Category: Massachusetts

Ipswich is a small town in the North Shore. I’ve heard a lot about it in passing but I’ve never thought to check it out until now. Well, I did, and here’s the station entry. All things considered, it’s not bad.

Ipswich was, until 1998, the terminus of the then-Ipswich Line. But, of course, in 1998, the line saw a 2 stop extension through the wetlands to Rowley and Newburyport. As a terminal, I’m sure it was alright. However, I’m not looking it like that, as it’s not a terminal anymore. The station itself is built on a relatively sharp curve with a crossing bisecting Topsfield Road. The station itself is very strongly resembling Hamilton/Wenham, down to the nearby walkable downtown area, and I already liked that station. There’s also a bus connection to the seasonal Ipswich-Essex Explorer ran by the Cape Ann Transit Authority as well. The platforms have signage, the usual red dot matrix signs typical of a Commuter Rail station, benches, and shelters on both the mini-high and the low level platform. Overall, pretty good! Also, the bus connection is SIGNED. YAY!!!

The good: It’s in Ipswich’s town center! The platforms are nice, there’s a bus connection, and the area is also rather walkable! There’s also plenty of parking for those opting to drive. However, to my awareness, it’s by permit only, though. Sorry!

The bad: Not a lot. The train does spill into the crossing here…

Nearby points of interest: Wherever the heck the Ipswich/Essex Explorer will bring you, plus Ipswich’s downtown!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport)
CATA (Ipswich/Essex Explorer)

Overall, it’s also a pretty good station. It’s centrally located and has a decent amount of stuff around it, as well as a decent-ish (I think?) summer bus connection. Definitely better on the system.

Rating: 8.5/10

So, I was in the Miles in Transit Discord server and I mentioned I was going to be doing the entirety of the Newburyport Line on the day I came up here, to which someone got excited over Rowley. Well, to that person who was eager to see my take on Rowley (or, I guess as I should dub you, Rowley’s Strongest Warrior), this one is for you. Welcome to Rowley!

Rowley opened in 1998 as part of the Ipswich Line’s Newburyport extension as the sole intermediate station, and it shows. It’s a full-length high platform with shelters and benches and wastebaskets (oh my!), plenty of parking that, when I was here, it barely had anyone parked (it was also after the AM rush), and a whole lot of nothing in the walkshed. Yeah. There really is nothing, and you’d have to walk a mile before reaching much of anything. If anything, it’s a testament to just how not very dense the town is overall. Yikes. There isn’t even a Dunks nearby, which is also just sad. Ah well!

The good: It’s a full-length high platform! Yay? There’s also shelter and benches and parking!

The bad: WHY NO OVERNIGHT PARKING?! ALSO, THERE’S LITERALLY NOTHING HERE AAAAAAAAAAAAFHDIOAPHFGDIOAHGIOPASHGAD WAHT THE FUCKING HELL

Nearby points of interest: Nah.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport)

Overall, while it’s not bad, it’s just……eh…..there’s nothing really helping it and there’s nothing nearby. This is just depression more than anything else. Pass.

Rating: 5.5/10

Opened in 1998, Newburyport is the end of its namesake line, and is a small seaside town. Unlike Rockport, however, the station is drastically different. Well, here we go.

Newburyport uses an island terminal configuration with big mean mother bumpers at the end of the tracks that used to go all the way to Portsmouth, Kittery, and points north before terminating at Portland, Maine. With that said, terminal ops are rather normal here, with the train dwelling before turning around. Platform amenities are normal, with a yellow dot matrix sign, benches, wastebaskets, and A LOT OF PARKING. One lot’s off Parker St., while the other lot is off US-1. Sadly, the area largely isn’t walkable outside a rail trail. However, MeVa does actually run buses here, namely the 19 to the Costello TC in Amesbury and the 20 to Salisbury Beach. There is also a Mexican restaurant in the station depot building as well, which while I haven’t tried it personally, Google reviews do suggest nothing but good things about it. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten the opportunity to explore Newburyport a bit more, but I have heard it’s a charming little town, so I’ll likely be returning at some point. As another aside, I will say, land use, while bad at face value, does seem to be getting a little better near the station with housing developments going up nearby. Affordable? Well, if it says you have to call for rates, it probably isn’t.

