Category: Massachusetts

Next stop on the Franklin Line that I visited, when I did my trip on 11/30/23, were the Norwood duo. First stop here, is Norwood Central.

The station is sorta similar to West Natick in some ways. It’s a giant parking sink, except instead the area is much more suburban than in Natick. You have your standard mini-high with amenities, a proper departure board on both platforms, crossings, and a LOT of parking. There’s also solar panels covering the parking. Neat! There’s also a station building which isn’t leased out presently. As for the neighborhood, it’s suburbia, and you have Norwood Hospital under construction. It’s also kinda industrial, but it’s also seen a lot of redevelopment in recent years, which is nice.

The good: It’s in a somewhat dense area! It’s also seen immense amounts of redevelopment as of late as well, which is nice. There’s also A LOT of parking.

The bad: WHY ARE THE MINI-HIGHS BARREN?! Is this the freakin’ Needham Line?! Also, it’s not really in Norwood Center – in spite of the name.

Nearby points of interest: Norwood Center is a short walk away! Norwood Hospital is also nearby along with some TOD!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin, Foxboro)
MBTA bus (34E on Washington St.)

Overall, just, why? Why?! THIS STATION COULD’VE BEEN A 7 OR 8 IF THEY DIDN’T MAKE THE MINI-HIGH BARREN!!!!!

Rating: 5.5/10

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALPOLE!!!!!!! Yeah, it’s one of those kinds of stations. Let’s take a look.

Okay, so this station weirds me out. You have a decrepit station building that has nothing in it, a low-level platform, a lot of parking spread out between two or three lots, a grade crossing for the southeastern leg of Lewis’s Wye for both cars AND a second one for pedestrians, and it’s a short walk from the 34E bus (yes, the MBTA runs BUSES out here!), AND Foxboro trains can’t serve the station. Oh yeah, you do have your usual amenities and a red dot matrix sign. And it’s inaccessible.

The good: It’s got a lot of parking and is close to Walpole’s town center! It’s also just flat-out unusual being in the middle of a diamond junction. Furthermore, you (sorta) have a connection for the 34E as well. The station building is cool – even if unused.

The bad: THIS IS THE MOST-USED INACCESSIBLE STATION AS OF LAST COUNT! YEAH. ALL 700 SOMEODD PEOPLE WHO USED THIS STATION AT LAST COUNT BETTER BE ABLE-BODIED OR ELSE THEY’RE GONNA HAVE A REALLY BAD TIME – OR THEY’D BE BETTER OFF USING THE 34E. HOW ABOUT THAT AS A FUCK YOU?!

Nearby points of interest: There seemed to be a few cool spots in Walpole Center!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin)
MBTA bus (34E)

Overall, this station could be good. Raise the damn platforms and/or bring the 34E closer! Please!

Rating: 4.5/10

In terms of total length, the 70 is one of the longer local bus routes in MBTA bus territory, clocking in at about 10 miles. So, what do those 10 miles have in store? Let’s take a look.

So, some runs of the route originate at Market Basket, and a couple does a deviatory loop around the Cedarwood neighborhood before going to Waltham’s Commuter Rail station. However, my run originates at Waltham as a short-turn. The run begins by going down US-20 and going over the Commuter Rail tracks. There’s some semblances of density around here, however the majority of it isn’t until Watertown. It’s largely a suburban stroad. Hey, we also passed by the Gore Estate (no, not Al Gore! A historical figure named Christopher Gore. Never heard of him until writing this.), and US-20 began becoming more lined with smaller businesses until we reached Watertown Square (the former Green Line’s A branch terminal). Across the river is the Watertown bus terminal – the only bus-only terminal with parking. However, we didn’t serve it. We continued down and turned onto Arsenal Street. Now, on the side of the bus I sat on, it was very, VERY dense, in stark contrast to the suburban housing across the street. Now, is this what they mean by upzoning in practice?

Continuing further down Arsenal Street, we passed by both the Watertown Mall (on my side) and Arsenal Yards (the other side), both were pretty sizable shopping centers. Then, we crossed the Charles River, cut through Allston- IS THAT A ROMAN COLISEUM?! No. It’s actually just Harvard’s stadium. DAMN, they got some taste though! Anyways, we crossed the Charles again, this time into Cambridge, turning onto Memorial Drive and River Street, through some neighborhoods and to Central Square. Lastly, we turned down Mass. Ave. I got off on Mass. Ave., however the bus still continues for another block and turns around on a side street.

