Greendale Depot,

(West Boylston St., Worcester, Massachusetts)

Passenger, freight, or both?

(Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.)

First of all, there is a little irony here. I have come to love old railroad depots, especially in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and have been known to drive a long way to explore one. Yet, there is one I go by all the time, and even grew up in the neighborhood, but I had never photographed it until now.

It is in the north part of Worcester, (called "Greendale", also the name of this depot.) When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I actually used to wait for the bus to school inside this structure. It was then as it is now, partly occupied by a laundromat.  I had no idea it was a depot at that time.

These days, it is part of a strange conglomerate of 20th century cement edifices. Heavily modified, it pretty much has become part of an ad-hoc strip mall. The depot itself is occupied by a jeweler, and by half of the laundromat. As you can see in these images, the laundromat also occupies the cement addition. (You can see the vents from the dryers coming out the back of the structure from this addition.) When I was a teen, it was open all night, and in the winter we would hang out around back where the cops could not see us, and take turns putting quarters in the empty dryers to keep the heat blowing out the back. What a riot. It could be below zero and we would be around back- toasty warm. Pretty neat trick. From what I understand, some of the other kids were naughty and would drink beer on winter nights doing this.  (Gosh, not me though. Perish the thought. ;-)

So now all these years later I managed to stop by and photograph it for you in February, 2004, knowing it was a depot.

Well, it was a depot alright, no doubt. So the question is--- was it for passengers, freight, or both?

I say freight. Reason I think this is because it is on the OUTBOUND side. If it was for passengers it would be on the other side of the tracks. It is so heavily modified as to offer little clues. I have never seen a photograph of this depot in its heyday, and that sure would help solve the mystery.

What do you think?

This was on the former Worcester and Nashua line. (Later Worcester, Nashua, and Portland, then a branch of the Boston and Maine. Now Guilford/PanAm. ) The stop was between Barber's Crossing and Bradley. It was south of Summit Station. I have never seen a picture of any of these three long gone depots, but would love to!

Please e-mail either me, or my pal Gary for "Railroad Depots of New Hampshire and Massachusetts" fame if you have any info....

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