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Connecticut Passenger Stations, N-NE
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___________________________________________________________________________________
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NAUGATUCK DEPOT [> WINSTED4]
********************
NAUGATUCK1
|
| Library of Congress |
|
| Library of Congress |
NAUGATUCK1. The upper left image is an
1856NH map [OHS] and shows the layout that would remain the same until the early 1900s. The two later bird's-eye
maps trace the changes thereafter. Click here to go to the LOC website to access both maps. The shot at lower left is
from the Bailey bird's-eye map of 1877 and shows the station off Maple St. with the locator number '3' on
the roof. It is a simple NRR combination depot, similar to ANSONIA1 and DERBY1. The shot at lower right is from the Hughes
& Bailey map of 1906. NAUGATUCK1 is still in place in the upper left corner, but no track crosses Maple St. there
any more. The right of way has been double-tracked and relocated to where the train is seen running along the river,
the new trackage opening 1/19/1908. A combination passenger/baggage coach, not shown by the artist, is now in service on Water St. as
NAUGATUCK2. NAUGATUCK1 was left on the stub-ended old NRR main, then being used as an industrial spur, until February
of 1908 when the structure was jacked up on flat cars and moved to Water St. The adjacent steel work for NAUGATUCK3 was
already going up and, when that station opened, the old one was to be torn down "as quickly as possible."
The 1890 mention by the railroad commissioners of the "erection of new station buildings for the accommodation of each,"
i.e. freight and passenger service, an accomplishment vaguely echoed by the NYNH&H annual report, must be partially in error. As far as we can determine, a new freight house was the only improvement and it enabled
NAUGATUCK1 to be used for passengers only. [REFS:
CRC37.1889.19; CRC38.1890.20; NHAR19.1890.4; HC/01/20/1908/12; WA/02/07/1908/01; NDN/02/08/1908/03; NDN/09/08/1908/01]
********************
NAUGATUCK2
Combination passenger/baggage coach on Water St.
in 1907(?) and NAUGATUCK1 moved to Water St. to replace
the coach, February, 1908.
********************
NAUGATUCK3
|
| Library of Congress |
NAUGATUCK3.
The 1906 map image [upper left] does not match several of the details of this station as built. Seeing the passenger car, our NAUGATUCK2, that was in use as the depot at the time, the map artist likely
made inquiries or was advised of the coming new station and either did a sketch of an alternative plan or something
based loosely on the final
plans. The grand new structure, "one of the handsomest railroad stations in this section of the country,"
was designed by Lincoln Memorial architect Henry Bacon [click here]. A new avenue, first called Carrington St.
for the property through which it cut, is today's Cedar St. It was built at this time from Church St. to Water St.
as an approach to NAUGATUCK3, which
opened on September 6, 1908.
The railroad commissioners said that this new station was "a credit to the company and an ornament to the place."
The opening date of NAUGATUCK4 had been lost for years until our research rediscovered it in the Naugatuck
Daily News. For the use of the microfilm, our thanks to the Republican-American, located appropriately
enough in the 1909 Waterbury Union Station. NAUGATUCK3 now serves as the home of the local historical society [click here]. [REFS: CRC56.1908.49; NDN/09/08/1908/01; NHAR37.1908.8; R69]
********************
NAUGATUCK JUNCTION1
|
| NHRHTA photo |
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
NAUGATUCK JUNCTION1. Also
called STRATFORD JUNCTION, or just JUNCTION. The NY&NH opened in early 1849 and its earliest timetables show no stop here.
None was needed until May 14 of the year when the first NRR train ran. The NRR's western traffic went to Bridgeport using
the second track specially built by the NY&NH to dissuade the NRR from choosing New Haven as its terminus. With the arrival
of the NRR, the junction assumed an important role both
as the transfer point for traffic on NY&NH trains to and from New Haven and as a local Milford stop as well. This service, effective on July 23, was advertised in Bridgeport's Republican Farmer newspaper. Initially there
was probably a single platform spanning the two railroads where they intersected near the edge of the Housatonic River, as
shown on the 1852NH map at upper left. The station
on the north side of the main line to New York may have been built by the NY&NH as part of its agreement with the NRR.