The good: It’s a largely direct route from Waltham to Central Square and almost Kendall/MIT. Furthermore, it serves a couple of malls and Watertown Square as well! Neat! Headways are pretty decent too and it’s the only bus to (relatively frequently) serve Waltham on Saturdays (and is the only one on Sundays).

The bad: I mean, a consistent 15/20/30/etc. minute headway would be nice. There’s also too many damn variants of the route (to Cedarwood on weekdays, sometimes to Market Basket???). At that point, just send to Kendal Green!

Nearby points of interest: Waltham’s Central Square, Cambridge’s Central Square, Watertown Square, Arsenal & Watertown Malls, MIT, and even Market Basket to name some! Also Harvard’s stadium!

Overall, it’s an alright route. But, why the inconsistent headways and why are there too many variants of it?!

Rating: 6.5/10

WALTUH! Wait, Waltham? Ohhhhh….okay! Well, here’s Waltham. It’s currently barely past midnight and here I am rambling about a Commuter Rail station in one of the inner suburbs of Boston. Whoop de doo! Here we go!

First off, the station layout. It’s weird. Why are there two platforms? Why are they on the same track, at that? Why were they too lazy to double track and/or viaduct? Oh well, whatever. Both have mini-highs at least, along with the same amenities (wastebaskets, dot matrix signs, benches, shelter). Furthermore, the outbound platform also has parking. It’s also at the outbound platform where the track split into two. Cool! Furthermore, you also have Central Square (the third in the Boston area, after Cambridge and Lynn????). Buses are found here as well, with the 61, 70, 505, 553, 554, 556, and 558 all stopping here. Unfortunately, most are weekday-only. Oh well! The inbound platform also has cycling infrastructure as well.

The good: It’s in Waltham’s town center! Furthermore, it’s a major transfer between local buses and the 505 express bus. Waltham Tower is pretty cool, too. Also, bus connections aplenty.

The bad: Most of said connections are weekday-only. Furthermore, I hate the platform layout. Why, just WHY?! JUST USE A SINGLE TRACK!!! TRAINS CAN’T PASS ANYWAYS!

Nearby points of interest: There’s a visitor’s center! The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation is also nearby.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fitchburg)
MBTA bus (61, 70, 505, 553, 554, 556, 558)

Overall, this station is weird. Plus, double track the damn thing! It’d help a lot! Hell, elevate it even!!! Just, do SOMETHING to axe this bottleneck. OR MAYBE EVEN JUST CONSOLIDATE THE TWO PLATFORMS INTO ONE!!!

Rating: 5/10

Alrighty, so, Waverley Square is at the end of the 73, being its only bus connection on weekends. Weekdays also has the 554 stopping and turning around here in its very deviatory (3.8 EDI!!!!!!!) route back to Newton Corner. So, what is it like?

Well, the station is freakin’ hideous. The salmon walls disgust me. Why are the retaining walls colored salmon red? It’s not a look that goes well here. Furthermore, they’re dirty as all hell. They could probably cover the station and turn the above area into a park and nothing of value would be lost. Well, aside from what would become copious amounts of diesel fumes. NIMBYs like to say this station is an eyesore and I’d be inclined to agree here. The stairs are covered, yes, but it’s all metal. There’s biking infrastructure. There’s also two bus shelters for the 73 and 554. Furthermore, there’s benches and wastebaskets and what appears to be a salt storage room. I’d hope, anyways, because it looks dingy as hell like the rest of the station. Did I mention this station is dingy yet? There’s also unused catenary wires above the streets. I already ranted about that in my entry on the 73. There’s some parking! The station is also inaccessible. Raise the damn platform!

The good: It’s in a walkable area! Plus the 73 is frequent enough to supplement the Fitchburg Line as a way into Boston (or more accurately, the Red Line) while taking about as long. There’s also cycling infrastructure!

The bad: The station is ugly. It’s dingy. The walls are salmon-colored. Did I mention the dinginess and salmon walls? It’s also inaccessible. Also the unused catenary at street level. Give this sucker a power wash.

