Transportation

Railroad Station, Chatham Mass (1)

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The former railroad station in Chatham, probably around the 1940s. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The station in 2015:

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The former railroad station in Chatham is the only original railroad station left on Cape Cod, which is a little unusual given that today it is over 12 miles from the nearest active rail line. Built in 1887, the station was once the terminus of a 7.1 mile-long spur that was operated by the Chatham Railroad Colony, and connected the town of Chatham to the Old Colony Railroad, which ran the entire length of Cape Cod.  The line was later acquired by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, who operated it until 1937.  The Boston Public Library estimates that Leslie Jones took the first photo between 1934 and 1956, but I’m guessing it was probably sometime in the 1940s or early 1950s, given that the building looks like it has been abandoned for some time.  However, it wouldn’t stay like that for long, and in 1960 the old station became the home of the Chatham Railroad Museum.  Today, it looks far better than it did when Leslie Jones visited around 70 years ago, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Main Street, Hartford Connecticut

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Looking north on Main Street in Hartford from near the corner of Pearl Street, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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Main Street in 2015:

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Not much remains the same between these two views of Main Street in Hartford, although one of the few surviving buildings also happens to have been probably the oldest from the 1905 photo – the Old State House, on the right-hand side.  Built in 1796, it was substantially older than all of the other buildings in the foreground in 1905, but today it is double the age that it was back then, and all of its neighbors have long since been replaced by modern skyscrapers.  The only other survivors from 1905 are a couple buildings in the distance.  One of these is the tall building the left-center of the 1905 scene.  At the time, it towered over the other buildings on Main Street, but today it is literally in the shadows of its neighbors, and is barely noticeable in the 2015 scene.

Aside from the changes in buildings, the two scenes also show the differences in transportation.  The trolleys of 1905 have been replaced by buses, bicycles are not nearly as common on Main Street today as they were 110 years ago, and there are far fewer pedestrians walking along the street (although granted the 2015 photo was taken on a Saturday – a weekday scene would probably look busier).  Also in the first photo is a large billboard just to the left of the center, with the words “Wilson High Ball that’s all!”  Wilson was a blended whiskey brand, and in between the two photos alcohol went from being legal, to being illegal, and then back to being legal again.  The company apparently survived Prohibition, but like the building that once featured its billboard, it doesn’t appear to be around anymore.

Indian Motocycle Factory, Springfield Mass

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The factory on Wilbraham Road in Springfield, which would later house the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company.  Seen here around 1892 and published in Picturesque Hampden (1892).

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The building in 2015:

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This building is best known as having been part of the Indian Motocycle Company factory, but it has had a variety of uses over the years.  The original section of the building, as seen in the 1892 photo, was built in 1883 for the Bullard Repeating Arms Company, a rifle company that was not as successful as another firearms company founded in Springfield during the 19th century.  Bullard didn’t last too long, and the building was then used by the Springfield Industrial Institute, a private trade school.  In 1895, the school moved to the building across the courtyard, and the Elektron Company occupied this building.  It was at this point that the wing was built to the east, beyond the tower.

Early in the 20th century, George Hendee moved his motorcycle company to this site, which was originally named Hendee Manufacturing Company, but was later renamed Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company (the “r” was intentionally omitted from “motorcycle” for trademark purposes).  The two story addition was put on the building in 1911, which by then had nearly quadrupled in size from the 1892 photo.  This triangle between State Street and Wilbraham Road was the home of the company until they closed in 1953, at which point the buildings were used for various other businesses.  Since then, several of the buildings have been demolished, although the original 1883 Bullard building survives, and it has been renovated and turned into apartments.

Trolley Barn, Springfield Mass

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The Springfield Street Railway trolley barn at the corner of Main and Carew Streets, around 1905. Photo from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The building in 2023:

The late 19th century saw a dramatic growth in suburbs, and this was fueled in part by the development of inexpensive forms of mass transit such as street railways.  Although most commonly associated with electrified trolleys, these originally started as horse-drawn cars on rails.  This was the case in Springfield, where the Springfield Street Railway opened in 1870.  The original line was a single track that ran about 2.5 miles from Hooker Street in the North End, where the stables were located (not coincidentally, this is now the site of the PVTA headquarters), south along Main Street to State Street, and then along State Street to Oak Street, just past the Armory.  The line was served by four cars and 24 horses, and rides were eight cents each or 16 for a dollar.

