North Wilmington (MBTA station)

NORTH WILMINGTON
An inbound train at North Wilmington in August 2015
Location	370 Middlesex Avenue Wilmington, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°34′11″N 71°09′35″W / 42.5696°N 71.1597°W / 42.5696; -71.1597Coordinates: 42°34′11″N 71°09′35″W / 42.5696°N 71.1597°W / 42.5696; -71.1597
Line(s)	Haverhill Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Construction
Parking	20 spaces (free)
Other information
Fare zone	3
History
Opened	July 1, 1845 December 19, 1979
Closed	June 14, 1959
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	310 (weekday inbound average)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Reading toward North Station Haverhill Line Ballardvale toward Haverhill

North Wilmington is a regional rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill Line, located off Middlesex Avenue (MA-62) in Wilmington, Massachusetts. It has some of the most limited station faculties on the MBTA system - a single short bare platform serving the line's single track at the location, with a small parking lot and single bus shelter for passengers - but is a stop for all trains on the line. North Wilmington station is not handicapped accessible.

The Boston and Maine Railroad Extension opened on July 1, 1845 from Wilmington Junction to Boston, allowing the Boston and Maine Railroad a route into the city not dependent on the rival Boston and Lowell Railroad. A two-story wooden station was located at North Wilmington on the north side of Middlesex Avenue next to the northbound track, with a small shelter next to the southbound track. The station building was destroyed in a fire caused by a defective chimney on October 26, 1914. A small station building was constructed to replace it.

On June 14, 1959 the section from Reading to Wilmington Junction became freight-only, and Haverhill commuter trains as well as intercity service from New Hampshire and Maine were rerouted over the Wildcat Branch and the lower Lowell Line. The Salem Street stop on the Wildcat Branch opened to replace North Wilmington on the mainline.

The lone remaining Haverhill trip was discontinued in June 1976. During the 1979 energy crisis, service was restored to Haverhill via the pre-1959 route, with several intermediate stops including North Wilmington returned to service. Unlike the stops that had kept service until the 1970s, there was little left at North Wilmington. Like the similarly hastily built stations opened soon after on the Fitchburg Line, North Wilmington received a low asphalt platform and a small parking area, with a bus shelter added for passengers.