The Turnaround

PHOTO: The turnaround is Sanbornville/Wakefield is a circle of cut granite placed block to block in a round pit about four feet below ground level. (Claudia Stephens Photos)

by Dolores Beal Stephens
Contributing Writer

There is a little gem in the small community of Sanbornville/Wakefield in New Hampshire that I recently discovered.
While sitting on the deck of a restaurant that is very close to railroad tracks, looking at a menu and visiting with our son and his wife, I noticed red blinking lights and whistles a short distance down the tracks. I grew up in the historic village of Brewster, N.Y. where the railroad reached there in 1849, and a half mile north of the station is a roundhouse. It employed many men around the clock who repaired and cleaned the trains that were turned around to head back to New York City fifty-two miles south. I knew of many men who were employed as conductor, brakeman, engineer and a friend’s father who worked at the roundhouse, a very dirty job. Several of my classmates had fathers who worked for the New York Central railroad, originally called the Harlem Line. As it has always been, this line is a very busy one with daily commuters from the suburbs to the big city with many passengers boarding at the many stops along the fifty-two mile stretch. With the exodus from cities at the present time because of the violence, we shall see how that affects commuter lines.

My husband and I watched as the train came closer, and soon the diesel engine came nearer pulling many cars. As the engine reached only a few yards from us, we focused on the engineer who looked down on us, as we waved, returning our wave. This long retired couple went through a moment of sentimentality, as we waved, for we had done just that many times in our youth. I believe the engineer enjoyed connecting with people, as the many miles he travels through forest land traveling further north and an occasional small village can mean hours of loneliness.
When we had finished our lunch, our daughter-in-law took my arm and headed us across the tracks, then under trees for a short distance. “I want you to see the turn-around”, she said, and soon we came upon something I had never known about nor seen. It was indeed the turnaround, a circle of cut granite placed block to block in a round pit about four feet below ground level. Near the base of the stone blocks there is a single rail making the circle. There is also a narrow bridge across the dry pit that is about three yards wide with a railing. There are two rails on this bridge that accommodated the length of the old steam engine to be turned around. This feat was accomplished no doubt by a horse or two that walked the circle on the ground, pulling and rotating the bridge. Beyond is the short track leading back to the train tracks on which we saw the train that day.
This is a great piece of creative work, probably not unique to New Hampshire, back when trains with steam engines covered the country.
There is a granite plaque with the names of the people who voluntarily refurbished the site in 1992. Perhaps it is time for a few more generous citizens to volunteer some hours on this seldom seen bit of history. I do recommend visiting this site by anyone who is interested in the railroads of the past – but keeping hold of the hands of small children.

A bit of railroad history: Before the train reached this area, it was only a crossroad with fewer than ten houses. John W. Sanborn is credited with bringing the railroad as far as this hamlet in 1871, and the industry that followed. The line from Wolfeboro worked its way to Sanbornville. There was a large depot and a hotel built by Mr. Sanborn, for the population was increasing, and travelers had to be accommodated. So, it isn’t surprising that this small village has several buildings of historic interest.

Dolores Beal Stephens is the Author of “Those Who Served/Those Who Waited-WWII” -Heritage Books, Inc. “Tonetta Lake – a Memoir” – Heritage Books, Inc. “Water For The Troops – Evacuation Hospitals and Air Fields,1942” – Trafford Publishing, Inc.