Nearby points of interest: Not much, there are some local businesses but nothing stood out.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fitchburg)
MBTA bus (73, 554)

Overall, this station needs a power wash. Maybe repaint it too. Did I mention how ugly it is? It’s pretty ugly. Also, raise the platforms.

Rating: 3/10

Oh goody, I actually get to use the Harvard busway for once! YAY! So, what was the first bus ride of the day? Well, the 73! Let’s see how it is.

First off, the bus was 7 minutes late! Yikes! But yet, somehow we ended up 2-3 minutes early arriving into Waverley Square. Not sure how that happens, but it’s probably schedule padding. The route itself is largely a straight shot as well. After exiting the busway, we made a couple of turns onto Brattle Street and Mt. Auburn Street, and we started going straight. And, wouldn’t ya know it, unlike the other bus route operating out of Harvard, we actually had some SPEED. We passed Mt. Auburn Hospital and Cemetary, turned down Belmont Street and eventually entered Belmont and- wait, what???

THERE’S CATENARY ABOVE US! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHY ARE WE RUNNING DIESEL UNDER CATENARY?! DID THE FUCKING SILVER LINE RUN THROUGH HERE AT SOME POINT?! JUST, FHUJOIADHGUJDIOAPHGUIPOADSHNG WHY WHY JUST FUCKING WHY?! IF THE SILVER LINE WAS ABLE TO RUN DIESEL AND ON WIRE, WHY COULDN’T THE 73?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA GOD FUCKING DAMMIT THIS PISSES ME OFF. I KNOW I’M SUPPOSED TO HAVE MIXED OPINIONS THAT ARE MOSTLY NEGATIVE ON TROLLEYBUSES, BUT, YOU DO NOT FUCKING RUN DIESEL UNDER CATENARY!!!!!!!!

Of course, Belmont is a suburban town, and there’s a lot of housing. But, more businesses started coming up as we passed down Trapelo Road, and eventually reached Waverley Square where one can change with the Fitchburg Line.

The good: It’s direct and frequent! It’s also got a connection with the Fitchburg Line as well, which is convenient. However, you can’t use the station to circumvent non-interzone fares if you don’t have a CharlieCard with fare loaded on it already. But if you do, the 73 is a cheat of sorts for avoiding those costly zonal fares.

The bad: WHY IS IT DIESEL UNDER FUCKING CATENARY?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHY, WHY, JUST FUCKING WHY GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!! *flips desk over in anger*

Also, weekend headways may or may not be “meh”

Nearby points of interest: Mt. Auburn Hospital, there’s also businesses at each end, and Harvard.

Overall, this route pisses me off. No, not because of the routing itself. But, it pisses me off because….well, see “the bad”. IT’S DIESEL UNDER CATENARY WHY WHY JUST FUCKING WHY WHAT WERE THEY SMOKING?!

Rating: 10/10 routing and in practice, 1.5/10 if diesel under catenary making me irrationally angry is accounted for.

So, remember in my Needham Junction entry, at the very end, I noted how it might be my favorite station on the line, unless Hersey proved to be a 10/10, and how I had doubts that Hersey would get a 10/10? Well…….about that……….

So, Hersey is located in Needham (though is not considered “the Needham trio/quartet” as it doesn’t have the town’s name in the station naming.), and in the Bird’s Hill neighborhood. In fact, historically speaking, this station used to be named Bird’s Hill, however they renamed it in 1980 in honor of a Needham selectman who was an outspoken advocate with regards to the Commuter Rail. While it is not concrete info, he (allegedly) pushed to keep the Needham Line open while the Commuter Rail was going through serious trouble in the 1960s. Eventually, he was recognized for his work by having Bird’s Hill renamed for him, and F40PH Screamer #1000 was dedicated in his name as well. So, what’s his station like? Well….actually great!

The mini-high actually has stuff on it, unlike the other stations on the line. No dot matrix signage, but you DO have wastebaskets and benches! Neat! Furthermore, you have not one but TWO crossings to the parking lot on the opposite side of the tracks. Yes, there’s TWO parking lots! One side is on the platform side with stairs leading to it. The other is the accessible lot, with two crossings (or a crossing with stairs on the other end of the platform). You also have a red dot matrix sign as well. Neat! Going up to the north parking lot, you have plenty of parking to go around (I’m sure, with this being the most-used station on the line, it fills up on weekdays) and….a payphone and bus shelters?! Woah! That’s neat! There’s even a Dunkin’ nearby!

