INTERVIEW WITH JOSEPH GUILIETTI, CTDOT COMMISSIONER

Enjoy: news/interview-with-joseph-guilietti-ct ... ioner.html

Wow good read!

The lack of attention on New Milford was disappointing but understandable at this time.

Better get your photos and videos of diesel ops on SLE now before they become not as frequent; though they will be more special to catch and it will be nifty to see diesel and electric SLE trains

The SLE M-8s and the Hartford Line wasn't really anything new. There were a few questions, like Hartford Line fleet renewal, that weren't answered.

The lack of New Milford is disappointing, as that is actually a credible and logical proposal, unlike the Maybrook and Worcester services.

There are a few other questions which should be answered. One is about serving SW Hartford suburbs like New Britain, Plainville, and Bristol. A few years ago there was talk about this with PAS. I remember they ran a test set of Budds back in the late 1970s-early 1980s. The same goes with the remnants of the Midland to Manchester.

Engineer Spike wrote: ↑Tue Jun 08, 2021 11:05 pm There are a few other questions which should be answered. One is about serving SW Hartford suburbs like New Britain, Plainville, and Bristol. A few years ago there was talk about this with PAS. I remember they ran a test set of Budds back in the late 1970s-early 1980s. The same goes with the remnants of the Midland to Manchester.

You must be referring to a railfan trip in I think May 1982(?) comprised of 3 SPV-2000s. There's a fair number of B&W photos on NERAIL.org documenting this. Great stuff!

There was a study commissioned during the Malloy administration that was to explore running trains via Waterbury-New Britain-Berlin-Hartford (I believe to supplement or appease the pro-rail crowd who opposed the CTfastrak busway project), but clearly nothing enough came of it to warrant any further action.

I know there's been chatter here in the past about perhaps the I-84 viaduct project being an impetus for bringing back rail service to New Britain and points south to Waterbury, but I don't see it happening to be honest. I believe the cost of rehabilitating the Terryville Tunnel alone -not to mention the cost of rehabbing the whole ROW -has made CT think twice about spending even more money on a seemingly less viable project after all the $$$ that was sunk into the Hartford Line.

Engineer Spike wrote: ↑Tue Jun 08, 2021 11:05 pm There are a few other questions which should be answered. One is about serving SW Hartford suburbs like New Britain, Plainville, and Bristol. A few years ago there was talk about this with PAS. I remember they ran a test set of Budds back in the late 1970s-early 1980s. The same goes with the remnants of the Midland to Manchester.

Commuter rail using the New Britain - Waterbury PAS tracks will never happen. Local politicians - especially from Bristol - were pushing for this years ago when Malloy was in office and he and his DOT commissioner said no to rail and yes to those SW cities/towns receiving expanded bus service connecting them to the CT Fastrak busway in downtown New Britain. New Britain politicians are happy with their busway.

The former downtown New Britain to Newington Junction rail corridor could only support either a busway or rail traffic and the state went with the busway. Potential trains using the current PAS route from downtown New Britain to Berlin to connect to the Hartford Line simply adds too much time to make that route efficient for commuter rail service to Hartford from SW suburbs.

"The Nutmeg" has tires.

Oh "The Nutmeg"? That was a named train the New Haven once ran over that line - in fact all the way to Boston over The Midland.

April 27, 1952 New Haven Form 200 shows "three a day" Waterbury-Hartford.

Any "New Haven hands" around here such as Mr. Nelligan, care to "fact check" me?

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 7:52 am Any "New Haven hands" around here such as Mr. Nelligan, care to "fact check" me?

Unfortunately, Mr. Nelligan passed away in April of this year, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Jim

OMG!!!

I've met Tom Nelligan face to face.

May he rest in peace.

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bosto ... fhid=15213

GBN: Not to go further off topic - there was mention of Tom Nelligan's passing in the New England Railfan
Forum - JP Lang posted the topic on May 11, 2021:
author-photographer-tom-nelligan-dies-a ... 73078.html

Tom Nelligan was a respected member of Railroad.Net - I am surprised that the subject of Mr. Nelligan's
passing did not get more posts or condolences. The upcoming public memorial service should be noted
when the date and time are established...MACTRAXX

Yes I posted this on May 11th after reading about it in Trains mag. He was a very valuable, knowledgeable contributor on this forum along with all of his other work during his lifetime.