West Medford station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Medford, Massachusetts . It serves the Lowell Line , and is located at West Medford Square.
63-454: When the original Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) was laid out in the 1830s, West Medford was mostly farmland. The route of the new railroad (one of the oldest railroads in North America ) was built on land acquired from Peter Chardon Brooks , who sold a strip for the right-of-way plus a parcel for the station on High Street. Medford Gates station was open by 1838. The name reflected
126-408: A railroad because the politicians had to agree; the issue would become partisan. This also meant that the legislature would not let the investors build the line unless they could show it was completely necessary. The investors were successful because they convinced the legislature that the canal was inherently incapable of providing what they needed: reliable, year-round freight transport. Investors in
189-550: The American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1841. In 1825 the subject of the water supply of Boston attracted the attention of the authorities, and an investigation of the sources for a pure supply was made, and in 1837 he was appointed on a commission to inquire still further into the matter. He dissented from the majority in the recommendation of Spot and Mystic ponds, and recommended Long Pond (Lake Cochituate). Others high in authority differed from his conclusion, but still he
252-845: The Boston and Albany Railroad , the first Boston water supply from Lake Cochituate , and many other early engineering projects. He was the first president of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers and served one term as a Senator from Suffolk County to the Massachusetts Senate , then served as a Boston Water Commissioner. James Fowle Baldwin was born in Woburn and died in Boston aged eighty. He married July 28, 1818, Sarah Parsons, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Parsons) Pitkin, of East Hartford, Connecticut. They had three sons all of whom died in childhood. One at
315-520: The Boston and Maine Railroad ), but were always sources of annoyance to both riders and operators. The proposed route was accepted by the Board of Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, and work began on the building phase. The road was begun from both ends at once, and some sources say that they both started on the right hand side of the right-of-way, missing in the middle and having to put in an embarrassing reverse curve to tide them over until they built
378-614: The Essex Railroad at Peabody , along which it used trackage rights to Salem . The line was opened in 1850 and operated by the Lowell and Lawrence until 1858, when the B&;L leased it along with the Lowell and Lawrence. The Wilmington Branch, now known as the Wildcat Branch , was built just west of the original Boston and Maine Railroad alignment to connect the main line at Wilmington to
441-718: The Manchester and Keene Railroad (Southern) and Peterborough and Hillsborough Railroad (Northern) met. In 1889 the BC&;M merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad , taking it out of B&M control until 1895, when the B&M leased the C&;M. The White Mountains Railroad was chartered in 1848 and opened a line from Woodsville to Littleton, New Hampshire , in 1853. Along with extensions and branches, it
504-672: The Mystic River waterfront on the north side of Charlestown. The Woburn Branch Railroad (aka the Woburn Loop ) opened in 1844, connecting Woburn to the main line towards Boston. The Horn Pond Branch Railroad was a short freight-only branch off the Woburn Branch to ice houses on Horn Pond. The northern loop, built in 1885, continued the line back north to the main line at North Woburn Jct. in South Wilmington. The Horn Pond branch line
567-725: The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad in 1875 as their Vermont Division. The line was finished in 1877, and in 1880 it was reorganized as the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad , which was taken over by the B&L as their Vermont Division. The line did not stay in the B&M system, and the easternmost part was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1912. The White Mountains and Vermont Divisions were connected at Scott's Mills, New Hampshire . The Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad
630-596: The Stony Brook Branch and the old main line north of Lowell. At Lowell, it shifts to the B&M's original Lowell Branch to get to the B&M main line towards Maine. James Fowle Baldwin James Fowle Baldwin (April 29, 1782 – May 20, 1862) was an early American civil engineer who worked with his father and brothers on the Middlesex Canal , surveyed and designed the Boston and Lowell Railroad and
693-466: The B&L Northern Division in 1884, when the B&L leased the BC&M. The Northern Railroad was also chartered in 1844, opening in 1847 from Concord to Lebanon, New Hampshire , and later extending to White River Junction, Vermont . The B&L leased it in 1884 as another part of its Northern Division. The only connection between the Southern and Northern divisions was at Hancock Junction , where
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#1732848051454756-629: The B&L and N&L agreed to operate as one company from 1860, and in 1880 the B&L leased the N&;L. The Stony Brook Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1848, connecting the Nashua and Lowell at North Chelmsford with Ayer . The N&L leased the Stony Brook in 1848. The Wilton Railroad was chartered in 1844. It opened a line from Nashua west to Danforth's Corner in 1848, to Milford in 1850 and to East Wilton in 1851. Since completion it
