| Green Line "D" Branch Riverside Branch |
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| MBTA Green Line "D" Type 7 train leaving the Fenway station for Riverside. | |
| Info | |
| Type | Light rail |
| System | Green Line |
| Locale | Greater Boston |
| Terminals | Government Center Riverside |
| No. of stations | 20 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1847 (heavy rail) 1959 (light rail) |
| Owner | MBTA |
| Operator(s) | MBTA |
| Character | Underground (Kenmore and eastward) Grade-separated ROW (west of Kenmore) |
| Rolling stock | Kinki Sharyo Type 7 |
| Technical | |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) |
The "D" Branch, also called the Highland Branch or Riverside Branch, is a branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line in the Boston, Massachusetts area, along which light rail vehicles run. The majority of the line is a grade-separated right-of-way formerly used by the Highland Branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad. Just west of Kenmore, the two-track line goes underground via the Fenway Incline, merging with the "B" and "C" Branches at Kenmore. From there, "D" trains continue through the Boylston Street Subway and Tremont Street Subway (merging with the "E" Branch along the way), with regular service turning around at Government Center as of November 2005. The "D" Branch is the most recent right-of-way to see light rail service in the Boston area, opening in 1959. The Newton Center and Newton Highlands stations still feature classic station houses from the late 19th century. The Newton Center station was renovated into shops in the 1980s, but the Newton Highlands station is not actively used.
Contents |
History
In short, opening dates for the different sections were:
- 1847 Kenmore - Brookline Village
- Summer 1852 Brookline Village - Cook Street Junction
- 1886 Cook Street Junction - Riverside
Boston and Albany Railroad service ended on May 31, 1958, and MBTA operations began July 4, 1959. The earliest part of the line to be built was the Brookline Branch of the Boston and Worcester Railroad, which opened in 1847. It stretched 1.55 miles (2.50 km) from the B&W main line south of Kenmore Square southwest to the current location of Brookline Village station. The B&W became part of the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1867. Next came the Charles River Branch Railroad, opened Summer 1852 from the end of the Brookline Branch to Newton Upper Falls. The line was at first operated by the Boston and Worcester, but in 1856 it was merged into the New York and Boston Railroad (having been merged with the Charles River Railroad in 1853), a company intending to build a new route between Boston and New York City in competition with the Boston and New York Central Railroad. Both of these companies passed through several changes in name and ownership before they merged in 1868 to form the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad. The BH&E became the New York and New England Railroad in 1873 and the New England Railroad in 1895 before being leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898. In 1884, the Boston and Albany Railroad built a connecting line from Riverside on their main line southeast to what became Cook Street Junction on the NY&NE in Newton Highlands. The NY&NE had been sold to the B&A in 1882 north of the junction, giving the B&A full ownership of their Highland Branch. The B&A instituted loop service ("Newton Circuit"), going one way to Riverside on the main line and the other way on the Highland Branch; the NY&NE continued to use the branch as well. In 1906 the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad built a new cutoff from Needham Junction east to their Dedham Branch at West Roxbury, and began routing NY&NE trains that way. However, in 1911, they too began running loop service on the "Needham Circuit", running one way on the old Boston and Providence Railroad to West Roxbury and the other way on the B&A Highland Branch. NYNH&H service through Newton stopped in 1925, and the last B&A train ran over the Highland Branch on May 31, 1958. The east end was connected via the new Fenway Incline to the existing Boylston Street Subway at Kenmore, and streetcar operations began July 4, 1959 (at first by the Metropolitan Transit Authority until the MBTA took over in 1964). Service ran to Riverside, a bit south of the old turnback onto the main line towards Boston. Because of budget cuts, the new fleet for the new Riverside Line service could not be purchased, and therefore MTA Director Edward Dana decided to terminate streetcar service on the Waverley and Watertown Square streetcar lines to provide the fleet for the Riverside Line. The Watertown, Waverley and North Cambridge lines were converted to trackless trolley. No passenger connection has been provided to the old main line at Riverside, now the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line, and the nearest commuter rail station is in Auburndale, Massachusetts, about half a mile away. Passenger service to the Riverside station on that line was ended in the 1970s, although a pedestrian underpass and platform still exist in very poor condition. The track from the D line to the Boston and Albany main were severed and overgrown until, to facilitate the delivery of new light rail vehicles in the 1990s, they were rebuilt and have since been maintained, although they are not used for any regular service. Special commuter rail trains did run to South Station from a temporary platform near the Riverside station from October 23-25, 1996, after extensive flooding in the Boston area forced much of the underground portion of the Green Line to shut down.[1]
The MBTA takes over
The first operating pattern was for Highland Branch streetcars to turn around at Park Street. At first, some trains operated on short-turn service, turning around at Reservoir via a grade-separated turnaround loop. Ridership to Riverside was higher than expected and thus the short-turn trains were discontinued. By August 1964, when the MBTA took over, service on the branch (numbered 4) was extended on all days but Sundays to Lechmere. Sunday service was extended September 10, 1966. Letters were assigned in 1967, and the 4 Riverside-Lechmere became the D Riverside. The following changes in eastern terminal have been made:
- March 25, 1974: cut back from Lechmere to North Station (swapped with "B" Branch)
- June 26, 1976: cut back to Government Center due to construction at North Station
- September 11, 1976: extended to North Station
The MBTA's first Boeing light rail vehicles operated on the "D" Branch on December 30, 1976, and turned around at Park Street or Government Center due to the North Station loop not being wired for LRVs.
