The former Williamstown Rail Yard and Station occupy a narrow strip of land along the north bank of the
Hoosic River, roughly divided by Cole Avenue, and separated from North Hoosac Road by the railroad right-of-way the facilities historically served. The southeastern half of the district is where the former passenger station is located, while the northwestern half houses a few surviving elements of the railroad maintenance yard. The passenger station was built in 1898 to replace an earlier wood frame station (built 1859) that was destroyed by fire. The new station was built of stone, and features
Richardsonian Romanesque details. Passenger service was discontinued by the
Boston & Maine Railroad in 1959. The surviving railyard facilities include coal storage elevators, built between 1914 and 1931 for use by local coal delivery services, and the 1879 freight house, at the very northern end of the district. Railroad service to Williamstown was inaugurated in 1859, and was instrumental in transforming the town, bringing industrial development. Early service ran between
Pittsfield, Massachusetts and
Albany, New York, and this was augmented by the completion of the
Hoosac Tunnel to also provide faster service to
Boston. The
Fitchburg Railroad took over all three lines in 1887, and used this yard as a staging ground for helper locomotives on the traversal of the Hoosac Tunnel, and as a sorting yard to separate eastbound traffic bound either for the tunnel or Pittsfield. The yard had sixteen sidings, a nine-bay roundhouse, and a turntable; the latter two features do not survive in recognizable form, and their site is located outside the historic district. The service features of the yard fell out of use after the Hoosac Tunnel was electrified in 1911. The 1879 freight house was closed in 1939, its functions relocated to the passenger station. Passenger service ended at the end of 1958, and the freight station was closed the following year. ==See also==