- 1848 - The Stony Brook Railroad opened, and ran approximately 13 miles from the Nashua and Lowell Railroad at North Chelmsford station to the Boston and Fitchburg Railroad at Groton Junction (now in Ayer)
- 1869 - John H Whidden married Sarah Edwards, sister of local architect and contractor William C Edwards, and they made their home at 32-School Street
- 1870 - Thomas Sugden started the Sugden Press Bagging Company in an existing Eagle Mill storehouse between Stony Brook and the railroad tracks. They produced specialized cloth used to extract dyes, cottonseed oil, and cocoa bean products from seeds
- 1873 - John H Whidden became the West Chelmsford station agent in July
- 1882 - John purchased land at 8-School Street from the Hiscox File Manufacturing Company and constructed a two-and-a-half story wood frame building where he operated a store and later a post office
- 1884 - The original West Chelmsford train station was destroyed by fire on January 21st, only 26 days after the nearby Eagle Mill burned to the ground. Old railroad cars were used as temporary shelter for passengers waiting for the trains.
- A new passenger station and freight house were constructed by William C Edwards whose home was a short distance away in Nabnasset, just beyond the end of Main Street. He built local schools (Quessy), churches (West Chelmsford Methodist), libraries (Adams in Chelmsford and Fletcher in Westford), and many of the train stations in eastern Massachusetts, as well as a large dairy farm next door to the train station property.
- From the "Lowell Daily Courier" October 18 issue: "The main building is 30 by 33 and 1½ stories high. It has a wing 21 by 21. On the lower floor there are two waiting rooms, separated by a partition and ticket office, the latter projecting into the platform, giving a clear view of the road in both directions. In rear of the station are three rooms, kitchen, dining room and parlor, for the use of the station agent, and upstairs there are four large sleeping rooms. An abundance of closet room shows the good sense of the architect."
New Passenger Station, John Whidden, circa 1885 (Thomas Collins collection) colorized by FM
- 1884 - More from the "Lowell Daily Courier" October 18 issue: "Nearby Is the freight house, 18 by 30, painted in harmony with the rest. The cost of the new buildings was about $3000, and the road has certainly received good value for its money."
- The new freight house was built between the main line and a side track with platforms on both sides as seen in the image below, in front of the Sugden Press Bagging Company. The stone ruins of Eagle Mill, destroyed by fire on December 27, 1883, is seen on the right, and Marshall Hall and West Chelmsford Methodist Church are directly above it
Sugden Co., Freight House, Passenger Station, circa 1888 (Thomas Collins collection) colorized by FM
- 1886 - John H Whidden was appointed West Chelmsford postmaster in addition to his duties as station agent, constable, and cemetery commissioner.
- John is likely the man standing next to the tracks in the image below. The rear of the freight house can be seen between the tracks to the right of the telephone pole, and the side of the passenger station is beyond
Eagle Mill, Sugden Co., Freight House, circa 1890 (Thomas Collins collection) colorized by FM
- 1894 - John was tragically killed on the morning of August 8 at age 51. The morning freight train from Ayer Junction had some cars to drop off for the nearby Sugden Press Bagging mill. After John threw the switch to allow the engine and two cars onto the side track he walked along the track unaware the train cars were approaching from behind. Brakeman Stearns shouted a warning, but it was unheard, and the two cars and engine passed over his body before they could be stopped.
- After John's untimely death, his brother Augustus F Whidden took over his duties as station agent, constable, and cemetery commissioner through 1901. He previously worked for the railroad in the Bleachery section of Lowell and owned a house at 16-Washington Street in North Chelmsford. Their brother George W Whidden lived in the 16-Washington Street house and was foreman of the Boston Ice Company on Crystal (now Freeman) Lake.
- 1900 - Donald M Cameron of Westford purchased a controlling interest in the Sugden Press Bagging Company.
The image below shows that the freight house platform for the side track was removed and a ramp installed in its place, the side track appeared to be unused, and an addition had been constructed on the Sugden Company mill
Sugden Co., Freight House, Passenger Station, circa 1900 (Thomas Collins collection) colorized by FM
- 1905 - Nathaniel W Wood was the station agent at West Chelmsford Station and resided in Westford
- 1910 - William J Tobin was the station agent at West Chelmsford Station and boarded with his father Thomas Tobin, a section hand for the railroad, on Middlesex Street near the Lowell line
- 1915 - Wilbur R Cole was the station agent at West Chelmsford Station, lived in the passenger station, moved to Jordan Street around 1937, and served as station agent until his death in 1944
- 1917 - The Boston & Maine Railroad installed double tracks between North and West Chelmsford, and a section at the other end of the line, to reduce bottlenecks on the single track. The side track around the back of the passenger station and the freight house were in the way of track expansion, so the side track was removed and the freight house relocated
- 1927 - Double tracking of the entire Stony Brook Railroad was completed, allowing fast passenger trains to better compete with increasingly popular automobiles.