819-407: The B&L were copies of the successful Planet class 2-2-0 built locally in Lowell. Another railroad was chartered in the early 1840s whose fortunes would be closely tied to those of the Boston and Lowell. This was the Boston and Maine Railroad . This railroad ran down from Portland, Maine , through a bit of southern New Hampshire , to Haverhill in northeastern Massachusetts, connected to
882-545: The B&L's Lexington and Arlington Branch at North Cambridge Junction , and the company was reorganized as the Central Massachusetts Railroad in 1883. The B&L leased the line in 1886, a year before the B&M leased the B&L. The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad was chartered in 1844, and opened in stages from 1848 to 1853, eventually running from Concord to Woodsville, New Hampshire . That railroad, along with its branches, became part of
945-583: The B&L. An extension west to the Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad at Middlesex Junction was built in 1879. The Billerica and Bedford Railroad was built in 1877 as a narrow gauge line between the Middlesex Central at Bedford and the B&L at North Billerica . It was sold and abandoned in 1878, and the rails were taken to Maine for the Sandy River Railroad . A new standard gauge branch
1008-416: The B&M before it lost the opportunity. The B&M tried to deal with this in court, and got the judge to forbid the B&L from raising rates until the case was done, but by the time they were close to an agreement, the bypass was complete. With B&M business gone, the B&L realized how much they had been relying upon their renters. Additionally, the Lowell mills began to decline somewhat and there
1071-418: The B&M in court but failed because the monopoly granted in its charter was only good for traffic between Boston and Lowell. The shortcut, part of today's Haverhill/Reading Line , was started in 1844 and was in use by 1848. While the B&M was building it, they were still running their trains to Boston on the B&L. This made for a lot of conflict, with the B&L trying to squeeze every last penny out of
1134-484: The Boston and Lowell Railroad received a charter on June 5, 1830, with no provision for reparations to the Middlesex Canal's investors. It was a favorable charter because in addition to the right to build and operate a railroad between Lowell and Boston, it gave a thirty-year monopoly on the right to have a railroad there. The people along the road and in terminal-end cities bought large amounts of stock , financing half
1197-410: The Boston and Lowell Railroad was large from the start (as was expected) with Lowell's textile companies bringing in raw materials and sending out finished goods. The high level of passenger traffic, however, was not anticipated. Trains traveled on unwelded rails which were laid on a granite roadbed, which made for an extremely bumpy ride. The railroad switched to wooden ties. The Boston and Lowell
1260-416: The Boston and Lowell Railroad, especially with the line still over granite, provided the extra impetus to double track and upgrade. In 1838, the B&L began two years of extensive track improvements, first laying a second track on wood, and with that one built, going back and re-laying the old track on the more forgiving wood as well. Boston and Lowell traffic continued to increase, and even with double tracks
1323-517: The Boston and Lowell in Wilmington , and then used Boston and Lowell track to Boston. This route was conceptualized in 1834, but took a long time to be built, mostly because, unlike the Boston and Lowell, it did not have a secure base of funding like the Lowell textile companies. It took two years to get to Andover , another year to get to Haverhill, three more to get to Exeter, New Hampshire , and did not get to Portland until 1852. This extra traffic on
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#17328480514541386-514: The Fitchburg from 1847 to 1859. The line was reorganized as the Lexington and Arlington Railroad in 1868, following the renaming of Arlington. The B&L bought the line in 1870 and built a new connection to their main line at Somerville Junction . The Middlesex Central Railroad was chartered in 1872 and opened in 1873, extending the line from Lexington to Concord . It was leased from completion to
1449-659: The Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other commuter operations in the Greater Boston area. Along with the sale, the B&M contracted to run the passenger service on the Lowell line for the MBTA. After bankruptcy, the B&M continued to run and fulfill its commuter rail contract under the protection of the Federal Bankruptcy Court , in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from
1512-450: The MBTA plans to pilot a freestanding temporary accessible platform design at Beverly Depot in March 2024. If successful, West Medford would be one of the first four stations to receive a temporary platform while a full reconstruction is planned. [REDACTED] Media related to West Medford station at Wikimedia Commons Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad
1575-517: The Salem and Lowell at Wilmington Junction, providing a shorter route between Boston and Lawrence. The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846, connecting the Fitchburg Railroad at West Cambridge to Lexington , although the "West Cambridge" in the name referred to what is now the town of Arlington . It was operated by the Fitchburg from opening, and leased to
