According to historian Tom Beardsley, the railroad arrived in Willimantic in 1849 thanks to what would become the New London, Palmer and Willimantic Railroad (NLP&W) . A line between Willimantic and Hartford began service in December, 1849. In 1850, the first railroad station was built in Willimantic at a cost of $2,225 and a few months later a second station was built in South Windham. Three passenger/freight and one freight train ran through Willimantic. Soon, the Air Line from New York to Boston joined the NLP&W in laying track through Willimantic and the found itself between the tracks of several of the train lines that went through the city. Thus, it was long considered to be unsafe because people had to cross tracks in order to get to it. There were several accidents including a highly publicized one that resulted in the death of the father of a Coventry state assemblyman. “The switching train was employed about the crossing sifting cars to and fro and at the instant Mr. Sweet reached the tracks had detached two cars leaving a narrow opening. He evidently supposed the train had finished its work at this point, and was going to haul away from the detached cars and he endeavored to pass through the open space. He stepped upon the track, not aware of the approach of the returning train until it was too late. He was caught between the bunters just above the hips and crushed.” There were increased calls for a safer new station to be built. And so a new depot was built and opened in December, 1883. An article in “The Chronicle” said “(It) is now doing regular service as the New York & New England station. It has been a long, tedious and tiresome wait, but now that the public demand has been recognized and a building erected, our people are appeased although they are not satisfied that the railroad has given so important a station as this its just desserts in the way of a building. The public was decidedly in favor of a union depot and the failure of the various railroads to come to some sort of terms whereby this end might be realized has not gained for them the goodwill of our inhabitants. However, the New England people bowed to public demand and for s much as we have got, we are thankful.” The new depot was said to have been furnished with pine throughout the interior and had waiting rooms and lavatories for both ladies and gentlemen. The ticket office was in the center of the building along with the Western Union telegraph office. The baggage room was accessed from the passenger waiting area. The article went on to say, “Stationmaster Anderson is now domiciled in pleasanter quarters and he will now be able to impress the general public even more than he has already done”. By 1889, passenger traffic had increased so much that even more space was needed and so a new 25x40 foot structure was built as a baggage room. In October, 1909, the Willimantic Businessmen’s Association called for a new station, citing the fact that $100,000 worth of tickets were sold there every year. However, nothing was ever done in regard to building a new station. In the early 1950s. ticket sales began to decline and the death knell for the station was ironically rung by Willimantic businessmen who now claimed that business was thriving and that there was, “an acute traffic and parking problem in the city”, and that more parking was needed. The state Public Utilities Commission allowed the New Haven Railroad to sell the station and about 2 acres of land to the city. The railroad then built a new, smaller station west of Bridge Street. But two hurricanes destroyed bridges and railroad connections and passenger service to Willimantic ended. The city razed the old station and on December 18, 1955, the new parking area was formally opened with “brief exercises” and a ribbon cutting. Mayor Florimond Bergeron said the opening was, “(A) dream come true”. The first car to enter the new lot after Mayor Bergeron cut the ribbon was driven by City Clerk Roger Paulhus. In 1991, there was hope that passenger service would return as Amtrak shifted the route of the “Montrealer” through the city. For a short time, passenger service returned but lasted only a short time. On April Fool’s Day, 1995, the “Montrealer” passed quietly through Willimantic ending almost 150 years of passenger train service in Willimantic