The photo at upper right is ca. 1870 with the station
in its original location at the meeting point of the NRR and the NY&NH's "down" track to New York. The signal
tower seen standing behind the station is the first one built here. It debuted in 1852 and was manned by a round-the-clock operator who controlled signals a quarter of a mile
away. The 1868 Beers map at middle left shows the depot at the downward red arrow and the signal tower at the upward arrow.
This map also shows the addition of a track allowing
NRR trains to go directly to New Haven. It was installed
in 1868 in an attempt to fend off anticipated competition from the NH&D that was then under construction. This track was removed early in 1872 after the NH&D opened
and was awarded all the Valley passenger traffic to New Haven due to its shorter routing via Derby Jct. This east track was
not reinstalled until after the NYNH&H leased the NRR in 1887. The frog
for the final connection with the NYNH&H's up and down tracks was installed late in the year, thus recreating the
wye that was removed some 15 years earlier. Almost immediately, freight service was instituted between Waterbury and New Haven,
once again to compete with the NH&D. The newspaper said just before all this that "the present depot structure will
probably be removed to a point farther east to accommodate travel" as part of the reconfiguration. The photo at middle right is dated 10/25/1916 and shows an enlarged NAUGATUCK
JUNCTION1 with freight wing on the right.
The eastward-looking bottom left photo shows the rear of the station perhaps
in the 1920s, with electrification in place and the overpass for Naugatuck Ave. seen in the distance. [REFS: RF/09/18/1849/??; HDC/12/13/1852/02; HDC/01/06/1868/02; CR/02/22/1868/03;
HDC/03/27/1884/03; NHER/08/09/1887/01; NHER/10/21/1887/01; NHER/12/23/1887/04;
HC/01/05/1888/08]
********************
NAUGATUCK JUNCTION2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| J.W. Swanberg photo |
NAUGATUCK JUNCTION2. The ca. 1888 expansion of the junction, the eastward
shifting of NAUGATUCK JUNCTION1, and the reinstallation of the east leg of the wye probably led to the creation of a platform
on the west leg. This was covered with a canopy in 1900, according
to the railroad commissioners [CRC48.1900.22] and a small station building, seen beyond the canopy in the photo on the left, was added. This accommodation of Valley passengers was needed especially
for the heavy traffic in the summer as thousands came to go to nearby beaches. That became easier in 1898 when the CR&L
trolley cars started running down Naugatuck Ave. to Walnut Beach and Milford center [NHER/06/09/1898/08]. The photo on the
right was most likely taken shortly after June 16, 1907. It appeared
in an article by Jack Swanberg [NHRHTA Bulletin 30.2009.6] and shows the
new concrete, pagoda-style S.S. 71 in place with the older wooden tower still standing behind it. NAUGATUCK JUNCTION1 is
seen to the far right and NAUGATUCK JUNCTION2 is seen in the distance beyond it.
********************
NAUGATUCK JUNCTION3
|
| Richard A. Fleischer Collection |
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
NAUGATUCK JUNCTION3. Prior
to the building of this small station on the eastbound side, passengers apparently walked across the busy main line after
waiting for their trains at NAUGATUCK JUNCTION1. This third depot was built between 1911 and 1915. The former date marked
complaints about the dangers here, especially with thousands of people in the summer, and likely resulted in the blueprint
plan above to address the safety concerns. The old east leg of the wye, marked 'B', was to be removed in favor of
the new double-tracked 'A' leg and access road 'C' shunting the public out to Naugatuck Ave. The NYNH&H
otherwise demurred on any additional pedestrian crossing over or under the tracks and it also deferred the eastbound passenger
station. By 1915, the railroad apparently acquiesced and the depot finally shows up on the val map issued that year. The presumed
date of the valuable panorama on the left is ca. 1918 and shows the junction fully developed. The 1914 electrification
is in place, there is already some rust on the catenary bridge footing, and the name DEVON is in use. According to A History of the Devon Union Church
[p.1], the new name was chosen by real estate developer Walter B. Perkins who purchased a large tract of land here in 1900.
As local businesses, churches, and schools began to use it, residents asked the railroad to change the name of the station.
