in November 1852 and to Needham in June 1853.[2][4] The Boston and Albany Railroad bought back the line, then part of the New York and New England Railroad, in February 1883. It was double-tracked and extended to the B&A main at Riverside; "Newton Circuit" service via the Highland branch and the main line began on May 16, 1886.[2]

There was not originally a station on the line at Dean Road. In late 1906, transit magnate Henry Melville Whitney built a new station to serve his nearby Beaconsfield Hotel.[5] Work on the station began in October 1906 by the firm of Benjamin Fox. It was built in a heavy stone style similar to the Richardsonian Romanesque stations constructed elsewhere on the B&A system in the previous two decades.[6][7] By November, the masonry was largely complete, the roof ready for tile, and the granolithic floor and 330-foot (100 m) platform ready to be poured.[8] The platform was poured in December 1906.[9] The new station opened on February 1, 1907.[10]

Conversion to light rail service

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1959-built shelter at the station

In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958.[2] The line was quickly converted for trolley service, and the line including Beaconsfield station reopened on July 4, 1959.[1] The 1906-built station was torn down to build a parking lot; a small wooden shelter was built on the inbound platform.

The M.T.A. was folded into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in August 1964.[1] The station has not been substantially modified during the MBTA era, though a heated shelter for fare machines on the outbound side was added around 2006.

In 2019, the MBTA indicated that the four remaining non-accessible stops on the D branch were "Tier I" accessibility priorities.[11] A preliminary design contract for accessibility modifications at the four stations was issued in February 2021.[12][13] The station platforms will be raised and rebuilt, the wood shelter repaired, and a path constructed under Dean Road to Waldstein Playground.[14] Design reached 75% in June 2022 and was completed late that year.[14][15]

By November 2023, construction was expected to be advertised in early 2024 and begin midyear.[16] However, in June 2024, the MBTA indicated that the renovations at the four stations would be done in two phases. The first phase – sections of accessible platform similar to those previously installed at Newton Highlands, and some entrances made accessible – was expected to be complete by the end of the year.[17] Work began in October 2024.[18] The full renovations are expected to take place in 2027 to serve new Type 10 vehicles.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ^ a b c d e Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 21–24. ISBN 9780685412947.
  3. ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  4. ^ Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 277, 288–289. ISBN 0942147022.
  5. ^ "Vacation Notes". The Independent. 62: lvib. 1907.
  6. ^ "New Station Called The Beaconsfield". The Boston Globe. January 5, 1907. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "New Engineering Work". Monthly Bulletin. Boston Society of Civil Engineers: 11. October 1906 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "New Engineering Work". Monthly Bulletin. Boston Society of Civil Engineers: 15. November 1906 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "New Engineering Work". Monthly Bulletin. Boston Society of Civil Engineers: 11. December 1906 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ "New Station Opens Today". The Boston Globe. February 1, 1907. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB" (PDF). Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 1, 2019. p. 12.
  12. ^ "D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements: Waban, Eliot, Chestnut Hill, Beaconsfield: Virtual Public Meeting" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 29, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements: Beaconsfield, Chestnut Hill, Eliot, Waban: Public Meeting" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 23, 2022.
  15. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. December 6, 2022. p. 4.
  16. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. November 27, 2023. pp. 3–4.
  17. ^ "Accessibility Initiatives—June 2024" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 25, 2024. p. 4.
  18. ^ "October Service Changes: MBTA Continues Repair Work to Improve Reliability Across the System" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "MBTA Green Line D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 2024.
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