Wellesley Farms station

Wellesley Farms station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It serves the Framingham/Worcester Line. It is located in the Wellesley Farms area. The current station building, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1886 and constructed in 1890, has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as Wellesley Farms Railroad Station since 1986.[2]

Wellesley Farms
Wellesley Farms station in 2009
General information
Location90 Croton Street
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°19′23.5″N 71°16′19″W
Owned byTown of Wellesley
Line(s)Worcester Line
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Parking199 spaces ($4.50 daily)
Bicycle facilities16 spaces
Other information
Fare zone3
History
Opened1830s
Rebuilt1890
Previous namesRice's Crossing
Passengers
2018298 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Wellesley Hills
toward Worcester
 Framingham/​Worcester Line Auburndale
toward South Station
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Wellesley Hills
toward Albany
 Boston and Albany Railroad
Main Line
 Riverside
toward Boston
Wellesley Farms Railroad Station
Wellesley Farms station is located in Massachusetts
Wellesley Farms station
Wellesley Farms station is located in the United States
Wellesley Farms station
LocationCroton Street Extension, Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
Area2.1 acres (0.85 ha)
Built1890
ArchitectH.H. Richardson
Architectural styleRomanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.86000259[2]
Added to NRHPFebruary 14, 1986

History
Wellesley Farms station in 1915

The Boston & Worcester Railroad (B&W), extending outwards from Boston, reached through the West Parish of Needham in mid-1834.[3] Rice's Crossing station opened as a flag stop north of Glen Road soon afterward.[4] In 1839, the line was double tracked through the area.[5]

Wellesley Farms station, which was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson prior to his death in 1886, opened south of Glen Road to replace Rice's Crossing in 1890.[4] Like many B&A stations, it had attractive landscaping; Charles Mulford Robinson called it "unique, and to be remembered" in 1904.[6]

The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[2] In July 2004, the MBTA closed a paved crossing between the crossings in response to concerns about safety. Similar crossings exist at some other MBTA stations, but the agency's policy is to eliminate grade crossings whenever possible when building or renovating stations.[7]

In June 2021, the MBTA issued a $28 million design contract for a project to add a third track from Weston to Framingham, including reconstruction of the three Wellesley stations and West Natick station. The project was expected to cost around $400 million, of which rebuilding Wellesley Farms station would be $34 million, with completion in 2030.[8]

References
  1. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 21–25. ISBN 9780685412947.
  4. Fiske, Joseph E.; Ellen W. Fiske (1917). History of the Town of Wellesley, Massachusetts. Boston, Chicago: The Pilgrim Press. p. 26. OCLC 6541911 – via Internet Archive.
  5. Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 278–283. ISBN 0942147022.
  6. Robinson, Charles M. (1904). Boston & Albany Railroad: Suburban Station Grounds. H. T. Coates. OCLC 25110729 – via Internet Archive.
  7. Shartin, Emily (25 July 2004). "Convenience loses out to safety at rail station". Boston Globe. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  8. Kelly, Maribel (June 21, 2021). "MBTA Contract No. C72PS01: Worcester Line Track and Stations Accessibility Improvements (P0261) Design and Engineering Services" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

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