Union Station (Walpole, Massachusetts)

Norfolk County Railroad

The Walpole Railroad was chartered on April 16, 1846 to run from Walpole to Dedham, where it would meet the Boston and Providence Railroad's Dedham Branch. The Norfolk County Railroad was chartered on April 24, 1847 to run from Walpole to Blackstone; it absorbed the unbuilt Walpole Railroad that July. The Norfolk County Railroad opened from Dedham to Walpole on April 23, 1849, and to Blackstone on May 16. The station was located on East Street at Glenwood Avenue, just north of the town common.

In 1855 and after 1867, the line had more direct service to Boston via the Midland Branch. In 1875, after passing through several companies, it was taken over by the New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE).

Union Station

The Mansfield and Framingham Railroad opened between its namesake cities through Walpole on May 1, 1870. The station was located south of the crossing with the Norfolk County line, near West Street. The line was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad in 1879.

After debate in 1881-82, a union station was built in 1883 to serve both lines. Located in the southeast corner of the junction, it has two wings to provide frontage on both routes, with an operator's tower in the center. The original 3-story tower burned in 1890; the station was rebuilt with the current two-story tower. A freight house, express house, express office, and second tower were also present around the junction. The station was constructed in the Victorian eclectic style with Richardsonian Romanesque influences, making it one of the few such stations in Massachusetts to be constructed of wood rather than the heavy stone of H.H. Richardson's designs.

The Old Colony Railroad was acquired by the New Haven Railroad in 1893, and the NYY&NE was acquired two years later. Passenger service ended on the marginal Mansfield-Framingham route in 1933, but the line was retained as a freight route.

MBTA era and NRHP

The newly formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began subsidizing suburban commuter rail service on the Franklin Line on April 24, 1966. The station building was renovated in the 1980s; in the 1990s, centralized traffic control replaced use of the interlocking tower in the station. On June 3, 2004, the MBTA board approved a $1.4 plan for adding 200 parking spaces to the station. However, the additional parking was not built.

The former Old Colony line became Conrail's and later CSX's Framingham Subdivision, then the Framingham Secondary after it was sold to the state in 2015. In August 1971, the Boston Patriots moved to Foxborough Stadium and special limited-stop game day service to Foxboro station was initiated. The service switches from the Franklin Line to the Framingham Secondary at Walpole but does not serve the station. The MBTA completed a study in 2010 to determine the feasibility of extending full-time commuter rail service to Foxboro. Foxboro service would have been a shuttle from Walpole, an extension of existing Fairmount Line trains to Walpole and Foxboro, or a mix of the two service patterns.

Most of the station interior retains its original appearance. A coffee shop operated inside the north wing of the station building until 2009; it was replaced by a similar business several years later. Ticket sales, a waiting room, and restrooms are also available. MBTA offices and storage occupy the south wing.

In the 1990s, the station was considered for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, but this was deferred because town officials feared inclusion would make future modifications, relocation, or demolition more difficult. After a local bank paid for a preservation consultant, documentation was completed in 2015. In December 2015, the Massachusetts Historical Commission voted to nominate the station to the National Register. The station was added to the National Register on April 5, 2016.