CONWAY — Exactly 100 years since the state’s first electric freight railway was pulled apart for scrap metal, the town’s Historical Society is inviting the public to learn about the Conway Electric Street Railway.

The Historical Society is welcoming folks to its 50 Main St. museum to learn about the history behind the short-lived, 5.5-mile railroad that snaked through Conway’s hills. Constructed in six months with an opening date in March 1895, the railway operated with both freight and passenger service through the town, while also connecting to regional train lines running to Boston, New York and Maine. The town cheered on its development with hopes of an economic boom in town, but soon after World War I, the town’s industries left and railway use declined, leading to the tracks being ripped up for scrap metal by a North Adams dealer.

“I think it’s a pretty extraordinary story,” said Conway Historical Society President Peter Engelman. “We did a rail exhibit years ago and it made sense to revisit it. A lot of this has not been seen before because the Field Memorial Library sent it to us 10 years ago.”

With a cross-town ride costing five cents, Conway’s brief rail experience began in the mid-19th century when initial surveys were conducted by larger railroads looking for a way to run tracks through Franklin and Berkshire county hilltowns. After decades of no progress, the town looked at building its own electric trolley line to connect the center of town with Conway Station, which acted as a stop on the New Haven and Northampton railroad lines.

Engelman said the development and construction of the railroad was met with residents’ jubilation as they expected economic benefits. The town was in favor of the project so much so that residents appropriated $5,000 at 1894’s Town Meeting to go along with $20,000 raised by private donors to construct the railway. The driving force behind the railway was Dr. John Laidley, a physician who moved to Conway in 1883.

“Everyone wanted a rail line running through their town,” Engelman said. “There was a big celebration in town, they shot cannons … the town was really behind it.”

In the early years of the railway, the town experienced slight population growth and benefited businesses in Conway such as the De Wolfe & Hassell Shoe Co. or duck coat manufacturer Darby & Moore. The rail even helped transport the marble used to construct the Field Memorial Library, as a temporary track was laid down Main Street to ship construction materials. The rail, Engelman said, was celebrated by all sorts of people and newspaper clippings from the Recorder — as well as the Courier-Gazette, which merged with the Recorder in 1932 — and Springfield Republican expressed wonderment at the project.

“(The Conway Electric Street Railway) certainly runs through one of the most picturesque bits of country anywhere around here,” a September 1901 excerpt from the Springfield Republican reads. “As one passes along the devious windings in the edge of steep banks, the scenery reminds him of Switzerland. After crossing the railroad tracks on the way to Conway, the road runs through a lovely bit of country, shut in so by hills that one wonders how the car is going to work its way out.”

As time went on, the railway soon met the end of the line when an economic downturn hit the town after World War I. Businesses shuttered and cars became more common, and the railway’s use rapidly declined, leading to its shutdown in 1921. A year later, the tracks were yanked from the earth and sold for scrap metal, ending the short history of Conway’s railway experience.

Engelman encourages the public to come view the exhibition, which features historical photos and new artifacts from the railroad’s history, such as bond notes and passenger lists. The Conway Historical Society museum will be open each Sunday in August from 1 to 4 p.m. and for the Festival of the Hills on Oct. 2.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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