:Hastings station (MBTA)

Hastings station was located at the Viles Street grade crossing in Weston, about {{convert|700|feet}} away from North Avenue (Route 117).{{cite map |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:5q47v994f |map=Index map of Weston, Massachusetts |year=1908 |title=Atlas of Middlesex County |volume=3 |publisher=George H. Walker & Co |page=12 |scale=1:12,000}} Unlike other MBTA Commuter Rail stations, Hastings did not have platforms; passengers boarded and alighted trains on the Viles Street grade crossing.{{cite web |url=http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/movies/MBCR+Maps+(2010).pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008000656/http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/movies/MBCR+Maps+(2010).pdf |archive-date=October 8, 2013 |title=Massachusetts Bay Colony Railroad Track Charts |date=2010 |author=Held, Patrick R. |publisher=Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery |page=16}} The station was not accessible.{{MBTA Bluebook 2014}} It was one of just three commuter rail stations on the system, along with {{bts|Plimptonville}} and {{bts|Lincoln}}, without any shelter available for passengers.{{cite web |url=https://www.ctps.org/data/html/programs/cmp/Park_and_Ride_Inventory/Park_and_Ride_Inventory.html |title=Inventory of Park-and-Ride Lots at MBTA Facilities |date=April 27, 2011 |publisher=Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization |first=Ariel |last=Godwin}} A dirt parking lot on the south side of the tracks provided space for just six to seven vehicles.

File:Hastings station 1934 postcard.jpg

The Fitchburg Railroad opened along the Stony Brook valley through Weston on June 17, 1844, with stops at Weston (later renamed Kendal Green) and {{bts|Silver Hill}}.{{cite book |title=Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years |last1=Humphrey |first1=Thomas J.|last2=Clark |first2=Norton D. |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |year=1985 |isbn=9780685412947 |page=}}{{rp|87}}{{rp|6}} In 1889, Hook & Hastings opened its new organ factory on the north side of the tracks east of Viles Street, near the home of owner Frank Hastings. Although Hastings built nearby housing for factory workers, a flag stop at Viles Street was opened in the early 1890s for workers commuting from Boston and visitors to the factory.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofw00lams/page/164/mode/2up |title=History of the town of Weston, Massachusetts, 1630–1890 |page=164 |last=Lamson |first=Daniel S. |publisher=George H. Ellis |year=1913 |via=Internet Archive}}{{rp|11, 20}} The stop, which had a small station building across the tracks from the factory, was soon named for Hastings.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69686739/the-boston-globe/ |title=Found Lifeless on the Rails |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=April 8, 1904 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/69686774/the-boston-globe/ 2] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

The Fitchburg Railroad was acquired by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1900.{{rp|88}} The factory closed in 1935 and was demolished in 1936.{{cite web |url={{MACRIS|WSN.C}} |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |via=Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System |first=Pamela |last=Fox |date=January 2001 |publisher=National Park Service}}{{rp|23}} Hastings remained as a limited-service stop to serve the nearby residents; by 1946, it was served by five inbound and four outbound trains on weekdays, with several additional Saturday stops but no Sunday service.{{cite book |title=Northern New England Travel Guide |title-link=:commons:File:Boston and Maine Railroad 1946 timetable.pdf |publisher=Boston and Maine Railroad |date=April 28, 1946 |via=Wikimedia Commons |pages=36–39}} The station building was demolished by 1977.{{cite book |title=A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses |last=Roy |first=John H. Jr. |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780942147087 |page=115}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107181425/the-boston-globe/ |title=There's no depot like an old depot |first=Alan P. |last=Henry |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 10, 1977 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}

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File:Hastings7.jpg

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service. On January 18, 1965, the MBTA began subsidizing some B&M service, including as far as {{bts|West Concord}} on the Fitchburg Route. The MBTA bought most B&M commuter rail assets, including the Fitchburg Route, on December 27, 1976.{{NETransit}} On September 2, 1979, Hastings became the outer terminal for several round trips, using newly installed crossovers near the stop. It was only used as a turnback point until May 1981.{{rp|89}}

