New Canaan Branch Discussion

The 1998-99 renovation included a full length ADA high platform. Prior to this, there were several mini-high platforms accessible by stairs to reach the car doors on the low platform.

Nice pictures of a very quaint station. Too bad the M2 in the picture (8436) is looking rather shabby as it hasn't been part of the CSR program and hasn't had a paint job in over 20 years!!!

I recently read a Waterbury - New Canaan Branch Feasibility study on www.Waterbury-newcanaanrail.org. They mentioned that the New Canaan branch signal system ends south of the New Canaan train station. I was wondering how far south of the New Canaan that the signal system ends and are there any wayside signals along the branch line.

The link to the study is:

http://www.waterbury-newcanaanrail.org/documents.html

The signal system starts at CP307 at MP.7.6 the station is at MP7.9
The entire Branch has signal system/cab signal from Stamford to just north of richmond hill road, from there to bumping block is restricted speed with Max of 10Mph

Thanks for the response Dutch.

Are their any lineside signals? You post was not completely clear.

I have spent almost no time on this line. Is it all single track or are their any interlockings other than where it connects to the mainline?

The only wayside signals for sure are at CP 235. I'm not sure if there's a signal at CP 307, I suppose there would be, though east of CP 307 to the block is technically un-signalled territory.

Other than interlocking signals, MNCR does not use wayside signals.

DutchRailnut wrote:Other than interlocking signals, MNCR does not use wayside signals.

Is there a signal at CP 307? That's all that's being asked.

Yes at ALL CP's, cause a CP without signals would not be a CP, as there would be no control, without the entry signal to interlocking.

What type of signal is at CP307, is it a dwarf signal?

train2 wrote:Is it all single track or are their any interlockings other than where it connects to the mainline?

For future reference, such questions can easily be self-answered in a number of ways.

1) Check the excellent track diagrams provided at http://richegreen.com/
You can view just MNR by itself, or the "Metro North, LIRR and CT Shoreline" version. These files are big (if you plan on viewing often, you might be better off saving them to your hard drive, rather than re-downloading every time) but they include accurate, to-scale diagrams of the tracks, maximum speeds, grade crossing locations, CP numbers, beginning/end of electrification, platform lengths and lots of other handy details.

2) Satellite view on Google Maps (http://maps.google.com)
3) Satellite and/or birds-eye view on Microsoft Live Maps (http://maps.live.com)

And specifically, your question is answered on the website mentioned in the original post:

http://www.waterbury-newcanaanrail.org/html-aboutproject/project_description.html wrote:Like the Waterbury Branch, the New Canaan line consists of a single track without any passing sidings. The signalization on the branch line ends just south of the New Canaan Station, which limits the operations of the trains on the northern end of the branch.

To throw in my $0.02 on the study... seems like a waste of time and/or lack of common sense.

New Canaan Branch - At just 9 miles, it's short enough to continue as a single-tracker. In morning peak, all trains are direct. The gap between trains is always less than an hour; and in the heart of AM peak, it's less than 30 minutes. Do they really need to run more frequently?? No. Double-tracking is definitely not needed. However, the branch could benefit from a higher speed limit. According to Rich's map, it's 40mph for most of the branch, with some curves limited to 20mph, and that final stretch at 10mph. While there's good reason for these limits, the station-to-station directions on Google Maps show the car ride taking just as long as the train. Considering there's more parking and more frequent service at Stamford, what's my incentive to board at New Canaan? (I know traffic is the one factor Google can't really account for, but off-peak times... less traffic, and you avoid that 10-minute layover to change trains at Stamford.)

Waterbury Branch - Whole different ballgame. Now we're talking about a 30-mile branch, single-tracked. Similar to the Upper Harlem Line, but the UHL has passing sidings and direct one-seat service in peak times. The Waterbury Branch has neither. Every train requires a connection at Bridgeport and the total travel time is at least 2 hours. At least the yard in Waterbury allows the only two peak AM inbound trains to run less than an hour apart. After that, service in each direction is at least 2 hours apart -- even in PM peak! If you miss the 4:35 departure from GCT, the next departure is 7:05. So if you live in Waterbury and you work a 9-5 job in the city, you need to be on the 5:57am from Waterbury to arrive at work on time. And once work is over, you've got a 2-hour wait before your train home, which gets you back in Waterbury at 9:19pm... just in time to go right to sleep and do it all again the next day. Sure, nobody's forcing you to live in Waterbury, but if you're going to run trains, you might as well try your best to fill 'em. The easy (ie. cost-free) solution here is to eliminate one of the afternoon southbound trains, so that 2 northbound PM peak trains can run (mirroring the 2-within-an-hour southbound runs in the morning). Double-tracking is probably out of the question, but some passing sidings would allow for more frequent service. Improvements to increase the speed limit would also help reduce that long ride time.

There is plenty of room on the Waterbury Branch for passing sidings, in fact there were a fair number of them years ago
but with today's traffic levels and very little freight service they simply are not needed.
In an ideal world the Waterbury Branch would have cab signals, two or three signaled sidings for meets and much more
service but this would cost dollars which are not available right now and probably not anytime soon either. The whole line
at one time was double track, I remember when it was. At that time we had 8 or more passenger trains each way and
several freight trains daily in each direction too plus much local freight and traveling switcher work too. Nearly all of this
traffic is long gone and will never return.
The area along the Waterbury Branch has changed so drastically over the years that today its best future is probably a
more reasonably priced residential area for commuters working closer to or in New York. It is possible with better rail
service to be just that and people moving to that area need to be prepared to pay for better transportation options than
they presently have. It may well happen sometime down the road.
With regard to the New Canaan Branch, one obstacle to increasing the speeds on this line is the presence of a lot of grade
crossings plus curves and the cost to improve this situation would be huge and not in the works. Incidentally New Canaan
has no other transportation in and out except for the taxi operation which the last I knew operated out of the railroad
station. No local bus service and no intercity bus service there either, the locals probably would not stand for it.
Transportation in New Canaan is the "DINK" and that's it. It provides excellent service between New Canaan and Stamford
where you can connect to get anywhere. They could probably make some improvements in New Canaan which would help
the rush hour operation on this line at least somewhat but again, money is a factor.
Noel Weaver

Thanks for the additional insight on the history of these branches.

Noel Weaver wrote:money is a factor.

Money will be a factor in anything. It's a shame that certain things will cost much more than is reasonable for right now. But if people are going to complain that three back-to-back New Canaan-bound trains have to clear out of the yard before a fourth can make the trip up in the PM rush, they'll have to understand it's going to take time and money to expand the yard and/or increase the speed limits.

MTA proposes eliminating trains, New Canaan ticket window service
Late-night trains, window service may get the ax
By Martin B. Cassidy
To save money, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering consolidating late-night trains to Stamford and other Fairfield County towns and ending New Canaan ticket window service. The MTA is trying to close a $1.2 billion budget deficit for next year. The state Department of Transportation, which owns Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, must approve the changes. The MTA board on Wednesday is expected to approve a proposed 2009-10 budget that includes the cuts. If the DOT approves the plan, the changes would take effect in July, officials said.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_11988856