Freight House

Friends of Bedford Depot Park operates the historic Freight House as a public service to Minuteman Bikeway users and the general public. Visitors may learn about the railroad that predated the Bikeway, ask questions, and receive local travel information. Railroad photos and artifacts are on display and beverages, snacks, and historical merchandise are available for purchase. Stocked are a variety of railroad and local history books and DVDs. Proceeds from sales are used to advance historic preservation projects and to maintain Depot Park.

The Freight House was built in 1877 as the engine house for the narrow-gauge Billerica & Bedford Railroad and is the only surviving B&B structure. Constructed near its present location, it had two tracks to house the B&B’s pair of two-foot gauge locomotives. After the demise of the B&B in 1878, the building was acquired by the standard-gauge Middlesex Central Railroad (a Boston & Maine Railroad predecessor). The MC moved it several hundred feet west, along what is today Railroad Avenue, and repurposed it for storing freight shipments. In 1906 it was moved by the B&M to where it is now. The enginehouse doors (on what is today the west end of the building) were boarded up and sliding freight doors were built on the sides. A platform at boxcar-floor height was added to facilitate the unloading of less-than-carload shipments. For decades, this is where Bedford residents picked up their bulky goods. The platform even had a ramp that was wide enough for unloading automobiles from boxcars!

The B&M decommissioned its Bedford freight house in 1943 and soon sold the property. During the ensuing years, the building was used as a grain store, a Veterans of Foreign Wars headquarters, and a bakery. The new owners made additional modifications to the structure, such as the addition of a second floor inside and a bay window that faced South Road.

The Town of Bedford purchased the Freight House in 1999 as part of the Depot Park project. It was renovated by the Massachusetts Highway Department and the Town in 2008. That included new windows, doors, and roof, a remodeled interior, and an addition on the east end for public restrooms. The finishing touch was an authentic B&M cream and maroon paint scheme. Of interest to B&B historians, the temporary removal of the external sheathing in early 2008 revealed the locations of the original enginehouse doors and windows.