B&M depot: Help with ID

Hi All -
I bought this real photo postcard a few years ago that was sold as the Laconia NH train station. Upon closer inspection I'm not so sure it is. It's close but not identical to pictures I've seen of the Laconia depot. I also thought it might be Exeter. Does it look familiar to anybody?

Chris

I think it is Exeter. I looked up the Laconia Historical Society and they have a number of images through the years of the laconia station. Laconia has a good sized second story which your photo does not. Exeter Historical doesn't seem to have any online images.

Looks Like the Beverly Depot in Beverly MA.

The Exeter station looks like it has a gable on the front side. The Beverly Depot has an open area in front of it like the picture. Now that area is all paved for parking and roadway.

Agree - It does look like Beverly, Ma. Anyone recognize the name on the carriage - "The Putnam"? Could be a hotel carriage waiting there to pick up guests... It would be a good clue as to the town/state. Searching the web I found this in Danvers, Ma (Putnam has been a well known name around here for a very long time) - http://www.danvershistory.org/buildings/putnam.html

That is General Israel Putnam's house on Rt 1. I don't know if it was ever a hotel. I will get over to the Beverly depot and take a picture and we can compare them. When I look at that picture, I feel like I am walking into the Beverly Depot. The land has changed dramatically since then. The Beverly depot is more on a hill. This looks flat. Do we know the date? Land can change a lot in a couple hundred years. I am sure that some one on here can confirm this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52139136@N04/5504086584/
This is what I found on google images.

Guys, thanks for the replies so far. I've been to Gary L's RR Stations of MA and saw several shots of the Beverly depot. It looks close but I still can't find that one shot that would confirm that it is the Beverly depot. Most of the shots were of a different angle than mine. Also, the sorrounding area looks built up with many commercial/industrial buildings in the postcards on Gary's site. My station looks rural although it's hard to tell as much of the background has been cropped out. My postcard is a real photo example dating from around 1910 or earlier. I'm going to take a drive by Exeter this week to see if there are any similarities.

I'd send an email to the Beverly Historical Society. Well-run group (from what I've heard) with a substantial transportation collection.

Please let us know what you found out. Thanks

I think they have older pics inside of the Beverly Depot restaurant. check it out.
There may lie your answer. Andy

I think this is somewhere other than Beverly because, what is seen across the platform is not
Odell Park, which has been there for as long as Beverly Station. Also, the building seen through
the portal on the street side was never there. I also think the windows and walls of the station
are arranged differently. Don't know where it is though.
LS

Not Beverly, not Andover, not Exeter, not Laconia. I've done a pretty thorough search through old depot websites and haven't yet found a match, though there are several that are "close, but no cigar." It's possible that it's not of the B&M or any of its antecedents, and of course it's also possible that wherever it was, it's no longer there. Mysteries like this are fun, however --- I'll keep looking.

By all means, go to the Beverly Historical Society. The Walker Transportation collection is open for viewing every Wednesday night from 7pm to 9pm and is staffed by railfans. I've seen the collection many times and can tell you that they have THE MOST complete collection of Boston & Maine station photos, arranged by division, most dating back to the World War I period and earlier. Like I said, the collection is staffed by railfans and there are no old ladies there to deal with and the collection is "hands on". So, everyone reading this, do yourself a favor, and try to get there to see this collection, it is WELL worth seeing, it is the largest collection of New England railroad photographs anywhere! The collection spans the time period from the 1870's, right up through the 1940's and 50's, to the present.

Hi All - Thanks again for the responses. I bought this postcard as Laconia but since it's not, it could be anywhere in New England or beyond. There is a handful of these beautiful B&M stone stations - I think New Boston is another but this one doesn't quite look like the others already mentioned, unless it's an earlier version of those other stations and then went under some heavy renovation. I did email the Beverly Historical Society and provided a link to this thread but never heard back. I have seen the Walker Trans. Collection and it is impressive. I wonder if Richard Symmes is still there. I guess driving down is the next step although there is a local guy named Sanborn that supposedly has a monster RR depot postcard collection. Might look him up as well.

Chris