The good: It’s a massive park and ride for not just the surrounding rural areas, but also southern NH and Maine commuters (though I think Mainers coming to here might be more on the “extreme commute” side of things?). There’s also connections to MeVa for travel within the region. Also, the platform is fully accessible! YAY!

The bad: The area isn’t exactly walkable… yeah, sorry! The only trace of MeVa stopping here is also a small bus stop sign that’s pretty easily missable if you don’t know where to look. And, there’s also no bus info.

Nearby points of interest: Downtown Newburyport looks cool!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport)
MeVa (19, 20)

Overall, pretty good, and it’s a pretty decent terminal. The connection to MeVa is a little annoying to find though if you don’t know what to look for, though, especially given MeVa is typically a flag-down system.

Rating: 7/10

Alrighty, alrighty, the full name of this station and town is “Manchester by the Sea”, however for simplicity’s sake, I’m gonna just call it Manchester. However, with that said, if the coveted Lowell Line extension to New Hampshire happens, I’ll probably use the full name in the title of this entry. With that said, here’s a very foggy and dreary station – Manchester By The Sea. (it was foggy and dreary when I was here)

So, Manchester is much a copy-paste of the various stations in Beverly – mini high setup, barren mini-highs with nothing, red dot matrix signage, outbound platform having much of nothing on it, and a decent amount of parking. However, this time, the outbound platform DOES have shelter – albeit not on the mini-high. And, for some reason, it’s LARGER than the inbound! Meanwhile, the inbound shelter is just a shed. There is also plenty of parking to go around, and the station is in the town center adjacent to a drawbridge. In terms of nearby stuff in the town center, there’s a grocery store, the local community center, and a waterfront park. Neat! But, the station’s still pretty sad overall. Sorry!

The good: It’s in Manchester’s town center! Yay? It also has shelter!

The bad: WHY DOES THE OUTBOUND SIDE GET A LARGER SHELTER? WHY IS THE PLATFORM SO DAMN BARREN FOR A MAJOR-ISH TOURIST DESTINATION?! RAISE THE DAMN PLATFORM! WAHT THE HELL?! The lack of buses here is annoying but that’s hardly an issue.

Nearby points of interest: Manchester is a bustling seaside town during the summer months!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Rockport)

Overall, yeah this station sucks. The only saving grace vs. Montserrat is that it’s in the town center and that the outbound platform has shelter. But it suffers many of the same issues as the Beverly stations. Sorry!

Rating: 3.5/10

In 1995, the island of Montserrat experienced a catastrophic disaster that rendered its capitol city, Plymouth, uninhabitable. On July 18th of that year, the Soufrière Hills volcano went kaboom, spewing volcanic fallout around the island, and the volcano has been active since. This all has rendered about half of the island of Montserrat uninhabitable.

…wait, what? I’m talking about the wrong Montserrat? Ah fuck. Whelp, Chelsea did the wrong type of research. What is the right Montserrat, anyways?

*looks at pictures and notes*

OH, there’s a neighborhood in Beverly called Montserrat with a T station! Okay! Whoopsies, sorry about the snafu. Here’s Montserrat, the T station. Sorry, everyone!

Anyways, Montserrat is sandwiched between two grade crossings, at Essex St. and Spring St. Essex St. is the more busy of the two streets, with me having to risk my life crossing it. Yikes. There’s plenty of parking to go around here as well, and it being a Saturday meant an empty parking lot. The mini-highs are unsheltered, the inbound platform has a rinky-dinky little shelter, while the outbound has jack shit. There’s benches and wastebaskets though! There’s also a couple of red dot matrix signage. In terms of the area, there’s not much around, as it’s almost fully residential. Oh yeah, there IS a bus connection – the Beverly Local Bus. Stay tuned for that one!

