Bedford Depot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bedford
The former station building in May 2015
Location	80 Loomis Street, Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates	42°29′9.45″N 71°16′33.65″W / 42.4859583°N 71.2760139°W / 42.4859583; -71.2760139
Construction
Architectural style	Late Victorian
Other information
Fare zone	3
History
Opened	1846
Closed	January 10, 1977
Rebuilt	1874
Former services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Terminus Lexington Branch North Lexington toward North Station Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station Bedford Springs toward Lowell Lexington Branch North Lexington toward Boston Lowell Road toward Reformatory
Bedford Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
NRHP reference No.	03000791
Added to NRHP	August 21, 2003

Bedford Depot is an old train station in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. It was a busy place where two different train lines, the Reformatory Branch and the Lexington Branch, met. Trains carried people from Bedford until 1977.

The main station building, built in 1874, and a separate building for storing goods, built in 1877, are now protected as important historical places. Along with a restored old train car, they are the main attractions at Bedford Depot Park.

History of Bedford Depot

Early Train Service

An early-20th-century postcard of the station

The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad built tracks to Lexington in 1845-46. The Boston and Lowell Railroad bought this line in 1870. They did this to stop the line from building a new route to Lowell through Bedford.

In August 1873, a company called the Middlesex Central Railroad opened an extension. This new track went to Concord Center, passing through Bedford. A beautiful Victorian-style station building was finished in 1874.

In 1877, a very narrow-gauge train line, the Billerica and Bedford Railroad, opened. It ran from Bedford Depot to North Billerica. This line even had a small engine house and a turntable at Bedford. However, this narrow-gauge line was not successful and closed in 1878.

In 1879, the Middlesex Central line was extended to Reformatory station in Concord. This allowed trains to go all the way to Nashua for a short time. In 1885, the Boston & Lowell company rebuilt the route to Billerica. They made it a standard-gauge track, which is wider.

The original station building, which was west of South Road, was moved to its current spot. This new location was right at the junction of the train lines. The old narrow-gauge engine house was also moved and became a freight depot. Two years later, in 1887, the Boston and Maine Railroad took over the Boston & Lowell lines, including the two routes that went through Bedford.

Decline of Passenger Service

When the Cambridge subway opened in 1912, many people started using streetcars. These streetcars connected to the subway at Harvard Square. This meant fewer people were riding the trains from the northwestern suburbs, like the Lexington Branch.

Within six years, about half of the Lexington Branch trains were stopped. Passenger service on the Reformatory Branch ended in 1926. On the Lexington Branch, passenger service beyond Bedford stopped in 1933. However, trains still carried goods for many more decades.

Around this time, a special track shape called a wye was built west of the station. It had an engine house in the middle and was used to turn trains around. By 1950, only three round trips ran from Bedford each day. This number dropped to two, and then to just one on May 18, 1958.

In 1965, the new MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) started helping to pay for commuter train service. They planned to stop the single daily trips on the Lexington Branch and Central Mass Branch. But these trips were kept running instead.

On January 10, 1977, a big snowstorm blocked the train line for several days. The MBTA then decided to stop service on this line for good. It was not used much and was not well-maintained. After some lawsuits, the MBTA agreed to help build the Minuteman Bike Path. This bike path goes from Alewife to Bedford. In return, they were no longer required to bring back train service.

The bike path was designed so that train service could possibly return in the future. Also, an extension of the MBTA Red Line subway along the path was considered. However, people in Arlington did not want a subway extension. So, the subway was never extended.

Bedford Depot Park and RDC #6211

RDC #6211 and the former freight house next to the Minuteman Bikeway in 2015

The station building and the freight house were sold to private businesses in the 1950s. A second floor was added to the station building in the 1960s. In 1999, the town of Bedford bought both buildings. This happened after a four-year effort by a group called the Friends of Bedford Depot Park.

The buildings were restored and became the main parts of Bedford Depot Park. In 2003, they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are recognized as important historical sites. The freight house was renovated from 2006 to 2008 and now serves as a museum run by the Friends group. The main station building still has private businesses inside.

In 1998, an old train car, Budd Rail Diesel Car #6211, was brought to the former railroad yard. This car was an old Boston & Maine car that had been used on the Lexington Branch many years before. A project costing $125,000, paid for by the town, restored the car to how it looked originally. It cannot run on tracks anymore, but it looks just like it used to. In 2003, the car was moved to its current spot next to the freight house.