Harwich station was a railway station located in Harwich, Massachusetts. It opened in 1865 and closed in 1940. The station was the junction between the Cape Cod Railroad mainline and the Chatham Branch.
Harwich | ||||||||||||||||
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 Harwich station on an early-20th-century postcard | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Depot Road Harwich, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°41′15.16″N 70°5′29.08″W / 41.6875444°N 70.0914111°W | |||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Cape Main Line, Chatham Branch | |||||||||||||||
| Former services | ||||||||||||||||
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History edit
The Cape Cod Central Railroad opened between Yarmouth and Orleans in December 1865.[1] Harwich was among the initial stations on the line.[2] The Cape Cod Central merged in 1868 into the Cape Cod Railroad, which in turn became part of the Old Colony Railroad in 1872.[1] A nearby building was purchased in 1878 for use as a freight house.[3]
The Chatham Railroad opened between Harwich and Chatham on November 21, 1887.[4][5] It was immediately leased by the Old Colony Railroad, which controlled all rail lines on Cape Cod, as its Chatham Branch.[1][6] The Old Colony was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1893.[1] A turntable, wye, and water tower were located at Harwich; a new freight house was built adjacent to the station in the 1890s.[7]
Passenger service on the Chatham Branch ended in 1931.[1][8] Freight service continued until the line was abandoned in 1937.[9][10] All passenger service between Yarmouth and Provincetown ended in 1938 due to the 88 stations case; it resumed only for the 1940 summer season.[11][12][1] Freight service on the portion of the line between South Dennis and North Eastham, including Harwich, ended on September 5, 1965, and the line was abandoned.[1]
The mainline was converted to the Cape Cod Rail Trail, while the Chatham Branch became the Old Colony Rail Trail.[1] The junction between the trails is near the site of the former station, which is no longer extant.[13]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. pp. 408–414. ISBN 9780942147124.
- ^ Farson, Robert H. (1993). Cape Cod Railroads Including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Joan Hollister Farson (First ed.). Yarmouthport, Massachusetts: Cape Cod Historical Publications. p. 161. ISBN 0-9616740-1-6.
- ^ Fifteenth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. November 1878. p. 7.
- ^ "Opening Chatham's New Railroad". The Boston Globe. November 16, 1887. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chatham's New Railroad Opened". The Boston Globe. November 21, 1887. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Twenty-Fourth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. November 1887. p. 7.
- ^ Eldredge, Andrews T. (2003). Railroads of Cape Cod and the Islands. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 57, 58. ISBN 978-0-7385-1157-3.
- ^ "Demand Gasoline Car Be Retained". The Boston Globe. July 29, 1930. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "To Abandon RR Line Harwich to Chatham". The Boston Globe. May 22, 1937. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "7-Mile Cape Railroad With Three Stations Goes on Market as Last Train Puffs Away". The Boston Globe. July 8, 1937. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New Haven Announces Changes in Timetables". Boston Globe. July 13, 1938. pp. 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com. (part 2, part 3)
- ^ "Train service alibi for lateness today". Boston Globe. July 18, 1938. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 117. ISBN 9780942147087.
External links edit
Media related to Harwich station (Massachusetts) at Wikimedia Commons
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