1638-739: The Vermont Division, and the Passumpsic Division. Additionally, it leased the Central Massachusetts Railroad in 1886. The main part of the Southern Division was the mainline between Boston and Lowell . The Charlestown Branch Railroad was not itself taken over by the B&L, but as originally built in 1840 it was a short spur from the B&L to wharves in Charlestown . In 1845 the Fitchburg Railroad leased it and incorporated it into their main line. The Mystic River Branch served
1701-484: The age of eight in 1829; and the two others of typhus fever in 1834, at the ages of fifteen and six years. James was the fourth son of Loammi Baldwin Sr., and received his early education in the schools of his native Woburn and in the academies at Billerica and Westford . About 1803 he was in Boston acquiring a mercantile education. He was later established there as a merchant; but the influence of his early association with
1764-476: The company went bankrupt, and it was operated by the Connecticut River Railroad until 1882, when it was bought half-and-half by the B&L and the Concord Railroad . The Massachusetts Central Railroad was chartered in 1869 to build a line east–west across the middle of the state, between the Boston and Albany Railroad and the Fitchburg Railroad . The first section opened in 1881, splitting from
1827-556: The company. The Board of Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, armed with a charter, now had the task of surveying and building the line. They brought in James Fowle Baldwin , son of Col. Loammi Baldwin , who had engineered the Middlesex Canal, to do the surveying, and charged him with finding a gently sloped path from Lowell to Boston, with few grade crossings and well away from town centers. This latter point ended up being quite inconvenient later on. No one had any idea of
1890-402: The contract expired, they let the job go to Amtrak . From 1986 until 2003, Amtrak managed the entirety of Boston's commuter rail. It did decently, though at times had strained relations with the MBTA. Quibbles centered on equipment failures, numbers of conductors per train, and who took responsibility when trains are late. Because of these bad relations and Amtrak's repeated announcements that
1953-647: The contract was unreasonable, few people were surprised at Amtrak's decision not to bid again for the commuter rail contract when it came up for renewal in 2003. When the MBTA asked for new bids on the commuter rail operation contract, Amtrak did not bid, but Guilford and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company did. The MBCR ended up getting the contract and began operating the commuter rail in July 2004. Guilford's main line between Mattawamkeag, Maine , and Mechanicville, New York , now uses
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2016-438: The court's protection when newly formed Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it in 1983. When GTI bought the B&M, commuter rail service was in jeopardy. The MBTA had owned the trains and the tracks since 1973, but it had outsourced the operation to the B&M. When GTI bought the B&M in 1983, it had to honor the B&M contract, but GTI management was very much against passenger rail, and, in 1986, as soon as
2079-510: The engineering faculties of the older members of his own family turned his attention in that direction. He joined his brother Loammi Baldwin Jr. in the construction of the Boston Navy Yard dry dock at Charlestown. In 1827 he, with two others, were appointed commissioners to make the survey for a railroad to the western part of the state, this being then a new and untried enterprise, and the survey
2142-452: The fixed routes of the railroads. The decline in both passenger and freight traffic occurred at a point when the B&M, like most other railroads, had just switched over to diesel locomotives , meaning that they had large debts. The pressure from the debts and the large infrastructure costs associated with operating a disparate passenger and freight network amongst declining traffic forced the B&M to cut costs. The most noticeable effect to
2205-408: The future possibility of railroads acting as public transportation, or if they did they were not paid any attention by the builders or financiers of the road. The right-of-way that Baldwin surveyed did well in each of these characteristics. The path sloped up at a gentle ten feet per mile at the maximum, and there were only three grade crossings over the entire 26-mile (42 km) distance. The path
2268-453: The general public was the reductions in passenger operation. In the late 1950s, the B&M began to eliminate routes and substituted Multi-Unit diesel-powered passenger cars on many of its routes. The effort did not succeed, as the B&M was bankrupt by 1976. As its fortunes declined, the B&M shed its passenger operation in 1973 by selling the assets to the MBTA . The new state agency bought
2331-419: The ground if the rails did not have strong support. The first track was completed in 1835, and freight service began immediately. On May 27, 1835, it made its maiden trip to Boston, with Patrick Tracy Jackson , George Washington Whistler , and James Baldwin aboard. The solid granite roadbed proved to be much too rigid, jolting the engine and cars nearly to pieces. Repairs on the locomotives (there were two at
2394-474: The inner Lowell Line, making stops including West Medford. This routing was resumed in April 2021, with the trains no longer making the intermediate stops. Until May 2023, West Medford and Wedgemere were flag stops outside of weekday peak hours. Effective May 22, 2023, they were made regular scheduled stops at all times. In 2019, the MBTA listed West Medford as a "Tier I" accessibility priority. As of November 2023,
