Manchester Union Station was a

union station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

for passenger trains passing through the city. It was built in 1898, and by 1910 it was used only for

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

trains.Samson, Gary. ''The Mills and the Immigrant Experience.'' p. 28. Arcadia Library Publishing Editions, 2000

Location

The station was situated a short distance east of the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

. It was at the foot of Depot Street, and was near the intersection of Canal and Granite streets.

Passenger services

During the 1940s peak of railway travel, passenger service included these named trains: *''

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

'' and ''New Englander'', a night train,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, taking a route through Montpelier and Essex Falls in central Vermont *''

Alouette Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * Alouette (song), "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a List of The King of Braves GaoGaiGar protagonists#Alouette, character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar' ...

'' and ''Red Wing'', a night train, Boston - Montreal, taking a route through Wells River and

St. Johnsbury St. Johnsbury (known locally as "St. J") is the shire town (county seat) of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,364. St. Johnsbury is situated on the Passumpsic River and is located approximatel ...

in northern Vermont; in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, Vermont coach passengers on the ''Red Wing'' could change to the '' Connecticut Yankee,'' bound for

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

and

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

splitting from the ''Red Wing'' directly hitched to the ''Connecticut Yankee'') It also served trains that in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

connected with the direct

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

train that bypassed Boston, the ''

State of Maine Express The ''State of Maine'' was an overnight passenger train between New York City and Portland, Maine, that was operated jointly for more than 50 years by the Boston and Maine Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It departed New ...

'' The station served local trains to Boston via Methuen and

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...

, and trains north through

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

to Woodsville. Additionally, it served east–west trains to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on the Atlantic coast.

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. Yet a train still went through the city to

White River Junction, Vermont White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest co ...

, where connections could be made to the

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

's '' Montrealer.'' And service continued through Manchester to Concord. Service in Manchester ended in 1967 with the discontinuing of the Boston-Concord train.

References

Railway stations in the United States opened in 1898 Demolished railway stations in the United States Former railway stations in New Hampshire Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations

Buildings and structures in Manchester, New Hampshire MBTA Commuter Rail stations Railway stations in the United States closed in 1962 {{NewHampshire-railstation-stub