Bellows Falls station

Bellows Falls, VT
The station (left) and the former Railway Express Agency building in 2015
General information
Location	54 Depot Street Bellows Falls, Vermont United States
Coordinates	43°08′11″N 72°26′41″W / 43.136407°N 72.444657°W / 43.136407; -72.444657
Owned by	Green Mountain Railroad
Line(s)	New England Central Railroad Green Mountain Railroad
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	The Current: 2, 53, 55, 57 Greyhound Lines
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: BLF
History
Opened	January 1, 1849 September 30, 1972 July 18, 1989
Closed	September 6, 1966 April 6, 1987
Rebuilt	1851; 1922–1923
Passengers
FY 2023	4,562[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Brattleboro toward Washington, D.C. Vermonter Claremont toward St. Albans
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Brattleboro toward Washington, D.C. Montrealer 1972–1987, 1989–1995 White River Junction toward Montreal Preceding station Central Vermont Railway Following station Brattleboro toward New London Main Line Charlestown toward St. Johns Preceding station Rutland Railroad Following station Rockingham toward Rouses Point Rouses Point–​Bellows Falls Terminus Chester toward Montreal Green Mountain Flyer / Mount Royal Keene toward Boston
Location

Bellows Falls station is an Amtrak intercity rail station located in the Bellows Falls village of Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The station is served by the single daily round trip of the Washington, D.C.–St. Albans Vermonter. It has a single side platform adjacent to the single track of the New England Central Railroad (ex-Central Vermont) mainline.

Three railroads—the Sullivan County Railroad, Cheshire Railroad, and Rutland and Burlington Railroad—were completed to Bellows Falls in 1849, followed by the Vermont Valley Railroad in 1851. This placed Bellows Falls at the junction of two major trunk lines: Boston–Burlington via Rutland and Fitchburg, and New York–Montreal via New Haven and White River Junction. A two-story brick station was constructed in 1851 at the junction of the four railroads. After a number of mergers and leases over the next half-century, service was consolidated into three major railroads by 1900. The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) and Central Vermont (CV) ran north–south service through Bellows Falls, while the B&M and Rutland Railroad collaborated on east–west traffic on the Boston–Montreal route via Bellows Falls.

Much of the downtown area, including the train station, was destroyed in a 1921 fire; it was replaced in 1922–23 with a one-story brick building on the same site. Passenger service declined over the following decades, with all passenger service to Bellows Falls ended in 1966. In 1972, newly created Amtrak restored the Washington, D.C.–Montreal Montrealer. Bellows Falls was served by the Montrealer from 1972 to 1987, and 1989 to 1995; since 1995 it has been served by the Vermonter.

The station building and a circa-1880 Railway Express Agency (REA) building nearby were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as part of the Bellows Falls Downtown Historic District. The former REA building houses the offices of the Green Mountain Railroad.