It must have been popular, because within four years the network was expanded east on State Street to Winchester Square, and south on Main Street to the Mill River.  More lines were later opened, along Maple and Central Streets to the Watershops, and other lines to Indian Orchard, Brightwood, and along Worthington Street.  Meanwhile, fares continued to drop, first to six cents and then to five.  The biggest change, however, came in 1891, when all of the lines were electrified to run trolleys instead of horse-drawn cars.

By the end of the 19th century, the network was extended to Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, and Feeding Hills, and connections were made to street railway networks in Holyoke, Westfield, Northampton, Palmer, and Hartford.  As a result of the growth of the company, this building was built in 1897 as a new headquarters, at the corner of Main and Carew Streets in Springfield’s North End.  At the time that the first photo was taken, the company operated almost 94 miles of track, with 48 of those miles in Springfield, and operated 227 cars on the lines.

However, as was the case with trolley lines around the country, the Springfield Street Railway wouldn’t last.  Just as electrified trolleys replaced horse-drawn cars, automobiles and buses replaced the trolleys.  The trolley barn (the name itself is a holdover from when the horses were housed in literal barns) is still there, and still looks very much the same as it did over 100 years ago.

Railroad Station, East Longmeadow Mass

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The railroad station near the center of East Longmeadow in 1910. Photo courtesy of the East Longmeadow Historical Commission.

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The station in 2015:

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The station in 2023:

Today, East Longmeadow doesn’t have any active rail lines, but a century ago the Armory Branch of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad passed through the town.  The line connected East Hartford and Springfield, and passed by the Watershops of the Springfield Armory, which gave the branch its name.  In East Longmeadow, it provided a way for the many quarries in town to ship their stone, and it also provided a method of transportation in the days before automobiles.  However, the branch was never a major route, and was abandoned by the 1980s.  Today, most of the line is still abandoned, but a 1.6 mile section in East Longmeadow is now the Redstone Rail Trail, named for the quarries that once used the line.  The station, which opened in 1876, is located at the northern terminus of the trail, and although it has clearly seen better days, it is still instantly recognizable from the 1910 photo.

2023 Update: As shown in the third photo, station has since been restored, and it reopened in 2021 as an ice cream shop.

Put’s Bridge, Springfield Mass

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The old covered bridge across the Chicopee River from Springfield to Ludlow, taken from the Springfield side in 1897. Photo courtesy of the Hubbard Memorial Library.

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The present-day bridge in 2015:

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Alternately called Putts Bridge, this spot at Wallamanumps Falls on the Chicopee River has long been the site of a bridge connecting Springfield and Ludlow.  The early accounts are somewhat vague, but the first bridge was built in either the late 1780s or early 1790s.  Either way, a bridge was definitely here by 1794; prior to that, Ludlow’s 500 or so residents would have to get to and from Springfield by fording the river, a task that I can’t image was particularly pleasant or safe.  The bridge was constructed by Eli Putnam, hence the name Put’s bridge.  However, bridges here didn’t seem to have much of a lifespan; in the next 30 years, three additional bridges would have to be constructed on this site.

The 1822 bridge must have been different, because it lasted until this 1897 photograph.  By this point, though, the 75 year old bridge was starting to show its age, and the next year it was replaced with a new iron bridge.  However, the replacement didn’t even last half as long as its predecessor before it was replaced by the current bridge in 1930.  Today, this concrete and steel bridge carries Route 21 across the river, and it still serves as the primary connection from Ludlow to Springfield.  The one difference in the location of these two photos is that the covered bridge was at a substantially lower elevation, so the 1897 photo would’ve actually been taken partway down the hill toward the river.  I could’ve recreated the scene from here, but I chose this location since it represents what the surface of bridge today looks like, rather than just the underside of it.