West Barnstable, MA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 2469 Meetinghouse Way (Route 149) West Barnstable, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 41°42′25″N70°22′27″W / 41.70694°N 70.37417°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Cape Main Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | Small lot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1911, 1980s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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West Barnstable station is a railway station in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. The train station currently serves as a weekend stop for several excursion trains operated by the Cape Cod Central Railroad. The station building, which is owned by the Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, is the headquarters on the Cape Cod Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS).
The original passenger station in West Barnstable was opened in 1854 by the Cape Cod Railroad. [1]
This station was torn down and a new station was built, at the same location, by the New Haven Railroad in 1911 at a cost of $18,000. The original architecture style of the station was identical to the stations that the New Haven Railroad built in Buzzards Bay and Sagamore around the same time. [2]
The station served trains to Boston and seasonal trains to New York City and remained in service until 1964 when the New Haven Railroad ran its last passenger trains to Cape Cod including the Day Cape Codder. Between 1986 and 1996 it was an unmanned station stop for Amtrak's Cape Codder service. It is one station that has been eliminated from the schedule of the seasonal Cape Flyer train service between Boston and Hyannis. From the 19th Century, under the Old Colony Railroad and until 1964 under the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, passenger trains served Sandwich. Trains of the 1940s-1960s included the Day Cape Codder and the Neptune.
The property once included a detached freight house but it was torn down a few decades ago. The station was used as a shooting location for the films The Golden Boys (2008) and The Lightkeepers (2009). The Cape Cod Chapter of the NRHS signed a twenty-year lease on the building in 2012. They have been restoring it as a historical railway station and museum since 2001 when they became the custodian of the building. The station building, which is open to the public on Saturdays between May and October, also hosts numerous special events, including National Train Day in May, the West Barnstable village festival in August and the Cranberry Express in October. [2]
During the summer, West Barnstable serves as a stop for select excursion trains running from Hyannis to the Cape Cod Canal, [3] often including an additional stop at the historic Pairpoint Glass facility in Sagamore. [4] Although trains depart from Hyannis every day of the week during the summer, West Barnstable is only served on Saturdays.
Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape". It contains a majority of the Barnstable Town offices and two important shopping districts: the historic downtown Main Street and the Route 132 Commercial District, including Cape Cod Mall and Independence Park, headquarters of Cape Cod Potato Chips. Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis is the largest on Cape Cod.
West Barnstable is a seaside village in the northwestern part of the town of Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Once devoted to agricultural pursuits, West Barnstable now is largely residential and historic. Originally founded in 1639 as part of its neighboring village Barnstable, West Barnstable separated in 1717 with the split into two parishes of the local congregational church.
The Cape Cod Central Railroad is a heritage railroad located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It operates on a rail line known as the Cape Main Line which is owned by Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The line was previously owned and operated by the Cape Cod Railroad, the Old Colony Railroad, and later the New Haven Railroad, each of which operated passenger trains on the line from 1854 to 1959. Although its namesake is the former Cape Cod Central Railroad (1861–1868), the two companies are unrelated.
The Cape Cod Railroad is a railroad in southeastern Massachusetts, running from Pilgrim Junction in Middleborough across the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, where it splits towards Hyannis in one direction and Falmouth in the other. It was incorporated in 1846 as the Cape Cod Branch Railroad to provide a rail link from the Fall River Railroad line in Middleborough to Cape Cod.
The Cape Codder was a seasonal passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. It operated during the summer between 1986 and 1996. It was the first regular service from New York to the Cape since 1964. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad previously had operated a train under this name until 1958.
Middleborough/Lakeville station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Lakeville, Massachusetts, just south of the Middleborough border. It is the southern terminus of the Middleborough/Lakeville Line; it is also an intermediate stop for seasonal CapeFlyer service to Cape Cod. Middleborough/Lakeville has a single full-length high-level side platform serving the line's single track.
Sandwich station is a railway station in Sandwich, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It is currently only used by the Cape Cod Central Railroad as a whistle stop for its seasonal excursion trains.
Sagamore station was a railroad station located on Pleasant Street in Sagamore, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It was located across the tracks from the Keith Car & Manufacturing Company.
The Hyannis Transportation Center (HTC) is an intermodal transportation center in Hyannis, Massachusetts, operated by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA). It is the terminus for several CCRTA bus lines and its CapeFLYER passenger train that operates on summer weekends between Boston South Station and Hyannis. It is also used by the Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway, Peter Pan Bus Lines, and Greyhound via CapeBus intercity bus services. The Cape Cod Central Railroad uses a separate station building across the tracks for its excursion services. A rail yard used by the Cape Cod Central is located north of the station, along with a former roundhouse.
Barnstable station was a railway station located on Railroad Avenue in Barnstable, Massachusetts. It was constructed in 1889 by the Old Colony Railroad. From the latter years of the 19th century to the 1950s, the station served daily New Haven Railroad trains from Boston, and due for points further east on the Cape. For several decades in the mid-20th century, the station also served the New Haven's day and night versions of its seasonal New York - Hyannis Cape Codder trains. The station was torn down after the New Haven ended passenger rail service to the Cape in 1959.
Woods Hole station was a station on the Old Colony Railroad located in the village of Woods Hole in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts. It served as the terminus for the railroad's branch line to Woods Hole and offered ferry connections to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
Falmouth station is a bus station and former railroad station in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Built in 1912 to replace an older station, it was used for rail service until 1964, with brief revivals in 1984 and 1988.
Cataumet station is a former railroad station located on Post Office Square in Cataumet, Massachusetts.
Buzzards Bay station is a train station located on Main Street in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The site also contains an interlocking tower. The Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge is adjacent.
The CapeFlyer is a passenger rail service in Massachusetts between Boston and Cape Cod that began in 2013. It is operated by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The service runs on the weekends, beginning Friday evenings and including holidays, between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
The Cape Cod & Hyannis Railroad was a railroad that provided tourist and seasonal passenger services in Southeastern Massachusetts in the 1980s. Its primary service operated from the Braintree MBTA station to Hyannis on Cape Cod; branches to Attleboro and Falmouth also operated in some years. The service ended after the 1988 summer season amid early-1989 state budget cuts in Massachusetts; much of the same trackage is being used for the seasonal CapeFLYER service.
Bournedale station was a railroad station serving Bournedale, Massachusetts. Opened in 1848, it was relocated in 1911 during construction of the Cape Cod Canal and closed in the 1920s.
Bourne station is a train station in Bourne, Massachusetts, served by the CapeFlyer.
Middleborough station is an under-construction MBTA Commuter Rail station in Middleborough, Massachusetts. It is expected to open in 2024 as part of the South Coast Rail project, replacing Middleborough/Lakeville station for regular service. The station will have a single side platform located inside the wye between the Middleborough Main Line and the Middleboro Secondary.
The Cape Codder was a pair of day and night passenger trains run by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH) from the latter 1920s to the mid 1960s, with some brief interruptions. Its distinction was the longest tenure of direct summertime New York City to Cape Cod trains. With the improvement of highways in southeastern Massachusetts, passenger rail traffic diminished, and the Cape Codder service ended with the New Haven Railroad's discontinuing of passenger rail service to Cape Cod.
Media related to West Barnstable station at Wikimedia Commons