Old Furnace RR Station in Hardwick, Massachusetts- gone? Or not?

  Contrary to popular belief, I say there is an extant depot at Old Furnace, Mass. I believe it was built on the exact site of a previous Old Furnace Station, which was on the Boston & Albany Ware River line. (Ware to Winchendon, Mass.) I believe it was a freight-only depot, constructed during the 1930s, replacing a combination depot from 1872.

  I have long held a suspicion there was a depot still standing at Old Furnace. But today I took a ride there with my camera- and now I am certain.

  Here is the story...

  The Ware River RR was constructed from Ware to Winchendon, Mass from 1870-1873.  A railroad depot was constructed at Old Furnace, in Hardwick. Upon completion, the line was leased by the Vermont Central RR. Not long after, it was bought by the Boston and Albany, who continued to operate it until 1968, when along with the rest of the B&A, it passed to the Penn Central. In 1968 the line was abandoned from Barre Plains to just below Winchendon.

   When the Penn Central was absorbed into Conrail in 1976, the rest of the line came close to being completely abandoned. But in 1979 it was taken over by the new Massachusetts Central RR, who have operated it from Ware to Barre Plains until the present day. (The existing line is in excellent shape these days, BTW.)


  Here is the original Old Furnace Depot, constructed in 1872.  It's very typical of other stations on this line in appearance. Judging by the auto parked to the right of the station, I would say this photo is from the 1920s. The driver of that car was most likely the photographer. (Come to think of it- that's not far from where I parked to take pictures today.)

  Gary LaPointe lists this station as "Gone" on  his site. That's pretty official. These days it is believed there is no depot standing at Old Furnace, Mass. None. No such thing.

  But I'm here to tell ya- it just ain't so.

 

  A few years ago when I first saw an old photo of this station, my initial impression was, "Oh. I know where that is- and I swear it's still there."  As it happens, I have hiked the entire Central Mass Railroad, which closely parallels the Boston & Albany Ware River Branch along this stretch. During the course of my investigation of the Central Mass, I had gone by this site a few times. I knew this area was called "Old Furnace". The photo of the depot seemed so familiar to me. I thought I knew exactly where it was- and it seemed to me it was still there.


  Here is another vintage view of Old Furnace Station, also from around the 1920s:

And an earlier photograph, from about 1905:

 


  Now on the next page- I am going to show you what it looks like today.

      Click here.