Union Station (Manchester, New Hampshire)

42°59′08″N 71°27′58″W / 42.98556°N 71.46611°W / 42.98556; -71.46611

Manchester
Manchester Union Station, c. 1910
General information
Line(s)	Boston and Maine Railroad
History
Closed	1950s
Rebuilt	1898
Key dates
1962	demolished
Former services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Concord Terminus Lowell Line 1980–1981 Merrimack toward North Station Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station Amoskeag toward Concord, NH Boston – Concord, NH South Manchester toward Boston

Manchester Union Station was a union station in Manchester, New Hampshire for passenger trains passing through the city. It was built in 1898, and by 1910 it was used only for Boston and Maine Railroad trains.^[1][2]

Location

The station was situated a short distance east of the Merrimack River. It was at the foot of Depot Street, and was near the intersection of Canal and Granite streets.^[1]

Passenger services

During the 1940s peak of railway travel, passenger service included these named trains:^[3][4]

• Ambassador and New Englander, a night train, Boston - Montreal, taking a route through Montpelier and Essex Falls in central Vermont
• Alouette and Red Wing, a night train, Boston - Montreal, taking a route through Wells River and St. Johnsbury in northern Vermont; in Newport, Vermont coach passengers on the Red Wing could change to the Connecticut Yankee, bound for Sherbrooke and Quebec City (a sleeping car splitting from the Red Wing directly hitched to the Connecticut Yankee)

It also served trains that in Lowell, Massachusetts connected with the direct New York - Portland, Maine train that bypassed Boston, the State of Maine Express^[5][6]

The station served local trains to Boston via Methuen and Lawrence, Massachusetts, and trains north through Concord, Laconia and Plymouth to Woodsville. Additionally, it served east–west trains to Portsmouth on the Atlantic coast.^[7][8]

Demise

By the end of the 1950s the number of trains had declined, with the unnamed remnant of the Ambassador being the only Montreal-bound train. The station was demolished in 1962.^[1] Yet a train still went through the city to White River Junction, Vermont, where connections could be made to the New Haven Railroad's Montrealer. And service continued through Manchester to Concord.^[9] Service in Manchester ended in 1967 with the discontinuing of the Boston-Concord train.^[10][11]

References

1. Samson, Gary. The Mills and the Immigrant Experience. p. 28. Arcadia Library Publishing Editions, 2000
2. "Index of Railway Stations, 1281". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 42 (8). January 1910.
3. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Tables 1, 2". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 74 (1). June 1941.
4. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Tables 1, 2". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 78 (12). May 1946.
5. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 4". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 74 (1). June 1941.
6. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 4". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 78 (12). May 1946.
7. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Tables 19, 34". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 78 (12). May 1946.
8. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 19, 34". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 74 (1). June 1941.
9. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 97 (7). December 1964.
10. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 100 (2). July 1967.
11. "Boston & Maine Railroad, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 100 (5). October 1967.