Montpelier Junction, Vt., depot, c. 1980s.

At the time this image was captured, probably in the 1980s, the Montpelier Junction station was served by the overnight Montrealer (Montreal-Washington). On April 1, 1995, it was replaced with the state-supported, daytime Vermonter, which ends its northbound journey at St. Albans.

The Montpelier Junction depot, built by the Central Vermont Railway, is a wooden structure dating from the early 1930s. The waiting area includes a windowed bay that extends into the platform area; it allowed the station master an unobstructed view down the tracks. Although the Montpelier Junction station serves the state capital, Montpelier, approximately two miles to the east, the depot is located west of the Dog River in the town of Berlin. Passenger trains operated on a branch line between the communities from 1849 until discontinued in 1938.

There has been a station at Montpelier Junction since the 1860s, and documentation shows that the current building is similar to its predecessors. Interestingly, in this image the depot includes a semaphore signal.

Photographer: Unknown for Amtrak. From the Amtrak Corporate Collection.