Endicott station

Train station in Dedham, Massachusetts, US

42°14′00″N 71°09′32″W / 42.2332°N 71.1589°W / 42.2332; -71.1589Line(s)Franklin BranchPlatforms2 side platformsTracks2ConstructionParking45 spacesOther informationFare zone2HistoryOpenedJanuary 1, 1855^[1]Passengers2018256 (weekday average boardings)^[2] Services

Preceding station	MBTA			Following station
Dedham Corporate Center toward Forge Park/495 or Foxboro		Franklin/Foxboro Line		Readville toward South Station

Former services

Preceding station	New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad			Following station
Islington toward Blackstone		Midland Line		Readville toward Boston

Location

Endicott station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Dedham, Massachusetts, served by the Franklin/Foxboro Line. It is located off Grant Avenue at Elmwood Avenue. The station is not accessible.

History

The Norfolk County Railroad opened its Boston Extension (the Midland Branch) from Islington to Boston on January 1, 1855, to end its dependence on the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) for access to downtown Boston. A station at East Street was among the original stops on the extension.^[1]^[3] The line was closed from July 14, 1855, until late 1856 due to a lawsuit over grade crossings in Dorchester, and from 1858 to February 11, 1867, due to financial difficulties of various railroads attempting to operate the line. It reopened under the control of the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad.^[1]

The station was called East Street during the brief 1850s operations and upon reopening in 1867.^[a]^[4]^[5] The line became part of the New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) in 1875, by which time the station was renamed Elmwood.^[1]^[6] It was again renamed to Endicott between 1885 and 1891.^[7]^[8] Residential development around the station took place in the 1890s.^[8]^[9]

The NY&NE was reorganized as the New England Railroad in 1895 and came under the control of the rival New Haven Railroad in 1898. Service to Boston operated via the Midland Branch until 1898 and thereafter mostly via the B&P mainline.^[1] By the turn of the century, a depot building with a ticket office was located on the north side of the tracks at the foot of Elwood Street.^[10]^[11] It is no longer extant.^[12]

When Dedham Corporate Center station was being constructed in the late 1980s, the MBTA considered either closing Endicott station or adding a pedestrian underpass, but neither action was taken.^[13] In 2019, the MBTA listed Endicott as a "Tier I" accessibility priority.^[14]

East Street bridge

The rail line crossed East Street on a bridge likely from the beginning of operations; the bridge decks were replaced in 1904.^[15]^[16] The MBTA began planning in 2019 to replace the railroad bridge.^[17]^[18] The 1904-built bridge has 12 feet 3 inches (3.73 m) vertical clearance for road traffic, which has caused multiple crashes from over-height trucks – eleven between July 2019 and September 2023.^[15] This was enough to be called "an honorary Storrow Drive bridge."^[19]

The $23.1 million project was designed to increase clearance to 14 feet (4.3 m) and add shoulders and sidewalks. In April 2024, the MBTA awarded a $16.5 million contraction contract with construction expected to last from June 2024 to August 2026.^[20]^[b]

Notes

^ Smith says "Elmwood" was the original name, but that doesn't match other sources.^[3]
^ In September 2022, construction was expected to last from mid-2023 to early 2025.^[15] That schedule was not kept, however.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 43–45. ISBN 9780685412947.
^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. p. 197.
^ Snow's Pathfinder Railway Guide. New England Railway Publishing Company. February 1858. p. 9.
^ Snow's Pathfinder Railway Guide. New England Railway Publishing Company. 1867. p. 7.
^ Pathfinder Railway Guide. Rand, Avery & Co. April 1875. p. 13.
^ Travelers' Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines in the United States and Canada. National Railway Publication Company. July 1885. p. 46.
^ ^a ^b "Beautifying Boston". The Boston Globe. November 29, 1891. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Proposed Development of Fairbanks Park, Dedham, Mass (Map). Fairbanks Park Land Company. 1890s.
^ "Station broken into". The Boston Globe. February 17, 1902. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Part of the Metropolitan District (Map). 1:14,400. Geo. H. Walker & Co. c. 1900.
^ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 117. ISBN 9780942147087.
^ Ackerman, Jerry (October 23, 1989). "Breakaway poles to be tried this week". The Boston Globe. p. 18 Metro – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB" (PDF). Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 1, 2019. p. 12.
^ ^a ^b ^c Alchaar, Omar; Zazzera, Katy (September 28, 2022). "Dedham East Street Bridge Replacement Project" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
^ Hartfelder, Charles; Adams, Virginia; Giacomarra, Emily (January 2019). "Form F - Structure (Bridge): East Street Overpass, MBTA Milepost 10.97". Massachusetts Historical Commission.
^ "Board of Selectmen". Town of Dedham. September 26, 2019.
^ Keaney, Brian (October 4, 2019). "Selectmen discuss plans for Endicott railroad bridge on East Street". The Dedham Times. Vol. 27, no. 40. p. 1.
^ Gaffin, Adam (May 24, 2023). "Commute on one line not going to plan, because a truck hit a Dedham span". Retrieved May 27, 2023.
^ Brennan, Christopher E. (April 5, 2024). "East Street Bridge Replacement Project Request for B91CN15 Construction Contract Approval" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.