Beaconsfield station (MBTA)

Beaconsfield
An inbound train at Beaconsfield station in 2024
General information
Location	Beaconsfield Road east of Dean Road Brookline, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°20′09″N 71°08′26″W / 42.33583°N 71.14056°W / 42.33583; -71.14056
Line(s)	Highland branch
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	11 spaces
Bicycle facilities	8 spaces
Accessible	No
History
Opened	February 1, 1907 (original station) July 4, 1959 (modern station)[1]
Closed	May 31, 1958[2]
Passengers
2011	1,075 daily boardings[3]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Reservoir toward Riverside Green Line D branch Brookline Hills toward Union Square
Former services Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Reservoir toward Riverside Highland branch Brookline Hills toward Boston
Location

Beaconsfield station is an MBTA light 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.

The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) branch from Brookline Junction to Brookline on April 10, 1848.^[2] The Charles River Branch Railroad extended the Brookline branch to Newton Upper Falls in November 1852 and to Needham in June 1853.^[2][4] The Boston and Albany Railroad bought back the line, then part of the New York and New England Railroad, in February 1883. It was double-tracked and extended to the B&A main at Riverside; "Newton Circuit" service via the Highland branch and the main line began on May 16, 1886.^[2]

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]

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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beaconsfield station (MBTA).

• MBTA - Beaconsfield
• Google Maps Street View: Beaconsfield Road entrance, Dean Road entrance, Clark Road entrance