Maybrook Line Freight

[FLRailFan1]

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.

TCurtin:

I do have a few questions on your customers list...

1) Derby Feed I guess received feed in boxcars. Am I correct?

2) Pitney-Bowes, what did they get or shipped out?

3)Mallory Hats, did they receive felt in boxcars and/or chemicals? Did they ship out?

4)What customers were on the Beacon line? Do you have a list?

I bet if the lumber companies are still in business and the Housatonic RR had AJ Belivue as the owner, I bet rail service would be healthy, not only on the Maybrook line, but the Berkshire line, also.

[Noel Weaver]

When I qualified over this line in 1972 there was still a little bit of local freight business between Hopewell Junction and Beacon but there wasn't very much. IBM had a siding to their plant which was some distance from the main/secondary track and they did not get cars very often at least when I was working that line. There were team tracks at Fishkill and Glenham and cars could be seen on them from time to time but as to who the customer was at those locations, I do not know. The most interesting customer was in or close to Beacon called Green Fuel Economizer and I believe there were a couple of tracks in there. There was what appeared to me to be an original CNE switch stand on that property as well. I think they got tank cars. There was also a team track in Beacon down by the river and close to CP-58 which was the switch off the Hudson Division,. IL don't remember seeing much at that location either although sometimes there would be track equipment at that location. There was a local freight out of Poughkeepsie that handled the Beacon territory and that job remained even after the unfortunate bridge fire that closed the Maybrook Line for good. I was provided a list of everything on the Beacon Branch/Secondary Track in 1971 or 1972 but right now I can't put my hands on it.
Noel Weaver

[FLRailFan1]

When I qualified over this line in 1972 there was still a little bit of local freight business between Hopewell Junction and Beacon but there wasn't very much. IBM had a siding to their plant which was some distance from the main/secondary track and they did not get cars very often at least when I was working that line. There were team tracks at Fishkill and Glenham and cars could be seen on them from time to time but as to who the customer was at those locations, I do not know. The most interesting customer was in or close to Beacon called Green Fuel Economizer and I believe there were a couple of tracks in there. There was what appeared to me to be an original CNE switch stand on that property as well. I think they got tank cars. There was also a team track in Beacon down by the river and close to CP-58 which was the switch off the Hudson Division,. IL don't remember seeing much at that location either although sometimes there would be track equipment at that location. There was a local freight out of Poughkeepsie that handled the Beacon territory and that job remained even after the unfortunate bridge fire that closed the Maybrook Line for good. I was provided a list of everything on the Beacon Branch/Secondary Track in 1971 or 1972 but right now I can't put my hands on it.
Noel Weaver

I would like to see what Pitney Bowes got by rail! Also, if you find that list would you post it. Mallory Hats and Derby Feeds I might put on my layout Derby Feed as a pet store/ farm supply place, Mallory Hats as a hat and clothing manufacturing company I might have the HRR run freight up the Harlem River on my layout.

[TCurtin]

I think the only business Mallory had was incoming coal. There's a large steel coal trestle there (still there as far as I know although I have not been there for quite a while)

[Maybrook fan]

Growing up in Holmes in the 60's/70's there was what was referred to earlier as a team track. The main customer I remember using it was a green house in Pawling that would get 3 to 4 cars of coal every fall. Other than that I only remember MOW equipiment storage, occasional hot boxes, broken cars and once a dead locomotive being in there. And the few times I saw the coal hoppers coming or going it was from a road train not a local.

[Fishrrman]

Noel wrote above (and a year ago!):
[[ There were team tracks at Fishkill and Glenham and cars could be seen on them from time to time but as to who the customer was at those locations, I do not know. ]]

Back when I used to work the Poughkeepsie switcher, now and then we'd spot a tank car on the short siding in Glenham for (I think) Texaco. They had some kind of R&D facility there.

There was also a printing company towards the east end of where the old controlled siding was in Poughkeepsie, used to put box cars there. We accessed that by going up the "Hospital track" from the CNE yard north of Poughkeepsie station on the Hudson Line.