2457-472: The large gates built to warn passerby about the grade crossing . The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) opened its Medford branch to Medford Square in 1847; the B&L station was renamed West Medford in the early 1850s. A new station building was constructed in 1854. The adjacent High Street grade crossing, and the Canal Street crossing 0.2 miles (0.32 km) southeast, are the only grade crossings on
2520-465: The line on January 1, 1887, three months before the B&M acquired the B&L. Over the next 70 years or so, things were reasonably stable and constant for the Lowell Line as a part of the B&M's Southern Division. Passenger train round trips per day hovered in the low 20s, and while freight from Lowell itself did not last too long, the Lowell line got some traffic from railroads that connected from
2583-574: The line south of Wilmington. Elimination of the High Street crossing was considered in 1932, but not implemented. The depot structure, built in 1886, was demolished in the 1960s. The decorative weathervane from the roof of the station was acquired by the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan in the 1950s. Until December 2020, a small number of Haverhill Line trains ran via the Wildcat Branch and
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2646-512: The location of the Boston and Lowell Railroad , which was constructed under his superintendence. He was also employed in engineering lines by the Ware Manufacturing company, the Thames company of Norwich , and the proprietors of the locks and canals at Lowell. He also determined the relative amount of water power used by the mills of the different companies at Lowell . He was elected a Fellow of
2709-465: The other side. Yankee and Irish laborers were hired to construct the railroad, which was made especially difficult and because the Directors wanted to make the road using the best techniques then known. This, for them, meant laying imported British iron rails with a 4-foot-deep (1.2 m) wall of granite under each rail. They did this because it was commonly believed that the train would sink into
2772-564: The pleasure of seeing his plan, so long resisted, finally triumphant, and the public fountain playing for the first time in the presence of a large concourse of people. He was for several years a senator from Suffolk in the Massachusetts general court, and the first president of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers. Mr. Baldwin was of commanding presence, being considerably about six feet in stature, and remarkably well proportioned." His mind
2835-470: The schedule became tight enough that the Boston and Maine trains, as renters, began to be pushed around to annoying hours, often having to wait over an hour in Wilmington before being allowed to proceed on to Boston. The B&M soon tired of what they perceived as selfishness and decided to build its own track to Boston from Haverhill so that it would not have to rely on the B&L. The B&L tried to fight
2898-501: The study of civil engineering, and the number were many who remembered him with affection and veneration. The Boston Daily Advertiser, in a notice of him at the time of his death says, "He was of a kindly and benevolent disposition, affable in his manners, warm and unfaltering in his attachment to his friends. His sense of justice and his fair appreciation of the rights of others showed to great advantage in many of his public works." A memoir of Hon. James Fowle Baldwin, by Dr. Usher Parsons,
2961-419: The time) would sometimes take most of the night, trying to get them ready for the next day's service. The much poorer Boston and Worcester Railroad could not afford a granite bed and so was built with modern wooden ties . This turned out to be far superior, so the owners of the Boston and Lowell decided they would upgrade their entire roadbed to wood when they added a second track. The original Boston terminal
3024-576: The west. In the early 20th century, the economics of railroading began to change. With the advent of the internal combustion engine , trains slowly began to lose their advantage as a transportation option. Automobiles and trucks began to increase in popularity as highways improved, siphoning ridership and freight traffic off railroads. The advent of the Interstate Highway System tipped the economic balance by increasing mobility as factories and offices were now able to be located further away from
3087-482: The winter, when the canal froze. Patrick Tracy Jackson led the task of convincing the state legislature to fund the project. This proved difficult, as the investors of the Middlesex Canal were against building a new form of transportation designed to replace their canal. Because, prior to 1872, there was no provision in Massachusetts state law for chartering railroads, all had to be chartered by special acts of legislature. This made it slow and inefficient to charter
3150-534: Was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad 's Southern Division. The Boston and Lowell Railroad was preceded by the Middlesex Canal . Converting the canal to a railroad would eliminate the issue of transportation being unavailable during
3213-446: Was abandoned in 1911, the northern loop in 1961, and the original line in 1982. The Stoneham Branch Railroad was built in 1862 to connect to Stoneham . The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was chartered in 1846 to build a line between Lowell and Lawrence , which opened in 1848. In 1858 the B&L leased the line. The Salem and Lowell Railroad was chartered in 1848 as a branch from the Lowell and Lawrence at Tewksbury Junction to
