Northampton Street Railway

Northampton Street Railway
A Northampton Street Railway car on Main Street, 1907
A Northampton Street Railway car on Main Street, 1907
Overview
OwnerNorthampton Street Rwy. Co.
Area served
Transit typeLight rail
Bus (1933–1951)
Headquarters125 Locust Street
Northampton, MA
01060-2066
Operation
Began operationSeptember 8, 1866[1]: 912 
August 26, 1893 (electrified)[2]
1933 (bus)[3]
Ended operationDecember 25, 1933 (rail)[4]
August 22, 1951 (bus)[5][a]
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge[1]: 912 

The Northampton Street Railway (NSR), founded as the Northampton and Williamsburg Street Railway, was an interurban streetcar and bus system operating in Northampton, Massachusetts and its villages of Florence and Leeds, as well as surrounding communities with connections in Easthampton, and Williamsburg.[7]

Ultimately a prolonged labor strike beginning in August 1951, led to the company ceasing all services and relinquishing its routes and franchise later that year.[6] Following its bankruptcy, several of the railway company's former bus routes were assumed by Western Massachusetts Bus Lines.[8] Purchased two years after the company ceased operations, today the railway's former headquarters serves as the main garage of the Northampton Department of Public Works.[9]

  1. ^ a b Poor, H. V.; Poor, H. W. (1901). "Street Railways in Massachusetts". Poor's Manual of Railroads. Vol. XXXIII. New York: American Banknote Company.
  2. ^ "Northampton's Electric Cars; Successfully Started - Interesting History of the Street Railway". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. August 27, 1893. p. 3.
  3. ^ "Bus Will Replace Trolly". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. November 7, 1933. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Busses to Make Run from Northampton". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. December 21, 1933. p. 3. With the transformation of the Northampton street railway line to bus service Tuesday
    • "New Busses Do Well Despite Heavy Snow; Railroad Passenger Traffic Mounts as Storm Halts Automobiles". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. December 27, 1933. p. 10.
  5. ^ "'Hamp Bus Drivers, 65 Strong, Out On Strike; Pellissier, Acting Head of Transit Firm, Says Sale Would Be Welcome; Walkout First Since 1914". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. August 22, 1951. p. 1.
  6. ^ a b "Surrender of Franchise Stuns 'Hamp; But Officials Hope Bus Service May Be Restored Soon". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. October 31, 1951. p. 7.
  7. ^ Map of the Street Railways of the State of Massachusetts (Map). The Joint Special Committee on the Transportation Facilities of Western Massachusetts. January 1913.
  8. ^ "'Hamp Awakes to See Busses Rolling Again". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. January 21, 1952. p. 8. Fortier's Western Massachusetts Bus Lines will serve Northampton, Easthampton, Hadley, Amherst, Florence, Leeds, Williamsburg, and Mount Tom Junction for the present, with service nearly on a par with that given by the defunct Northampton Street Railway Co. which went out of business after union drivers struck for higher wages last August.
  9. ^ "Boston Firm Gets Bid for Bond Issue; $101,000 Loan to Be Used For Purchase of Former Railway Co. Garage". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. September 18, 1953. p. 7.


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