Fairfield station is a commuter rail station on the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, located in Fairfield, Connecticut. The former station buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fairfield Railroad Stations.
Fairfield | |||||||||||||
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 The westbound platform at Fairfield station in July 2019 | |||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||
| Location | 165 Unquowa Road (westbound) Fairfield, Connecticut | ||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°08′39″N 73°15′28″W / 41.14413°N 73.25773°W | ||||||||||||
| Owned by | ConnDOT | ||||||||||||
| Line(s) | ConnDOT New Haven Line (Northeast Corridor) | ||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||
| Tracks | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Connections |  GBTA: Coastal Link, 7 Fairfield University Shuttle | ||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||
| Parking | 1,216 spaces | ||||||||||||
| Accessible | Partial (route between platforms not accessible) | ||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 18 | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| Opened | December 25, 1848[1][2] | ||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | 2,311 daily boardings[3] | ||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||
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Fairfield Railroad Stations | |||||||||||||
| Location | Fairfield, Connecticut | ||||||||||||
| Area | 0.7 acres (0.3 ha) | ||||||||||||
| Built | 1882, 1890s | ||||||||||||
| Architectural style | Stick/Eastlake | ||||||||||||
| NRHP reference No. | 89000926[4] | ||||||||||||
| Added to NRHP | July 28, 1989 | ||||||||||||
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History
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Old station buildings, now reused for other purposes, are adjacent to both platforms. The brick eastbound (south) station was built in 1882. It replaced a station burned by a fire, and "is typical of the substantial brick stations built at small-town stops throughout the state in the period. Whereas earlier stations had been small wood-frame buildings, often in a picturesque Gothic or Italianate style, the stations of the 1880s were brick" to be fire-resistant and were larger to accommodate larger waiting areas and other amenities. They were "well-built but utilitarian" structures.[5]: 5 The wooden westbound station "stands as an excellent example of the New Haven Railroad's 1890s passenger facilities" reflecting changed priorities.[5]: 5
The Budd M2 cars necessitated high level platforms, and the low-level platforms were replaced in 1972.
The two station buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[4] The 0.7-acre (0.28 ha) listed area was defined to include the two stations and their immediate surroundings, but to exclude a passenger cross-over and stairway, and to exclude associated parking areas.[5]
The ticket window in the westbound station building was closed on July 7, 2010.[6]
Station layout
editThe station has two side platforms, each six cars (510 feet) long, serving the outer tracks of the four-track Northeast Corridor.[7]: 22 Stairs connect the platforms to the Unquowa Road overpass at the east end of the station. Fairfield station is only partially accessible - while the platforms are fully accessible, there is no accessible route between the platforms.[8]
The station has 1,216 parking spaces, 376 of which are owned by the state and operated by the town; the main lot is on the north side of the station.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Jenkins, Stephen (1912). The Story of the Bronx from the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the Present Day. New York, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 235.
- ^ "Special Express Notice". The Evening Post. New York, New York. February 12, 1849. p. 3. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Metro-North 2018 Weekday Station Boardings. Metro-North Railroad Market Analysis/Fare Policy Group. April 2019. p. 6.
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c Brian Clouette (August 29, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fairfield Railroad Stations". (includes sketch map). National Park Service. and Accompanying eight photos, from 1988
- ^ "mta.info - Metro-North Railroad: Selected Ticket Offices Close On July 7th". Metro-North Railroad. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
- ^ "Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ "Fairfield". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ Urbitran Associates Inc. (July 2003). "Task 2: Technical Memorandum parking Inventory and Utilization: Final Report" (PDF). Connecticut Department of Transportation. Table 1: New haven Line Parking Capacity and Utilization, Page 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2007.
External links
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- Metro-North station page for Fairfield
- List of upcoming Metro-North train departure times and track assignments from MTA
- Bureau of Public Transportation of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, "Condition Inspection for the Fairfield Station" report dated July 2002
- Station House and Station from Google Maps Street View
- http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dpt/1_Station_Inspection_Summary_Report.pdf
- Fairfield Station shearing photographs and Tolly Bowden oral history, State Library of Queensland