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  • Mystery railroad station near Boston

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Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

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 #1372719  by TomNelligan
 
NRGeep wrote:Weston station on the Central Mass?
Not Weston (which still exists, or at least did the last time I was by there a few years ago). That building has large overhanging eaves that the station in the photo lacks, the track curves in the wrong direction with respect to the side the station is on, the Central Mass was always single track, and there's no grade crossing at the station.

Over the years I've seen photos of 19th century stations in both the B&M Bulletin and the NHRHTA Shoreliner that follow the general design of the building in the photo, so somewhere in B&M or NH commuter territory sounds plausible.
 #1372828  by YamaOfParadise
 
TomNelligan wrote:Not Weston (which still exists, or at least did the last time I was by there a few years ago). That building has large overhanging eaves that the station in the photo lacks, the track curves in the wrong direction with respect to the side the station is on, the Central Mass was always single track, and there's no grade crossing at the station.

Over the years I've seen photos of 19th century stations in both the B&M Bulletin and the NHRHTA Shoreliner that follow the general design of the building in the photo, so somewhere in B&M or NH commuter territory sounds plausible.
While I agree that it isn't Weston, a nitpick: Weston did (and still does) have multiple tracks in the area. That however doesn't contribute to the idea of it being Weston, but rather detracts from it; there are more than two tracks in the area.

Anyways, I visited it and took photos there in late September, so it certainly is still there; below are some photos, albeit unfortunately none at the angle of the photograph.
The current bridge, dated to 1911:
Image

The station is off to the right of that photo, a little bit back; here is a photo looking at it's track-facing side:
Image

So definitely not it; not the same station or bridge.
 #1374221  by citystation1848
 
Definitely, I see it... very reminiscent of Salisbury.

Typically there's a couple stations on the railroad that share similar architectural features. For the images I have in my collection, nothing is coming close to what was originally posted. I'm going to throw my vote in that it's south of Boston somewhere on the New Haven.

Matt

Image
http://www.nashuacitystation.org/resource/9304014080/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1374233  by trainsinmaine
 
If you compare the two photos, there are similarities, but in the original there is a slight curve down the line, which does not show in the second one. Note, in the second photo, the projected silhouette shadow of a multi-tiered telegraph pole, which indicates this was a main line. The original photo shows single-tiered poles. I still believe this was a depot on a branch line.
I also still think it may have been on the Gloucester-Rockport branch of the B&M. The mystery continues . . . tune in tomorrow.
 #1374304  by The EGE
 
There are only seven overhead bridges on the branch:

* Harbor Street, Manchester - too far from the West Manchester station site
* Norton's Point Road, Manchester - not near any station
* Unnamed road, Manchester - adjacent to former Magnolia station, but there's no curve and Magnolia had a large station by that era
* Winiahden Road, Gloucester - not near any station
* Centennial Avenue, Gloucester - not near any station
* Gloucester Avenue, Gloucester - not near any station
* Route 128, Gloucester - not near any station

So I don't believe it's the Gloucester Branch, assuming no former overpasses were taken down.
 #1374321  by trainsinmaine
 
Thanks for the info., EGE. That's helpful.

I'm at a loss . . . If Ridgefielder is correct about this being a north-south alignment and the approaching train being the "5:20 from Boston" coming from the south (although that's by no means definite), this would almost have to be somewhere on the B&M. But I have no idea where. It doesn't seem to match any of the photos I've seen on Massachusetts or New Hampshire depot sites.
 #1374329  by citystation1848
 
I lied.... I did have an image of a depot with a similar design. Saugus station on the Saugus Branch. So whoever guessed Eastern was spot on. :-D

Matt

Image
http://www.nashuacitystation.org/resource/9304014950/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1374399  by caduceus
 
Hmm...Franklin Park station on the Saugus Branch seems to match that architecture:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... stcard.jpg

Looking at the location, the curve to the right does seem to match a looking towards Boston alignment - but there hasn't been a bridge there in at least a long time. The road configuration around there does look as if there _could_ have been a bridge between Salem St and Park St. - and interestingly Google lists that stub street across from Grand View Ave as "N. Marshall St." - which is also listed as the road that connects Park St. and Salem St. on the other side of the crossing.

Don't know if it was ever double tracked, though. Edit: Ooh, I guess it was - looks double in the Saugus pic above...