Sometimes stories have a happy ending, other times perhaps not. Concord is a place that is rich with history, history that lives on with each and every person that walks our streets each day. We pass buildings that hold centuries of memories, walk streets that existed centuries ago, view a landscape where our ancestors worked and toiled to make a living. There are even times when we live with history but we hold no knowledge that we are so very close to a story that needs to be told. Travel back with me in time to the history of the Boston & Maine Railroad in Concord, New Hampshire.
It was in the 19th century that our ancestors witnessed the arrival of the very first passenger train in our little town. It was with great fanfare they embraced the arrival of the railroad for it made travel more convenient while bringing many employment opportunities to the city. In time our railroad history in Concord evolved into many decades of growth with the addition of a grand depot and a full-scale railroad yard in the southern section of Concord. The railroad brought opportunities but it also provided hope for the future with as many as 32 passenger trains arriving each day. Trains that delivered passengers in their railroad coach cars, passengers that spent money in our community and boosted our economy further. Commerce certainly benefited from the railroad and our community grew above early expectations. The railroad brought people to Concord and sadly the railroad took people away too. Many a tear was shed at the Concord Train Depot as our young soldiers and sailors left their families behind as they departed for war. Many of these soldiers and sailors never returned again to the train depot in Concord, the very last memories of their beloved service men and woman simply a sepia toned photograph with a long-forgotten soldier waving from a coach car as it left the train depot.
Our Concord railroad yard was a city within itself, comprised of dozens of acres it was the place where the railroad made locomotives, provided routine maintenance and full overhauls. Hundreds of Boston & Maine Railroad employees worked in the railroad yard focusing on everything that was needed to keep the railroad running.
It was with great sadness that the railroad era ended in Concord, once the largest employer for our ancestors it eventually ceased to exist. The coveted railroad passenger service entered a period of slow decline. People were traveling on airplanes and then jets to reach their intended destinations. The railroad saw continual decline and made attempts to adapt to the changing times. The grand Concord Railroad Depot was demolished in 1959, railroad passenger service to Concord was discontinued in 1967 and the railroad eventually went bankrupt in the 1970s. The railroad yard was closed in time and eventually succumbed to the years with few of the original buildings remaining today.
Today we still have hidden reminders of a grand railroad history in Concord. These exist in the form of homes that our residents still reside in today. It is not common knowledge, perhaps not even known by the people that reside in these homes, but the past is indeed still with us. Commonly referred to as railroad homes, but uncommon in general without much recorded history, the Boston & Maine railroad coaches still live within our community.
It was in the year 1947 the Boston & Maine Railroad decided to retire 40 of their used coach cars located in the railroad yard here in Concord, simply railroad cars that were used to transport passengers dating back to the very early 1900s. The passengers included many from across New England, with many being our soldiers and sailors from World War I and World War II. There was a need to dispose of the 40 coach cars, where there is a will there is always a way.
James Ross was the acting inspector for the Boston & Maine Railroad here in Concord. He was fully aware the railroad wished to dispose of the 40 coaches quickly and efficiently. Ross pondered the railroad’s dilemma and devised a plan that would help the railroad and help returning war veterans while returning a profit. James Ross established a new company and called it Ross Associates. Ross Associates then purchased the 40 railroad coach cars and set about converting them into homes, beautiful little homes that answered the call for affordable housing as the population was growing after the war. The veterans were able to use their benefits and finance homes with local banks, all guaranteed by the federal government.
I do find the concept quite fascinating and certainly beneficial to those in need of housing. Ross Associates were able to purchase the coaches at a fair price and market them to the returning veterans. It certainly sounds like a winning combination for everyone involved and was very supported by Ross, local banks, Boston & Maine Railroad and the community.
I am aware of two existing railroad coach homes in Concord that were built by Ross Associates in 1947 utilizing two of the 40 coaches purchased from the railroad. Today we find one located at the corner of Ellsworth and Chase Streets and the other located on South Street in Concord. The disposition of the remaining 38 railroad coach cars purchased by James Ross is unknown, perhaps they became homes in other New Hampshire towns 75 years ago, perhaps not. Perhaps the people living in them are aware of this very unique history, perhaps they are not.
When the first Ross Associates railroad coach home was completed, a ceremony was held, a grand opening of sorts. It has been said that 5,000 people attended the opening of the railroad home on the corner of Ellsworth and Chase Streets. The home was quickly sold and the new family enjoyed a new home that consisted of a railroad coach. The coach was cut into three pieces at the Concord Railroad Yard and transported to the building lot. It was onsite the railroad coach met the carpenters as they joined the three pieces of the coach together in a “U” shape, constructed a gabled roof over the curved coach roof and added insulation. The finished interior of the new coach home provided a small apartment-style kitchen, one living room measuring 18 feet by 9 feet and two bedrooms, one measuring 11 feet by 9 feet and the other 10 feet by 9 feet. A full bathroom was added – no basement or attic included.
During the widely attended Concord grand opening the public witnessed some telltale signs of the home’s former use as a railroad coach. There was a distinct curve between the ceiling and the walls, the original coach windows were boarded over and plastered. There were vertical mahogany boards circling the base of the house, a leftover from the railroad coach.
Many of our ancestors that visited the new home concept said they could not tell the home enjoyed a former life as a railroad coach. Others did see the resemblance. Some woman in the audience stated the new home was certainly designed by a man and not a woman citing the smaller kitchen.
The Boston & Maine Coach now residing as a residence on the Concord Heights today was once known as B & M Coach No. 480. This simple railroad car with a rich history. Repurposed in the most efficient way to benefit many people. I find it comforting to think B & M Coach No. 480 has returned home to the community it once served so very well.