Historic Wakefield NH

From left to right, Ken White, Joe Santoro, Rich Breton, Tony Keegan, Bill Gaver and George Allen. Photo courtesy Cindy Gilman

Visitors of all ages enjoy the details, craftsmanship and historical accuracy of the Boston & Maine Railroad HO scale model at the Freight House/Heritage Park Railroad Museum. Check out the scavenger hunt game -- see if you can locate all the items on the list!

Sanbornville Coal shed & Section houses

Heritage Park Model railroad crew

The all-volunteer construction crew includes (in alphabetical order) George Allen of Rochester, Rich Breton of Rochester, Jay Ehlen of Durham, Larry Forkum of Rochester, Cory Fothergill of Union, Bill Gaver of Brookfield, Lee Gridley of Ossipee, Tony Keegan of Wolfeboro, Dale Officer of Rochester, Chris Oliver of Rochester, Joe Santoro of Wolfeboro, Dave Sias of Meredith, Phil Twombley of Wakefield, Bob Verdonck of Moultonboro, and Paul Zayac of Sanbornville.

Photos courtesy Rich Breton

This meticulously researched and constructed layout depicts the Union, Sanbornville, Wakefield Corner, Burleyville, and Mathews railroad stations as they existed in 1909 as well as the surrounding historic buildings in the town. For historical accuracy, the actual track plans were obtained for the five villages from the Boston and Maine Railroad archives located at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.

The late 1800s and early 1900s were a booming period for the region. The Northern Division of the B&M service facilities were located in Sanbornville. Industry thrived in the areas of farming, mica mining, ice harvesting and shoe manufacturing. Abundant forests provided for huge logging operations and related manufacturing of wood products consisting of lumber, window frames, furniture, shingles, matches, wooden toys, kitchen utensils and excelsior.

Scroll down for our slideshows of the Sanbornville Coal Shed and section houses.

1909 Boston & Maine Railroad HO Scale Model

crewmen at work

1909 HO Scale Boston & Maine Model Railroad

You can almost hear the cart horse whiny as he/she awaits the train at Union Station, circa 1909, with the Union Hotel in the background. The Freight House Crew modelers are a talented bunch -- they bring the past to scale model reality.