Maybrook Line Freight

[walterconklin]

Hello,

I am inquiring on behalf of a friend, who is about to start building a virtual representation of the New Haven Maybrook Line for the Microsoft Train Simulator, to find out which businesses that use to be located on the actual Maybrook Line received rail shipments during the late 1920s to the 1950s.

Thank you for your time and help.

Sincerely,
Walter

[walterconklin]

Hello,

Does anyone on the forum know if the New Haven RR Historical society has any information as to the locations of shippers that use to exist on the Maybrook Line?

Thank you for your time and help.

Sincerely,
Walter

[Lronan]

Top of the Day;

I myself, do not know that much about the Maybrook Line, but here is a website and group that may be a help.

http://www.hrvh.org/collections/inst-intro.htm?inst=37

Also, the pictures of the Maybrook Yard are great and the people with it.

[Noel Weaver]

Even when Maybrook was really active there wasn't a lot of local business there. Most activity was interchange with five different railroads. The O & W went in the spring of 1957 and the LNE went in the fall of 1961, after that the big two were the Erie Lackawanna and the Lehigh and Hudson River as by this time (early 60's) the New York Central was not much of a factor in Campbell Hall/Maybrook. The decline of Maybrook was pretty gradual from the end of the O & W in 1957 until the Poughkeepsie Bridge fire in 1974. Another thing, Maybrook was primarily a New Haven operation, most of the other stuff came and went by turns out of Warwick (L & H R), Port Jervis (E L), Middletown (O & W) L & NE (a local from Pen Argyl) and finally the NYC (a local freight from Kingston) the biggest factors at Maybrook was the yard, car shop (the biggest on the New Haven Railroad in the later days of the New Haven), the icing station, the diesel shop which was closed in the late 50's and the YMCA which was a 24/7 operation and a community center as well as a railroad YMCA and the food there was good too. The yard crews and clerical forces at Maybrook were New Haven people as well and they had a pretty good size force there at one time. They even had a telephone operator there 24/7 until the railroad finally modernized their telephone system with a centrex set up in the mid to late 60's.
Noel Weaver

[TCurtin]

Well, here's what I remember, working from east to west, from the 50's and 60's. I grew up in Danbury in the 50's. I'm sure I'm missing some but this isn't a bad list:

- Derby Feeds (at Derby Jct)
- Stevenson Lumber Co

Botsford-Stepney branch had some business until the early 60s. I don't know what exactly

- Newtown Lumber Co. (at Botsford)
- Georgia Pacific Lumber (between Botsford & Newtown)
- A customer in Hawleyville on the track 1 side that over the years varied among Upham Food (tea, I think), deSherbinen (a lighting fixture distributor) and perhaps others
- Pitney Bowes (in Commerce Park, Danbury, about a mile west of Berkshire Jct on track 2 side
- Stavola (scrap metal processor in Danbury just east of White St. overpass on track 2 side)
- Leahy Fuel (across tracks from Danbury station on track 1 side)
- Omaha Beef (on Maple Ave Danbury, track 2 side)
- Goos Lumber Co. (at Main St Crossing Danbury, track 1 side)
- Mallory Hats (west of Rose Hill Ave underpass, track 1 side)
- Leahy bottled propane & Danbury Fair Grounds siding (Segar St crossing, Fair Grounds. Danbury Fair took carloads of -- I think --- livestock during Fair Week each October)
- Danbury Block & Supply Co, later Plasticrete (west end of Fair Grounds siding, track 1 side, where Super Stop & Shop is today)
- Wickes Lumber (Mill Plain, track 1 side (This may have post-dated the New Haven and been a Penn Central customer). Last customer in Connecticut.
- Danbury-Brewster Lumber Co, later Lloyd's (just east of Rt 22 underpass, Brewster, track 2 side)
- NYC Harlem Div interchange track, until about 1960. I don't know what if anything was interchanged there)
- Brewster House track, ( track 2 side)
- Durkin Fuel (Brewster, track 2 side)

West of there was a great deal of rural running with no local business, although hamlets like Towners & Holmes may have had a team track, I don't remember.

- Green Haven State Prison, track 1 side (took coal)
- Bry Dain Lumber Co (Hopewell Jct, track 2 side)

Hopewell Jct-Beacon branch had business in Fishkill, Matteawan, Beacon area.

- Miron Lumber (at Briggs station crossing in southern Poughkeepsie, track 2 side)
- Hospital Branch & Smith Street yard interchange track (at east end of bridge in downtown Poughkeepsie, track 2 side)

West of the Hudson River I can't speak for what business was there since I have never known that territory.

[edbac333]

Also at Derby Junction was Housatonic Lumber Co. In fact, the tracks to Derby Feed were the same tracks as they passed through the Housatonic Lumber property.
I have very vague memories of seeing tank cars being moved from the yard on Division St. in Ansonia to B.F. Goodrich in Shelton. I am hoping if I mention that it may jog someone's memories to confirm that or any other business along Canal St. in Shelton

[jcthib]

Hi,

I need some guidance in order to find information on freight and industries along the Maybrook line in the area of 1954~1960

I would like to model a part of this line with a yard and then some towns with industries, but I couldn't find any information I bought some books about the NYNH&H but none had any detailled information.

The original idea was to start with the yard of Maybrook, but there was maybe too much traffic. So a smaller yard like Danbury could be good.