According to the Federal Writers' Project History of Milford
[p120], this was done on November 1, 1913 and references to the community here as Naugatuck Junction or Naugatuck Village
began to fade. The latter is still seen highlighted in yellow
in the lower right corner of the blueprint map. All the Naugatuck references in this area are completely out of context without
knowing the name of the railroad company that brought the name, and are examples of how railroads everywhere influenced the
nomenclature of the communities they served. Sixteen daily trains each way were still stopping here in 1923, but by 1937 these
were reduced to two daily and by 1947 there were none. [REFS: HC/05/02/1914/02; 1923, 1937, 1947TTs]
********************
NAVY YARD
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
NAVY YARD. This depot came with the 6/2/1899 opening of the Groton Extension [CRC47.1899.3] that was built through the naval facility on the
east side of the Thames River. The map at upper left is an overview
of New London and Groton in 1893 with no track on the east side of the river yet. The station first appears to be mentioned in an article about washout damage in 1900. While it never shows
up in the GHDs or the RRM maps, this stop is on 1912 and 1917 PTH
timetables. The naval yard and storage depot dated back to April
11, 1868 [click here]. The N&W had wanted to build
from Allyns Point through this area for decades to connect with the steamboats at Groton Bank and avoid the "heavy rent" it was paying to the NLN for trackage
rights on the west side of the river. Initial Congressional
reaction was negative about allowing this
to happen, as reported in an 1884 article, which was surprising since denial of permission to the N&W was said to have
required "deep cuttings" to build around a facility that the government had seemingly "given up all
notion... of protecting" otherwise at the time. The yard also complicated the 1889 railroad bridge across the Thames because many officials advocated the
building of it north of the base for less chance of interfering with naval operations. While there was some expectation that
the line would be completed with the opening of the bridge, the east side extension would not become a reality until 1899,
just after the NYNH&H got control of the NY&NE/N&W in 1898. Interesting historical coincidences played a role
here. The yard was actually closed from 1898 to 1900 and it was
about to be turned into a coaling facility for the fuel that navy ships still used when Congress allowed the construction of the rail line with the stipulation that a spur be built to the coal pockets
by the river. The changeover to oil as ship fuel in 1912 threatened yard closure again until, with underseas warfare a growing
threat, the facility was transformed and opened as the New London
Submarine Flotilla base and training school on June 21, 1916.
The situation on the eve of the changeover is seen on the adjacent 1915 val maps,
on the left [north] showing the spur to the coal pockets severed
at the red arrow and on the right [south] showing the small, original station highlighted in yellow. Presumably, the name of station changed to SUBMARINE BASE at this time and it
appears as such on the 1919 ICC list. A 1918 newspaper article mentions that 1,200 construction workers were coming by train
from Hartford to this station to add buildings to the naval facility at the close of World War I. Local passenger service
was handled toward the end by gas rail car in 1928
(though this is not reflected in The New Haven Railroad: A Fond Look Back [p37]), restored with a Budd car in 1952, and stopped when
the line was not included in Amtrak in 1971. We do not know the fate of the station building but it is not on 1940 NYNH&H
lists of structures to be retained or disposed of. In the bottom
photos from the 1930s, SUBMARINE BASE looks like the old NAVY YARD structure was doubled from
its original size, this done probably 1916-1918. An industrial saddle-tank engine used to switch cars on the sub-base spur that can be seen on the val maps may be what is captured in the val photo at bottom right. [REFS: HDC/04/23/1875/01; HDC/01/27/1882/02; NHER/01/03/1884/01;
NHER/02/19/1884/04; NHER/03/08/1884/01;
NHER/11/20/1884/04; NHER/01/19/1885/04; NHER/07/23/1885/04;
NHER/10/25/1895/06; HC/11/18/1898/13; NHER/01/13/1900/01;
PTH871.1912.65; PTH925.1917.66; HC/04/04/1918/04; 1919ICC; 1937TT; 1940RDLC46;
CPN211; K106; Q151]
********************
NEW BOSTON [> QUINEBAUG]
********************
NEW BRITAIN1
|
| New Britain Public Library |
|
| New Britain Public Library |
NEW BRITAIN1. The HP&F opened as far as Bristol in 1850 and the 1855HC map [top left] shows the earliest arrangement
of the railroad facilities here in what would become known as the Hardware City. The
red arrow points to the engine house on the north side of the tracks. Inexplicably,
the passenger station at the foot of Center St. is not shown. In the photo
at top right, the passenger station is the gabled structure at far right. The middle structure is the baggage building and
