It was over 150 years ago that train service came to the outer towns on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Tuesday, July 22, 1873 dawned a bright, glorious, summer’s day. The arrival of the first of the Old Colony Railroad trains, powered by the American 4-4-0 steam locomotive #25, celebrated the new 14-mile track extension from Wellfleet through Truro to Provincetown. Crowds came out in full force waving flags, flying streamers, and cheering the arrival of the “Iron Horse.”

Train service allowed Provincetown and its neighbors to re-define themselves as a resort town and artist colony and gave the declining fishing industry a boost by offering a relatively quick way of shipping fish to city markets.

Passenger service from Boston to the Outer Cape ran for 65 years ending in 1938 with a brief revival in the summer of 1940. Freight trains provided service for 87 years, ending in 1960.

Take a ride back in time to enjoy the facts, stories and images of long-ago train service to the Outer Cape.