- January 1, 1977: extended to Lechmere weekdays, cut back to Government Center weekends
- March 19, 1977: cut back to Government Center always
- June 18, 1977: extended to Lechmere
- September 9, 1977: cut back to Government Center
- December 15, 1977: extended to the reconfigured North Station; any PCC cars were looped at Government Center
The last "D" PCC cars ran March 23, 1978, except during later LRV shortages.
- March 21, 1980: extended to Lechmere
- June 21, 1980: cut back to North Station
- April 4, 1981: extended to Lechmere
- January 2, 1983: cut back to Government Center rush hours and middays
- March 26, 1983: extended to Lechmere rush hours, midday and some rush hour "D" trains continue to loop at Government Center
- January 20, 1984 to shortly after: cut back to Government Center rush hours due to North Station on the Commuter Rail being closed due to a bridge fire, and all rush hour Lechmere service being provided by a shuttle to Government Center
- June 20, 1987: cut back to Government Center always
- March 28, 1997: extended to Lechmere weekends, due to North Station turnback facility being permanently closed
- June 21, 1997: extended to Lechmere always
- June 28, 2004: cut back to Government Center, due to the line north of North Station being closed
- November 12, 2005: Lechmere viaduct reopens, however D line service is not reextended.
- November, 2006: Service during off-peak hours (except for LRV trains) extended to North Station.
In addition, the following construction-related changes have been made to the Newton and Brookline section of the line (in addition, the line has seen temporary bustitution on some nights and weekends for construction):
- September 8, 1974 until December 28, 1974: Service cut back to Newton Highlands with a turn loop built beyond the station for line rebuilding to Riverside (as the original line was hastily built and could not handle new, LRV cars).
- mid-June to mid-September, 1974, service was eliminated between Reservoir and Kenmore for track reconstruction. A rather ingenious, bi-directional loop track was built at the Cleveland Circle-Reservoir yard and Riverside Service was routed via Beacon Street to Kenmore, eliminating the need for any transfers (as compared to similar track work in 2007, when no through-service is planned, despite bi-directional cars — unlike the 1970s, when uni-directional PCC cars were used — which could be reversed just east of Reservoir via Beacon Street).
- September 13, 1974 until September 29, 1975: Full service to Riverside was provided, but single-track service operated between Newton Highlands and Reservoir to facilitate track rebuilding.[1]
- June 23 until August 3, 2007: Service replaced by shuttle buses between Riverside and Reservoir for upgrading of track and facilities. Travelers reported delays of 15 to 30 minutes.[2] The work was originally planned for evenings and overnights, but the loud noises in the residential neighborhoods through which the line passes angered neighbors. The work will allow low-floor, handicap-accessible Breda cars to operate at high speeds on the D Line, and will increase the speed on the entire line to 50 mph. The line is not fully out of service, and is used for non-revenue moves to the car shops at Riverside. In addition, full service operated on the July 4 holiday.[3]
- August 4 until August 31, 2007: Service was replaced by shuttle buses between Reservoir and Fenway for upgrading of track and facilities.[4] Extra service is planned on both lines.
