|
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
BARTLETTS is seen at the yellow mark on the 1893 topo map, about two
miles above the NLN's WATERFORD stop. It does not show on RRM1878 but does show on RRM1882. Since we are missing the intervening
maps, we can't say for sure yet but this stop may have been created with the first Yale-Harvard regatta on the Thames
River in 1878 when Bartlett's Cove began figuring as a start or finish point. The use of railroad cars to observe the
contest also goes back to this same year, when "a train of 25 platform cars, each capable of accommodating 80 persons"
was to be run by the N&W on the west side of the river, under its NLN trackage rights. Interestingly, the shorter, two-mile
races usually start at Mamacoke Hill to the south, possibly the location and origin of another obscure depot, MAMACOKE. The
NYNH&H continued the observation-train tradition and new, larger cars made their debut in 1930. We are not completely
certain that the station shown here is BARTLETTS, but Gregg Turner, of Connecticut Railroads
fame, reportedly said it was and a river is in evidence. [REFS: NYT/06/27/1878/05; HC/03/23/1930/C6]
********************
BATES CROSSING
BATES CROSSING. Following Karr [K110], we had thought that this flag stop was over the line in Massachusetts, but Al Weaver's
diligent val map review found it just this side of the border. This stop was on the Southbridge branch about two miles from
East Thompson. The shelter looks to be early 1900s but we know little else about the establishment of this stop.
********************
BEACON FALLS
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
BEACON FALLS does not
appear to be an original stop on the NRR. It is not listed on the 7/4/1849 'Grand Excursion' poster [C92], though
even the minor stop at BALDWINS is shown there, and it is not seen on the 1851TT [p94]. It does show up on the 1858TT and
was probably established in the interim. [REFS: CRC47.1899.29: being remodeled]
********************
BECKLEYS
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
BECKLEYS
was an original station on the Middletown RR in the section of Berlin known as Beckley Quarter, named for a prominent local
family. The Courant reported that a man was killed just west of this station in 1853.
Timetables in the 1890s and early 1900s list this as a flag stop. Passenger service lasted through 1930, when the PUC allowed
motor buses to take over for some of the trains, which by then were "gas-electric coaches" running between New
Britain, Berlin, and Middletown. Interestingly, the buses, which paralleled the railroad right of way, were to make
all the stops the trains did, except for BECKLEYS. We are not sure why that was, since it is implied that trains were still
stopping here. The house/station pictured here is the only one we have seen for this stop. We do not know if any earlier
structure preceded it but it is probable that none followed it. [REFS: HDC/05/14/1853/02; HC/07/15/1890/06; HC/09/01/1891/06;
HC/07/07/1930/02; TTS: 1894, 1907, 1911, 1923]
********************
BEERS MILL [> LONG
HILL]
********************
BEERS STATION [> RIDGEFIELD1]
********************
BEE STREET [>
EAST MERIDEN2]
********************
BELAMOSE [>
DIVIDEND]
********************BELLE DOCK [> NEW HAVEN1]
******************** BELLE DOCK JUNCTION [> TIN BRIDGE]
********************
BENVENUE
BENVENUE. This stop was created in 1904 for William A. Engeman's Benvenue Granite Co. quarry that flourished
from ca. 1897 to 1908. It was located about four miles south of Middletown in the Maromas section. A hotel and attractive
cottages for foremen were built and a railroad station about two miles north of the MAROMAS depot. The BENVENUE stop is seen
on the 1907 and 1911TTs and on the RAM maps from 1910 until 1926, even though the name was changed to LAUREL, perhaps as early
as 1910. The 1,000-acre stone works employed as many as 500 men at its height and had its own five-mile railroad, with switchbacks
up the steep slope, two locomotives and a roundhouse. The 'granite railroad' could deliver product to boats at the
quarry's river dock or could load it into NYNH&H cars for rail shipment via the Valley branch. The Courant reported in 1902 that there was an "an inexhaustible supply of blue gray granite of unusual strength"
here but in 1908 said that the company was dismantling its equipment and sending it to Maine where it had another quarry.
A 1912 article reported that the supply had run out suddenly and that activity had ceased four years earlier. Another chapter
in the life of this station would come with its renaming as LAUREL. A new property owner from New
York renamed the 1000-acre estate Laurel for the profusion of the shrub in the area and began renting out the old workers'
cabins to tourists who came by trains that stopped here in the summer only. By 1915 the Interstate Feature
Film Co. of New York was said to have purchased the old Benvenue property with the intention of using the
rocky terrain for making movies. Famed actors Hamilton Crane and Sydney Shields were soon shooting The Brand of Shinto, an action film set in the Canadian Rockies that
included a scene with Ms. Shields, a la Lillian Gish, crossing the Connecticut River on thin winter ice.
