Beaconsfield station is an MBTAlight rail station in Brookline, Massachusetts. It serves the Green Line D branch. It is located off Dean Road and Beaconsfield Road just south of Beacon Street. Like the other stops on the line, it was a commuter rail station on the Boston and Albany Railroad's Highland branch until 1958, when the line was closed and converted to a branch of what is now the Green Line. The station reopened along with the rest of the line in 1959.[1] Beaconsfield is not accessible, though a reconstruction for accessibility is planned.
There was not originally a station on the line at Dean Road. In late 1906, transit magnate Henry Melville Whitney built a new station to serve his nearby Beaconsfield Hotel.[5] Work on the station began in October 1906 by the firm of Benjamin Fox. It was built in a heavy stone style similar to the Richardsonian Romanesque stations constructed elsewhere on the B&A system in the previous two decades.[6][7] By November, the masonry was largely complete, the roof ready for tile, and the granolithic floor and 330-foot (100 m) platform ready to be poured.[8] The platform was poured in December 1906.[9] The new station opened on February 1, 1907.[10]
Conversion to light rail service
1959-built shelter at the station
In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958.[2] The line was quickly converted for trolley service, and the line including Beaconsfield station reopened on July 4, 1959.[1] The 1906-built station was torn down to build a parking lot; a small wooden shelter was built on the inbound platform.
The M.T.A. was folded into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in August 1964.[1] The station has not been substantially modified during the MBTA era, though a heated shelter for fare machines on the outbound side was added around 2006.
In 2019, the MBTA indicated that the four remaining non-accessible stops on the D branch were "Tier I" accessibility priorities.[11] A preliminary design contract for accessibility modifications at the four stations was issued in February 2021.[12][13] The station platforms will be raised and rebuilt, the wood shelter repaired, and a path constructed under Dean Road to Waldstein Playground.[14] Design reached 75% in June 2022 and was completed late that year.[14][15]
By November 2023, construction was expected to be advertised in early 2024 and begin midyear.[16] However, in June 2024, the MBTA indicated that the renovations at the four stations would be done in two phases. The first phase – sections of accessible platform similar to those previously installed at Newton Highlands, and some entrances made accessible – was expected to be complete by the end of the year.[17] Work began in October 2024.[18] The full renovations are expected to take place in 2027 to serve new Type 10 vehicles.[19]
^ abcdeHumphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 21–24. ISBN9780685412947.
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