HILLTOWN HISTORY investigates the location of the original Middlefield Depot in Bancroft with property owner Bill who made the trip from California to go searching for answers on a stone foundation that he found. Using lidar and Google overlay historical mapping we determined the stone was from an earlier era than the 2nd Middlefield Depot, quite possibly part of the original wooden Middlefield Station. His property also includes the old Bancroft school.  Thank you to Bill for keeping Hilltown History alive!

“Until the 1950s freight trains exceeding fifty cars took on a helper (engine) at Chester. A pusher went as far as Washington, then uncoupled and returned to Chester to help the next train. Each crew was on duty eight hours and was then relieved by a fresh crew.

The sound of laboring steam engines and their long and short whistles were a constant reminder of the frequent flow of rail traffic through Middlefield. Even high on the hill many miles from the railroad there was a romantic sense of action and power as these sounds were heard, especially during the quiet of night.

“Railroads were the life line for residents and farmers in Middlefield. All mail to and from the post offices was carried by rail. Raw materials In the late ’20s there were fifteen passenger trains through Middlefield, five of them making a station stop in Middlefield. It was possible to take the 3:58 afternoon train from Middlefield, go to Chester to buy groceries or get a haircut, and return on the 5:30 train. In those days many children traveled by train to Chester High School. They took the 7:45 a.m. train and came home on the 5:30 p.m. train. They were reimbursed by the town for their ticket.

“As more people owned automobiles, train service dwindled until sometime in the 1950s. Passenger service from Middlefield ended. Before that, of course, all mail came by train for the two post offices. But two trains a day continued to run, stopping at cities like Springfield. But that was discontinued in the 1960s.

“In 1975 Amtrak started passenger service which continues at this writing. Two trains a day stop at Springfield and Pittsfield. The closer station for Middlefield passengers is in Pittsfield. For small towns the railroad era has passed.-History of Middlefield Sternagle. Some historical photos by John Ham.

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