We don't think this film made it to the big screen and we are not sure how long this Hollywood in Middletown
lasted, but LAUREL remained a flag stop at least until 1923 with passenger service ending on the Valley
branch ca. 1930. The fate of the station building is unknown. [REFS: HC/08/05/1897/11;
HC/08/02/1902/12; HC/03/07/1908/17; HC/08/02/1912/12; HC/08/30/1912/12; HC/08/13/1914/15;
HC/01/17/1915/X2; 1923TT; HC/07/04/1937/B1; HC/06/14/1953/SM9; K98]
********************
BERLIN1
BERLIN1. This was an original stop on the H&NH when it opened in 1839. The first ticket office
and depot here was in a general store. According to John Roy [p33], it was located about a half mile south of the present
station, putting it about where we have the yellow highlight on today's map.
********************
BERLIN2
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
BERLIN2. The
station [above left] appears to be wooden which would make it the 1848 depot that lasted until 1893. Later structures were
brick. The gathering of folks [above right] is at the main entrance. Looking at the 1855 HC map to the left, one can
see the station on the east side of the track within the full wye connection for the 1850 Middletown RR.
********************
BERLIN3
|
| Copyright NHRHTA, Inc. |
|
| Copyright NHRHTA, Inc. |
|
| Copyright NHRHTA, Inc. |
BERLIN3. This station
opened around August 24, 1893 and the Courant article says that a canopy over the
Middletown platform on the south side of the station is yet to come. The railroad commissioners praised the 1893
changes here with the "capacious and pleasant waiting room" and sheltered platforms. The valuable photo on the right
appears to show in progress, in the commissioners'
words of December of 1895, the Middletown
and New Britain branches "being united and extended" as "one continuous
line" across the tracks of the Hartford Division. The
commissioners express their hope that precaution would be taken that would "render a collision at this point physically
impossible," acknowledging that, though less likely on branches of the same railroad, such an event was still possible.
The superior quality clay of
the newly formed Yale Brick Co., which had 13 acres of land adjacent to the railroad tracks to the east, was the raw
material for the exterior facing of the new station. The NYNH&H chose yellow from the offering "of any
desired color" for the 150,000 bricks it needed. The plan sheets
show the track side [middle left], street side [middle right], and floor plan [lower left] and are dated October, 1892. The station grounds inset with
the floor plan is from 1913, the date these plans were traced, apparently for inclusion in some master file of structure plans
kept by the railroad. This depot burned in 1896, as its similarly designed, red brick successor also did in 1900. [REFS:
NHER/08/13/1892/04; NHER/10/01/1892/01; HC/12/10/1892/19; CRC40.1892.19; NHER/06/10/1893.03; HC/08/24/1893/08; CRC41.1893.18; CRC43.1895.13; R34]
********************
BERLIN4
|
| Connecticut Historical Society |
BERLIN4. This station
was built of red brick in a design very similar to both its predecessor and successor, a fact that makes
it difficult to distinguish between them. This one opened in August of 1896. Struck
by lightning, it burned on 6/27/1900. While postcards like the one on the upper left
are not always colorized accurately, we would have a genuine image of BERLIN4 if this one is correct. We don't recall
if there was a postmark that would have helped to clarify the date. What may be a fortuitously
captured clue, however, is that the track that joined the two branches as one continuous
line is now gone, according to the Courant as
of May, 1900, because the diamond necessitated the slowing of main line express trains and it was not used much after third
rail electrification was introduced and did not extend to Middletown. Electric service to that city was reported to be in operation in the June, 1907 NYNH&H annual
report and used the overhead trolley system with cars like the one pictured on the right.
The curved canopy for the New Britain line is visible to
the far right and the west end of the one for
the Middletown trains is seen in the extreme left.
The bottom photo has a William Howard Taft
look-alike at the controls of an electric car pointed toward New Britain. With the
Middletown crossover apparently in place beyond and to the right of the car, this view would have to be between 1898 and 1900.
To the car's left, one can see the factory of the Yale Brick Co. that supplied the building material for BERLIN3. Third-rail service was employed from here and from Hartford to the Hardware City starting on 5/27/1897 and was further extended to Bristol in 1898.
