Amherst station (Massachusetts)

Amherst is a former intercity rail station located in Amherst, Massachusetts. The station was built by the Amherst and Belchertown Railroad in 1853; it was served by the Central Vermont Railway until 1947. Amtrak service began in 1989 with the Montrealer; it was replaced by the Vermonter in 1995. The station was closed on December 28, 2014, when the Vermonter was rerouted to the faster Connecticut River Line to the west.

Amherst
Amherst station in February 2008
General information
Location13 Railroad Street, Amherst, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°22′30″N 72°30′41″W
Line(s)New England Central Railroad
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Construction
AccessibleNo
Other information
Station codeAMM
History
Opened1853, July 18, 1989
Closed1966; December 28, 2014[1]
Rebuilt1992
Passengers
FY201414,124 (last year of service)[2]
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Springfield
toward Washington, D.C.
 Vermonter
1995–2014
 Brattleboro
toward St. Albans
Willimantic
toward Washington, D.C.
 Montrealer
1989–1995
 Brattleboro
toward Montreal
Preceding station Central Vermont Railway Following station
Norwottuck
toward New London
 Main Line Cushman
toward St. Johns

History
A special train celebrating the return of the Montrealer poses with a ceremonial barrier at Amherst station on July 17, 1989, the day before regular service began

The station was built in 1853 by the Amherst and Belchertown Railroad—the only brick station on the line.[3] Service began in May 1853 under lease to the New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad (NLW&P). Amherst was the northern terminus of the line until 1867, when the New London Northern Railroad (NLN)—which had taken over the bankrupt companies—completed an extension to Millers Falls on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad.[4] The line became part of the Vermont Central Railroad in 1871, which was taken over in 1873 by the Central Vermont Railroad (after 1899, the Central Vermont Railway [CV]).[4] The Central Massachusetts Railroad, which paralleled the NLN south of downtown Amherst, had its own station—the building of which is also still extant—located on South Pleasant Street.[3]

Passenger service on the CV south of the Vermont state line ended on September 27, 1947; the station was modified for other uses.[5][4] On July 18, 1989, the Amtrak Montrealer (which had been discontinued in 1987 due to poor track conditions on the Connecticut River Line in Massachusetts and the CV in Vermont) was restored on a new routing via Amherst, with a stop there.[6] The building, which is privately owned, was restored to its original condition in 1992. The interior was split between a passenger waiting area and a commercial space.[5][3] On April 1, 1995, the Montrealer was cut back to St. Albans, Vermont and renamed as the Vermonter.[7]

In 2014, the Connecticut River Line was rebuilt for renewed passenger service. On December 29, 2014, the Vermonter was rerouted to that line, serving stops at Northampton, Greenfield, and later Holyoke. The last day of service to Amherst was December 28.[1]

References
  1. "Amtrak Vermonter Service to the Knowledge Corridor Starts December 29" (Press release). Amtrak. December 12, 2014.
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, Commonwealth of Massachusetts" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  3. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780942147087.
  4. Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. pp. 117–122. ISBN 9780942147124.
  5. "Amherst, MA (AMM)". Great American Stations. Amtrak. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  6. Lavin, Carl (July 24, 1989). "Amtrak Journal; In New England, an Old Friend Is Back on Track". The New York Times.
  7. Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. Saint Paul, Minnesota: MBI. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7603-1765-5.

Further reading
  • Smith, James Avery (2014). "Stations Through Amherst". In Becker, Kerstin (ed.). The Railroads and Trolleys of Amherst, Massachusetts. Amherst, Massachusetts: Old Chapel Press. pp. 87–94. ISBN 9780974755397. OCLC 913887641.
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