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Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses, A J Roy
A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses by John Roy Jr
Soft Cover
Copyright 2007
351 Pages
Preface
THE IDEA for this book was born around 1990, when I began actively photographing railroad stations. Back then I was intrigued by the various styles, and I often wondered what the buildings were like when they were in their prime. It didn't take long for me to figure out that many stations had vanished and many more were not going to last much longer, so I took pictures of those remaining whenever I had the opportunity. Having been a life-long resident of Connecticut, I quickly became interested in the New York, New Haven & Hartford RR, also affectionately known as the New Haven. My love for stations grew, and by the mid 1990s I was exploring every town that ever had a railroad and photographing the remaining stations throughout New England. I began a simple list of those that survived. This list eventually evolved into an extensive relational database that became the foundation for this book.
This guide would not have been possible without the patience of my wife and children, who have spent countless hours patiently riding in the car while I explored. They often asked if we were ever going to get to our destination. I rarely took the direct route; there was always some structure that needed to be investigated along the way. They tolerated many evenings when I would banish myself to the bedroom to work on the book. As with most projects, things usually take longer than expected, and this book was no exception. To my wife, Chulaluk, and my children, Geoffrey and Amanda, I thank you for your patience and support. I can finally answer the question, "When is it going to be done?" with "It's done!"
This has certainly been a family project, as I also enlisted the help of my father, John Roy. In addition to taking some of the photographs, he scanned and prepared hundreds of 35 mm slide images used in this book. This was no small task, and I am greatly indebted for his assistance. If I
Among hundreds of long lost stations, the Boston & Providence RR's Park Square Station was an outstanding example of Gothic architecture and one of the most elegant of New England's old stations. Opened in 1875, it was converted to commercial use in 1899, when rail service was moved to South Station. It was torn down ten years later following a damaging fire. (Courtesy of the Beverly Historical Society & Museum, Beverly, MA, Walker Transportation Collection) had had to do it myself, it would likely have added another six months to the project. When he accepted this task he had just retired and did not realize how busy he would be in retirement. Despite this, he found the time to help and even ran around to get some last minute images for the book.
Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses:
Contents
Preface 9
Introduction 13
Railroad Abbreviations 29 Connecticut 30
Massachusetts 112
Rhode Island 278
Appendix A
Other Passenger and Freight-Related Structures 299
Appendix B
Recently Lost Structures 306 Connecticut 306
Massachusetts 310
Rhode Island 314
Appendix C
Cross Reference to The Rail Lines of Southern New England 315
Appendix D
Depots and Freight Houses on Rail-Trails 333 Connecticut 333
Massachusetts 335
Rhode Island 336
Selected Bibliography 337
Index to Architects 343
At the height of the railroad era, nearly every community in New England had at least one depot and freight house around which the town center grew. With the decline of the railroads throughout the twentieth century, however, scores of these historic structures have been lost, including many architectural gems. But even today hundreds of railroad stations and freight houses survive, sometimes years after the last train ran and the rails were removed. Recent decades have seen new stations built to serve still-active rail lines. Former stations have been recycled as offices, gift shops, private homes, government buildings, and a few even as churches.
John H. Roy, Jr., has spent the last fifteen years tracking down every station, depot, and freight house still extant in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. In this handbook he provides a comprehensive guide to all 467 such structures-past and present-that survive today. Each entry includes a photograph of the structure, the date it was built, its use today, and brief historical and architectural notes. Rail fans, modelers, architecture enthusiasts, local history buffs, and historical preservationists will find a wealth of information to help them explore this important aspect of New England's architectural and railroad heritage.
A lifelong resident of Connecticut, JOHN H. ROY, JR., holds a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Connecticut and has worked for nineteen years at Electric Boat, premier builder of submarines. His interest in railroads began with model trains in his youth. He started photographing trains and stations in the 1980s and began cataloging surviving depots and freight houses around 1990. He regularly contributes photographs and articles to rail magazines such as Trains, Railfan , Railroad, and Railpace Newsmagazine.
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