South Chatham station was a train station located in South Chatham, Massachusetts. Built in 1887, it was a small wooden structure with a trackside bay window.[2]

South Chatham
South Chatham station on a 1918 postcard
General information
LocationMeetinghouse Road, South Chatham, Massachusetts
Coordinates41°41′2.50″N 70°1′9.36″W / 41.6840278°N 70.0192667°W / 41.6840278; -70.0192667
Line(s)Chatham Branch
History
Opened1887[1]
Former services
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
South Harwich
toward Harwich
Chatham Branch West Chatham
toward Chatham

The Chatham Railroad opened between Harwich and Chatham on November 21, 1887.[3][4] It was immediately leased by the Old Colony Railroad, which controlled all rail lines on Cape Cod, as its Chatham Branch.[5][6] The Old Colony was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1893.[5]

Passenger service on the Chatham Branch ended in 1931; it was the first line on Cape Cod to lose service.[5][7] Freight service continued until the line was abandoned in 1937.[8][9] The stations were sold to private individuals; all but Chatham were eventually demolished.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ 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. 105. ISBN 0-9616740-1-6.
  2. ^ Eldredge, Andrews T. (2003). Railroads of Cape Cod and the Islands. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 100, 101. ISBN 978-0-7385-1157-3.
  3. ^ "Opening Chatham's New Railroad". The Boston Globe. November 16, 1887. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Chatham's New Railroad Opened". The Boston Globe. November 21, 1887. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. pp. 408–414. ISBN 9780942147124.
  6. ^ Twenty-Fourth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. November 1887. p. 7.
  7. ^ "Demand Gasoline Car Be Retained". The Boston Globe. July 29, 1930. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "To Abandon RR Line Harwich to Chatham". The Boston Globe. May 22, 1937. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 117. ISBN 9780942147087.