the the one in the foreground is the Adams Express facility. The snippet from the bird's-eye map of 1875 [click here] at top center gives a good overview of the considerable changes from 20 years earlier, thanks in no small part to excellent rail service. The tracks are are seen splitting just east of the station where the upper line, now the NY&NE, goes to Hartford and the New Britain and Middletown RR heads for Berlin on the lower line. The Middletown Constitution reported that this new railroad had been completed in January, 1865 and that its engine house was going up on Elm St. This prosperity and increased
rail activity further added to the complex network of tracks surrounding the passenger station that now served both companies. Safety complaints to the railroad commissioners led to hearings in 1870 that
resulted in changes in the track arrangements and "considerable
improvements" in 1876, and perhaps we had thought to the enlarged appearance of the passenger station on the 1875 map. The photo at lower left appeared in the New Britain Observer just after the opening of NEW BRITAIN2 in a requiem to the old station and the image was reproduced
in 1927. It reportedly dates to 1882 and seems to show the same three old buildings unchanged. The tongue-in-cheek text of the article calls the station the "old rat trap" which no young man "had
pluck enough to fire," but acknowledges that "whatever may be said, the much abused structure, built cheaply at
first, has done actual service since 1850... it has earned a vacation... a long one... and let the matter now pass into 'innocuous
desuetude.'" Thus, the build date of the 'sainted' old structure is verified and put to rest. We were remiss in not mentioning some weeks back the excellent service we received at the New Britain Public
Library. The extensive and well-organized collection of materials we found in the local history room [click here], some of which we have reproduced, make this library especially worth a visit from researchers. [REFS: C/01/25/1865/01; HDC/07/03/1869/04; HDC/09/18/1869/02; HDC/01/08/1870/02; CRC17.1870.18+; CRC24.1877.20; NBO/12/24/1927]
********************
NEW BRITAIN2
|
| Copyright NHRHTA, Inc. |
|
| New Britain Public Library |
NEW BRITAIN2.
Continued complaints about the depot facilities here and the inability of the NY&NE and
NYNH&H to agree on arrangements occasioned a state legislative act in 1884 ordering a union station. Similar intervention was necessary to bring about NORWICH5 and WILLIMANTIC2
[see N,W stations]. The situation was undoubtedly complicated by the plans of the Hartford and Harlem RR which called for
a connection with the NY&NE here in New Britain where it was to form a new through line to Boston and better compete with
the NYNH&H. Nevertheless, a deadline of 1/15/1887 was set for a new station and met within a few months of that. The railroad
commissioners said that "an elegant and commodious passenger station" was being built late in 1886 and they reported
that the "long-deferred" station, opened according to the New Britain Observer on 7/1/1887, "with its covered platforms extending each way, is a model of convenience and elegance."
The 142x73-ft edifice constructed of pressed brick with granite trim was impressive
and anchored a unique, track-facing retail arcade, with apartments upstairs, that
extended westward toward Main St. NEW BRITAIN2 stood until November, 1956 when
it was purchased by the city, which was unfortunately only interested in land for a parking lot. The building was razed and
the ticket office moved to the arcade until passenger service to the Hardware
City ended on 1/20/1960 after 110 years. The floor plan of the station is shown
at lower left and the layout of the lower level of the arcade, with restaurants, a barber shop in several vacant stalls in
1897, is seen at lower right. [REFS: CRC31.1884.52; CRC34.1886.11; CRC35.1887.18;
RRC34.449; NHER/03/16/1887/01; NHAR16.1887.7; HC/01/20/1960; NL18.3.7]
********************
NEW BRITAIN JUNCTION
[> BERLIN]
********************
NEW CANAAN
NEW CANAAN. This classic Gothic,
wood gabled station was said by the Courant to be going up at Park and Elm Sts. in January, 1868 and "nearly ready"
on the opening of the NCRR on July 4, 1868. It is still in service in 2012 at the end of a line that has steam, trolley, and
pantograph-electric service over its 130+ years of existence. There is no south canopy in the ca. 1900 view on the left
and there is catenary for electric operation in the ca. 1920 shot on the right. The map is from 1893. [REFS: HDC/01/20/1868/02; HDC/04/04/1868/04; R70][rev1/23]
********************
NEW
HARTFORD1
NEW
HARTFORD1. The Courant said the station was up here on opening day. The photo on the right is probably the original station,
with the bay window on the far end. [add12/7>] The 1880 NY&NE appraisal
of CW property said this station was in fair condition and worth $1300 at that time, comparable to BLOOMFIELD and CANTON   , both valued at $1500. >] The photo on the left seems to show the same station
with an addition on that end that now puts the bay closer to the center. While Nimke says that the
larger structure was built in 1898, a claim for which we find no verification, the newspaper mentions general PR&NE improvements
in 1897 which may include the addition
to this station Lord says was put on in 1896. That article also happens to mention that the PR&NE stations have been painted
in a cream color with red trim, a seldom-found detail that is of interest both to purists and modelers. The lower photos,
showing the trestle just east of this station, are artificially juxtaposed but horse and train incidents often ended sadly.
