Connecticut River Crossing at Middletown, CT

[porkfriedrice]

Do trains run on this bridge anymore? I am new to this site and I tried searching the forums for this, but couldn't find anything. I also looked at some photos on nerail that actually did show some trains crossing it, but the most recent were from 2004. Anybody have any pics that are more recent if they still use it? I was also wondering if anyone had any info on the technical aspects of the operation of this bridge. Thank you.

[TomNelligan]

Yes, the Providence & Worcester still has a customer on the Portland side of the river and uses the old Air Line swing bridge to reach it. The bridge is old enough (built by the New Haven RR in the early 20th century) that I keep waiting for a major maintenance issue to lead to its closure, but thankfully that hasn't happened yet.

[Jeff Smith]

I was curious on this one: I checked the CDOT rail ownership/service map, and the Middletown area is numbered 14 and served by P&W. There is a long stretch connecting to Essex/Valley RR that is railbanked with no current service. There are two spurs forming an X with the main line, with the main line heading down from Hartford (CSO) throug Middletown and on towards Durham and North Haven (P&W) and then on to New Haven (CSX). The eastern portion of the "X" looks like it heads towards a land-banked stretch which heads up to Windham county?

The question is: Which of these represented the Air Line? And how on earth did the short-lines end up with this jumble anyway?

[CVRA7]

The last I knew the P&W has two customers in Portland CT - Smurfit-Stone (boxcars - paper inbound) and (IIRC) Murphy Rd Recycling, a post P&W takeover customer where the old cement silos were. Murphy Rd handles C&D debris outbound and used to go up the Valley line Middletown-Hartford. The upper Valley went out of service acct track conditions so maybe that traffic from Portland disappeared as Murphy Rd has another location (on Murphy Rd!) in Hartford the last I knew and it could ship from there.
The bridge has received some major upgrades during both the Conn. Central and P&W eras including a new center bearing - which involved jacking the bridge up off its pivot point - during the C C days.

[shadyjay]

I was curious on this one: I checked the CDOT rail ownership/service map, and the Middletown area is numbered 14 and served by P&W. There is a long stretch connecting to Essex/Valley RR that is railbanked with no current service. There are two spurs forming an X with the main line, with the main line heading down from Hartford (CSO) throug Middletown and on towards Durham and North Haven (P&W) and then on to New Haven (CSX). The eastern portion of the "X" looks like it heads towards a land-banked stretch which heads up to Windham county?

The question is: Which of these represented the Air Line? And how on earth did the short-lines end up with this jumble anyway?

From Middletown, the line heading SW through Middlefield, Durham, and (East) Wallingford to Cedar Hill is the Air Line, today operated by P&W. From Middletown, east then northeast to Portland, (near) Colchester, Willimantic, and then on to Putnam was also the Air Line, now much of it is a rail trail, except in Portland.

From what I understand...
Conrail would come up the Air Line from New Haven to serve the Reed's Gap Quarry in Durham, and continue on to Middletown to serve the "cluster" including customers in Portland, the "poo poo" shuttle, and any other customers in Middletown/Middlefield. When Conrail was downsizing in the late 1980s, they sold the Middletown cluster to the newly formed Connecticut Central (CCCL). CCCL later obtained trackage rights to Cedar Hill. Later, P&W replaced CR as serving the Reed's Gap Quarry and later acquired the CCCL. This all was in the mid/late 1990s.

As far as the Air Line east of Portland, I believe that was taken out of service in the 1960s. The Valley Line which heads east then south of Middletown along the Connecticut River was abandoned in 1968. It was leased to the Valley RR in 1969, but left to nature's growth until a few years ago when the line was cleared of brush, though remains out of service between a point just north of the East Haddam Bridge and near Pratt & Whitney in Maromas. With the sewer shuttle now gone, trains rarely (if ever anymore) run south of the Route 9 bridge on deKoven Drive in Middletown.

[bobbarbn]

You all have pretty much answered the questions about the Portland/Middletown area.

The bridge had major repairs when I was working for CCCL. My grandfather was actually one of the bridge tenders back in the NHRR days. There are two customers in Portland, as one of you mentioned. However...the demolition company still ships. The cars now go south through the Gap and Wallingford to Cedar Hill and then north via CSOR, instead of going up the Valley Line.

I have good (insider) information that there may be a new customer in Rocky Hill and that there might be as many as three moves a week. The P&W is planning on doing some rehab work on the Valley Line between Middletown and Hartford in the near future.

All of the track from Rte 66 in Portland to Willimantic has been ripped up, the bridges gone and the land either sold or has become (it pains me to say) rail-to-trail, as through East Hampton and Colchester.

[Cosmo]

There are STILL a few bridges left, if you know where to look!

[porkfriedrice]

Hey thanks everyone. Does anyone know about the operation of this bridge, what is involved with opening and closing, etc? What is the small building in the main swing span for? I always used to think that that's where the control mechanisms were, but how would the person get off the bridge after opening it. Sorry guys, just always been curious about this bridge since I was a kid.

[bobbarbn]

The tan house in the center (swing) span used to be the control cabin for the bridge. My grandfather started running the bridge from there. As there was an operator on the bridge 24-7 in those days, the bridge was closed when there was a shift change. I think it was back in the 1950's (or there abouts) that the little black cabin was constructed on the end of the west span. This was done so that, as the railroad declined, a bridge tender could go out to opertate the bridge when needed....while it remained open to river traffic most of the time. The swing span cabin no longer has controls in it.

The bridge is electrically operated and there is a control panel in the cabin and one only has to turn a switch to swing the bridge, another lock the miter rails, etc.

I can speak from experience that is a scary feeling to be in that end cabin when a tug and barge pass through. Makes one pray that the captain has good eyesight! lol

[Plate C]

I used to work right near the bridge and would run out there every time I heard the train coming. This was a number of years back now, but then P&W would come fairly on time around 12pm M-F. I was out there taking shots of P&W coming across and back 1-2 months ago, could have been around noon but I'm thinking it might have been more like 1-2. I got some nice shots though, and if you're respectful of how you do your thing I've always found the crew and workers there to be friendly. Not sure how regularly they come now as car counts are low but I believe M-F is still the time to catch them there.

[DROPJD]

plate c is right, CT-1 gets to middletown around 11- 1130 after they drop the tilcon cars at reed's gap. Listen to 156.650 ( marine ch 13) they need to announce that marine traffic will be affected and listen for any concerned vessels before swinging the bridge for rail traffic.

[HighlandRail&DEY-7 652]

When my father worked for the CCCL my grandfather and uncle did a ton of electrical work on the bridge. Including the not so easy task of recreating the electrical schematic/blueprint which was greatly deteriorated. By the way I've got the (new) original made by my gramps. But no copies are available. From what I recall my uncle told me it was very similar to one of the bridges one the shoreline with some of its hardware. It's pretty complicated as I do not understand it, but I'm not an electrician just T&E.

[porkfriedrice]

Thank you everyone. You answered a lot of my questions.

[Jeff Smith]

Thanks for the answers, it's nice to know at least some of the Air Line survives. I don't think the rail-trail portion would have much use today (as a rail line, that is), but I do believe that CDOT still owns it (I think most of it shows as "land-banked" on their map).

Edited for clarity.

[porkfriedrice]

The Airline rail trail is what got me interested in railroads to begin with. When I was a kid, I couldn't believe that a railroad had at one time ran through my town. I don't think that all rails to trails are necessarily a bad thing.