Before I left, however, I decided to pick up lunch at Nick’s Pizza. Fries were crunchy and salty, and the pizza was pretty good, all things considered. Overall, I give it a passing grade.

The good: It’s in a residential neighborhood! Relatively easy to walk to, at that. There’s also a local bus connection.

The bad: EVERYTHING ELSE. THE STATION ITSELF SUCKS, THE MINI-HIGHS ARE BARREN, THERE’S BARELY ANY SHELTER, AND NOTHING IN WALKING DISTANCE – WAHT THE ACTUAL HELL!!! AND THE BEVERLY LOCAL BUS IS A MESS OF A ROUTE TOO!!!

Nearby points of interest: Just a small plaza with Nick’s Pizza and a convenience store…

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Rockport)
Beverly Local Bus

Overall, no. Just, god no. Please no.

Rating: 3/10

Whelp, welcome to the boonies! Wachusett Station is among the newest stations on the Commuter Rail, having opened in 2016. Originally, I was planning to do this one as a Christmas special, but I could just never get the timing right. So, I made my way out here on Independence Day to check it out! So, here we go.

The station is at the end of the Fitchburg Line, and is the furthest out one can get on the northside Commuter Rail lines (54 miles!), with only one station being further out than this on the entire Commuter Rail. As for what the station has, it’s just a park and ride. There’s a high-level platform with yellow signage, wastebaskets, benches, and whatnot. There’s also a busway for MART buses, which is nice. Furthermore, there plenty of parking to go around, though I’m not sure how well-utilized it is. Annoyingly, trains have to DEADHEAD TO THE YARD from here after terminating, and have to deadhead back before heading to Boston. This is also very annoying because it’s an easy way to end up running late. Eww. Now, in terms of what’s nearby? There isn’t much. The only things nearby are a gas station with a Dunks, and a….dispensary?! Yeah, there really isn’t a lot here. In terms of scenery though, it looks like a cool place to railfan Norfolk Southern!

The good: It’s a parking sink for the surrounding areas and towns like Westminster, Gardner, Princeton, and Ashburnham! It’s also a full-length high level platform! Neat!

The bad: The trains have to deadhead to the yard! Also, there’s not a lot out here overall…

Nearby points of interest: There’s a dispensary, for you stoners reading this! There’s also a gas station housing a Dunks in walking distance.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fitchburg)
MART (11, Wachusett Commuter, Wachusett Mountain Shuttle*)
*is seasonal

Overall, it’s an alright station. It’s not bad, it’s pretty nice actually. But, it’s relatively average and barebones as far as park and rides go. Also, terminal ops are annoying here.

Rating: 6.5/10

Don’t call me Shirley! But nah, in all seriousness, welcome to the outer fringes of the Fitchburg Line, where seemingly anything goes when it comes to scenery and whatnot. So, let’s take a look at Shirley!

So, getting off the train, they let us off in the middle of the street because that’s where the door was. The total length of the platform, including the street? About 100 feet or so. Yeah, it really isn’t long. There’s also a slab of concrete for boarding and alighting outbound trains. On the platform, you have a bench, a wheelchair lift (making this accessible technically, contrary to the system map!), and a small shelter. The map is outdated here, but for the Fitchburg Line it’s pretty accurate. The shelter, on the other hand, is pretty sad, with windows not having glass. Parking is also small but good enough given the relatively low ridership of the station. The station’s also pretty close to the town center (or, at least, the closest thing that can be considered “the town center”), and there’s even some semblance of cycling infra – with painted bicycle lanes. While it could be better, I have to give credit for effort being put in here. Good for you, Town of Shirley! Though, for cycling infra, I’d have to say that physical separation is better. Maybe a physically separated bike lane from around here to Ayer and Leominster? Either way, this station definitely has the vibes, but overall it’s meh.

