Shirley station (MBTA)

Shirley station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Shirley, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line, and is located in the village center. The station consists of a short low-level platform with an asphalt patch for passengers to cross the tracks, plus a small wooden shelter on the inbound side. Shirley station is not accessible.

Shirley
An outbound train at Shirley station in March 2020
General information
LocationAyer Road and Phoenix Street
Shirley, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°32′42″N 71°38′53″W
Line(s)Fitchburg Route
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
Construction
Parking25 spaces (free)
Bicycle facilitiesyes
AccessibleNo
Other information
Fare zone8
History
OpenedDecember 30, 1844[1]
May 1981[2]
ClosedJanuary 18, 1965[2]
Rebuilt1993[3]
Passengers
2018155 (weekday average boardings)[4]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
North Leominster
toward Wachusett
 Fitchburg Line Ayer
toward North Station
Former services
Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station
North Leominster
toward Troy
 Boston – Troy Ayer
toward Boston

History
Shirley station on a postcard from the early 1900s

The Fitchburg Railroad opened to Shirley on December 30, 1844.[1] The station was located near Davis Street.[5] Service - later operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad - lasted until the newly formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began to subsidize service in 1965. The section of the line from West Concord to Fitchburg was outside the MBTA's funding district, and service was cut back to West Concord on January 18, 1965.[2] The mid-sized station building was torn down around this time.

The line was re-extended as far as Ayer (one stop inbound of Shirley) later in 1965 and cut back to South Acton in 1975. Service was extended out to Gardner in January 1980, but the stops at Shirley and West Acton were not restored. Shirley reopened in May 1981 at Phoenix Street, 0.2 miles (0.32 km) east of the former site, with a small plexiglass bus stop shelter on the inbound side.[2][3] The bus shelter was replaced by a hip-roofed wooden structure - its style based on the original Shirley station - in 1993.[3]

References
  1. Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 87. ISBN 9780685412947.
  2. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  3. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780942147087.
  4. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  5. "Shirley Village". Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1889. pp. 274–275.

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