It lasted until 7/7/1906 when the city of New Britain got an injunction against its use there because of the numerous electrocution
incidents and the entire third-rail operation was curtailed and service replaced by dinky engines. [REFS: CRC44.1896.17; HC/08/24/1896/06; HC/05/27/1897/08; HC/05/07/1900/09; HC/07/28/1900/05; HC/06/30/1906/10;
NHAR36.1907.7; HC/10/03/1907/11; HC/11/03/1910/05; NL23.1.2; SL15.1.6; R33]
********************
BERLIN5
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
BERLIN5. Since the val photos are dated
1916 and 1917, we can be sure they show the station that opened in December, 1900. According to 'Berlin Bill' Sample, the foundation was reused and may have been
served earlier structures as well. An article recently found in the Register says
"the walls of the old station [BERLIN4] remain in good condition and will be utilized... the new station will not differ
from the old one in any important particular." Now
at age 111, this station continues to serve Amtrak passengers today. The top left photo looks north, with the yard and line to New Britain
curving off to the west. The top right image looks
at the east side of the station with the covershed for the Middletown cars in the background to the north. The lower left is a shot showing the northwest corner of the station. The old diamond was just above the planked
walk across the tracks. The lower right shows the southwest corner of the station, with the Middletown canopy again seen
in the distance. The val map [click here] snippet shows this important junction in 1915. [REFS: NHER/07/11/1900/01; CRC48.1900.21]
********************
BERLIN6
|
| Robert Lingane Collection |
|
| Connecticut State Library |
BERLIN6. The photo at upper left [add2/19] shows this building in the distance
and the 11/14/1935 val photo probably is labeled as westbound station. It is not
seen on the 1916 val map in the previous entry but the 1934 aerial survey shot at lower left appears to show this structure
at the red arrow. Located here it would have served passengers going to New Britain or even south to New Haven.
********************
BETHEL1
BETHEL1. The upper left
shot is from the 1856FC map.
The lower left snippet is from the 1879 Bailey bird's-eye map [click here]. It shows the 1872 Hawleyville branch running straight above the station while the
D&N line to Danbury curves to the left. The photograph above, in spite of its damage and deterioration, has been
identified as the D&N's first Bethel
station, presumably dating to the opening of the railroad in 1852. The 'teardrop' gingerbread design is virtually
identical to the company's DANBURY1 station and it is quite similar to WILTON1 as well. The enlargement of
the depot as seen on the Bailey map likely dates to 1867 when the newspaper said the D&N had finished an addition
to their Danbury freight house and that they had "completed a similar operation" at the station in
Bethel and "considerably lengthened the platform." The locomotive has been identified as HRR #15, an 1871
Rogers engine named for HRR director David S. Draper. Richard Fleischer points out that the engine has an extended smokebox, a later rebuild
that perhaps occasioned the removal of the Draper name that is not seen here. If we grant that damage to the photograph
is masking the right-side roof extension, the ca. 1880 date he suggests for this scene is plausible. Draper died on 4/2/1885 and that fact may also explain the removal of
his name and argue for a date thereafter. The date could then go all the way to 1892
when the HRR as well as the D&N it leased in 1886 were absorbed into the NYNH&H. If between 1880 and
1886, it may validate the claims that some have made that the HRR had trackage rights to Bethel. Since there was no connection
between the two roads in Danbury, this may have been a way for the two long-time competitors to begin to cooperate prior to
the lease. BETHEL1 burned on 12/15/1898 and the Register
commented that the fire department was unable to save the structure "which was of wood and very old." It also said
that the station was an important one for "it is a changing point for a large number of passengers" transferring
to the Shepaug line and that "a temporary office has been located in a baggage car." [REFS: DT/12/05/1867/03;
HDC/04/06/1885/03;
NHER/12/16/1898/01; CWN/12/22/1898/03]
********************
BETHEL2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
BETHEL2. The railroad commissioners mention that a new station was built
here in 1899. [add9/12> As it was nearing completion, a May article in the
Danbury News is reported to have said that "the interior of the new station is
fitted up very comfortably. The waiting room is neatly finished off and furnished with all the accommodations necessary. The
ticket and telegraph office is in the center of the building, between the freight and passenger departments. Agent McMahon
has a cozy little office, and just opposite is a small baggage room, which will be in charge of Baggagemaster Beaupin. The
new station, although not a large one, will probably meet all requirements, and is certainly substantially built and nicely
arranged." Further improvements were cited in the NYNH&H annual report in June, 1909 which
puts Bethel under the category of "new passenger stations or increased facilities" in progress or to be completed
in the coming year.][REFS: DN/05/24/1899/??; CRC47.1899.30; NHAR38.1909.7]
********************
BETHEL3
BETHEL3. This is the Metro-North station that opened in 1996, at which time
BETHEL2, still standing just to the south, was taken out of service. [REFS: R35]
********************
BIRMINGHAM1
BIRMINGHAM1.
