Railroad History Archive

Railroad stations evoke nostalgia for a vanished world, experienced long ago or perhaps not at all. Whether in the bustle of Grand Central Terminal or on the silent platform of a country depot, railroad stations call to mind a romantic past, where a train whistle signaled the beginning of a new adventure or the end of a journey.

At the time when riding a train was the fastest and most efficient way to travel, a railroad station symbolized a community's prosperity and pride, often serving as its gateway and providing, for many visitors, their first impression of a city or town. Although the railroad paid to construct the station, residents sought to influence the design, seeing it as a projection of their image and aspirations.

Spurred on by the region's first rail lines, built from Boston to Lowell, Worcester, and Providence in 1835, dozens of lines sprang up to connect the cities and towns of southern New England. The 1872 merger of the New York & New Haven Railroad and the Hartford & New Haven Railroad to form what came to be known as the New Haven Railroad created a long-sought link between New York City and Boston. By 1904, the majority of smaller lines in the region were absorbed into the vast New Haven Railroad system. See here for more historical information about the New Haven Railroad.

Railroad stations in this region ranged from opulent structures in larger hub cities, to simply designed town stations, to country depots that offered little more than shelter from the weather. Major architects were commissioned to design several stations, including H.H. Richardson, designer of the Romanesque New London, Connecticut, station in the late 1880s, Cass Gilbert, who designed the New Haven, Connecticut, Union Station in 1920, and the famous architecture firm McKim, Mead & White, who designed the Waterbury, Connecticut, station in 1909.

The decline of the railroad led to the abandonment or destruction of stations and depots, particularly those along branch lines. Many stations, including those in Danbury, Connecticut, and Chatham, Massachusetts, became railroad museums. Others, like the Worcester, Massachusetts, station, now house offices, shops and restaurants. A few small depots became private homes.