West Barnstable station

West Barnstable

West Barnstable station in 2012
Location 2469 Meetinghouse Way (Route 149)
West Barnstable, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°42′25″N 70°22′27″W / 41.70694°N 70.37417°W / 41.70694; -70.37417Coordinates: 41°42′25″N 70°22′27″W / 41.70694°N 70.37417°W / 41.70694; -70.37417
Owned by Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts
Line(s) Cape Main Line
Platforms 1 side platform
Construction
Parking Small lot
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened 1911
Rebuilt 1980s (Currently being restored)
Services
Preceding station   Cape Cod Central Railroad   Following station
toward Buzzards Bay
Cape Cod Central Railroad
Terminus
  Former services  
Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad
toward Braintree or Attleboro
Braintree-Hyannis
Closed 1988
Terminus

West Barnstable is a railway station in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. The train station currently serves as a seasonal stop (on Saturdays) for the Cape Cod Central Railroad.

The station building, which is owned by the Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, is the headquarters on the Cape Cod Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). The Cape Cod Chapter of the NRHS signed a twenty-year lease on the building in 2012. They have been restoring it as a historical railway station and museum since 2001 when they became the custodian of the building.

The station building, which is open to the public on Saturdays between May and October, also hosts numerous special events, including National Train Day in May, the West Barnstable village festival in August and the Cranberry Express in October.[1]

History

Postcard of original station, ca. 1905

The original passenger station in West Barnstable was opened in 1854 by the Cape Cod Railroad.[2]

This station was torn down and a new station was built, at the same location, by the New Haven Railroad in 1911 at a cost of $18,000. The original architecture style of the station was identical to the stations that the New Haven Railroad built in Buzzards Bay and Sagamore around the same time.[3] The station remained in service until 1964 when the New Haven Railroad ran its last passenger train to Cape Cod. Between 1986 and 1996 it was an unmanned station stop for Amtrak's Cape Codder service.

The property once included a detached freight house but it was torn down a few decades ago.

The station was used as a shooting location for the feature films The Golden Boys and The Lightkeepers.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cape Cod Chapter NRHS". Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ Farson, Robert H. (1993). Cape Cod Railroads Including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Joan Hollister Farson (First ed.). Yarmouthport, Massachusetts: Cape Cod Historical Publications. ISBN 0-9616740-1-6.
  3. ↑ "Cape Cod Chapter NRHS". Cape Cod Chapter NRHS. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
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