Based on the customary reliability of Mr. Bailey, this sketch of the Birmingham station
is probably pretty accurate. Click here for the full 1876 map. This substantial combination station stood west of
the track at the northeast corner of Foundry and Second Streets, the latter of which would later
become Main St. Rockey [2:377] says this station opened in March of 1872,
but the Journal Courier says it was nearing completion in December of 1871. It was largely
paid for and "owned principally" by William E. Downes, who would be on the NH&D
board of directors from 1882 to 1889. The depot was "practically ruined"
in a serious fire, arson suspected, on June 30, 1879. Lost freight contents included jute, used for manufacturing manila paper, lime belonging
to Wilkinson Bros. & Co. of Shelton, and wool for the A.H. & C.B. Alling knitting mill at Birmingham. [REFS: NHJC/12/15/1871/02; NHER/06/30/1879/04;
NHDP/07/01/1879/04; NHER/08/01/1879/04; CRC26.1879.186]
********************
BIRMINGHAM2
BIRMINGHAM2. This station debuted in early August, 1879, just a month after the first one
burned. With an 1886 article in the Register referring to "freight rooms"
in this depot, the new structure must have initially been a combination station like its predecessor. [rev12/9>] A separate freight depot was built in 1883 at a cost of $2200, according to a letter on 11/30/1883
to the railroad commissioners from Supt. Quintard.>] The caption on the shot
at lower left says 'Housatonic R.R. station, Birmingham' and shows the freight station standing on the NH&D property
that the HRR leased in 1887. The photo at top right shows the huge area to the east that was filled in for the double-tracking
of the NH&D line that would become the new Naugatuck Division on the west bank of its namesake river. The NYNH&H had
gained control of this property in 1892 with its lease of the HRR and all its lessors and changed this station name to DERBY
in 1896 to reflect the borough becoming the city of Derby in 1893. The old NRR depot on the east side of the Naugatuck
River, DERBY1, was renamed EAST DERBY at that time. DERBY3 and a new freight house would open on this fill
in 1903. See D,E stations and also Track 4C, MP 4.63.1 for more. [REFS: NHDP/07/01/1879/04;
NHER/08/01/1879/04; NHDP/08/08/1879/04(?); NHER/1886/03/06/04; HC/06/26/1896/11][rev12/9]
********************BLACK HALL1
BLACK HALL1. This stop appears on the 1858TT and may well date back to the 1852
opening of the NH&NL. We have assumed that there was some early structure here but we have no photo
as of yet.
********************
BLACK HALL2
BLACK HALL2. Erected in 1883, the railroad commissioners said that a new station
was being built in their 1884 report covering the previous calendar year. This depot would be replaced in 1907 by a centralized
LYME AND BLACK HALL station that eliminated the two separate predecessors. [REFS: CRC31.1884.20]
********************
BLACK POINT [> CRESCENT
BEACH]
********************
BLAKE SUMMIT [> WASHINING]
********************
BLOOMFIELD
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
BLOOMFIELD. This
was an original stop on the CW when it opened on 12/21/1871. The foundation was already laid, according to the Courant, [rev9/29> but the station was not finished until
early 1872, the Winsted Herald saying in February that "the depot structure is
ready for the plasterers." The appraisal done for the projected NY&NE lease of the CW said in 1880 that the station
condition was good at the time, that it needed about $200 in repairs, and that the overall value was $1500.] The building was removed in 1940, according to one source
[LR] on 5/25/1940. [REFS: HDC/12/14/1871/02; WH/02/02/1872/02; D16]
********************
BLUE HILLS
BLUE HILLS. This was an obscure station stop two miles north of Hartford Union
Station. It was not mentioned in the pre-opening list of stations [HDC/12/14/1871/02] but it was on the opening day list [HDC/12/21/1871/02] and, on the timetable of the same date shown here, it appears as a flag
stop, like HOSKINS and CANTON. The map to the left shows the approximate location. No other historical reference or representation
has been found.
