Eastern Railroad and B&M The
Eastern Railroad built their Gloucester Branch in 1847, reaching Gloucester on December 1. Initially, Rockport trains were operated by the Eastern Railroad and met Eastern mainline trains at
Beverly. In 1864, trains began to be through-routed to Boston to increase frequencies on the inner part of the trunk line. The Eastern Railroad bought the Rockport Railroad in 1868, but the branch is still known as the Gloucester Branch. By the 1870s, regular commuter service was available. The MBTA bought most B&M commuter assets, including the Gloucester Branch, on December 27, 1976. On January 20, 1984, the North Station approach trestles were destroyed by a fire. Gloucester Branch trains were terminated at a temporary station near
Sullivan or bussed from
Lynn. On November 16, 1984, the Beverly Draw bridge connecting Salem to Beverly burned, cutting the Rockport Branch and the Ipswich Line from the rest of the system. (All lines running north and west of Newburyport were abandoned by 1984, leaving no route to move equipment to the rest of the northside.) A shuttle train was run from Rockport to
Beverly Depot until January 7, 1985, when it was replaced by bus service. The $3.4 million rebuilt station was opened in September 2005. On April 29, 2020, service between West Gloucester and Rockport was indefinitely replaced by buses due to a failure of the old bridge. That June, the MBTA indicated the closure would continue until the completion of the bridge replacement. Regular service to Rockport over the bridge resumed on May 23, 2022. ==References==