This Burlington baggage cart was used at the Union Station in Chatham Village mainly to haul luggage and freight from the train boxcars to the awaiting customers around the station or to holding in the freight house. These hand drawn carts were readily available on the train platform.

Baggage carts of this kind would not have been uncommon, as they offered a simple way to transport a quantity of luggage between the train and the area around the depot. Baggage carts would generally be made of wood (ours is hickory) with metal fittings, and some boasted a load capacity up to 3,000lbs.

Union Station, shown above in a vintage photo, served as a passenger station for the Boston & Albany (B&A) Railroad, New York Central Railroad, and Rutland Railroad, and was the final stop on the Harlem Line. The station was active from 1887 to 1972 as a passenger station, and used for freight until 1976. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, now housing Community Bank; Chatham Village Historical Society was founded in 1994 to assist in preserving the Union Depot building.

The photo above shows a damaged baggage cart being inspected at the Chatham depot. Union Station, in background, is shown on a busy day when horse drawn wagons, trucks, and other cars awaited their turn to collect their belongings at the freight house.

Help CVHS save this one-of-a-kind extant baggage cart!

This baggage cart is owned by Chatham Village Historical Society, and was generously donated by Fred Freidel from his former Driftwood Railroad Museum. Due to its age, the baggage cart’s condition is rapidly degrading. We humbly as the community for support in restoring this valuable piece of Chatham’s history to original condition.

A full restoration performed by a qualified restorer would cost just under $3,500.

Can you help us safeguard this valuable piece of Chatham history? Donate here, mail a check made out to “Chatham Village Historical Society” to PO Box 270, Chatham NY 12037 (please include a note re: baggage cart), or visit us at one of our events to discuss sponsoring part of this restoration.

The baggage cart currently:

Our baggage cart was once green – you can see samples below of other successfully restored railroad baggage carts as an example of what the restored cart may look like.

Thank you for your interest and support!