Waterbury Branch Thread

Resumption of train service was pushed back to today, Oct 4, still with the two replacement buses in the schedule. The two buses were part of the pandemic schedule pre-trackwork this summer. The first bus is at the same time, give or take a couple minutes. the second bus is pushed back just under half an hour.
Pre-work schedule- http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/planning/s ... 312021.pdf
Current schedule-https://new.mta.info/document/48706

CTC is now in effect and additional trains expected to be added in July 2022: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... ng-system/

How much of the line is currently double tracked? Any of it? Must be some passing sidings?

"State officials plan to add a second track to the Waterbury branch of the Metro-North Railroad in the coming months, a build-out expected to increase the number of weekday trains on the line from 15 to 22.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced the project Monday during a visit to the Metro-North train station in Ansonia, one of the communities served by the Waterbury branch, together with Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, Seymour, Derby and Waterbury itself.

“I have been laser-focused on improving rail and transportation throughout the state since I came into office, and the Waterbury branch is a prime example of infrastructure in the state that needs significant upgrades,” Lamont said. “We are building a transportation system that will lead to more jobs, economic growth and more money in people’s pockets.”

The expansion will be paid for with $1.23 million in state funds and a matching amount of federal dollars."

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/articl ... rth-branch

There's a passing siding in Ansonia. Hardly "double tracked".

There's decrepit remnants of double track in places like Naugatuck and in the vicinity of South Leonard Street in Waterbury.

"Signaled passing sidings were added at Beacon Falls and Derby. Existing sidings just south of Waterbury and just north of the branch’s junction with the New Haven Line at Devon"

From the article about it.

I think the line may have been double tracked completely and was double tracked into the sixties up to Ansonia (based on a 1964 New Haven schedule that I have) and within Waterbury but I don't know the entire history.

I found a NH RR map (by searching Google Images) that showed that the line to Waterbury was double tracked as late as 1948. Here's a screenshot of a portion of the map.



The full map can be found here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibr ... 1875334755

Those existing sidings that were around before the new sidings were built weren't in service for passenger operations. Basically once all of the sidings are ready for the brand new train service to begin, passengers who depend on the WBL will have more options. I wonder if there are people living along the branch who work in Waterbury who use the train?

So they must have removed the second track between Waterbury and Ansonia between 1948 and 1955 because a 1955 NH schedule with map shows single from Ansonia to just south of Waterbury

If any double tracking lasted until the mid-50s perhaps it was washed away/damaged along with most of the ROW from the August 1955 foods and when the time came to rebuild the NH opted to keep it as a single track due to dwindling freight and passenger traffic. When passenger service resumed the number of trains was cut from 6 round trips to 4 and most of not all of them were RDC shuttles.

I wonder if by “double track” the journalist meant passing tracks. The media tends to use loose language when describing all things railroads.

What is the distance between the CTC sidings. Time distance at track speed will give a good idea of max capacity.

The double tracking basically ended with the flood in 1955. If you search around Noel Weaver (RIP) was our resident Waterbury expert and has discussed it.

I've heard about new stations for Derby & Ansonia with high/heated platforms and TVMs and other numerous improvements to stations along the line with the Infra deal. Can anyone give any more info about that project and how the infra deal could directly fund that?

There are a bunch of pots of money in the bill that CTDOT could tap into, and some money that is just being delivered that is for discretionary purposes across the modes. I would bet that CTDOT is in a very good position to channel these funds into station improvements on WBL. Given how many station improvement projects have been implemented across the state in recent years, the recent upgrades to WBL coming online, and the groundwork that's been laid with planning, I think they know what is needed and how to move these projects along.

They're planning to add a few trains, but the whole WBL is pretty limited until they unclog the Bridgeport situation with either Barnum Station, Devon Transfer, or preferably, both. That would allow a lot of additional service on the WBL, as well as trains from Waterbury to New Haven.

ElectricTraction wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 5:37 pm They're planning to add a few trains, but the whole WBL is pretty limited until they unclog the Bridgeport situation with either Barnum Station, Devon Transfer, or preferably, both. That would allow a lot of additional service on the WBL, as well as trains from Waterbury to New Haven.

They really just have to add a 2nd track onto the WYE going to GCT and have it connect to track 4 so you don't have to wrong rail for a short section and can hold in the right direction and ease congestion. Probably about a $3 million project to redo everything there.