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Andover station is an
MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
station in Andover, Massachusetts. It serves the Haverhill Line. The station has one platform with a mini-high platform for
handicapped accessibility The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advoca ...
serving one track, while the second track lacks a platform. The previous station building, used from 1907 to 1959, is still extant; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as Third Railroad Station.


History

The Andover and Wilmington Railroad opened between its namesake cities in August 1836 as a branch line off the new Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L). A small wooden Greek revival station was built near the center of Andover. The line was soon extended north, and in 1842 in merged into the
Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...
(B&M). After building its own route to Boston in 1845, the B&M looked to expand its passenger base to compete with the B&L. In 1848, the B&M relocated its main line from Ballardvale to North Andover to the west in order to serve the new mill town of Lawrence. The line was moved several blocks west in Andover, away from the busy intersections of the town square. A small house was converted into a temporary station, which was soon replaced by a larger L-shaped station with a large train shed. A brick freight house was built sometime between then and 1875. In 1906, the B&M began construction of a new station, as residents complained about the smoky conditions inside the train shed. The new station, a copy of Beverly Depot designed by
Bradford Lee Gilbert Bradford Lee Gilbert (March 24, 1853 – September 1, 1911) was a nationally active American architect based in New York City. He is known for designing the Tower Building in 1889, the first steel-framed building anywhere and the first skysc ...
a decade earlier, opened on September 1, 1907. It was used as the station until 1959. It was later converted for commercial use, housing an auto parts store by 1977. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Third Railroad Station. In November 1974, North Andover and Andover declined to renew their subsidies. Service to North Andover station ended on November 15. Days before, Andover commuters and businesses raised funds to continue service until April 1975. On April 7, 1975, town residents voted "overwhelmingly" to reimburse the commuters and subsidize service for an additional year. The town declined to subsidize further service, and the three Andover stops (Shawsheen, Andover, and ) were dropped effective April 2, 1976. The round trip, by then stopping just at Lawrence,
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
and Haverhill, was ended in June 1976. The MBTA bought all B&M commuter equipment and lines on December 27, 1976, including the Western Route from Wilmington Junction to the New Hampshire border. Service to Haverhill, including the stop at Andover, resumed on December 17, 1979. A mini-high platform for
accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
was added around 1992. MBTA passengers board from a single platform behind the former freight house. Both the former station and former freight house have been repurposed for commercial use. A second track was built through the station in 2015–2017. The originally-planned second MBTA platform was not built; the second track is largely used for idling freight trains.


See also

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National Register of Historic Places listings in Andover, Massachusetts This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Andover, Massachusetts. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Andover, Massachusetts, Unit ...
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National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts This list is of that portion of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designated in Essex County, Massachusetts. The locations of these properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may b ...


References


External links

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MBTA – Andover

Station from Google Maps Street View
Stations along Boston and Maine Railroad lines MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Essex County, Massachusetts Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Shingle Style architecture in Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1906 Buildings and structures in Andover, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Andover, Massachusetts