Public transportation in Rhode Island is limited to buses run by RIPTA - the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. That was not always the case. In the mid-19th century, following the invention of the train, passenger rail serviced many of the communities in the state and provided the bulk of the interstate transportation for at least half a century. Passenger rail, primarily owned by the NYNH&H (New York, New Haven, and Hartford) Railroad serviced the state from 1872 to 1968. Stops were often a mile or so apart, and served as an excellent means of traveling between villages.
The railroad depot in today's photo is the last surviving depot from any of the villages in Smithfield. This was the old flag station on Brayton Road near the North Smithfield line. Any passengers at the station would raise a flag as a signal that the train should stop there. If there were no passengers waiting to board, the train would bypass the station. This tiny depot also served as a post office.
Service along the Providence to Pascoag portion of this line was discontinued in 1931 and this depot fell into disrepair. It was rescued by the Historical Society of Smithfield in 1975 and shipped to Davies Vocational School for restoration. The exterior was repaired to its original design, and the original interior was left intact. Graffiti carved into the walls dates to 1911. (At what point, one wonders, does graffiti transition from destruction of property into a historical artifact?) The depot is now located on the property of the Smith Appleby House in Smithfield.
Post processing followed the familiar B&W pattern. A detail light filter was applied in Topaz Adjust, and the b&w conversion was done via a gradient map in color blend mode. I adjusted the hue towards the blue for better contrast and detail in the grass. A levels adjustment and contrast adjustment completed the lighting for the image, and the top layer was a sepia photo filter.
