Harbor station (MBTA)

Harbor was an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It served the Rockport Branch of the Newburyport/Rockport Line. A short-lived stop, it was open from 1977 to 1985.

Harbor
Remains of Harbor station in May 2012
LocationThe Heights at Cape Ann
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°37′04″N 70°41′12″W
Owned byMBTA
Line(s)Gloucester Branch
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
Other information
Fare zone7
History
OpenedDecember 1977[1]
ClosedJanuary 7, 1985[1]
Passengers
198335 (weekday inbound average)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
West Gloucester
toward North Station
 Newburyport/​Rockport Line Gloucester
toward Rockport

History
The path from the apartment complex to the station photographed in May 2012

Harbor station opened in December 1977 to serve a new apartment complex (now The Heights at Cape Ann) located on a bluff above the tracks.[2][1] Several short turn trains (which had formerly terminated at Manchester but ran to an interlocking just west of Gloucester to switch tracks for the inbound journey) were extended to Harbor at that time.[2] Several trips, including the short turns, were cut in September 1979.[2] On January 30, 1981, service to nearby West Gloucester was discontinued during a round of budget cuts, leaving Harbor as the only station serving the area.[1]

The station was never heavily used - an April 1983 count showed just 35 daily boardings.[2] On November 16, 1984, a fire destroyed Beverly Draw, which connects Salem and Beverly Depot on the line. A shuttle train continued to operate from Rockport to Beverly until January 7, 1985, when it was replaced by bus service.[1] The locomotives used were then trucked to Danvers so they could be repaired at the MBTA's main maintenance facility. When service was restored on December 1, 1985, Harbor station remained closed. West Gloucester, which had more room for parking, reopened instead.[1]

Harbor station consisted of a small shelter with no platforms; passengers boarded from a clearing next to the tracks. A paved path led from the rear of the apartment complex to the station area. Only the path and a small clearing around the concrete base of the shelter are still extant.[3]

References
  1. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  2. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 77. ISBN 9780685412947.
  3. "MBTA Current Events". Rollsign. Vol. 56 no. 5/6. Boston Street Railway Association. May–June 2019. pp. 14–15.

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