The railroad station, built in 1840, now houses a museum devoted to rail history.
Ralph Brown, left, and Edwin Carrington raise the U.S. POW and MIA flags in 2012 outside the Chester Historical Museum. Carrington will be the marshal for the Chester on Track parade on Saturday, May 18, to mark the celebration of the annual Chester On Track railroad festival. CHESTER – This year’s Chester On Track, marks the 174th anniversary of the Western Railroad coming to Chester.
The Hampden County hilltown was a big railroad community with 150 workers around the clock at the roundhouse to keep pusher engines ready to help trains up the ‘hill’ to the town of Washington.
Chester on Track will begin with a parade at 10 a.m. on May 18. Parade marshal will be Edwin Carrington, who for years was the guardian of the roundhouse and superintendent of the Hamilton Emery Plant on Middlefield Street.
The Chester railroad station was constructed by the Western Railroad in 1840 and is believed to be one of the oldest stations in the U.S. The last train stopped running in 1955, and the station was used as a tool shed until 1987, when the Chester Historical Commission and other concerned citizens rallied to preserve it. Two years later, the Chester Foundation was formed and the building was relocated to the other side of the tracks, with hopes of making it into a museum.
Chester on Track was held for the first time in 1990, to raise funds for the preservation of the station and museum.
This year’s event will feature events throughout the day. Angel Mist Farm will provide carriage rides; there will be a watershed exhibit by the U.S. National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, Civil War re-enactors, a blacksmith exhibit and a train show in the railroad station museum.
A number of 1920s-era freight cars, including a wooden caboose, and “children’s boxcar” will be on display. The Pioneer Valley Live Steamers will have an exhibit, and there will be other vendors. There will be hourly tours to the Chester Granite Co., a working granite quarry, and self guided walks to the ‘shot saw’ for cutting granite at the old finishing works across the street from the station.
The Hamilton Memorial Library and the Chester Historical Society’s old jail building will be open and welcoming visitors.
There will also be events for children, a craft fair and musical entertainment throughout the day.
Hikes will also be offered to the classic stone arch railroad bridges, popularly known as the Keystone Arches, along the Westfield River. Donations accepted.
For more information, go online to ChesterRailwayStation.net. Â