I have engine house records from Waterbury for 1947, 1948 and at least 1949. By this period the yard switchers in Waterbury were normally diesel with at least two jobs around the clock and additional jobs were operated as extra switchers as needed. I have log books that show various 0-6-0 locomotives (2310, 2378 and 2391 were three that were listed in these books) as used on extra switchers and occasionally on regular switchers as needed. In the years 1940-1945 many Alco/GE S-1's were delivered and it is reasonable to expect that new S-1's were assigned to Waterbury sometime during the early 1940's as Waterbury was a very important 24/7 operation at the time and that was where the diesel switchers saved the railroad a lot of operating costs. I don't know for sure whether there were two or three S-1's assigned to Waterbury during the mid 40's. Derby was also a 24 hour yard operation and thus had a diesel relatively early in the diesel period.
When the roundhouse in Waterbury was closed in the summer of 1958, I saved as many of the old steam records as I was able to locate at the time and this probably represents the best existing collection of documents relative to the changing from steam to diesel operations. Of course I wish there were more such documents and for more areas as well but I am not aware of any.
Noel Weaver
