New Haven-isms

Is there anything that was strictly unique to the New Haven, so you could look at a stretch of R.O.W. or a structure and be able to instantly identify it as New Haven? The NH had it on their steam locomotives with the arch cabs and the pyle national headlight, and as an example the NYC had stone mile posts and whistle signs along their R.O.W. The Pennsy had their own type of signal. The New Haven...?

Tri-angular Catenary
Pagoda style signal towers
Funky bright colors on Diesel engines

semaphore signals-some interlocking with 2 blades on the catenary the 3rd on the ground.2 arm automatics on the catenary.one bladed dwarf on the ground.

Response to DutchRailnut:
Tunnel vision, Im always looking over the obvious, lol!

Speaking of Semaphores and Catenary, was the left handed semaphores used under the catanary used anywhere else on the NH? I don't think any other RR used left handed semaphores.
C.J.V.

Semaphores on the New Haven were of the left hand variety systemwide with the exception of train order/manual block boards on stations which were right handed semaphores where they were still using semaphores. There were a few cases as well where interlocking signals had right handed semaphores as well. Variety was common on the New Haven over the years.
Noel Weaver

The mainline switch targets were uniquely NH - Normal is a green circle with a white border, Reverse is a red arrow pointing to the direction of traffic.

Mainline rail sections (early 20th century) were 107# - unique to the New Haven.

On the sidings/secondary lines the rail was 78#.

The 107# had wraparound joint bars, I think were also unique to the NH.

The NH had triangular mileposts (how system wide - I don't know).

The next grade up for heavier rail was 115# which was indistinguishable.

The NY&NH had rail which was rolled with "NY&NE" into the web. There is a section of rail used as a guard rail over Freight St in Waterbury and there used to be a few pieces in the Danbury yard near the north side of the loop track.

In the Northeast - Hancock whistles on the 1st generation power were a NH feature.

Stations - there were common design elements depending on what predecessor railroad built them. I.E. on the Shoreline the canopies, Old Colony had a similar look about them as did the NY&NE. The Naugatuck had 2 similar brick stations in Winsted & Thomaston.

Later on, the New Haven had "yellow brick" stations in Stamford, Norwalk, Torrington (and maybe other locations as well).

The Shoreline had browstone block abutments for their smaller bridges, which I think came from the Portland CT area - quite unique. Come to think about it, they appeared on the Waterbury branch too.



The obvious switch key - marked (usually) NH in brass - they did issue steel keys during WW2.

Switch locks were generally Adlake steel marked NYNH&H (NH later on?)

Signal locks were marked New Haven - either block or script depending on the era.

as for that rail in danbury, no more, entire loop and yard are now welded rail of 145 Lbs per yard.

NO.3 signal department lock.Yale on one side and "made for signal dept.New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad" on the othe side.Valued piece of memoribilia.

Most New Haven Railroad switch keys were steel and not brass although I have some of both in my collection. Some keys had no NHRR lettering on them either.
Noel Weaver

While employed in the signal dept at PC/CR,my keys are stamped "3P".No company name.

CannaScrews wrote:The mainline switch targets were uniquely NH - Normal is a green circle with a white border, Reverse is a red arrow pointing to the direction of traffic.

Mainline rail sections (early 20th century) were 107# - unique to the New Haven.

On the sidings/secondary lines the rail was 78#.

The 107# had wraparound joint bars, I think were also unique to the NH.

The NH had triangular mileposts (how system wide - I don't know).

Interesting about the switch targets, I never would have even bothered to look at that! Also on the triangular mileposts, what color where they and where they mounted on signal masts or on their own posts?

CannaScrews wrote:...The NH had triangular mileposts (how system wide - I don't know)...

Over by the Cape the mileposts were made of granite, four-sided posts. In East Wareham (near Onset station) they showed the mileage to Boston, and I believe this was the case along the entire Cape. IIRC, the tops were painted white with black lettering -- a "B" over the mileage to Boston. Typically there was a rack containing four replacement rails near the milepost.

Don't know if these granite mileposts were installed by the New Haven or dated back to the Old Colony.

Speaking of the rail racks -- were these uniquely New Haven? A pair of older, lighter rail posts stuck in the ground, with two sheet metal arms welded on to hold the rails.

Another memory -- the piping arrangement between the derails on sidings and the switch stands. Don't know how uniquely New Haven this was.

- Bill

1. "Salt box" wood frame stations. The electric zone (in Connecticut, I don't think there are/were any in New York) has a number of these but they are in other places too (Perhaps I should say "were in other places" since many no are no longer standing).

2. There's another station style that I think was unique to the New Haven. The best unaltered example on the New York area is track 3 side at Port Chester. Norwalk on the track 4 side is too but has been so altered as to be nearly unrecognizable. These too exist/existed in other places on the railroad

3. An early style of highway crossing flashers that used an old rail as the upright, and had square housings for the lights. These go back to the 1920s and had a long life. There were several ---at least six that I can name --- up on the Norwalk-Danbury line, and they were numerous on Danbury-Pittsfield too, lasting past the end of the New Haven. In fact the last two that I know of (in Bethel, CT) lasted several years into Metro North!

The New Haven was the only railroad I know of that consistently used round-end blades on controlled home signals at interlockings. Most other railroads (maybe all) used square-end blades for that, reserving round-end blades for train-order or manual-block signals. If you see an interlocking protected by two left-hand round-end semaphore blades along with a dwarf on the ground, it's New Haven three times over.

TCurtin wrote: 3. An early style of highway crossing flashers that used an old rail as the upright, and had square housings for the lights. These go back to the 1920s and had a long life. There were several ---at least six that I can name --- up on the Norwalk-Danbury line, and they were numerous on Danbury-Pittsfield too, lasting past the end of the New Haven. In fact the last two that I know of (in Bethel, CT) lasted several years into Metro North!

The flashers were replaced but North Main street & Depot hill Rd and Portland ave in Branchvile and Long Ridge Rd in Redding still have the rail as uprights.
Portland Ave and Long ridge Rd will soon be replaced by new croosings (gates and the works).

North Mainstreet has been blocked with barriers for 3 years now, to be replaced by new crossing about 600 feet further north as part of Gilbert And Bennet conversion to condo's