East Hartford Yard is a

classification yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English ( Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English ( Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...

East Hartford, Connecticut East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford, Connecticut. It is home to aerospac ...

. The yard was originally built by the

New York and New England Railroad The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...

between 1881 and 1883. The opening of the yard marked the beginning of industrial development in East Hartford. By 1906, it was the largest railroad yard in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. That year, it was further expanded by the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

. The yard lost its claim to being the largest railroad yard in New England to

Cedar Hill Yard Cedar Hill Yard is a classification yard located in New Haven, North Haven and Hamden, Connecticut, United States. It was built by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (often known simply as The New Haven) in the early 1890s in a ...

in 1920. In spite of the 1906 expansion, the yard was still struggling with congestion. As a result, the

Hartford Yard Hartford Yard is a classification yard located in Hartford, Connecticut. It was originally built by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The yard was greatly expanded between 1925 and 1926 to alleviate congestion in the railroad's nearb ...

was built across the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

, and connected to the East Hartford Yard. Today, the yard is owned and operated by the

Connecticut Southern Railroad The Connecticut Southern Railroad is a long short-line railroad operating in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The company was formed in 1996 as a spinoff of Conrail by shortline holding company RailTex and subsequently acquired in 2000 by RailA ...

, and consists of only a few tracks.

References

{{Coord, 41.7784, -72.6293, display=title Rail yards in Connecticut East Hartford, Connecticut