********************
BOARDMANS BRIDGE
|
| Max Miller Collection |
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
BOARDMANS
BRIDGE. The milk cans seen on the platform in the val photo at upper right indicate the primary purpose of stops like these
but passengers appear to be waiting as well. This station stood in the northwestern quadrant of the grade crossing. The PUC
photo at upper left looks west and is dated 9/25/1924. Employee timetables
would help determine when this particular milk station began service but an association of New Milford dairy farmers with
a $100,000 capitalization may have initiated it in 1873. The HRR was known for bringing the dairy products of Litchfield County
down for shipment to New York City and reportedly ran the first scheduled milk train. Our 1894 public timetable does not list
this station but 1907, 1909, 1911 and 1923 public timetables do have it, mostly as a flag stop for one or two daily and even Sunday trains. The BOARDMANS BRIDGE location is shown on the 1893 map [lower
left] and the present day map [lower right]. [REFS: HDC/02/17/1873/04; D63]
********************
BOLLES GROVE [> THAMES
GROVE]
********************
BOLTON1
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
BOLTON was also called BOLTON NOTCH for the rift in the
mountain through which the railroad was built. The 1857TC map shows the location of the depot. The railroad commissioners reported that BOLTON1 burned [CRC50.1902.21]
and was replaced by a new structure in 1902. The fire was on May 23, 1902 and was thought to have been caused by
sparks from the Boston Flyer, which passed the station around 5:22 in the afternoon [HC/05/24/1902/15]. Station agent
Alsever and others were unable to save the building, which also housed the Bolton Notch post office, but did rescue the mail
and the rest of the station's contents. A passenger coach and freight car were expected to serve until a new depot could
be built.
********************
BOLTON2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
BOLTON2. The old station burned, as noted above, and was replaced by this one. Though passenger service on this
line lasted until the 1955 floods and this stop still had train service in 1923, New England Transportation Co. motor coaches
had taken over by 1937 and all service was gone by 1947. The BOLTON2 station was reportedly removed on 4/15/1939. [REFS:
CRC50.1902.21; 1923, 1937, 1947TTs; K84]
********************
BOSTON NECK
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
BOSTON NECK. The earliest reference we can find
to this stop is in the 1887GHD. No stops on this short, 4.5-mile line are shown on the RRM maps and this station doesn't
show up until 1904 on the RAM maps. The first regular train ran on 12/20/1870. Though chartered as the Windsor Locks and Suffield
RR, the line was constructed by the Hartford and New Haven RR, with an eye on continuing to Westfield, Mass. for a direct
western connection with the Boston and Albany without going to Springfield. Those plans never came to fruition. Passenger
service ended in 1925. The location was probably in the southeast quadrant of the crossing at Mather St., then we think a part of Boston Neck Rd. The depot is shown on the val map [top right] and at the red arrow on the present day
map at the left. [REFS: 1907, 1911, 1923TTs; HDC/12/12/1870/02; HC/05/27/1911/14; K75]
********************
BOTSFORD1
|
| NHRHTA, Charlie Grabert Collection |
BOTSFORD1. The location, seen on the 1856FC map, was diagonally across what is now Botsford Hill Rd. from where
the next depot stood. The 1840 opening schedule shows this stop listed as LAND'S END. However ominous that might sound,
it was possibly based on some topographical feature that may still be in evidence today. We have found no photo yet.
********************
BOTSFORD2
|
| Edward J. Ozog Collection |
|
| Dodd Center, UConn |
|
| Edward J. Ozog Collection |
BOTSFORD2.
This station was designed according to plans dated October, 1893 and it opened
the next year. It replaced the earlier "dilapidated
structure," as reported by the Newtown Bee,
which said that the new depot was 24x65 feet in size and was painted olive with dark trim. This station spans the era before the grade crossing and double-tracking of 1910. The photo at upper left shows
the arrangement after the project was completed with the overpass for today's Botsford Hill Rd. ahead of the train and
the concrete abutments looking like they are pretty new. The top right shot shows the grade crossing still in place. The
the middle photos are before and after a redesign that gave the station a salt-box appearance, different enough to make us wonder if it was not a whole new structure. But, at Kevin Daly's suggested closer
look, the window and door locations on the front are the same and the exterior
molding and wainscoting remain the same. What the railroad did was to shear off the covershed and face the forward edge of the roof
with angled boards, giving the structure a much taller profile. Curiously the freight station no
longer appears in all the photos we have seen after the changes. Perhaps accommodations were made in the building when it
was remodeled. BOTSFORD2 was reportedly used until just after
WWII and razed in the 1980s. The
bottom left is a rear view in the 1930s and the bottom right photo was taken from a locomotive cab by a
reporter who was riding with the engineer while doing a newspaper article in the 1960s.
[REFS:
CRC42.1894.20; NB/02/23/1894/01]
|
