The Chester Roundhouse and Coal Tower still stand although deteriorating heavily.  Just half a mile from Chester Depot heading West, Chester’s Factory Village History is everywhere.  There was a Swing Bridge near Tower #50(now gone a silver CSX building there now) and just after Knox Brook where Riverfront Street continued across the tracks to Prospect Street. (called Knox Crossing). There was another bridge to the roundhouse, see the stone abutments near the old pump house and stairs to no where on Middlefield Road across from Olin Ave. So there were two swinging bridges over the river.

from Norvel Parker “Although we were forbidden by our parents, my cousins and I would come home by the way of Middlefield Street, cutting through the field to this swinging bridge. This particular time we thought. it was fun to run across it. The bridge would act like a bendy bow on ice, (if you ever did this). The walk of the bridge was narrow, (only room for one person to pass) made it quite dangerous to run back and forth on it. There was nothing on the sides for protection, only a few cables to hold the bridge and walk. We had ran across a few times when the Tower Operator stepped out of Tower #50 which was right next to the bridge and gave us heck and asked if we wanted to fall into the Westfield River.

It was on Henry Knox’s farm (big white house still standing) that was across the tracks from the B. & A. Railroad Round House that in the 1920’s the Finns built a large stone shed. The stone was granite and was hauled by truck from Becket, somewhere near the Chester Granite Companies Quarry. The Finns stone shed later on caught fire and burned down. The first New York Central R. R. four unit diesel locomotives 1350 H.P. each, total 5400 horse power arrived on the Boston & Albany R. R, they were headed for West Springfield, Mass with 70 freight cars. The engines were 913,700 pounds and were assigned to the B. & A. RR for daily service. Historical Round House photos courtesy of Dave Pierce.

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