The Boston and Maine Railroad built its mainline through South Reading in 1845, primarily through the efforts of Thomas Spaulding, a local businessman.[3][4] The first station was a wooden structure on the east side of the tracks. A new station building was constructed in 1889; the original depot was relocated and converted to a freight house.[4] By 1893, the town had six stations with as many as 60 trains per day. The building is architecturally distinctive in the town as an example of Panel Brick architecture.[2][3]
The station building was converted to commercial use by 1968.[5] A fire in one of the businesses inside gutted the structure late on December 17, 1974.[6] The 16-inch (410 mm)-thick brick walls survived the fire; it was rebuilt by 1977, with a pharmaceutical company the first occupant.[7] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 as Wakefield Upper Depot.[2][3]
Rail service on the inner Haverhill Line was suspended from September 9 to November 5, 2023, to accommodate signal work. Substitute bus service was operated between Reading and Oak Grove, serving all intermediate stops.[8]
The original station building, still extant, is located on North Avenue about 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) to the south. The former Lynnfield Centre depot from the Newburyport Railroad line, closed in 1959, is located at the north end of the 1889-built station. Wakefield Centre station (Center Depot), another NRHP-listed station, is about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the east.[4]
^ abcRoy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 186, 252, 253. ISBN9780942147087.
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