Founded in 1996, the Naugatuck Railroad is a
common carrier
A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...
railroad owned by the
Railroad Museum of New England and operated by Naugatuck Railroad on tracks leased by Naugatuck Railroad from the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The original Naugatuck Railroad was a
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
chartered to operate through south central
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
in 1845, with the first section opening for service in 1849. In 1887 the line was leased 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 ...
, and became wholly owned by 1906. At its greatest extent the Naugatuck ran from
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
north to
Winsted. Today's Naugatuck Railroad runs from Waterbury to the end of track in
Torrington, Connecticut
Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city p ...
. From Waterbury south to the
New Haven Line
The Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line is a commuter rail line running from New Haven, Connecticut to New York City. It joins the Harlem Line at Mount Vernon, New York and continues south to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The New Haven ...
,
Metro-North Railroad operates
commuter service on the
Waterbury Branch.
Original Naugatuck Railroad (1845-1887)
The Naugatuck Railroad was chartered May 1845 and organized February 1848. On May 15, 1849, the first section opened, from a junction with the just-completed
New York and New Haven Railroad
The New York and New Haven Railroad (NY&NH) was a railroad connecting New York City to New Haven, Connecticut, along the shore of Long Island Sound. It opened in 1849, and in 1872 it merged with the Hartford & New Haven Railroad to form the New ...
north to
Seymour. Extensions opened to
Waterbury
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...
June 11 and the rest of the way to
Winsted September 24, where the
Central New England Railway
The Central New England Railway was a railroad from Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, west across northern Connecticut and across the Hudson River on the Poughkeepsie Bridge to Maybrook, New York. It was part of the Poughkee ...
later passed through. On November 1, 1870 the Naugatuck Railroad leased the
Watertown and Waterville Railroad, giving it a branch to
Waterville. 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 ...
leased the Naugatuck on May 24, 1887, and merged it January 31, 1906.
New Haven Era (1887-1969)
The former Naugatuck Railroad became part of the New Haven's network of branch lines extending throughout the state. In the mid-to-late 1900s, the line was abandoned from
Derby Junction north to
Ansonia in favor of the original
New Haven and Derby Railroad on the other (west) side of the
Naugatuck River
The Naugatuck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its waters carve out the Naugatuck River Valley in the w ...
.
In 1938, the New Haven abandoned the former
Central New England Railway
The Central New England Railway was a railroad from Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, west across northern Connecticut and across the Hudson River on the Poughkeepsie Bridge to Maybrook, New York. It was part of the Poughkee ...
route that connected at Winsted.
The Thomaston Dam flood control project constructed by the
Army Corps of Engineers required roughly 8 miles of track to be relocated between 1959 and 1960. The new construction begins just north of Thomaston station and returns to the original alignment near East Litchfield.
Passenger service north of Waterbury, to Torrington and Winsted, ended in December 1958. Tracks between Torrington and Winsted were abandoned in 1963.
Post-New Haven Era (1969-1995)
The New Haven was merged into
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
on January 1, 1969. By then the line north of Waterbury was named the Torrington Secondary Track, and ended at
Torrington. On January 1, 1971, the
State of Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
and the
MTA leased passenger and freight operations along the Waterbury Branch to
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
.
On April 1, 1976, Penn Central's railroad operations were conveyed to
Conrail. Freight traffic continued to decline through the 1970s as many of the factories along the line that shipped by rail closed and relocated out of the region. Starting in 1983, commuter service between Bridgeport and Waterbury was operated by
Metro-North Railroad.
The
CDOT CDOT may refer to:
*\cdot – the LaTeX input for the dot operator (⋅)
*Cdot, a rapper from Sumter, South Carolina
*Centre for Development of Telematics, India
* Chicago Department of Transportation
* Clustered Data ONTAP, an operating system from ...
purchased the line between
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
and Torrington in 1982 from Conrail to preserve its use as a rail corridor. The line north of Waterbury was leased to the
Boston and Maine Corporation in 1982. Freight service was operated as-needed, and continued to decline. With no freight customers left to serve, B&M discontinued operations north of Waterbury in 1995.
The New Naugatuck Railroad (1996-Present)
The volunteers of the Railroad Museum of New England were looking for a new home for their collection of historic railroad equipment that was housed at the
Valley Railroad in Essex, Connecticut. Several locations were considered in the 1990s, including the abandoned freight yard and station complex in
Danbury, Connecticut, and the former roundhouse and yard site in
Willimantic, Connecticut
Willimantic is a city located in the town of Windham in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It is a former Census-designated place and borough, and is currently organized as one of two tax districts within the Town of Windham. Known as " ...
. While railroads museums would later be established at those sites, RMNE continued its search for a rail line they could operate their own excursions.
When Boston & Maine ended operations on the Torrington Secondary, CDOT made the line available to RMNE's Naugatuck Railroad subsidiary. CDOT leased the line from Waterbury to Torrington to the new Naugatuck Railroad (NAUG). NAUG started operations in September 1996. Owned by the RMNE as a
common carrier
A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...
, the NAUG provides regular seasonal passenger excursions between Thomaston, Waterville, and Thomaston Dam with occasional trips to Torrington. Freight service is operated twice weekly, interchanging with B&M successor
Pan Am Southern at Highland Jct. The primary freight customer is located at Frost Bridge Road in Watertown, CT.
Other freight services are provided at East Litchfield and Torrington, CT. While NAUG's operating limit begins nearby
Metro-North Railroad's Waterbury station, no coordinated connecting passenger service is available.
References
Railroad History DatabaseU.S. Railroads 1826-1850*Philip C. Blakeslee
A Brief History Lines West Of The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co.(1953)
Naugatuck Railroad
See also
*
List of heritage railroads in the United States
This is a list of heritage railroads in the United States. There are currently no such railroads in the states of Mississippi or North Dakota.
Heritage railroads by state
Alabama
* Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, Shelby & Southern Railroad a ...
*
List of New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad precursors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naugatuck Railroad
Heritage railroads in Connecticut
Connecticut railroads
Defunct Connecticut railroads
Rail infrastructure in Connecticut
Predecessors of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Railway companies established in 1845
Railway companies disestablished in 1906
Transportation in Litchfield County, Connecticut
Transportation in New Haven County, Connecticut
Transportation in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Spin-offs of Pan Am Railways