The scenario on the right, reportedly the
result of a bet over a glass of beer, was no exception. Help arrived before the train came
but one of the animals had to be sacrificed.
Drinking and driving was as ruinous then as it is today. [REFS: HDC/12/14/1871/02; CW/NYNE1880; HC/10/22/1897/04; RLHS Bulletin 119.6-32; C147; D27,28; N3.34]
********************
NEW HARTFORD2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
NEW HARTFORD2
was the NH&N station that stood north of the Farmington River at the end of the 1876 extension built to serve the
Greenwoods Co. The adjacent freight depot is still standing today in service to the local fire district. In the middle photos,
the train is crossing the river south to Pine Meadow in the shot on the right using the old, single-span bridge. The one on
the left has the train going north to NEW HARTFORD2 on the newer, double-span, bridge built ca. 1906. The snippet at lower
left is from an undated map that shows this station as LANDERS, a change that
most likely took place with the 1927 NYNH&H/CNE merger, which left the 'victor' with two stations named NEW HARTFORD.
The 1928OL shows the CNE station still called by the old name, but the NH&N station north of the Farmington River now
named for the Landers, Frary & Clark company. The New Britain small-appliance maker had taken over the idled Greenwoods
mill in 1921, with the Farmington River dam and Greenwood Lake behind it providing the water power, to convert the plant for
the production of vacuum cleaners. In economic developments foreshadowing the future in many ways, the last operator, a textile
processor that made cotton duck cloth, moved south in 1902 to take advantage of lower labor costs. With its grand list devastated
and its population cut in half by 1920, the town voted to lure Landers with the promise of no tax increase for ten years.
An article in the Courant said that the "little town fairly went wild" at
the thought of the prosperity regained and that "The movies will be able to run every night in this consequent millennium,
and the long consequent millennium, and the long sparkle with gleaming coin."(!) The map snippet also has dots at FARLEYS and BARKHAMSTED,
which, as far as we know, were never passenger stops. [REFS: CRC24.1877.17; HC/08/04/1902/13; HC/09/10/1920/02; HC/08/06/1922/03; D121]
********************
NEW HAVEN1
NEW HAVEN1. The first station in the Elm City was at Belle Dock, the terminus of the H&NH, which
opened in 1838. The shot on the left is from the 1852NH map showing the location. The snippet on the right is from
the 1879 Bailey bird's-eye map of New Haven [click here]. The large building in the lower right, with the paddle wheeler docked below, served as the passenger station. Freight
and passengers made the connection here with the boats for New York City, but New Haven-bound
passengers alighted here as well.
********************
NEW HAVEN2
NEW HAVEN2. There are no extant photos of the Canal road's first terminal property in New Haven off Temple St.,
but this was drawn from the Index Book of maps of the NH&N right of way. The map appeared in Connecticut Railroads [p62]. These index map books are in the
collections of the New Haven Museum and Historical Society.
********************
NEW HAVEN3
NEW HAVEN3. This
was the Elm City's first Union Station, designed by Henry Austin and located at the southwest corner of Chapel and Union
Sts. in New Haven. The 1852HC map shows the location. This station was replaced officially in May, 1875 when NEW HAVEN4 opened
on Meadow St., but trains continued to stop here as per the contract the railroad had for use of the property. A trendy City
Market opened in the reconfigured interior in the late 1870s and lasted until July 4, 1894 when the accidental ignition of
a vendor's fireworks caused a massive fire that destroyed the building. See Track 6,
MP 6.7 for more details.