The good: You’ve got a lot of housing in the walkshed! Furthermore, there’s some businesses nearby, and it’s a sizable parking sink for the Needham Line. This is moreso given its proximity to I-95 as well. Neat! It’s also relatively quiet, being in a golf course, if that’s your thing.

The bad: Ehhhhh…an upgrade to a proper departure board could be nice, but not necessary…

Nearby points of interest: There’s a golf club!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Needham)

Overall, I really like this station and is easily my favorite on the entire line. Like, it’s so quiet!!! I like how peaceful it feels and relatively remote vs. the town center vibes at the end of the line. It’s also got most things one would reasonably need, and it’s also a decently sized park & ride as well!

Rating: 9.5/10

Alrighty, the last of the West Roxbury trio! (the other two being Highland and the station of the same name as the neighborhood) So, what does Bellevue have going for it? Let’s take a peek!

So, I actually approached this station from the Belgrade Terrace entrance, which has BlueBikes ready for one’s grabbing. There’s the usual Needham affair of a red dot matrix sign, a barren mini-high, benches, wastebaskets, and a sheltered area on the far end of the low level platform. Actually, it isn’t even that far, as the parking and everything is close to the mini-high. There is, however, an entrance on the far end of the low level platform, though. But, by and large everything is closer to the mini-high. Woah, this is unique! Of course, however, there were red dot matrix signs, both on the platform and mini-high. So, yeah. But, hey, it’s actually somewhat decent! YAY!

The good: It’s in a relatively dense suburban neighborhood, has enough parking, BlueBikes even, and frequent bus connections! Oh yeah, the walk to the mini-high isn’t bad! There’s even an alternate entrance on the far end of the low platform, too.

The bad: I would say it suffers from the same issues as most Needham stops, but the entrance is actually close to the mini-high. It is, however, still barren. Bleh. I will say, now that I think of it, I do wish signage was clearer acknowledging the existence of a Commuter Rail station here.

Nearby points of interest: It’s suburbia. Anything in Highland’s section also applies here as half of both stations’ walksheds overlap.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Needham)
MBTA bus (35, 36, 37)

Overall, it’s a decent enough stations, but there are some annoying nitpicks that keep it from being the best on the line. I got nothing else to note about the area, since it’s suburbia through and through. Oh well!

Rating: 7.5/10

So….there can be only one, eh? Well, this one is simply called “Highland”, unlike the similarly-named station in Melrose. And, wouldn’t you know it, this station’s actually pretty decent, too! Let’s look.

Highland is, in many senses, much like West Roxbury in design. You have the same general gist going on here, with the barren-ish mini-high, benches and wastebaskets, red dot matrix signage (which is BROKEN here!), and a modest amount of parking. However, unlike West Roxbury, you have various businesses lining Centre St., along with more readily accessible bus connections (the 35 and 36 also stop here, alongside the 37). And, shockingly, there’s also a transit-accessible Roche Brothers out here! Woah!!!! Also like West Roxbury, it makes for some good photos during the fall months, so there’s that, too.

The good: It’s nice and quiet, and has frequent bus connections! It’s also largely in the same kinds of neighborhoods as West Roxbury, so there’s that as well – and I presume most of the station’s ridership comes from foot traffic. Again, it’s also pretty decent for photos during the fall too. And, I must reiterate, this is Boston proper! The fact a place like this exists in Boston city limits is still surprising to me. The station entrance isn’t as far from the mini-high, for once!

The bad: Usual Needham issues. Oh, THE RED DOT MATRIX SIGNAGE DOESN’T WORK EITHER. SO, FUCK YOU IF YOU NEED IT TO WORK!

Nearby points of interest: There’s some stuff lining Centre St., but nothing immediately popped out to me. There’s a Roche Brothers here, though!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Needham)
MBTA bus (35, 36, 37)

Overall, much like West Roxbury, I like this station quite a bit, however I personally hold West Roxbury as my favorite, if anything, among the stations on this section of the Needham Line. Yeah, sorry.

Rating: 7.5/10