Next Stop, Woodstock

Next Stop, Woodstock. . , A whistle sings across the valley. With a puff of smoke and sigh of steam, the 5:00 p.m. train eases to a stop. Passengers spill onto the platform, eager to start their summer holidays. Horses tug the harnesses of waiting carriages, while drivers spring down to collect baggage and shuttle visitors to the Woodstock Inn. Workers haul crates of dry goods from boxcars to wagons for delivery to nearby businesses. It's a typical July day here at the Woodstock train station in 1905., Twice a day for 58 years, a scene like this unfolded directly behind where you now stand. From 1875 to 1933, the 14-mile Woodstock Railway carried people and goods between Woodstock and White River Junction. The railway ushered in an era of thriving commerce, tourism, and community prosperity., A Long Time Coming , As early as 1847, plans for a rail line to Woodstock were in the works. In 1863, the Vermont legislature authorized the Woodstock Railway. Twelve years and more than $450,000 later, the engine Winooski eased across Quechee Gorge, cheered by thousands of spectators. At 9:00 a.m. on September 29, 1875, the first train arrived at Woodstock station, with 300 passengers aboard., End of the line , Woodstock Railway revenues dwindled after World War I and the advent of automobiles. Rail service ended on April 15, 1933, with an emotional final ride, which included 14 of the passengers who had ridden the railway’s first train 58 years earlier. Leaving Woodstock station at 11:00 a.m. sharp, the train arrived in White River Junction an hour late, delayed by a prankster’s grease on a sloping section of rail., (upper center caption) , Look behind you. Can you find the steeple of the old Woodstock Railway depot? This photo shows what you would have seen if you were standing here waiting for a train in the late 1800s. A locomotive bell, like the one hanging on the park’s entrance sign, announced the arrival and departure of each train., (Upper right) , In 1913, the Woodstock Inn purchased a 12-seat electric bus to shuttle visitors to and from the railway station., (lower left) , The Woodstock engine, Winooski, crosses the Quechee Gorge during bridge construction in 1875., (lower, center) , Passengers on the final ride received a special souvenir ticket., (lower right, first) , Now at the Woodstock History Center, this bell once rang in the arrival and departure of passenger coaches in Woodstock at 5:00 p.m., (lower right, second) , Passengers at the Quechee Station. The Woodstock Railway fueled the region’s economy, carrying people and goods between Woodstock and White River Junction, where major railways converged., All photographs are courtesy of the Woodstock History Center.