I have been looking all around but I can't put my hand on a freight time table, neither a freight train list.

So if you have information or know place I can find information, thank you in advance for sharing.

I may ask more specific questions where I have more to start.

Thank you !

Regards,
JC
just started: http://jctnewhaven.wordpress.com/

[jcthib]

Ok so I got a bit more information and ideas about it.

Right now my idea is to model the Danbury little yard and the cities of Shelton and Derby.

The question remain the same with more precision:
Still the time of modeling is 1950-1960

* Was there any local freight from Danbury to Shelton & Derby? IF yes what were the train# and activities?
* What were the industries in Danbury, Shelton and Derby served by rail?
* Was there any trains ending or starting from Danbury to other yards like Maybrook, or Cedar Hill?
* Does someone has the right of way of Derby? I found the other ones but not derby

Thank you for your help
JC

[Ridgefielder]

Hi,

I need some guidance in order to find information on freight and industries along the Maybrook line in the area of 1954~1960

I would like to model a part of this line with a yard and then some towns with industries, but I couldn't find any information I bought some books about the NYNH&H but none had any detailled information.

The original idea was to start with the yard of Maybrook, but there was maybe too much traffic. So a smaller yard like Danbury could be good.

I have been looking all around but I can't put my hand on a freight time table, neither a freight train list.

So if you have information or know place I can find information, thank you in advance for sharing.

I may ask more specific questions where I have more to start.

Thank you !

Regards,
JC
just started: http://jctnewhaven.wordpress.com/

Peter Lynch's The New Haven Railroad might be a good place to start. Also, In The Shore Line's Shadow, by Peter Cornwall, while primarily about the Danbury Branch, has several pictures of Danbury yard as well as a complete track diagram from the late 1940s. I think Danbury was the only yard between Devon and Maybrook by the mid-1950s, by the way.

[Bernard Rudberg]

You might want to consider Hopewell Junction, NY. It was the railroad center of southern Dutchess County and three railroads came togethr in the Hopewell yards.

One of our members has created a Facebook Page about the Hopewell Depot Restoration. Take a look at this URL.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hopewell ... 2071793718

Check out this video made by the Town of East Fishkill.
http://www.eastfishkillny.org/content/railroad-depot

The Hopewell Depot Restoration project also has a new web site.
http://www.hopewelldepot.org

I have been working on local railroad history since I retired from IBM 20 years ago. I have posted several hundred photos and stories about Hudson Valley railroads on a web site. Take a look at the following web site.
http://www.kinglyheirs.com/CNE/
This web site has 23 sections. Just scroll down and select the section you want.
If you have any questions or comments just send me a note.

[TCurtin]

Hi,

I have been looking all around but I can't put my hand on a freight time table, neither a freight train list.

So if you have information or know place I can find information, thank you in advance for sharing.

I may ask more specific questions where I have more to start.

just started: http://jctnewhaven.wordpress.com/

Contact me off forum at [email protected]
i will probably tell you more than you want to know about Maybrook operations in and around Danbury in that era.

Tom

[Noel Weaver]

At least in the 60's there wasn't a lot of local freight business on the Maybrook Line but there was some. A local worked out of Poughkeepsie to Beacon and sometimes to Green Haven, another local in Poughkeepsie switched the yard at Poughkeepsie and went west to Highland or beyond as required. A local out of Danbury did the work to Brewster and also east to Stevenson again as required. Shelton was switched by a yard job that worked around the clock during this period and based in Derby handling Ansonia, Derby and Shelton. Danbury during this period had a day switcher and a night switcher and a yard crew would do any work on the Maybrook Line within the yard limits which included Mll Plain west of Danbury.
Noel Weaver

[jcthib]

Hi!

Thank you for checking my post.

I'm reading the Peter Lynch book right now. There is a lot to read!

Bernard, you website (www.kinglyheirs.com/CNE) has a lot of information but I still very difficult to read, I get lost in the pages.

Noel, I have seen a lot of post from you in many forums and it looks like you are a source of information. Would you have more details?

Once again, I'm really looking for detailed information like time table, Train#, Locomotive Type and #, industries, goods exchanged...

Thank you for your help.
JC

[Jeff Smith]

I didn't realize that kinglyheirs was your site, Mr. Rudberg. I've found so much good info there.

[chrisnewhaven]

Through freight locomotives were Alco FA-1's (0400-0429), FB-1's (0450-0464), and FB-2's (465-469) until about 1957. These were most commonly found in A-B-A or A-B-B-A sets. Then some EMD GP-9's (1200-1229), Alco RS-11's (1400-1414), and FM H-16-44's (1600-1614 ?) were introduced into freights. After 1963, Alco C-425's (2550-2557) and GE U-25b's (2500-2525) became the main locomotive power. Occasionally RS-2's (0500-0517) or RS-3's (518-561) were substituted as road power, however they served as local power more often (mostly out of Danbury). The most common Maybrook line locals west of Brewster were handled by Alco S-1's (0931-0995) and S-2's (0600-0621) or EMD SW1200's (640-659). I have seen one photo of a single PA-1 pulling a short intermodal train on the Maybrook through Danbury, although this was not normal. All of the above information was taken from photos I've seen, road numbers from a previous thread here.
C.J.V.