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#17328480514543276-465: Was at the north corner of Causeway Street and Andover Street (halfway between Portland and Friend streets), at the westernmost edge of the current North Station . The bridge over the Charles River to access it was the first movable railroad bridge in the United States. [1] The original Lowell terminal was at the south corner of Merrimack Street and Dutton Street. The quantity of freight traffic on
3339-544: Was built by the B&L in 1885, mostly on the same right-of-way. The Lowell and Nashua Railroad was chartered in 1836 as an extension of the B&L from Lowell north to the New Hampshire state line. The Nashua and Lowell Railroad, chartered in 1835, would continue the line in New Hampshire to Nashua . The two companies merged in 1838 to form a new Nashua and Lowell Railroad , and the road opened later that year. In 1857
3402-548: Was clear, but not rapid in its operation. He came to his conclusions by successive steps, carefully taken and closely examined; but the results once reached, his confidence in them was rarely shaken. Confidence in his integrity enabled him to settle questions of the transfer of property with a facility that was surprising, especially with those persons who had not the clearest conviction of the invariable uprightness of corporate bodies in their dealings with individuals. He endeavored to encourage and assist young students who were pursuing
3465-420: Was close to the older Middlesex Canal path, but was straighter - as boats can turn more sharply than trains. To achieve this superior linearity, it needed small amounts of grade elevation in places. The route ignored Medford center entirely, going through West Medford instead, and totally bypassed Woburn and Billerica . This would have to be corrected later with various spurs (the one to Medford being built off
3528-436: Was faced with a new problem; it had a reputation for speed which made it very popular and highly competitive with stagecoaches. Many people wanted to go not only from Lowell to Boston but to places in between. The Boston and Lowell ordered another locomotive and cars for local passenger rail in 1842, and had them make six stops along the route. Passenger rail proved to be almost as profitable as freight. The first locomotives on
3591-437: Was immovable in adherence to his recommendation, in spite of rejection by popular vote, to which it had been submitted, and it was not renewed till 1844, when he was again in a position of influence on the commission. His plan was, however, adopted March 30, 1846; the plan was presented and read before that society, and soon after published in its Transactions. The ground was broken five months after, and on October 25. 1848, he had
3654-515: Was leased to the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1859 and consolidated into it in 1872, becoming its White Mountains Division. In 1884 the B&L leased the BC&M and the old White Mountains Railroad became the B&L's White Mountains Division. The Northern and White Mountains Divisions were connected at Woodsville. The Essex County Railroad (chartered 1864), Montpelier and St. Johnsbury Railroad (chartered 1866) and Lamoille Valley Railroad (chartered 1867) were consolidated into
3717-550: Was less freight traffic for the line to move. Over the next four decades, the B&L declined until the more successful B&M leased it on April 1, 1887. The B&L built or leased many branches to serve areas not on its original line. Immediately before its lease by the B&M in 1887, it had five divisions—the Southern Division (including the original line), the Northern Division, the White Mountains Division,
3780-456: Was made from Springfield to Albany. Upon this work he was engaged for more than two years. It was not prosecuted at the time, but subsequently the Western railroad, so called, was built upon the location selected by him and his plans were generally adopted. He always looked upon this, next to the introduction of pure water into Boston, as the most important of his professional works. In 1832 he began
3843-641: Was operated by the N&L. The Peterborough Railroad was chartered in 1866 to continue the Wilton Railroad northwest to Greenfield, New Hampshire . In 1873 the N&L leased it; the road opened in 1874. The Manchester and Keene Railroad was chartered in 1864 and opened in 1878, continuing the Peterborough Railroad west from Greenfield to the Connecticut River Railroad in Keene . In 1880
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#17328480514543906-593: Was organized in 1846 and opened a line from White River Junction on the Northern Railroad to the border with Quebec , Canada , in 1867, junctioning the Northern and White Mountains Divisions at Wells River and the Vermont Division at St. Johnsbury . The Massawippi Valley Railway , leased in 1870, continued to Sherbrooke , Quebec, where it junctioned the Grand Trunk Railway among others. The B&L leased
3969-529: Was published in 1865. From this memoir are gleaned the following tributes: "He was a gentleman of highly respectable attainments, and surpassed by none as a scientific and practical engineer. He was employed by the State to superintend the construction of its gigantic public works. He was a prominent member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and during many years held the position in that learned society in
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