Union Station (also called Brattleboro station) is an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

intercity rail Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...

station located in downtown

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...

, United States. It is served by the one daily round trip of the '' Vermonter'' service. Most of the 1915-built station is occupied by the 1972-opened

Brattleboro Museum and Art Center The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (BMAC), a non-collecting museum, was founded in 1972 and is located in the former Central Vermont & Boston & Maine Union Station building in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont. New exhibits by regional and interna ...

, while Amtrak uses a waiting room on the lower floor. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

History

Early stations and Union Station

The

Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main li ...

opened from the state line at East Northfield, Massachusetts/ South Vernon, Vermont to Brattleboro on February 20, 1849. The Vermont Valley Railroad opened between Brattleboro and in 1851, completing the all-rail route between

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

and

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. The three lines became part of the

Central Vermont Railway The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Connect ...

(CV) in 1873. The first Brattleboro station was a long single-story wooden building, no longer extant. The

Brattleboro and Whitehall Railroad The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Conn ...

, a CV subsidiary, opened to South Londonberry, Vermont in 1880. A two-story Queen Anne style brick station was built that year to replace the original station. Also in 1880, the

Connecticut River Railroad The Connecticut River Railroad was a railroad located along the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, formed in 1845 from the merger of two unfinished railroads. Its main line from Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield to Northfield, Massac ...

obtained control of the CV mainline between Brattleboro and . It was taken over by the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

(B&M) in 1893. The B&M opened the Fort Hill Branch of its subsidiary

Ashuelot Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

between Brattleboro and South Vernon in 1913; it was operated as a second track of the existing CV mainline. The CV and B&M jointly constructed a

union station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

at Brattleboro in 1915. Built at a cost of $75,000 (), it was made of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

quarried across the river at Wantastiquet Mountain. It was built into a bluff overlooking the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

, with the first story at track level and the third story facing the street. A footbridge crossed the tracks to reach the northbound platform.

Decline and revival

CV passenger service to South Londonberry ended in 1927 and resumed briefly in 1931. It was operated intermittently by a local man from 1933 to 1935; the line was abandoned in 1938. CV/B&M passenger service to Brattleboro ended in September 1966 with the termination of the '' Montrealer''. The Fort Hill Branch was discontinued as a through route in 1970 and abandoned in 1983. In 1972, the town purchased the disused Union Station building for $27,500 (); it was converted to the

, which opened that year.

, which took over intercity passenger rail service in the United States in 1971, began operation of the overnight ''Montrealer'' on September 30, 1972. Brattleboro was a stop for the ''Montrealer'' from its inception, though a ticket office and waiting room did not open in the lower level of the Union Station building until 1973. Union Station was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1974. The ''Montealer'' was suspended from 1987 to 1989, then replaced by the daytime '' Vermonter'' in 1995. A two-phase project planned in the late 1990s was to include a new train station; the first-phase garage and bus station opened downtown in 2003, but the second-phase station was not built.

New station plans

Amtrak and the town announced plans in 2020 to build an accessible full-length high-level platform – the first such platform in the state. Construction on the $4.5 million project is planned to start in early 2022, with completion in 2023. A $366,000 expansion of the parking area, which involves demolition of the nearby Archery Building, is planned to be complete in late 2021 ahead of the station project. The Archery Building, a small wooden structure across the tracks from the station building, may have originally been a freight house or railroad office; contrary to local claims, it was not the original passenger station. The building is leased to the museum by the town for $1 per year. Because it does not own the structure, the museum is not able to raise money to repair the building. In 2018, the museum requested that the town sell the building to the museum to allow fundraising. In October 2021, the town proposed to transfer ownership of the station building to the museum for $1, contingent on Amtrak vacating its portion by mid-2024. The new station will include artwork from the Brattleboro Words Project.

References

External links

Brattleboro Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
{{NRHP in Windham County, Vermont Amtrak stations in Vermont Buildings and structures in Brattleboro, Vermont Transportation buildings and structures in Windham County, Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Vermont Stations along Boston and Maine Railroad lines Former Central Vermont Railway stations

Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Railway stations in the United States opened in 1915 Railway stations closed in 1966 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1972 Railway stations closed in 1987 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1989