Connecticut's Railroads in 1893

I was fooling around online and came across a link to this very cool map http://www.flickr.com/photos/uconnlibra ... /lightbox/ Map of the Railroads of Connecticut to accompany the Report of the Railroad Commissioners, 1893

The map clearly shows the state being covered by three competing systems- the NYNH&H along the coast, the NY&NE through the midsection, and the Philadelphia, Reading & New England across the northwest quadrant.

More important, though, check out the lines marked as "under construction/proposed." The New Hartford branch of the Canal Line is showing continuing up the Farmington River valley all the way into Massachussetts and connecting with something called the Lee & New Haven, which furthermore is marked as having been completed for several miles south out of Lee(!) The PR&NE (CNE) Springfield branch, marked "proposed," actually crosses the B&A and loops east to cross the Connecticut River to a junction with the "Connecticut River Railroad" (B&M Conn River line) somewhere north of downtown Springfield. And the biggest surprise to me is something called the "Ridgefield & New York Railroad" which is marked as under construction from roughly Port Chester to Danbury via North Stamford, Lewisboro NY, and Ridgefield.

Can anyone tell me anything about the Ridgefield & New York? I know there are places just west of town where you can see an old grade in the woods but I'd always assumed it was from the 1870's-era New York, Housatonic & Northern. The color on the map doesn't indicate it as being a project of either the NH or the NY&NE.

According to "Names First-Rails Later" it was originally incorporated in 1867 with a projected completion of 1870. It was still being listed as incorporated but nor built in the 1890s Some grading was done between Ridgefield and Port Chester. The New Haven listed stock ownership worth $39,000 in 1909.

The Valley line up to Springfield? Now there's something I had never heard of before.

Kilgore Trout wrote:The Valley line up to Springfield? Now there's something I had never heard of before.

Just noticed that. Seems very strange- why would the NH build a whole new line paralell to the Springfield main? Freight bypass or something?

Ridgefielder wrote:

Kilgore Trout wrote:The Valley line up to Springfield? Now there's something I had never heard of before.

Just noticed that. Seems very strange- why would the NH build a whole new line paralell to the Springfield main? Freight bypass or something?

I realized that this map predates NH ownership of the NY&NE, which would explain why the Armory branch wouldn't have been usable as a bypass between Hartford and Springfield. I checked some old atlases on HistoricAerials.com and it appears that by 1928 there was a connector allowing northbound Valley trains to head east on the Midland. This connector does not show up after the 1962 aerial, so presumably the need for a direct move from Old Saybrook to Springfield without interfering with the Springfield main had disappeared.

Seems very strange- why would the NH build a whole new line paralell to the Springfield main? Freight bypass or something?

The line was not built by the New Haven. It was built as the Connecticut Central RR by a group of investors who hoped it would be a viable competitor to the NH line, but it was never more than a quiet branch. Similarly, the Hartford-Old Saybrook line built by the Connecticut Valley RR never had any significant through traffic. The current New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line was united under single ownership by the formation of the New York, New Haven & Hartford RR in 1872 and immediately became the dominant north-south route through central Connecticut. By 1904 the NH had bought up almost everything in the state except the Central Vermont line to New London, but the corporate intent was to give it a monopoly on rail freight traffic in the region, not to create new alternate routings.

TomNelligan wrote:

Seems very strange- why would the NH build a whole new line paralell to the Springfield main? Freight bypass or something?

The line was not built by the New Haven. It was built as the Connecticut Central RR by a group of investors who hoped it would be a viable competitor to the NH line, but it was never more than a quiet branch. Similarly, the Hartford-Old Saybrook line built by the Connecticut Valley RR never had any significant through traffic. The current New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line was united under single ownership by the formation of the New York, New Haven & Hartford RR in 1872 and immediately became the dominant north-south route through central Connecticut. By 1904 the NH had bought up almost everything in the state except the Central Vermont line to New London, but the corporate intent was to give it a monopoly on rail freight traffic in the region, not to create new alternate routings.

Tom- I think we're talking about two different lines. The Connecticut Central route you're talking about is East of the river-- if I recall correctly, it became the NY&NE and eventually the New Haven's Armory branch. On the map I linked to it's marked in red as part of the NY&NE.

The route that Kilgore Trout and I are talking about is indicated as a new line planned for the West side of the river. It's described on the map as "Valley Division - Proposed" of the NYNH&H. The line runs north out of Hartford, crossing the Farmington around where CT 75 does today, passes through Suffield (where it connects with the Suffield Branch), and terminates at a connection with the B&A in West Springfield, essentially at the west end of the Connecticut River bridge.

Tom- I think we're talking about two different lines.

Sorry, I did get sidetracked onto the Armory Branch. I don't know about the "Valley DIvision -- Proposed" line. In the 1890s the NH was making a serious effort to monopolize transportation in southern New England, as I wrote earlier, but I can't imagine any significant on-line business in what was then a very rural area, and I agree that it doesn't seem to make sense as a mainline bypass.

TomNelligan wrote:

Tom- I think we're talking about two different lines.

Sorry, I did get sidetracked onto the Armory Branch. I don't know about the "Valley DIvision -- Proposed" line. In the 1890s the NH was making a serious effort to monopolize transportation in southern New England, as I wrote earlier, but I can't imagine any significant on-line business in what was then a very rural area, and I agree that it doesn't seem to make sense as a mainline bypass.

Only thing I can think is that it was some sort of political move to forestall construction of the CNE's Springfield branch-- although it's on the other side of Talcott Mountain from the eventual CNE right-of-way...

That would make two attempts on the part of the New Haven to prevent the CNE from building their Springfield branch. The CNE at one point made plans/threats to build from that branch east to Suffield or Windsor Locks to try and siphon off business, so this could have been a barrier.

Kilgore Trout wrote:That would make two attempts on the part of the New Haven to prevent the CNE from building their Springfield branch. The CNE at one point made plans/threats to build from that branch east to Suffield or Windsor Locks to try and siphon off business, so this could have been a barrier.

Considering some of the other things the New Haven did back in Morgan/Mellen days that wouldn't surprise me in the least.