Windham Junction Then and Now
Windham Depot holds a prominent place in New Hampshire railroad history, and within the town itself. Constructed in 1849, the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad established the first train service in Windham, as the industrial revolution expanded to cities north of Boston.
Using hand tools and black powder to clear ledge along the bed, the construction was considered an engineering challenge, and lead to the most expensive section of the project. Walking along the trail today, you will observe predominant ledge cuts, high areas of fill, and pits which material was extracted for the rail bed. Legal controversy ensued as the project was believed delayed by the M&L RR due to poor engineering and project management, leading to a legislative investigative committee study in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. It was the Big Dig before its time!
The first train on the M&L operated on November 13, 1849. In the early 1900’s the original Depot station was moved about 200 feet east on Depot (near where it currently stands) with the existing Depot structure built for $2,200. With the intersection of the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad, (abandoned in 1932) two sets of signals were maintained, one higher than the other both penetrating a corner portion of roof. Other buildings in the Depot included the town’s first post office, a general and grain store, and sawmill, The M&L leased the line to the Boston and Maine in 1887 until 1919 when it was eventually merged with the B&M. The Bar Harbor Express passing through was a thrill for the neighbors to watch during the summers of 1902 – 11, as well was a stop by Teddy Roosevelt. The last passenger train was operated on July 10, 1953, with freight pass through occurring until August 1980. What remains today are the Depot and freight buildings, the foundation for the water tower (in the parking lot).
An update from the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, thx Rick Kfoury!
Freight customers on the Boston & Maine's Manchester & Lawrence Branch were served by a Portland Division local freight, L-1, based in Lawrence, L-1, which could operate as far north as Londonderry as-needed but usually did not pass beyond Derry. The last freight trains operated through Windham to Derry in August 1980 carrying feed, lumber, building products and road salt for Derry and Londonderry. On September 18, 1980, freight service north to Derry and Londonderry from Lawrence was suspended by the B&M without advance notice. Five derailments on the branch in August, including a particularly bad four-car derailment in Londonderry on August 29th, resulted in the curtailment of service. Freight for Londonderry and Derry was re-routed south from Manchester instead. A Portland Division crew from Lawrence would handle freight as far north as North Salem but no further. B&M bulletin order B1-186/NE1-116, dated November 6, 1980, and officially took the branch out-of-service between milepost 7.6 in North Salem and 600 feet south of Milepost 16 in Derry until further notice. Tie bunters were also installed. This was the first section of the Manchester & Lawrence Branch to be removed from service and ended the possibility of running between its namesake cities. The embargoed section, mostly within the town of Windham, was never put back into service and was later abandoned in 1983. The B&M continued to operate between Manchester and Derry until June 1982, when service was again cut back to Manchester Airport where trains ran until 1989.
An update from the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, thx Rick Kfoury!
Freight customers on the Boston & Maine's Manchester & Lawrence Branch were served by a Portland Division local freight, L-1, based in Lawrence, L-1, which could operate as far north as Londonderry as-needed but usually did not pass beyond Derry. The last freight trains operated through Windham to Derry in August 1980 carrying feed, lumber, building products and road salt for Derry and Londonderry. On September 18, 1980, freight service north to Derry and Londonderry from Lawrence was suspended by the B&M without advance notice. Five derailments on the branch in August, including a particularly bad four-car derailment in Londonderry on August 29th, resulted in the curtailment of service. Freight for Londonderry and Derry was re-routed south from Manchester instead. A Portland Division crew from Lawrence would handle freight as far north as North Salem but no further. B&M bulletin order B1-186/NE1-116, dated November 6, 1980, and officially took the branch out-of-service between milepost 7.6 in North Salem and 600 feet south of Milepost 16 in Derry until further notice. Tie bunters were also installed. This was the first section of the Manchester & Lawrence Branch to be removed from service and ended the possibility of running between its namesake cities. The embargoed section, mostly within the town of Windham, was never put back into service and was later abandoned in 1983. The B&M continued to operate between Manchester and Derry until June 1982, when service was again cut back to Manchester Airport where trains ran until 1989.
Historical Photos - Then
Now
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