Winchester Highlands station was an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Winchester, Massachusetts. It opened under the Boston and Lowell Railroad in the 1870s and was closed in June 1978.

Winchester Highlands
Winchester Highlands station around 1915
General information
Location	Cross Street, Winchester, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42.46772°N 71.13154°W / 42.46772; -71.13154
Line(s)	New Hampshire Main Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
History
Opened	1870s
Closed	June 1978[1]
Previous names	Winchester Heights[2]
Former services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Wilmington toward Lowell Lowell Line limited service Winchester Center toward North Station Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station Montvale toward Concord, NH Boston – Concord, NH Winchester toward Boston

History

The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) opened in 1835, with most intermediate stations opened by 1850.[2][3] In the 1870s, the B&L was willing to stop some local trains at Cross Street in Winchester Highlands, but would not accept the cost of a station building. A two-story house was constructed by a private citizen on the west side of the tracks south of Cross Street. The upper level served as the station (as the tracks were on an embankment); the lower level housed the station agent and his family.[4][5]

A church prayer group (which later became the Second Congregational Church of Winchester) held meetings in the station from 1881 until their own chapel was completed in 1887.[5][6] The B&L became part of the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1887 as its Southern Division.[3] By 1889, a new two-story station was built north of Cross Street.[4]

Winchester Highlands received less service than Winchester Center and the Woburn Branch stations. It was served by six daily round trips in 1917 (mostly peak-hour Stoneham Branch and Wilmington locals), with a slight reduction by 1929.[7][8] Twenty-four passengers were injured when a southbound train from Concord derailed near the station on May 23, 1923. The train's consist of newer steel cars, rather than older wooden cars, was credited with preventing deaths.[9][10]

Service continued to decline during the mid 20th century: 4 round trips in 1946, 2+1⁄2 in 1952, and 1+1⁄2 in 1957.[11][12][13] The station building was abandoned around 1943 to reduce the B&M tax bill; it is no longer extant.[14][15][16] Stoneham Branch service ended on May 18, 1958, after which Winchester Highlands was served by Lowell trains.[3][17]

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service. Southern Division service was subsidized as far as Wilmington beginning on January 18, 1965, with subsidies for all Lowell service beginning on June 28.[1] It became the Lowell Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. In 1967, the MBTA proposed to modernize Winchester Highlands as a park and ride facility.[18] The B&M commuter rail assets were purchased by the MBTA on December 27, 1976.[1] By that time, only a single inbound trip was scheduled to stop at Winchester Highlands.[19] The peak-hour-only stops at Winchester Highlands on the Lowell Line plus Clematis Brook and Beaver Brook on the South Acton Line were closed in June 1978 due to low ridership.[1]

References

External links

Media related to Winchester Highlands station at Wikimedia Commons