Community College Station

Does anyone know when this station will be finished or look somewhat nice? You get a good look at it from comming on/off the highway going to Boston- Storow Drive Exit i think?. Also when i used to go through that station when comming from Malden Center it seems before you go into the tunnel after Community you switch tracks a bit, is their a crossover or 3rd track at CC?

The third track (which ran from Wellington to Community College, by the way) was built as part of the Haymarket North extension in the 1970s. It was originally intended to allow peak-direction express runs in the event the Orange Line was extended to Reading, as had been planned. That of course never happened, and the third track remained largely unused except for the occasional motorman training run or post-repair equipment testing. I believe it is actually still serviceable from Wellington to a barricade (in the form of a wooden railroad tie chained across the rails) just at the south end of Sullivan Square Station. South of there, the third track is permanently out of service, and it has been physically severed short of its former connection with the regular service tracks at Community College as a result of Big Dig construction adjacent to the station.

Funny you should mention Community College station not being finished.

Back when it was under construction circa 1971, I used to ride my bike around Community College station, thinking it and the Orange Line construction was the coolest thing since sliced bread. The tunnel under the Charles was essentially complete but not yet operational. The north portal was sealed by just a shabby wire mesh fence with a good sized gap, so one day my brother-in-law and I decided to walk down the unfinished tunnel, all the way under the Charles River to the new underground North Station. We made it, and marvelled at how great the North Station looked. Fortunately, we didn't see any security guards. No rats either. Aaaah, back in the more innocent times before 9/11.

Speaking of the "new underground North Station", are there any pictures available of what North Station used to look like before it was rebuilt as the current "superstation". I didn't start riding the Orange Line with any regularity until around 1999/2000 when construction had already begun. I seem to remember North Station being alot like Haymarket, but I'm not sure if this is correct or not. I've already checked out the nycsubway.org site, but the oldest pictures they have of North Station are ones while it was under contruction.

This is the best I have seen, but it's a good representation

It was like Haymarket without the mid-platform exit, and the main entrance is about where the current Causeway Street Entrance is. IIRC the stairways were pretty steep compared to those at Haymarket and other stations. It was really dreary, I am glad the T opened up the station by adding better light from above...

The improved lighting may be something to enjoy while it lasts, though. Eventually all of the Bulfinch Triangle land formerly occupied by the elevated I-93 and elevated Green Line will be developed. That could spell the end of the current North Station skylights.

Ron Newman wrote:The improved lighting may be something to enjoy while it lasts, though. Eventually all of the Bulfinch Triangle land formerly occupied by the elevated I-93 and elevated Green Line will be developed. That could spell the end of the current North Station skylights.

I beg to differ. Unless the structures cast their shaddows directly on top of the new skylights there should still be more than enough light coming through them to make an immense impact on the station. And having gone through the station at all times of the day and night, there is more than enough light flooding in from the improved lighting to provide a great atmosphere in the station. Anything is better than the dank pit that the station used to be.

However, when development of the blocks happens, the new buildings would be fronting directly onto the sidewalks, leaving no room for the skylight structures.

Charliemta wrote:However, when development of the blocks happens, the new buildings would be fronting directly onto the sidewalks, leaving no room for the skylight structures.

Doesn't mean they will go away though, in all probability they may be reworked into flat skylights rather than angled skylights- ala what is planned for Government Center when that station gets renovated in the near future.
All that money spent on the station, doubtful the MBTA will destroy a structure that is key to making the station a highlight to the system. Why destroy a good thing?

efin98 wrote:This is the best I have seen, but it's a good representation

It was like Haymarket without the mid-platform exit, and the main entrance is about where the current Causeway Street Entrance is. IIRC the stairways were pretty steep compared to those at Haymarket and other stations. It was really dreary, I am glad the T opened up the station by adding better light from above...

Yeah, that's pretty much how I remember it. I figured that picture was the closest I was going to get to the former North Station. I'm surprised there weren't any older ones on that site though. Thanks!