Category: MBTA

Alrighty, the last entry on the Franklin Line! Let’s see what’s special, if anything, about Dedham Corporate Center (or, Dedham Corp/128, as some signage might refer to it as).

Dedham Corporate Center is located on Rustcraft Road, located near the interchange of US-1 and I-95 in Dedham. Adjacent to it is an office park on the Boston-bound side, which also houses a hotel, some medical offices, suburbia, the county DA’s office, and even a Cummins plant. All of the station’s parking is also located here. On the Franklin/Foxboro-bound side, you have a bit more useful to the average person: some transit-oriented housing, a kiss & ride, a slightly lesser amount of suburbia, and even the Legacy Place shopping center and a Costco. General Dynamics is also out here, and the 34E is a stone’s throw away across US-1.

*gets call*

…wait, waht? It’s just “Providence Highway” on the inner side of I-95? Okay then. So, cross the Providence Highway to get to the 34E on Washington Street. I did this, it was not fun. Almost got hit and killed. Would be nice if the 34E deviated into Legacy Place and the station’s kiss & ride. I digress. Legacy Place is your standard lifestyle center, with parking and flanked on all sides by shopping. Not much to say about it. Overall, not the worst station to finish off with. I will say though, the platform does seem a little short for game day sets to platform (they stop here), but it’s serviceable otherwise.

The good: It serves an apartment complex, some offices, and Legacy Place! It’s also in a pretty important location for park & ride passengers from I-95 and for those who don’t want to use Endicott or Islington.

The bad: The 34E really oughta deviate here. Lastly, the pedestrian experience going from the station to Legacy Place isn’t the best, to put it lightly. It also oughta have an extended and full-level high platform so the football train can fully platform here. And, I guess, by extension there also oughta be an overpass or tunnel connecting the two sides.

Nearby points of interest: Legacy Place is the big one!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin, Foxboro)

Overall, while it isn’t the best, it sure as hell is better to end the line here than on the last entry in terms of order of publishing. At least Dedham Corp. actually has stuff around it other than a shopping center and has some degree of an actual walkshed that isn’t Oops! All Parking! However, there are some relatively minor changes that would be nice. Overall, not bad though.

Rating: 6.5/10

For the next station, as a change of pace, we’re back in the Boston area (for now!), and with that, I took the next thing out of South Station. In the case of when I took the pics for this, it was a shuttle with a guaranteed connection to a Middleborough train. So, I rode it as far as I could before reaching unvisited territory. Welcome to Bridgewater!

So, Bridgewater is much like Middleborough in that it’s a singular high-level platform with one track. However, while there is a lot of parking, it actually has a good reason for being plentiful – the station is LITERALLY on the campus of Bridgewater State University! Yes, this is transit-oriented education right here! However, the station itself isn’t anything special, really. You have wastebaskets, signage, benches, and parking. The only noteworthy thing is having the BSU shuttles on days school is in session, picking up near the parking garage nearby. But, aside from that, no bus connections. And, sorry to the person from one of the Discord servers I’m in that lives near here, I have nothing special to say about your local MBTA station. 🙁

The good: It serves BSU! Yeah, that’s about it. It’s a parking sink otherwise.

The bad: Eh, not a lot. Single-track ops hinder throughput a lot.

Nearby points of interest: BSU is the big one!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Middleborough)
BSU campus shuttles

Overall, while there’s not a lot to it, it’s a very useful station and it gets the job done. A for effort, and for accessibility.

Rating: 7/10

Alexander Hamilton was the first US Treasury secretary (that’s right – the same position held by, at the time of writing this, Janet Yellen!) and was a very influential person in American history. While I don’t know the full extent of his historical significance, he did have involvement with the American Revolution and the Continental Congress back when those were things. Unfortunately, after an attempt to run for President, his demise came in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. His legacy can be seen in many things between modern-day currency and the famous Lin-Manuel Miranda play Hamilton.

Now, what the HELL does this have to do with anything I write about? Well, I’ll tell you: they named a town – and by extension a Commuter Rail station – after the man! Welcome to Hamilton (/Wenham)!

Hamilton/Wenham, as the name suggests, is on the line between Hamilton and Wenham, Massachusetts. The area isn’t bad and is a much better area compared to North Beverly to the south, all things considered. It’s pretty close to the town center (I did not check it out, as I instead got water at the nearby Cumby’s), the station has plenty of parking, there’s plenty of shelter and even a mini-high that, shockingly, HAS STUFF! WOAH! I’m genuinely relieved this is a good station! Yeah, you have benches and everything! There’s also a small walkway and a grade crossing just north of the station as well. Neat! It’s also located next to a small shopping center with a Dunks and a CVS as well, which is nice.

The good: It’s in the town center, has plenty of parking, and shelters! It’s also got benches and, wouldn’t ya know it, the mini-high isn’t barren! WOAH!!! There’s also stuff nearby!!! And, it’s pedestrian-friendly!

The bad: Not a lot, actually! Would be nice if there was a local bus connection to somewhere.

Nearby points of interest: The town center is close by!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport)

Overall, I really like this station. I mean, it’s not a personal favorite, but objectively it’s really a good station and the town itself is largely cool. Deducted points for the anti-MBTA Communities Act sentiment, however. Sorry!

Rating: 8/10

This station, like EVERY OTHER STATION IN BEVERLY, absolutely sucks! And, I feel like I’m beating a dead horse on this one, so I’ll probably make this one rather quick. With that out of the way, welcome to North Beverly!

The station, much like Beverly (which, thank GOD is finally seeing a minor rebuild!) and Beverly Farms, has a barren platform and barren mini-highs. No shelter on the outbound side, benches exist on the platforms, there’s a red dot matrix signage, wastebaskets, and crossings to change sides. There’s also a small parking lot and even a connection to the route 451 bus. Neat! In terms of the surrounding area, it’s nothing special, really, as it’s just a normal suburban area with a train platform shoehorned in. It really isn’t anything special. As for the inbound platform shelter, it’s a bus shelter. GODDAMMIT!

The good: It’s in suburbia! It also has a local bus connection and is accessible!

The bad: WHY ARE ALL THESE STATIONS SO DAMN BARREN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHFIDOPAHFIDOPSHFGIUODYHGUIOFADWHSFIOP THEY’RE LITERALLY COPY-PASTED FROM EACH OTHER AND IN SHIT WAYS

Nearby points of interest: Just a couple of strip malls.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Newburyport)
MBTA bus (451)

Overall, this station sucks, all the other stations in Beverly suck, and thank GOD all I have left in this town are the 451 and the Beverly Local Bus!

Rating: 4/10

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