When was the Cedar Hill yard dismantled (if ever)? My Dad started work at Montowese and I91 in the mid-sixties, and I don't recall seeing a yard (west of I91) that was a mammoth as the yard I see depicted on the 1954 USGS maps. Thanx.
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Cedar Hill (North Haven Yard)
- Discussion relating to the NH and its subsidiaries (NYW&B, Union Freight Railroad, Connecticut Company, steamship lines, etc.). up until its 1969 inclusion into the Penn Central merger. This forum is also for the discussion of efforts to preserve former New Haven equipment, artifacts and its history. You may also wish to visit www.nhrhta.org for more information.
What's left today is a fraction of what once was, but Cedar Hill was basically intact up through the end of the New Haven RR on 12/31/68 and for a couple years after. Major cutbacks in jobs and facilities began in the Penn Central days and accelerated under Conrail during the 1970s.
That yard was huge I grew up in Branford in the late sixties and early seventies and I remember going by the yard on trips to my cousins house in Hamden I beleive I've even got pictures of it somewhere it was located about where the strip mall with the sports authority is now it had to be a mile or 3 long if I'm not mistaken there was even a bunch of tracks on the other side of I91 behind where the stop and shop terminal is now by the old gravel pit WOW what memories I'm getting that yard was just plain big. :D
Here is a page from my web site that shows a bit of Cedar Hill Then and now. http://bobbarbn.homestead.com/railroad2.html 
BobN
Thank You for the PICS of the yard. I worked there in 1969 and again in 1970. Never liked the infamous skates and not far from the sound we had a lot of ice storms which were royal well, you know what I mean. I also worked the Belle Dock switcher. Did locals out of Cedar Hill both to Providence and also worked the main and lines off of it. Winter 1969-70 was particularly rough with heavy snow and then ice storms. Seeing PICS certainly brought back many memories both good and bad. There was certainly a lot of action when I was bumped there in 10/69 from Providence Terminal.
Best,
Craig
Best,
Craig
It was a little less than five miles from the Y.M.C.A. up to the north end of
"Hemlock Grove" which was the north end of the Hartford Departure Yard.
There were two retardar humps although the West Hump was shut down
very early in the Penn Central scheme of things. Actually the New Haven
tried to get along without it too but a bridge eventually got rebuilt and the
West Hump was reopened.
The yard had a couple of very basic problems, it was never modernized to
the extant that yards on other railroads were so it was rather labor
intensive, there were a lot of switchtenders employed there. Secondly,
the Quinnipiac River ran through the yard so various bridges were needed
and some space could not be used.
Most shifts, there were five different yard masters plus a general yard
master and there were up to six switchtenders too.
As a comparison today, Selkirk has at the most three yardmasters and
electric switches make switchtenders not needed. Selkirk probably
handles more traffic today than Cedar Hill did during the New Haven's
later years.
New Haven in the New Haven Railroad days had a lot of yardmasters, in
addition to the five at Cedar Hill, there was one downtown at Water Street,
one in the passenger yard and an additional one on the last trick and I
think there was one at River Street on one shift as well.
I don't think there has been a yardmaster in Cedar Hill for several years
now. The last one to go was at the East Class Yard.
Noel Weaver
"Hemlock Grove" which was the north end of the Hartford Departure Yard.
There were two retardar humps although the West Hump was shut down
very early in the Penn Central scheme of things. Actually the New Haven
tried to get along without it too but a bridge eventually got rebuilt and the
West Hump was reopened.
The yard had a couple of very basic problems, it was never modernized to
the extant that yards on other railroads were so it was rather labor
intensive, there were a lot of switchtenders employed there. Secondly,
the Quinnipiac River ran through the yard so various bridges were needed
and some space could not be used.
Most shifts, there were five different yard masters plus a general yard
master and there were up to six switchtenders too.
As a comparison today, Selkirk has at the most three yardmasters and
electric switches make switchtenders not needed. Selkirk probably
handles more traffic today than Cedar Hill did during the New Haven's
later years.
New Haven in the New Haven Railroad days had a lot of yardmasters, in
addition to the five at Cedar Hill, there was one downtown at Water Street,
one in the passenger yard and an additional one on the last trick and I
think there was one at River Street on one shift as well.
I don't think there has been a yardmaster in Cedar Hill for several years
now. The last one to go was at the East Class Yard.
Noel Weaver