********************
NEW HAVEN4
NEW HAVEN4. The Meadow St. Union Station, is pictured at the upper left probably around the 5/24/1875
opening, with the waters of New Haven harbor lapping at the shore behind it. Five
of the Elm City's six railroads would use it upon opening, the NH&D to follow later. The building was symmetrical,
with two end towers and one in the center until a November 1887 addition was put on the
west end. The other views show the station after the March 19, 1892 fire which destroyed most of the third floor and took out the center tower. The view
at middle right seems serene, predating the reconfiguration of
the west end of the depot for the accommodation of the Derby line trains which started coming here late in 1892. Those changes
are apparent in the postcard at middle left that also shows the 1894 GOB across Union Ave. This station was "closed for
good" to the public on 6/10/1917 with the opening of a temporary station, NEW HAVEN9, to serve passengers while NEW HAVEN10
was rising just to the west.
Click here for the 1915 val map showing the property Union Station property at that time. This structure would serve as office space
for the railroad until it was destroyed by a second fire in 1918. See Track 6, MP 6.8.5, for more. [REFS: NHER/04/30/1887/01;
NHAR17.1888.7][mids add2/14]
********************
NEW HAVEN5
NEW HAVEN5. As best as we can determine the little building above the 'ST' at
211 West Water St. served as the the NH&D's station after it left NEW HAVEN3, the Austin depot on Chapel St.,
in consequence of the opening of NEW HAVEN4, the Meadow St. Union Station: see Track 2, MP 2.3.
********************
NEW HAVEN6
This was the NH&D's 1877 depot location in
rented space on Custom House Square just below West Water St.
********************
NEW HAVEN7
|
| New Haven Register |
NEW HAVEN7. The 1879 map snip shows the NH&D's first self-built station where it stood at the southwest
corner of Meadow and West Water Sts. As pictured above ca. 1900, it has been moved over to Commerce St. and
is in use as a feed and grain store. This photo and all the others we have show this building with a Mansard roof on
a second story that originally housed railroad offices. Why the bird's-eye artist did not portray the roof accurately
is something we have never been able to explain.
********************
NEW HAVEN8
|
| Dodd Research Center, UConn |
NEW HAVEN8. The 1878 station, now as the freight office, and the newly built three-story 1888 passenger
station have been joined together on Commerce St. as NEW HAVEN8, the new terminal
facility of the HRR and NH&D. This view is ca. 1920, long after the NYNH&H takeover and the use of this composite
building as the South Orange St. RR YMCA since 1896.
********************
NEW HAVEN9
|
| Joe Taylor Collection |
NEW HAVEN9. This was the temporary station in front of NEW HAVEN4 that opened with the closing of the 1875 depot on 6/10/1917. The Courant reported that "the restaurant ranges have been installed, the ticket office made ready for the
staff and today [6/8] a big gang of men attacked the present station, ripped up benches and took them over to the new building."
Crossover tracks routing some trains around the front of the old depot were also said to be in the process
of completion. The photo on the
left [add2/14] is dated 8/27/1917, shortly after the interim depot opened.
The shot is from Louis H. Benton's own collection, with his ownership stamp on the back and his signature captioning
on the front. The touring car of Irving Drake, the 'chauffeur' for the duo, may be among the parked vehicles. The 1875 station caught
fire on May 8, 1918 and burned to the ground, the conflagration seen in the photo on the right that was probably taken from
the GOB across Union Ave. NEW HAVEN10, the 1920 station, is under construction and out of view to the right. [REFS: HC/06/09/1917/22]
********************
NEW HAVEN10
|
| Edward J. Ozog Collection |
NEW HAVEN10 opened on 5/20/1920, was brought
back from the prospect of demolition in 1985, and still serves as today's Union Station in the Elm CIty. The card at the
upper right shows what this station was originally planned to look like until the railroad's financial problems scaled
back the construction budget. The postmark is from Yale Station on 6/25/1913. It is interesting that
the aborted design made it to post card status and that the actual station would not be built for several more years.
********************
NEW
HAVEN11
NEW
HAVEN11. This steel and glass structure opened on 6/7/2002 at State and Chapel Sts to serve patrons of Shore Line East. Ironically,
this location was diagonally across from the Austin depot, NEW HAVEN3, where many people bemoaned the lack of service for
years after the Meadow St. station, NEW HAVEN4, was opened. [REFS: R95]
********************
NEW LONDON1
|
| Boston Public Library |
|
| Boston Public Library |
NEW LONDON1. The first railroad to serve this important coastal town was the New London,
Willimantic and Palmer RR. The inaugural cars ran on November 13, 1849, covering the 28 miles to
Willimantic in one hour and ten minutes.
