Reservoir station is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line D branch, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Cleveland Circle area of Brighton. The station is adjacent to Reservoir Yard and Carhouse, with the Cleveland Circle terminus of the C branch just a block away. With a daily ridership of 3,395, Reservoir is the second-busiest surface stop on the D branch (after Fenway). The station was moved west of Chestnut Hill Avenue and renamed Reservoir around the time the Chestnut Hill Reservoir opened in 1870. In 1883, the Boston and Albany Railroad bought the line between Brookline Junction and Cook Junction and extended it to Reservoir as its Highland branch, running Newton Circuit service beginning in 1886. A Richardsonian Romanesque station building, designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, opened in 1888 near the original station location. The station agent was removed in May 1949, but the station building remained in use as shelter for passengers.

On May 31, 1958, the line was closed for rebuilding; it reopened on July 4, 1959 as a branch of the M.T.A. streetcar system. When the line was converted for light rail use, it was assumed that most traffic would come from the inner part of the line, and thus an overhead loop was built connecting the line to Chestnut Hill Avenue. However, the outer half of the line proved more popular than expected, and Reservoir short turns were later reduced, with some extra short turn service remaining at times during rush hour.

In 1974, the MBTA began rebuilding the line to accommodate the new Boeing LRVs. From June 8 to September 11, Highland branch cars ran on Beacon Street from Reservoir to Kenmore. A temporary inbound-to-outbound turning loop was built east of Reservoir for the diversion. Inbound cars stopped at Reservoir, ran around the temporary loop, and up the outbound side of the regular loop towards Cleveland Circle. Outbound cars via Beacon Street ran down the inbound side of the regular loop, around the same temporary loop track, and then continued outbound from the station. The old carhouse closed on June 25, 1982; a new building opened the next year.

References

  • MBTA – Reservoir
  • Entrance from Google Maps Street View