West Concord station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
West Concord
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An outbound train at West Concord station in 2017
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| Location | Commonwealth Avenue and Main Street West Concord, Massachusetts |
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| Owned by | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Fitchburg Line | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Parking | 146 spaces ($4.00 daily) | ||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | 10 spaces | ||||||||||
| Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Fare zone | 5 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | 1871 | ||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1894 | ||||||||||
| Previous names | Union Station, Concord Junction | ||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||
| Passengers (2018) | 359 (weekday average boardings) | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Union Station
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| Location | 20 Commonwealth Avenue West Concord, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1894 | ||||||||||
| Architectural style | Queen Anne style | ||||||||||
| NRHP reference No. | 89000143 | ||||||||||
| Added to NRHP | March 2, 1989 | ||||||||||
The West Concord station is a train stop in West Concord, Massachusetts. It is used by the MBTA Commuter Rail system. This station is on the Fitchburg Line, which helps people travel to and from Boston. The station has two platforms, one for each direction of travel. These platforms also have special ramps to make them easy to use for everyone. The old station building next to the tracks is now a restaurant. It is no longer used for train services.
The station first opened in 1871 and was called Concord Junction. It was built where two different train lines met. Over time, it became a very important train hub. A new, bigger station was built in 1894. In the 1900s, fewer people rode trains. The station and the area around it were renamed West Concord in 1927. The station building has been fixed up over the years. It was added to a special list of historic places in 1989. Since 1990, the building has been home to a restaurant called Club Car Cafe.
Contents
West Concord Train Station: A Look Back
How the Station Started
The Fitchburg Railroad started running trains through Concord in 1844. There was an early station at Damon Mill, a bit west of where the station is now. In 1871, another train line, the Framingham and Lowell Railroad, opened. This led to the creation of the Concord Junction station. It was built where the two train lines crossed paths.
Soon, the small station grew with a building for freight and a place to turn engines around. Another railroad, the Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad, opened in 1873. This made Concord Junction a busy place where people could switch trains. It became an important spot for travelers.
Building a New Station
Many businesses and factories grew up around the three train lines. By the 1890s, Concord Junction was a busier town center than Concord itself. About 125 trains stopped there every day! So, a new, bigger station called Union Station opened in January 1894. The old wooden station was moved and used as a boardinghouse.
The new station was a single-story building shaped like an "L". It had a waiting room for passengers, an office for freight, and a room for luggage. All these parts were under one roof. The building had a unique design with a bay window. This window allowed the station manager to see down the train tracks. The station also had a special look with a slate roof, round windows, stained glass, and a bright three-color paint job. A famous person, John F. Fitzgerald, often used this station between 1897 and 1903.
Changes Over Time
Over the years, the different train companies changed owners. Fewer people started riding trains in the 1900s. Train service to Nashua stopped in 1924. Passenger service on the Framingham and Lowell line ended in 1933. At that time, part of the station building was taken down.
Since passenger trains only ran on the Fitchburg line, the station and the town were renamed West Concord in 1927. By 1960, only trains for daily commuters to Boston still stopped at West Concord.
In 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created. This group helped keep commuter train services running. In 1976, the MBTA bought the West Concord station. Around this time, the station building started to be used as a restaurant. In 1982, a fake brick outside was added to the building. The train tracks that crossed each other were removed and put on display in a small park nearby.
Making it Accessible and Restoring History
The station building was owned by private groups for a while. It even had a pizza restaurant. When that restaurant closed, the building was locked. Train riders asked the town to buy the building so people could use the waiting room and restrooms again.
In 1989, the station was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical building. In 1990, the Club Car Cafe restaurant opened in the building. It lets passengers use a waiting room during busy weekday hours.
Train service north of West Concord ended in 1993. That old train line is now a walking and biking path called the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. Special ramps were added to the station platforms soon after 1990. This made West Concord one of the first MBTA stations that people with disabilities could easily use.
In 2006, a group called "Friends of the West Concord Depot" formed. They wanted to help fix up the station building, which was getting old. The town and the MBTA shared the cost of fixing the outside of the building. They even restored its original three-color paint design. These repairs were finished around 2009.
