Activity through Bristol, CT area

Does the line through Bristol, CT see much activity? Is it a Guilford line? I'll be in the area this summer and was wondering if there is much traffic to watch. Also are there any good vantage points for getting a look or photos of the tunnel at Terryville?

Thanks in advance.

DR

If you're going to be in Bristol, head over to nearby Thomaston and visit the Railroad Museum of New England! http://www.rmne.org

-otto-

Guilford runs between Plainville and Waterbury, through Bristol, once or twice a week. Usually Wednesdays, but it can vary. They go west in the morning and return in early afternoon.

Terryville tunnel in almost completely "treed-in" nowadays, on both ends.

There's a much greater train frequency on the Naugatuck Railroad in Thomaston!

Also, you might find Guilford power laying over in Plainville... but that has become a rare occurance.

-otto-

Ruzbasan wrote:A great way to get photos of the Terryville Tunnel is to simply walk through the tunnel on a Sunday morning when no trains are running on the line.

You are forgetting rule #1 of railfanning (and railroads in general):
Expect A Train In Any Direction On Any Track At Any Time!

Not to mention, this is also trespassing - walking along an active rail line. Okay, yes, it's Guilford (Pan-Am, B&M, et al), but still, trains can run. I don't think suggesting people to walk through a dark tunnel (regardless of length) is a good idea. Let alone, walk across any active trestles. It is people like that who give our hobby/recreation a bad name.

Stay off the tracks - observe from safe trackside locations.

Without people snooping how much intelligence is available ? Get it from sitting in your car ?


I posted about walking the tunnels in Hawleyville (ny&ne) and got a response like I was on the FBI MOST WANTED LIST. Till now advise me WHO owns the property ??


As to long tunnels and active railroads you can't guarantee a train is not coming through which is not on your schedule !!!!


Pan Am ?? I don't know how long this line is going to last as they have eliminated most all customers. Many have closed and moved but many still exist. (switch to truck)


There still is a junk yard on a stub of the old Watertown Line but they can't get any service so ??


It's getting to be a question if a freight at 5mph can still make it to Waterbury. Hitting Waterbury you have the Metro North line south to Stratford which is maintained. (any freight left ?) To the north you have the Naugatuck Railroad but any customers north to Torrington ?


The Watertown Line. A bridge still exists over the river and serves a junkyard but service ? Who repairs the bridge ?

zz4:

In the past couple of years, I have seen scrap gondolas spotted at the junkyard, so I would assume that A) Guilford does still service that customer or did so until fairly recently and B) it would be Guilford's obligation to maintain the bridge. I could be wrong on B though. I am not aware of any freight customer's on the NRR, but would love to hear if indeed there is some freight action on that branch. Does Guilford provide Freight service to the customer's south of Waterbury on the MNRR line?

BWP

If Guilforn/Pan-Am files abandonment or effectively abandons by driving away business, expect CDOT to get into the picture. Gov Rell has shown a much more proactive stance where rail is concerned than her predecesor (the felon Rowland, who proposed elimination of SLE, Waterbury, and Danbury).

CT has quite a few abandoned lines rail- or land-banked, and owns a few active lines outside of the NH main line where they grant trackage rights. I'd expect them to snap this up. Most will probably never see service again. But since they're still talking about a BRT line from Bristol to Hartford, why not rail?

Guilford owns the stub of the Watertown branch from the fouling point of the "Watertown Jct" switch (under the Thomaston Avenue bridge) to the west side of the rather "rustic" bridge over the Naugatuck River. The rest of the track, west of that point, is owned by Albert Brothers, the scrap metal dealer. The GTI-B&M portion is about 1/4 mile, tops, in length.

Albert Brothers gets about 6-10 cars per week, in and out. They also own at least three of their own scrap cars, which were originally western unit train coal gons.

With the imminent closing (by October) of the Peter Paul candy factory in Naugatuck, the 4-5 cars per week of corn sweetner bound for the unloading facility in Beacon Falls will no longer be moving, leaving only Kerite Cable (in Seymour, 3-4 cars per year) and Hubbard-Hall Chemical (Waterbury, 10-12 per year) as freight customers south of Waterbury.

NAUG has occasionally handled some revenue freight; the last was a large transformer inbound for CL&P, to East Litchfield in January 2003.

Let's face it, the whole area is lacking in the kind of industries that once filled freight cars. Any manufacturing is done on a small scale-- trucks handle that.

An old saying in the short line railroad business--- "A short line is only as good as its outside connection".

I've just observed many customers that Pan Am no longer serves. There was even that propane place in Ansonia (?) and even that 'cement' place across rt8 used to have a car once and awhile.

The newspaper in Waterbury any more ??

Is it profitable for them to serve what's left ?


Watertown ?? They had an old passenger station in need of repair. They scrapped it for 'new' retail buildings. (10-15 years ago?)


The I-84 corridor gets more congested by the year and I'd think the rail line would have some future value.


The Terryville Tunnel ?? I think it has known ghosts ?? They might get you. Otherwise I don't think one can be too wise in assuming a train does not run on a certain day.

Maybe everyone should look at the paparazzi as their role model. Do they trespass ? (not meant to continue that subject)


Torrington. The experts on that would have to be the Naugatuck Railroad.

This topic has been covered here ---> http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=39850 <---- Pan Am loses customer on Waterbury Branch

I made a rant about that Torrington project in past.


ya know..it has to segment the row ??


Once the Winsted line according to an OLD State Rail Plan was 'preserved'. Who approved all the retail stuff on the ROW in north Torrington ? (don't know)


Oddly they (whoever they might be) are slowly preserving the ROW from Winsted to Canaan. Trail.


Don't ask me what's wrong with that Kelly? family. They own the Torrington Station and WANT to let it rot.

Cool beans avatar! Musta took some work to find it!

The Kelly Property in the Torrington station area has been sold/disposed of and somewhat cleaned up.

Contact your state senator/house rep & try to save the station. It only takes money & political influence & money.

ZZ[bottom] don't even think about Winsted. Its gone for good - unless Hyudnai is planning to build an assembly plant somewhere in the Mad River Valley.

Way to go Otto. Now you have to find a movie pic of HFM with the latex chrome dome.