A February 2005 study for the Fitchburg Line Improvement Project recommended consolidation of the three Weston stations into a single expanded Kendal Green station to reduce travel times, as did a September 2005 preliminary implementation plan.{{cite web |url=http://www.mbta.com/projects_underway/pdf/Fitchburg/Fitchburg_Expansion_Main.pdf |archive-date=March 18, 2006 |title=Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line Service Expansion Study |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |date=February 2005 |author=McMahon Associates |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060318010516/http://www.mbta.com/projects_underway/pdf/Fitchburg/Fitchburg_Expansion_Main.pdf |pages=7, 18}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mbta.com/projects_underway/images/fitchburg/Fitchburg-Implementation1200.gif |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129070552/http://savetheayertrain.pbworks.com/f/FitchburgImplementation1200.gif |archive-date=January 29, 2014 |work=Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line Improvement Implementation Plan |title=MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Branch Improvements |date=September 2005 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} However, by 2007, the preferred alternative did not include station consolidation.{{cite web

|url=https://old.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/About_the_T/T_Projects/T_Projects_List/AA%20Report.pdf |title=Fitchburg Rail Line Improvement Project Alternatives Analysis |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |date=September 2007}} The crossovers at Hastings were replaced by a new interlocking in Lincoln and removed around 2013 as part of the improvement project.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907061603/http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/T_Projects/T_Projects_List/Fitchburg%20Project%20Update%2006-05-15(1).pdf |archive-date=September 7, 2015 |url=http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/T_Projects/T_Projects_List/Fitchburg%20Project%20Update%2006-05-15(1).pdf |title=Project Update |work=Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line Improvement Project |date=June 2015 |page=21}}

With 18 weekday daily boardings by a 2018 count, Hastings was the fourth-lowest-ridership station in the MBTA Commuter Rail system. By that time, the station was served by only five peak-hour round trips out of nineteen weekday round trips operated on the Fitchburg Line; weekend service did not stop at the station.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/route_pdfs/commuter-rail-fitchburg-2017-11-20.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209015141/https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/route_pdfs/commuter-rail-fitchburg-2017-11-20.pdf |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |title=Fitchburg Line effective November 20, 2017 |date=November 20, 2017 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Reduced schedules based on existing Saturday schedules were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These schedules did not include Hastings and five other limited-service stations not normally served on Saturdays.

In November 2020, as part of service cuts during the pandemic, the MBTA proposed to close Hastings, Silver Hill, and four other low-ridership stations. Hastings was nominated for closure because of its low ridership and lack of accessibility; Kendal Green station is roughly {{convert|0.6|mi}} to the southeast.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2020-11/2020-11-09-fmcb-N-forging-ahead-service-scenarios-accessible.pdf |title=Forging Ahead: Scenario and Service Planning |page=21 |date=November 9, 2020 |first1=Laurel |last1=Paget-Seekins |first2=Kat |last2=Benesh |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} On December 14, reduced schedules went into effect due to limited employee availability.{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2020-12-10/commuter-rail-temporarily-operate-reduced-service-schedule-starting-december-14 |title=Commuter Rail to Temporarily Operate Reduced Service Schedule Starting December 14 |date=December 10, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Again based on the existing Saturday service, these temporary schedules did not include service to Hastings and four other stations.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/route_pdfs/2021-winter/2020-2021-cr-fitchburg-reduced-accessible.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209020431/https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/route_pdfs/2021-winter/2020-2021-cr-fitchburg-reduced-accessible.pdf |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |title=2020/2021 Reduced Service Schedule: Fitchburg Line |date=December 14, 2020 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} That day, the MBTA Board voted to enact a more limited set of cuts, including indefinitely closing Hastings, Silver Hill, and three of the other four stations.{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/bostonomix/2020/12/14/mbta-control-board-approves-service-cuts |title=MBTA Control Board Votes To Scale Back Bus, Train And Ferry Service |newspaper=WBUR |date=December 14, 2020 |first=Zeninjor |last=Enwemeka |access-date=February 5, 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2020-12/2020-12-14-fmcb-F-forging-ahead-service-proposal.pdf |page=17 |title=Forging Ahead: Service Proposal |date=December 14, 2020 |first1=Laurel |last1=Paget-Seekins |first2=Kat |last2=Benesh |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} The indefinite closure of the five stations was effective with schedule changes on April 5, 2021.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228083627/https://www.mbta.com/customer-support/spring-2021-service-changes |archive-date=February 28, 2021 |url=https://www.mbta.com/customer-support/spring-2021-service-changes |title=Spring 2021 Service Changes |date=February 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |access-date=February 28, 2021 |url-status=dead }} Silver Hill was reopened on November 18, 2024, while Hastings remained closed.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/media/route_pdfs/batch_7237/2024-11-18-cr-fall-winter-fitchburg-line-schedule.pdf |title=Fitchburg Line Fall/Winter Schedule |date=November 18, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180716194655/https://www.mbta.com/stops/Hastings MBTA – Hastings]
• [https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3857438,-71.2892168,3a,75y,113.53h,80.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJ-e9kY6BMu8dzo6DoI9Tng!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 Station from Viles Street from Google Maps Street View]

Category:Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations

Category:MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Category:Railway stations in the United States closed in 2020

Category:Former MBTA stations in Massachusetts

Category:Buildings and structures in Weston, Massachusetts

Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in the 1890s