The good: It’s got charm! The town’s also pretty nice, and if there’s activity, it’s a pretty nice place to railfan! The town center is also pretty damn close as well. It’s also accessible by way of a wheelchair lift.

The bad: Commuter Rail headways out here is pretty sad! 2 hours, even on weekdays! At least, offpeak. Furthermore, the train is your only form of transit as well. Also, the shelter is kinda sad, as charming as it may be, as it lacks any windows. Did I also mention that ADA compliance relies on a wheelchair lift? Yeah…

Nearby points of interest: Shirley seems like a cool town!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fitchburg)

Overall, it’s an okay station. However, I would definitely not place it among my favorites or the best on the system for various reasons. Sorry! I’m not even sure I can give it more than a 5.

Rating: 4.5/10

So, West Concord was an 8.5/10. That was good! What about its very revolutionary sibling, Concord? Well….

So, the walk from West Concord was pretty pleasant save for a dicey crossing of the Concord Turnpike (MA Rte. 2). The town center was pretty nice, as an area. There’s local restaurants, a Cumby’s, a Dunkies, and even a train station! Let’s look at it.

Oh god. Oh dear god. This is bad. So, you have two low level inaccessible platforms. They’re both in rather shitty condition. The inbound platform has the red dot matrix signage and a freakin’ BUS SHELTER for shelter. YEAH. YOU GET A RINKY DINKY-ASS LITTLE BUS SHELTER TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE RAIN AND SNOW HERE. You also have a few benches and a bit of parking as well. Yay? I wonder how Paul Revere would feel about this station. 1 if by land, 2 if by sea? I think 1 if a good station, 2 if absolute dogshit, and for this one I’d have to put out two lanterns to signify it’s a STEAMING SACK OF SHIT. The redcoats are coming? Yeah, they’re coming, to warn everyone this station is godawful! Especially when you have an 8.5/10 station IN THE SAME GODDAMN TOWN! FUCK. The station house looks cool at least?

The good: It’s in the town center, kinda! Yeah, that’s about it. Free parking too, maybe?

The bad: EVERYTHING ELSE. WHY ARE ALL THE AMENITIES SHIT, THEY’RE ALL BUNCHED NEXT TO A BUS SHELTER ON THE INBOUND PLATFORM, WHY IS THERE A BUS SHELTER?! WHY, JUST WHY?! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!

Nearby points of interest: I got lunch at a nearby place. Wasn’t the best of food in terms of quality though. The area looks interesting though!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fitchburg)

Overall, just, no. Just no. This one pissed me off after West Concord. WHY?!

Rating: 3/10

Ah, another Fitchburg Line station! I haven’t done one of these in a while, to put it lightly. Well, I recently got around to heading out there, and visited a few stations. Here’s West Concord.

First off, you have a mini-high where the trains are board. Woah, immediately that’s an improvement from most of the line, where the platforms are rinky-dinky shitty low-level platforms. YAY! And, there’s shelter! Lining the platforms are benches, wastebaskets, and on the inbound side, a red dot matrix sign. There’s also Helvetica bold signage as expected. There is also parking. Furthermore, there’s history, a bubbler- er, sorry, a water fountain (forgot this isn’t Rhode Island!), and even a nice station house. There’s also a bike path that runs all the way to Sudbury and Lowell from here. Neat! This station’s actually pretty good! Would be nice for railfanning if there wasn’t a quiet zone though…

The good: There’s so much going for this station! There’s plenty to do around the walkshed, there’s a bike path, the station has a mini-high and is actually pretty decent overall for usability, there’s a bubbler and a small park! It’s just really nice for a small intermediate stop.

The bad: A bus connection would be nice! As would full-length high platforms and any small quality of life updates.

Nearby points of interest: It’s a small village with some shopping and restaurants. There’s also a bike path and green spaces.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fitchburg)

Overall, it’s pretty good all things considered, and is probably among the best non-terminal stations on the Commuter Rail. And, at that, certainly probably the best on the Fitchburg Line.

Rating: 8.5/10