- 1934 - The image below shows the freight house in its new location on the other side of School Street, rotated 180 degrees. The double tracks are on the left, the side of the freight house can just be seen beyond the left side of the passenger station, and Strawberry Hill with bare ground is on the right
Double Tracks, Freight House, and Passenger Station (Fred Merriam collection) colorized by FM
- 1940 - Verne E Woodward moved from New Hampshire to West Chelmsford to work for the Boston & Maine Railroad at School Street Station. He rented a room at 209-Main Street and married in January 1941. When WWII broke out, he was sent by B&M to India to assist that country in operating their railroad system
- 1944 - Station agent Wilbur Cole died on July 1st at age 66 and Verne Woodward, who had returned from war service and purchased the nearby house at 8-School Street, became the station agent
- Circa 1945 - Passenger service fell off after the war, the passenger station was demolished, and the front room of the freight house became a passenger waiting room. Boxcars were shunted onto a short spur track next to the freight house for transfer of goods using the back room for temporary storage. A loading door on the far side provided access for trucks
School Street Freight House, circa 1950 (Fred Merriam collection) colorized by FM
- 1953 - The last passenger train passed through West Chelmsford on April 15, ending 105 years of service between Worcester and Lowell according to railroad historian Arnold Wilder. Freight traffic continued, with boxcar loads of goods passing through the freight house to trucks from companies such as the Abbot Worsted Mills and Nabnasset Food Locker Company, both in Westford
- 1957 - The Stony Brook line between North Chelmsford and Westford was relegated back to a single line. This was possible due to diminishing rail traffic and a Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) system that greatly improved safety
- 1972 - Verne Woodward was transferred to the switch tower at Ayer Junction. He was the last B&M employee to use Morse code on the company telegraph system
- 1972 to 1979 - The JapEnameLac Company across the road at 11-School Street rented the freight house for storage of batteries until they moved operations to Katrina Road in Chelmsford in 1979
- 1983 - The Boston & Maine Railroad emerged from bankruptcy and was purchased by Guilford Transportation Industries
- 1985 - Verne's son Stanley "Stan" Woodward rented the freight house from Guilford Transportation and opened a part-time model railraod hobby shop as a way to enjoy his inherited passion for the railroad. The shop became a favorite hangout for railroad old timers who gathered wearing their engineer hats to reminisce, smoke, and watch railroading movies.
- 1986 - The Alco-Brooks locomotive works in Dunkirk, NY, was one of the world's leading producers of steam locomotives. The Dunkirk plant shut down in 1962, and the Dunkirk Historical Society set out to find one of the few remaining Alco-Brooks steam locomotives for a historical exhibit at the nearby Chautauqua Fairgrounds. They found what they were looking for in Westford, and the Fletcher Granite Quarry donated its long-abandoned switching locomotive 444 along with its coal tender
- 1987 - While arrangements were being made to ship the locomotive and tender to New York, they were stored on flatcars next to Stan's Hobby Shop, giving Stan lots of good publicity
Stan's Hobby House, Model Trains & Supplies, January 1987 (Westford Historical Society)
 Alco-Brooks Locomotive 444 awaiting clearance to travel (Westford Historical Society)
 Locomotive 444 Coal Tender being loaded onto a flatcar (Westford Historical Society)
 Chelmsford Independent newspaper, January 15, 1987, page 1
 Chelmsford Independent newspaper, January 15, 1987, page 12
 Presentation slide courtesy of Rich McLaughlin, Westford Historical Society
- 1995 - With the circle of old-timers aging out and potential young railroad hobbyists distracted by new electronic gadgets, Stan ceased regular hours. According to his daughter Faith, he spent as much time as possible at the shop for the rest of his life, and was happy to do business or talk with anyone who dropped by. He even continued to pay the electric bill for a street lamp installed above the front door of the building
Freight House with railroad maintenance equipment on siding, April 30, 2004 (Photo by FM)
- 2006 - Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways
- 2007 - Stan Woodward passed away on June 6 at age 64
- 2013 - Without anyone to look after it, the freight house became vandalized, tagged, and dumped on
Front view, June 26, 2013 (Photo by FM)
 Left rear view, June 26, 2013 (Photo by FM)
 Right rear view, June 26, 2013 (Photo by FM)
- 2022 - Pan Am Railways was purchased by CSX Transportation on June 1st. Efforts by the Town of Chelmsford and Chelmsford Historical Commission to work with Pan Am Railways to save the freight house continued with CSX
- 2023 - A plan was initiated where the town would fund a partial dismantling and transport of the freight house to the Garrison House in South Chelmsford
- Warrant Article 30 submitted by the Community Preservation Committee for Spring Town Meeting on April 24 (continuing on April 27, May 1 or May 4) will fund the move: "To see if the Town will vote to appropriate and transfer a certain sum of money from the
Community Preservation Fund General Reserve for the dismantling, transporting, and preservation of the
School Street Freight House to the Garrison House property located at 105-Garrison Road; or act in relation thereto."
- Once received at 105-Garrison Road, the Old Chelmsford Garrison House Association has accepted responsibility for restoration and utilization, with hopes that it could serve as a museum to Chelmsford's railroad past.
REFERENCES:
- "History of Chelmsford 1910-1970" Courier Corporation, Eleanor Parkhurst and Fred Merriam, 2011
- "Images of America, North and West Chelmsford" Arcadia Publishing, Fred Merriam, 2016
- "The Stony Brook Railroad" H. Arnold Wilder, 1979"
- Conversations with Stan Woodward's family, Bill (son), Faith (daughter), Dwight (brother), 2023
- Directories, Lowell Suburban-Chelmsford Section, Chelmsford Historical Society website Library page
- History, Boston & Maine Railroad, Wikipedia
- Newspaper, Lowell Daily Courier, October 18, 1884 edition
- Newspaper, Chelmsford Independent, January 15, 1987 edition
- Photo collection, Thomas Collins, West Chelmsford
- Photo collection, Fred Merriam, West Chelmsford
- Photo collection, Westford Historical Society
- Presentation slide, Alco-Brooks, Rich McLaughlin, Westford Historical Society, 2023
- State Inventory, Historical Commission website Railroads page, West Chelmsford Freight House
- State Inventory, Historical Commission website Homes page, 8- & 32-School Street, 16-Washington Street
- Warrant Article for April/May 2023 Town Meeting, Town of Chelmsford website
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