Tracks Passing By 10 Windham Road

After crossing over the electric car tracks on the trestle behind Burger King in Hudson Center the steam railroad continued its path onward to the rear of the Baptist Church and the street level crossing at Greeley Street and then to the Hudson Depot. The depot was located behind the dwelling at what is now 238 Central Street and Wattannick Hall. From behind the grange hall the railroad passed through Dr. David O. Smith’s garden and close by the porch on the front of his house. The tracks then crossed Windham Road onto wood and farmland on route to West Windham. If you find this difficult to picture remember the home of Donna Boucher at 8 Windham Road was not there at the time as it was in its previous location on Hamblett Avenue. The first photo shows the tracks near the front porch of Dr. Smith’s home now located at 10 Windham Road.

To visualize the remainder of the route to West Windham remember that the current route 111 from Hudson Center to West Windham was not constructed until the early 1960’s and when it was built much of the road bed was placed on or close to the right of way to the railroad. Windham Road was the main road from Hudson Center to West Windham. At the time of the railroad Windham Road included the road of today plus a section which has since been abandoned and a section which today is called Lawrence Road. At that time Windham Road took a sharp left curve near the homestead of Albert Smith; the roadway after this curve has since been renamed Lawrence Road.

                     Crossing Sign at Clement Road

After crossing Windham Road the next crossing was at Clement Road near the site of the present Tip-Top Tree service. The second photo shows the sign at Clement Road giving warning of the railroad crossing. The house in the photo was the old Clement farmhouse which burned in 1935. From here the tracks headed east toward the farm of Albert E. Smith. The tracks departed from Windham Road as they went to the rear of the farmhouse and barn, continued through woods and farmland to return to Windham Road near Lawrence Corner. Lawrence Corner was at the intersection of Windham Road (now Lawrence Road) with Bockes Road, and an extension to Robinson Road (now abandoned).

              Fatal Accicent March 1906

The line through Hudson consisted of a single set of tracks, making the use of proper schedules and signals vitally important. On March 17, 1906 the tracks just east of Lawrence Corner near Beaver Brook was the site of a head on crash which left 3 fatalities and several injuries. On that day at 5:00 am westbound train 341 and eastbound train 372 met in a head-on collision which was so severe that both engines were destroyed and cars were derailed. Each of these were extra freight trains; 341 coming westbound from Rochester and 372 eastbound from Acton. The accident was caused by a mix up in the signals. Newspaper reports indicate that over the next few days over 1,000 people visited the site to view the wreckage.

From this point the rail line continued through rural countryside to the Anderson station at West Windham near the intersection of route 111 with route 128.

These photos are from the collection at the Historical Society or from editions of the Nashua Telegraph.  Written by Ruth Parker.

“Long Crossing” on Central Street

Crossing Melendy Road near the intersection with Central Street the tracks went almost parallel and south of Central Street on the course toward Hudson Center. They went just north of Melendy Pond and through the back yard of what is now 91 Central Street heading towards Melendy Brook; which is also called Hadley Brook and First Brook. In this part of the route Central Street was north of the tracks.

Shortly after crossing the brook Central Street and the railroad tracks converged and ultimately Central Street crossed the tracks in such a manner that Central Street took a diagonal turn to the south. This placed the street on the south side of the tracks. This crossing was referred to as Central Street Crossing or also as Long Crossing. The switching of the street from the north to the south of the tracks resulted in a situation where oncoming auto traffic seemed to be approaching on the driver’s right which contributed to mishaps, particularly after dark. The name Long Crossing referred to the angle at which Central crossed the tracks. Once the railroad line was abandoned this diagonal turn was eliminated and that section of Central Street was straightened. The land taking to accomplish this resulted in narrow frontage for odd numbered houses near 91 Central Street whereas the opposite side ended up with wide frontage.

After crossing to the north of Central Street the tracks proceeded onto private land; next to emerge at the street level crossing with Burnham Road just below Alpine Avenue. There are two ‘dips’ in the road are apparent to this day. This street level crossing was called `Betsy Cutter Crossing’ and the road was known as Cutter Road. The crossing and the road were named for Betsey Cutter, a Revolutionary War Pensioner whose husband was a veteran. She applied for and received his pension. The road has since been changed to Burnham Road.

Tracks Through Westview Cemetery

The railroad bed is still very pronounced as it goes through the wooded section of Westview Cemetery. This is easily walked and takes one north of properties on Central Street. The track bed crosses Merrill Brook over a stone culvert. Some maps identify the railroad track bed through Westview Cemetery as the right of way for the trolley. These maps are in error. The trolley approached Hudson Center via Ferry Street; proceeding into a wooded area at the beginning of Burnham Road.

A section of the old electric car (trolley) bed may be seen beyond the swamp to the north of the railroad bed. The trolley tracks take a sharp turn towards Central Street and cross under the railroad right of way just east of White Birch and behind Burger King where one can see the remains of the stone trestle which carried the trains to the Hudson Center station; crossing over the trolley tracks which carried the trolleys on to Pelham.

Railroad Trestle at Hudson Center

The train tracks continued east where a row of pines marks the railroad bed before it passed close behind the First Baptist Church. Crossing at Greeley Street the trains arrived at the Hudson Center Station. It was here that animals and patrons arrived to go to Benson’s. Animals were shipped here and some were walked along the road to the farm. The Jungle Train from Boston brought people on excursions. There was a freight house and siding for handling goods.
The station was later made into a dwelling, but when it was no longer in use it was moved to Benson Park. It has since been renovated and can be seen at the entrance to the park. Leaving the station trains passed along the north wall of the Grange Hall (formerly the Town Hall) and crossed Windham Road heading towards Windham.