Sunday, October 16, 2016

Trolley bus sightings in Colrain on October 15

The trolley bus tour was seen Saturday afternoon at two sites in Colrain that were stops on the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway route in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Trolley bus tour departing the former site of the Hillside Park, a popular recreation destination in Shattucksville for riders of the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway. The park fell into disuse after the trolley stopped running in 1927, then was used as a gravel pit, then a town landfill, and currently as the town transfer station for trash and recyclables.

Description of Hillside Park in Lois Patrie's book, "A History of Colrain, Mass.," page 166. Click on the image to enlarge for easier reading.

Trolley bus tour arriving at a parking lot opposite the site of the former Griswold Manufacturing Co. in Griswoldville, currently Barnhardt Manufacturing Co. Griswold Manufacturing was one of the largest employers in the area. Raw materials and finished products were transported to and from the railway station in Shelburne Falls, and many workers commuted from Shelburne Falls via the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway.