Former junction in Waterbury?

There appears to be a former junction in Waterbury that I cannot identify. It is near the intersection of Washington Ave and Riverside Street, and can be seen from the on-ramp to Route 8 North... looking at Google Maps, the Waterbury Branch swings away to the east, while the abandoned tail continues south for a little bit- but it looks like it used to go much farther. Did this junction have a name? What was the other line?

-otto-

Removed due to better info below.

The Housatonic never ran into Waterbury except when they took over
the original Naugatuck Railroad back in the 19th Century.
I think what you saw was Bank Street Junction which was quite busy at
one time with a N office in SS-202. The track looking south/west swings
left on a curve enroute to Bridgeport while the track straight ahead was
the abandoned route to Hawleyville and points west. The line from
Waterbury to Southbury was abandoned prior to WW-II but a stub still
existed to serve Connecticut Lumber which was very near Highland Ave.
in Waterbury. It also had the connection to the Dublin Street Branch
which was the original line from Waterbury to Meriden and was
abandoned many years ago. It also was the route to the Waterbury
Round House, the coach yard, freight car repair track, the B & B and a
number of freight sidings as well.
The tower (SS-202) was damaged during the 1955 flood and was never
rebuilt. The bridge over the river was totally washed out and was
replaced with a two track bridge, one was the remaining main track to
Derby Jct. and Devon and the other track led to the engine house as well
as the Dublin Street Branch and the Connecticut Lumber trackage.
It might be hard today to imagine what was once in this location but
before the 1955 flood the tower was still in full use and the bridge over the
Naugatuck River had four tracks with a signal bridge over all the tracks in
the area as well. All we have left today are pictures, old timetables and
memories of the past.
I did not get down in to that area last summer so I am not sure just what
is still left around the area.
Noel Weaver

Mr. Weaver has already described Bank Street Junction in detail. His experience in the area goes back more than a decade farther than mine, but it was still a fairly interesting place in the 1960s with lots of local freight activity. What's a little confusing about the layout at Bank Street is that the former Naugatuck RR track that eventually became the mainline swings towards the east at that point rather than heading straight south, while the former New York & New England line to Danbury (and the Dublin Street branch to the brass mills east of downtown, which once went on to Meriden and Cromwell) continued straight ahead. The Dublin Street branch turned east and crossed over the current MN line about half a mile south of the junction. That remnant of the NY&NE to the lumber yard that headed southwest and crossed under Route 8 was active through the 1960s and remained intact into the 1980s.

Thanks very much for the info! Poking around Waterbury, you can tell there was a lot more than there is now.

Otto Vondrak wrote:Thanks very much for the info! Poking around Waterbury, you can tell there was a lot more than there is now.

You can go to so many cities in the country, and that is sadly true.

Does Bank St. Junction have a name under Metro-North, or is it just a "switch in the woods?"

Since the rest of this stuff predates Metro-North, I'm going to move this to the New Haven Forum.

Found some historic topos to help the conversation:

Waterbury, 1904: http://docs.unh.edu/CT/wter04se.jpg

Waterbury, 1951: http://docs.unh.edu/CT/wtby51se.jpg

I can see Bank Street Junction, and can also see a small yard with roundhouse to the south. Looks like a third branch follows the Mad River to the northeast- the 1904 map has this labeled as the Meriden Branch. Interesting stuff!

-otto-

Bank Street Junction has not appeared in any timetable for many, many
years. I do not think the New Haven carried it after the tower was closed.
The Waterbury round house was demolished not too many years after it
was closed in the summer of 1958 and the property was sold.
There was once a old, old roundhouse somewhere not too far from the
Bank Street Junction location, I do not know if this building is still around
but it was used for some other purpose in the 1950's. I have not been
back to that part of Waterbury in many years.
Noel Weaver

Okay,.....
unless someone can confirm for certan that that old roundhouse is in fact demolished.....
someone needs to get over there and LOOK for it!!
Anyone up for the task? Anyone.....
Beuler?


Pete

I was there about 10 years ago, and can state that the roundhouse is long gone. The only large artifact left is a concrete structure, of a ring that looks like it supported a water tower. Bank Street tower's foundation is clearly visible. I walked the area with a MN maintainer and we were clearly impressed at the infrastructure that had been there, especially the switch appliances around the old interlocking, around the yard area by the shop, and then the track leading to the old lumber yard. It was so well built and maintained that despite being abandoned in place for decades, it was still largely intact, not accounting for vandalism, etc. A big tribute to NH and Union Switch & Signal, and also an indication to how important Waterbury had been at the time.

One thing that caught my eye was how much of the wooden elevated structure that supported the line to Meriden was still visible. I was surprised to see how much of it endures then, making a big loop across the river and off to the East...

Otto Vondrak wrote:Does Bank St. Junction have a name under Metro-North, or is it just a "switch in the woods?"

Since the rest of this stuff predates Metro-North, I'm going to move this to the New Haven Forum.

Found some historic topos to help the conversation:

Waterbury, 1904: http://docs.unh.edu/CT/wter04se.jpg

Waterbury, 1951: http://docs.unh.edu/CT/wtby51se.jpg

I can see Bank Street Junction, and can also see a small yard with roundhouse to the south. Looks like a third branch follows the Mad River to the northeast- the 1904 map has this labeled as the Meriden Branch. Interesting stuff!

-otto-

The first map (1904) is from the period before the present building was
built in 1908. Previous to that time, the New York and New England and
the Naugatuck Railroad had separate statins. The present location was
originally on the New York and New England. It shows no round house
anywhere that I could establish.
The second map from 1951 shows the layout as I first recalled, 1951 was
the year that our family moved from Torrington to Waterbury. The round
house shown in this map was about a half mile or so from the Bank Street
Junction tower (SS-202) and again there is no trace of an earlier facility.
The round house shown in the 1951 map was closed in August, 1958 and
demolished a few years after that, the property was sold after the closing.
Noel Weaver

If you go to Google Maps, you can clearly see there the old ROW for the Meriden Branch loops through and follows the river... (treeline clearly visible) and remains of a bridge over the Mad River too...

-otto-

On the 1904 Topo map, along the branch going north to Thomaston, there is a siding just north of the Litchfield county line. It is labeled Cable RR, crosses the river, and heads part way up the mountain (southern ridge of Mt. Toby).

Does anyone know what this was? Name, links?
Steve

It brought quarried rock down to the New Haven, for shipment outbound. If one looks very closely during the winter, some traces can be seen.