Beacon Park Yard

In 2023, Harvard reopened part of the freight yard to haul away contaminated dirt being excavated to build its nearby Enterprise Research Campus.

[3] Beacon Trotting Park opened east of Cambridge Street in 1864 on land just north of the railroad.

[2] The Turnpike was routed along the north edge of the yard, with a toll plaza and interchange to Cambridge Street and Soldiers Field Road there.

[5] When Conrail was broken up in 2000, freight operations on the line, including Beacon Park Yard, became part of CSX Transportation.

[6] In the late 1990s, Harvard University began planning a major expansion southward in Lower Allston, where substantial parcels of marginal industrial and derelict land could be redeveloped for academic, research, and commercial use.

[7] In April 2003, the university purchased 91 acres (37 ha) of "Allston Landing South" - including Beacon Park Yard, the Worcester mainline tracks, the Turnpike mainline and interchange, and CSX's engine yard - from the Turnpike Authority for $75 million despite the objections of local politicians including Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

[14][15] CSX demolished buildings, removed old rail cars, and completed soil and groundwater remediation to make the site usable for future development.

[7] In December 2015, Harvard University completed the purchase of an additional 19 acres (77,000 m2) of CSX land north of Cambridge Street for $97.25 million.

Dirt excavated from construction of new buildings is loaded into containers, which are then trucked to the Beacon Park Yard transfer facility.

[22] In April 2024, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt mentioned in a speech that she preferred the yard be located on recently purchased property in Widett Circle;[23] MassDOT was also negotiating with Amtrak for layover space.