Bridgewater station is an

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

station in

Bridgewater, Massachusetts Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 28,633. The historic town center of Bridgewater is located approximately south of Boston, Massachusetts and approxima ...

, served by the

Fall River/New Bedford Line The Fall River/New Bedford Line (formerly the Middleborough/Lakeville Line) is a commuter rail line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in southeastern Massachusetts, United States. It runs south from Boston to Taunton, Massachusetts, Taunton, where ...

. It is located on the east end of the

Bridgewater State University Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Massachusetts, N ...

campus along the Middleborough Main Line.

History

The final section of the Fall River Railroad opened between

North Bridgewater Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 28,633. The historic town center of Bridgewater is located approximately south of Boston, Massachusetts and approxima ...

and opened on December 21, 1846, completing the line between South Braintree and Fall River. The railroad merged into the

Old Colony and Fall River Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

in 1854; it became the Old Colony and Newport Railroad in 1863, then the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

in 1872. The line was originally single track; the second track was extended from Campello to Bridgewater in 1884. The original station was replaced by the Old Colony with a wooden structure with a hip roof. The

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

acquired the Old Colony in 1893. The next year, it constructed a new station designed by New York architect

Bradford 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 skyscr ...

. The Romanesque structure was built from

Milford pink granite Milford pink granite, also known as Milford granite or Milford pink is a granite deposit located in and around the town of Milford, Massachusetts. Covering an area of approximately according to the USGS, the Proterozoic igneous rock is also some ...

with brownstone trim. Old Colony Division passenger service ended on June 30, 1959. The

Cape Cod & Hyannis Railroad The Cape Cod & Hyannis Railroad was a railroad that provided tourist and seasonal passenger services in Southeastern Massachusetts in the 1980s. Its primary service operated from the Braintree MBTA station to Hyannis on Cape Cod; branches to At ...

stopped at Bridgewater from 1984 to 1988. The modern station opened on September 29, 1997, along with the rest of the Middleborough/Lakeville and Plymouth/Kingston Lines. It is located southeast of downtown Bridgewater at the

campus. The former station building has been repurposed as a

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

restaurant.

References

External links

MBTA – Bridgewater
Former Old Colony Railroad stations MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1997 Railway stations in Massachusetts at university and college campuses {{Massachusetts-railstation-stub