Great Barrington station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Great Barrington
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| Location | Castle Street Great Barrington, Massachusetts United States |
| Coordinates | 42°11′38″N 73°21′54″W / 42.19389°N 73.36500°W |
| Owned by | Housatonic Railroad |
| Line(s) | Berkshire Line |
| Platforms | 1 side platform |
| Tracks | 2 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1901 |
| Closed | 1971 |
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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| NRHP reference No. | 98000680 |
| Added to NRHP | June 11, 1998 |
The Great Barrington station is a historic train station located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It used to be a busy stop on the Housatonic Railroad's Berkshire Line. Even though regular passenger trains no longer stop here, the station building still stands and is an important part of the town's history.
Contents
History of the Station
The railroad company that built this line started laying tracks in the 1830s. Trains began running through Great Barrington in September 1842. The station building you see today was built in 1901. It replaced an older station that was located on Railroad Avenue.
Train Routes and Stops
The trains from Great Barrington traveled north through several towns. These included Stockbridge, Lenox, and Lee. Further north, the line reached Pittsfield. In Pittsfield, trains stopped at the Pittsfield Depot and later at Union Station.
End of Regular Passenger Service
Regular passenger train service at Great Barrington station stopped on April 30, 1971. After that, the station was no longer used for daily travel. However, it has sometimes been a stop for the Berkshire Scenic Railway. This museum runs special tourist trains for people who want to experience old-fashioned rail travel.
Future of the Railroad Line
The Great Barrington station is part of the Taconic and West Avenues Historic District. This means it's recognized as an important historical building.
In 2008, the railroad company started thinking about bringing back passenger trains. They wanted to run trains along the entire line from the Danbury Branch all the way to Pittsfield. By 2010, they began a detailed study to see if this was possible. At that time, it was estimated that it would cost a lot of money to fix up the tracks for passenger trains.
In 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) bought a large part of the Berkshire Line. This section runs from the Connecticut border through Great Barrington and other towns up to Pittsfield. MassDOT hopes to improve the tracks for both passenger and freight trains. The goal is to allow trains to travel all the way to New York City via Southeast Station. This could mean that one day, passenger trains might stop at Great Barrington again!