- Timeline of the extent of "D" service
<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:14 PlotArea = left:90 right:10 bottom:45 top:10 Legend = columns:4 left:10 top:20 columnwidth:200 AlignBars = justify TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:07/04/1959 till:04/13/2005 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1960 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1960 Colors =
id:all value:red legend:all_service id:most value:rgb(1,0.6,0.6) legend:most_service id:some value:rgb(1,0.8,0.8) legend:some_service
BarData =
bar:Lechmere text:"Lechmere" bar:North text:"North Station" bar:Scollay text:"Gov't Center" bar:Park text:"Park Street"
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:XS width:10 bar:Lechmere from:11/20/1961 till:09/10/1966 color:most #all but Sunday bar:Lechmere from:09/10/1966 till:03/25/1974 color:all bar:Lechmere from:01/01/1977 till:03/19/1977 color:most #all but weekends bar:Lechmere from:06/18/1977 till:09/09/1977 color:all bar:Lechmere from:03/21/1980 till:06/21/1980 color:all bar:Lechmere from:04/04/1981 till:01/02/1983 color:all bar:Lechmere from:01/02/1983 till:03/26/1983 color:some #all but middays and rush hours bar:Lechmere from:03/26/1983 till:01/20/1984 color:most #all but middays and some rush hour trips bar:Lechmere from:01/20/1984 till:06/20/1987 color:some #all but middays and rush hours bar:Lechmere from:03/28/1997 till:06/21/1997 color:some #weekends only bar:Lechmere from:06/21/1997 till:06/19/2004 color:all bar:North from:11/20/1961 till:09/10/1966 color:most #all but Sunday bar:North from:09/10/1966 till:06/26/1976 color:all bar:North from:09/11/1976 till:01/01/1977 color:all bar:North from:01/01/1977 till:03/19/1977 color:most #all but weekends bar:North from:06/18/1977 till:09/09/1977 color:all bar:North from:12/15/1977 till:01/02/1983 color:all bar:North from:01/02/1983 till:03/26/1983 color:some #all but middays and rush hours bar:North from:03/26/1983 till:01/20/1984 color:most #all but middays and some rush hour trips bar:North from:01/20/1984 till:06/20/1987 color:some #all but middays and rush hours bar:North from:03/28/1997 till:06/21/1997 color:some #weekends only bar:North from:06/21/1997 till:06/19/2004 color:all bar:Scollay from:11/20/1961 till:09/10/1966 color:most #all but Sunday bar:Scollay from:09/10/1966 till:end color:all bar:Park from:start till:end color:all
</timeline>
Station listing
| Station | Location | Time to Park Street[5] | Opened | Transfers and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fenway |
Park Drive near The Fenway, Boston | 16 minutes | July 4, 1959 | Formerly Fenway Park The only station added by the MBTA 47 Bus to Central Square |
| Longwood | Chapel Street at Longwood Street, Brookline | 18 minutes | July 4, 1959 | Recommended stop for Longwood medical district |
| Brookline Village |
Station Street off Harvard Street between Route 9 and Washington Street, Brookline | 20 minutes | July 4, 1959 | within walking distance of Riverway Station was Brookline as a B&A station |
| Brookline Hills |
Cypress Street at Tappan Street, Brookline | 22 minutes | July 4, 1959 | near Brookline High School |
| Beaconsfield | Dean Road south of Beacon Street, Brookline | 25 minutes | July 4, 1959 | no MBTA parking |
| Reservoir |
Cleveland Circle near Chestnut Hill Avenue and Beacon Street, Brookline | 27 minutes | July 4, 1959 | within walking distance of Chestnut Hill Avenue station and Cleveland Circle station transfer to Boston College shuttle bus (Sept-May) Bus connections: 51, 86 |
| Chestnut Hill | Hammond Street at Boylston Street, Newton | 30 minutes | July 4, 1959 | within walking distance of Boston College |
| Newton Center |
Union Street between Herrick Street and Langley Road, Newton | 32 minutes | July 4, 1959 | near Newton Center shopping district 52 Bus to Dedham Mall |
| Newton Highlands | Lincoln Street at Walnut Street, Newton | 34 minutes | July 4, 1959 | near Newton Highlands shopping district 59 Bus to Needham Junction |
| Eliot | Route 9 near Woodward Street, Newton | 37 minutes | July 4, 1959 | MBTA parking available |
| Waban | Beacon Street at Waban Square, Newton | 40 minutes | July 4, 1959 | MBTA parking available |
| Woodland | Washington Street northeast of Beacon Street, Newton | 42 minutes | July 4, 1959 | near the Newton-Wellesley Hospital MBTA parking (garage) available |
| Riverside |
Grove Street south of Commonwealth Avenue, exit 22 off Interstate 95, named for the Charles River | 44 minutes | July 4, 1959 | was originally further north, at the junction with the B&A main line (MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line) MBTA parking lots available |
External links
- MBTA.com - Green Line "D" Branch station listing & street map
- History of Newton Highlands - Includes photos of old railway stations
References
- ^ http://blogs.townonline.com/newton/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/riverside-rebuilds-red-size.pdf
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/01/on_d_line_a_for_effort_d_for_delay/
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/01/on_d_line_a_for_effort_d_for_delay/
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/01/on_d_line_a_for_effort_d_for_delay/
- ^ Association for Public Transportation, Car-Free in Boston, A Guide for Locals and Visitors, 10th ed. (2003), p. 117.
- Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district (PDF)
- History of the Railways of Massachusetts
- Ronald Dale Karr (1994) The Rail Lines of Southern New England: A Handbook of Railroad History. Branch Line Press. ISBN 0-942147-02-2
- Kenneth W. Newcomb, The Makers of the Mold
- Railroad History Database
