New Haven - Union Station?

Recently I became aware that the station in New Haven is a Union Station. What railroad other than the New Haven used this station? Typically you don't have a Union Station unless at least 2 railroads use it.

That’s a good question. One railroad might have been the Central of Vermont.

CV went to New London.

May have been New Haven and Northhampton on the Canal line but not really sure.

Union Station may have dated back to New York and New England (air line), New York and New Haven versus New Haven & Hartford prior to 1870's.

Also, not sure about the name of the railroad that ran New Haven to Ansonia. Need to check the book about Ct railroads

chnhrr wrote:One railroad might have been the Central of Vermont.

No, the Central Vermont went to New London, not New Haven. The NH and CV did share the station there, which is why the current New London station is identified as "Union Station" in the stonework on the street side.

As for New Haven, the NH was the only railroad in town by the time the current building was opened in 1920. Everything had been corporately consolidated by then. However, it replaced an earlier New Haven Union station on the same site, which in turn had replaced multiple 19th century stations built by NH predecessor companies. So the Union Station name was carried over to the current building.

Train322 wrote: Also, not sure about the name of the railroad that ran New Haven to Ansonia.

It was the New Haven & Derby RR. Its station was located roughly across the street from the current building, on part of the land where the housing project is now. The NH&D station survived into the early 1960s as a railroad YMCA.

Special Laws of Connecticut, Vol. VI, p. 710, approved July 8, 1869 authorized the New York and New Haven to relocate its freight and passenger stations in New Haven, including track relocations. The NY & NH was also authorized to enter into agreements with other railroads to enter upon its tracks and use its facilities. I guess this was when the first New Haven Union Station got started. The New Haven & Derby must have been someone's pet because the NY & NH couldn't take any of its property without its consent. There were also several other independent railroads in New Haven at the time. My source is a 1,000 plus page hard cover book NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN & HARTFORD CHARTERS, January 31,1906. These books, of very limited printing, were usually found in the Law and Finance Departments of various railroads to help staffs find their way through the special acts of the legislatures under which much of the New England railroad mileage was authorized or constructed. I found mine at a second hand bookstore in Boston about 1980. There were several similar ones in the Finance Department of the Boston & Maine, when I worked there, and I regret that one did not come home with me. The people there (Guilford/PanAm) probably discarded theirs because they have no sense of history or of what is important. Any other companies that got into New Haven Union Station probably entered into contracts with the NY & NH and my book doesn't cover that. Mine only has legislative activity. So originally New Haven did have a union station and the name has stuck.