Plimptonville station

PLIMPTONVILLE
Bare platform at Plimptonville station in December 2012
Location 185 Plimpton Street
Walpole, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°09′32″N 71°14′10″W / 42.159°N 71.236°W / 42.159; -71.236Coordinates: 42°09′32″N 71°14′10″W / 42.159°N 71.236°W / 42.159; -71.236
Line(s) Franklin Branch
Platforms 1 small side platform
Tracks 1
Construction
Parking Several spaces (free)
Other information
Fare zone 4
History
Opened c. 1849[1]
Previous names Tilton(s), Plymptons
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 13 (daily inbound average)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
Franklin Line
Former services
Preceding station   New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad   Following station
toward Blackstone
Midland Line

Plimptonville is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Walpole, Massachusetts. It is located near the Neponset River next to a small dirt parking lot between Plimpton Street and the tracks. It is a flag stop on the Franklin Line, and receives the least service of any MBTA station, with just one round trip per day, consisting of an inbound morning train and an outbound evening train at the height of rush hour. Ridership on that round trip averaged just 13 passengers daily by a 2013 count.[2] Plimptonville has one of the smallest station facilities on the MBTA Commuter Rail system: a 10-foot-wide low-level asphalt platform next to the single track, with a metal sign reading "Plimptonville Train Station". A small gravel parking lot is next to the platform.

History

Plimptonville station on an early postcard

The Norfolk County Railroad was built through East Walpole beginning in 1846; it opened in 1849.[3] A station was opened between East Walpole and Walpole proper then or soon afterwards.[1] Originally known as Tiltons (or Tilton[4]) station, it was later called Plymptons.[3] By the early 20th century, the name had settled on Plimptonville, by which it is known today.[5] The station's most famous user was Joseph N. Welch, who lived in Walpole while working at a Boston law firm and served as special counsel to the Army during the Army-McCarthy hearings.

Under MBTA operations, the station has become less important due to its lack of parking and proximity to the well-used Walpole station. Additionally, the station is in the middle of a single-track section of the line, severely limiting the number of trains that can stop. Today, the single round-trip serves a small but dedicated contingent of riders. Ridership counts reached as low as three passengers per day in 2005, with a significant yearly variation.[2]

An unrelated station, also named Plympton, was located on the Old Colony Railroad's main line at Lake Street in Plympton, Massachusetts.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 44–45. ISBN 9780685412947.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. 1 2 Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 291–293. ISBN 0942147022.
  4. ↑ Walker Lithograph & Publishing Co. (1891). "Foxborough & Franklin & Holliston & Milford & Norfolk & Sharon & Walpole 1891 Plate 15". Topographical Atlas of Massachusetts, 1891. WardMaps LLC. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  5. ↑ United States Geological Survey (1941). "Canton & Dedham & Norwood & Stoughton & Walpole 1941". USGS 7.5 Minute Sheets and Quadrangles, Massachusetts. WardMaps LLC. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  6. ↑ Geo. H. Walker & Co. (1901). "Map of Brockton & Plymouth Street Railway". WardMaps LLC. Retrieved 8 December 2012.

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