Cross Street
A one-story wooden train station next to a two-track rail line at a grade crossing
Cross Street station around 1954
General information
LocationCross Street east of Main Street
Winchester, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°27′57″N 71°08′41″W / 42.46590°N 71.14477°W / 42.46590; -71.14477
Line(s)Woburn Branch
Platforms1
Tracks1
Construction
Parking12 spaces
History
OpenedBetween 1844 and 1846
ClosedJanuary 30, 1981
Rebuilt1893, 1955
Passengers
197677 daily boardings[1]
Former services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Woburn
Terminus
 Lowell Line
Closed 1981
 Winchester Center
toward North Station
Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station
Woburn Highlands
toward Concord, NH
 Boston – Concord, NH
until 1959
 Winchester
toward Boston
Woburn
Terminus
 Woburn Branch
after 1959

Cross Street station was an MBTA Commuter Rail station in northern Winchester, Massachusetts, on the border with Woburn. The station first opened in the mid-1840s as Richardson Row on the Woburn Branch Railroad, part of the Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L). It was renamed Cross Street in 1876. The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) leased the B&L in 1887, built a new depot at Cross Street in 1893, and replaced it with a concrete shelter in 1955. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service on the Woburn Branch in 1965 and purchased the line in 1976. The station was closed along with the Woburn Branch in 1981.

History

Boston and Lowell Railroad

The Woburn Branch Railroad opened between South Woburn (later Winchester) and Woburn on December 30, 1844.[2]: 3  The line was owned by the Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L), with local trains running between Woburn and Boston.[3]: 288  By 1846, the branch had several flag stops: Cutter's near modern Swanton Street, Richardson Row (often styled as Richardson's Row) at the eponymous street, and Horn Pond Gate (often simply Horn Pond) at Fowle Street.[4] Winchester separated from Woburn in 1850, with Richardson's Row (later renamed Cross Street) crossing the railroad near the border between the towns.[5]

In 1854, the Boston Ice Company built a short spur to Horn Pond from the Woburn Branch, connecting south of Richardson's Row. The B&L operated the branch in the winter to haul ice cut from the pond.[3]: 288  In August 1876, the B&L changed the names of four stations. Horn Pond became Woburn Highlands, while Richardson's Row became Cross Street.[2]: 10 [6] The B&L extended the Woburn Branch northwards from Woburn in November 1885, rejoining the mainline in North Woburn to form the Woburn Loop. Many Boston–Lowell local trains were rerouted to the loop, serving intermediate stops including Cross Street.[3]: 288 [7]: 55 

Boston and Maine Railroad

The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) leased the B&L in 1887 as its Southern Division.[3]: 286  By 1889, Cross Street station had a small building on the east side of the tracks just north of Cross Street, while Cutter's was no longer a stop.[8] The B&M built a new one-story wooden station building at Cross Street in 1893. It was on the west side of the tracks, just south of Cross Street.[9][10] The Horn Pond Branch closed in 1919.[3]: 288 

A hand-painted sign reading "Ye Old Cross St. Station Painted by S.O.I. Jr. Lodge #125 Winchester"
Hand-painted signage in 1977

In 1955, the station buildings at Cross Street and three other Woburn Loop stops were replaced with unstaffed concrete shelters.[9] The northern half of the Woburn Loop was closed on June 14, 1959, as was Woburn Highlands station; this left Cross Street and Woburn as the only remaining stops on what was again the Woburn Branch.[11][7]: 57  Woburn Branch service had increased somewhat through the 1950s, even as most lines saw cuts. With the 1959 cut, many Woburn Loop through trains were replaced with Woburn–Boston trains, maintaining relatively frequent service to Woburn and Cross Street.[7]: 57 

MBTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service. Subsidies for a number of B&M lines including the Woburn Branch took effect on January 18, 1965.[12] Cross Street station had 84 daily boardings in a 1972 count; 59 walked to the station, while the remainder used the 12-space parking lot or were dropped off.[13]

The MBTA purchased the B&M commuter equipment and lines, including the Woburn Branch, on December 27, 1976.[12] The agency soon began making improvements to the aging stations. A 1977 MBTA study recommended paving the gravel parking lot and platform, adding lighting, and putting signage at the station and nearby intersections. At that time, the station saw 77 daily boardings.[1]

Weekend service on the branch ended on September 7, 1980. All service ended on January 30, 1981, due to poor track conditions and the MBTA's poor finances.[12][7]: 58  The line was abandoned in 1982; the section within Winchester was purchased by the town in 1983 and sold off, while the Woburn section largely remains MBTA property.[14][15]: 195  The disused Cross Street shelter was demolished in the mid-1980s.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (June 1977). Commuter Rail Improvement Program: Immediate Action Report: Station Development Study. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. pp. 51–52.
  2. 1 2 Kimball, James A. (1922). "Story of the Old Woburn Branch Railroad". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. 3 (3): 3–14. JSTOR 43516725.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. ISBN 9780942147124.
  4. 1 2 Knight, Ellen (2021). "The Evolution of Winchester's Four Railroad Depots". Town of Winchester.
  5. ↑ Walling, Henry Francis (1854). Map of the town of Winchester, Middlesex County, Mass (Map). 1:7,920.
  6. ↑ "Woburn/Middlesex Journal Newspaper Index, A-D" (PDF). Woburn Public Library. September 2019. p. 65.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association.
  8. ↑ "Town of Winchester, Mass." (Map). Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. 1:3,000. George H. Walker & Co. 1889. p. 128.
  9. 1 2 "Concrete Shelter to Replace Station at Cross Street". Winchester Star. January 14, 1955. p. 4.
  10. ↑ "15" (Map). Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. 1:600. Sanborn Map Company. May 1904. p. 15.
  11. ↑ "List of Train Stations B. & M. Would Abandon". Boston Globe. December 6, 1958. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 3 Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  13. ↑ Thomas K. Dyer, Inc. (December 1972). Plan for Acquisition and Use of Railroad Rights of Way. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 32.
  14. ↑ "Names of Places in Winchester Past & Present". Town of Winchester. p. 13.
  15. ↑ Karr, Ronald Dale (2010). Lost Railroads of New England (Third ed.). Branch Line Press. ISBN 9780942147117.

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