Steaming Tender Restaurant in Palmer, Massachusetts

Palmer, Massachusetts is a relatively small city around 15 miles from the City of Springfield. It’s the smallest city in the state and it’s one of the handfuls of cities that calls itself a town within the official name. The nickname of the city is "Town of Seven Railroads", and one location in Palmer helps explain why. When the Industrial Revolution and rail travel began in Massachusetts, Palmer was transformed from a small rural community into a major regional transport hub very quickly. Multiple train companies existed in the 19th century, and they all competed with one another to find the best rail routes. Springfield, the largest city in the area, was the natural choice for a rail hub. However, wealthy business owners in the city charged expensive track usage rights forcing companies to look elsewhere and eventually settling on Palmer due to its close proximity and favorable geography. At its peak, five operating railroads (Boston & Albany Railroad, Central Vermont Railway, Springfield, Athol & North-eastern Railroad, Ware River Railroad, and Central Massachusetts Railroad), one unused railroad (Hampden Railroad) and one incomplete railroad (Southern New England Railway) oper…

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