The village of Bellows Falls was a transportation hub even before railroads: the 1785 construction of a bridge across the Connecticut River made it a stop for stagecoach lines, and the 1802 completion of the Bellows Falls Canal provided industrial power and a safe water route bypassing the nearby falls.
In 1849, three railroads met at Bellows Falls.
The Sullivan County Railroad opened from Bellows Falls to Charlestown, New Hampshire on January 1, 1849, and to Windsor, Vermont the next month, where it connected to the Vermont Central Railroad.
Around the same time, the Cheshire Railroad completed its line from South Ashburnham, Massachusetts (where it met the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad) to the New Hampshire side of Bellows Falls; the bridge across the Connecticut River was completed that June.
The Rutland and Burlington Railroad was completed from Bellows Falls to its namesake towns on December 18, 1849; it met the previous two railroads at the north end of the island formed by the canal.

The Vermont Valley Railroad opened from Bellows Falls (including a tunnel under the town square) to Brattleboro, Vermont in 1851.
This placed Bellows Falls at the junction of two major trunk lines: Boston–Burlington via Rutland and Fitchburg, and New York–Montreal via New Haven and White River Junction.
Boston–Montreal traffic also passed through Bellows Falls until around 1853, when the Vermont Central began using the Northern Railroad as its main Boston connection.
The railroads constructed a two-story brick station in the southeast corner of the railroad junction on the island.
The island also housed freight houses, a roundhouse, and other railroad structures.
A one-story brick Railway Express Agency (REA) building with a cupola on its roof was built next to the station between 1878 and 1885.
The village of Bellows Falls was a transportation hub even before railroads: the 1785 construction of a bridge across the Connecticut River made it a stop for stagecoach lines, and the 1802 completion of the Bellows Falls Canal provided industrial power and a safe water route bypassing the nearby falls. In 1849, three railroads met at Bellows Falls. The Sullivan County Railroad opened from Bellows Falls to Charlestown, New Hampshire on January 1, 1849, and to Windsor, Vermont the next month, where it connected to the Vermont Central Railroad. Around the same time, the Cheshire Railroad completed its line from South Ashburnham, Massachusetts (where it met the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad) to the New Hampshire side of Bellows Falls; the bridge across the Connecticut River was completed that June. The Rutland and Burlington Railroad was completed from Bellows Falls to its namesake towns on December 18, 1849; it met the previous two railroads at the north end of the island formed by the canal.
The Vermont Valley Railroad opened from Bellows Falls (including a tunnel under the town square) to Brattleboro, Vermont in 1851. This placed Bellows Falls at the junction of two major trunk lines: Boston–Burlington via Rutland and Fitchburg, and New York–Montreal via New Haven and White River Junction. Boston–Montreal traffic also passed through Bellows Falls until around 1853, when the Vermont Central began using the Northern Railroad as its main Boston connection. The railroads constructed a two-story brick station in the southeast corner of the railroad junction on the island. The island also housed freight houses, a roundhouse, and other railroad structures. A one-story brick Railway Express Agency (REA) building with a cupola on its roof was built next to the station between 1878 and 1885.
Bellows Falls station