The upper shots are from the 1876 Bailey bird's-eye map [click here]. The multi-story building at Main
St. and Hallam Sts. appears to be the one that was adapted for use as the station and we have marked with the red arrow what
appears to be the same building in the photo at lower left. The track curving to the south in all the images is the start of the 1852 extension down to the Parade to link up
with the newly arrived New Haven and New London RR. An 1859 article speaks of a "New London lower depot" and likely means that that NLW&P did not entirely abandon its 'upper' depot, NEW LONDON1,
when it made the connection with the NH&NL. [REFS: NLD/06/26/1847/02; HDC/11/16/1849/02; NLD/05/11/1850/01; HDC/09/12/1859/02; R72]
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NEW LONDON2
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| Connecticut Historical Society |
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| Connecticut Historical Society |
NEW LONDON2. Based on newspaper articles and artistic evidence, this appears
to be the station built by the NH&NL in 1852, hitherto apparently unknown before we noticed it in the ca. 1854 Joseph Ropes landscape entitled
View of New London from Fort Griswold [click here]. In addition to an NLW&P train on the Winthrop Cove bridge at right in the
full panorama these snippets show a NH&NL trains going west from the castle-like
structure at the end of its track. [add1/20>] The 1854NL
map at lower left shows the location of both NEW LONDON1 at the blue arrow and NEW LONDON2 at the red arrow. According to
John Roy, the first "real railroad station in New London," that he says was the Greek Revival structure we have
now listed as NEW LONDON3, was built in 1852 by the NLW&P. This seems to be a case of the correct date but the wrong
structure and the wrong railroad, since a January, 1853 newspaper notes that the first
meeting of the New London and Stonington road "is to be called at the Station House of the New Haven and New London
road, on the 10th inst., for the choice of Directors and other business." What happened to NEW LONDON2 which stood at the exact location where the next station would
be built? Newly found articles say that a depot in New London burned on 5/8/1864 but attribute it variously to the NLW&P
or the N&W. In this confusion, we wonder if somehow NEW LONDON2 was meant or if it was consumed in the same fire. While
additional research may clarify the events here, it seems safe to say that this image shows the second station in the Whaling
City, the one built by the NH&NL in 1852.>][REFS:
NLD/10/16/1852/03; HDC/01/10/1853/02; HDC/05/09/1864/02; NYHT/05/09/1864/04;
PEP/05/09/1864/03; HDC/05/10/1864/02; CR/05/14/1864/02; R72]
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NEW LONDON3
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| TCS Collection |
NEW LONDON3.
The upper shots are also from the 1876 Bailey map and show the 'General R.R. Depot' that we
think was built in 1864 after the castle-like structure burned. This one
would also be destroyed by fire on 2/5/1885 and the single article we
found about that event says that "few New London people are sorry, as the ancient structure had long since outlived
its usefulness." Calling this station 'ancient' after
only 21 years, or even 32 years if it was confused with the 1852 depot, seems a little extreme but disparaging remarks when
a depot no longer met public expectations was common at the time. The railroad commissioners had been petitioned for depot
changes here in 1859 and 1867, newspaper articles in 1874-1875 talk of the need for a new or remodeled station, and
the commissioners in their 1877 report cite the
need "to address the wholly insufficient and inconvenient accommodations" here. While
we hope to shed further light on the evolution of the depots in this important coastal town, this is where it stands for now.
Credit does go once again to Mr. Bailey for the image of the Thames River, in service from 1871 to 1877, and coming into port below the station. Ferry operations between New London and Groton began late in 1858 with the completion of the NL&S and would continue until the first Thames River bridge was
built in 1889. The 1868 Beers map at lower left shows the footprint of NEW LONDON3 and the all the railroad and shipping structures
built in place at that time. [REFS: HDC/12/09/1858/02;
RRC2.1 (8/19/1859); RRC5.110 (5/26/1867); HDC/10/13/1874/04; CR/11/21/1874/01; HDC/03/30/1875/04; CRC23.1876.21; CRC24.1877.20; CRC26.1879.31; NHER/02/06/1885/01; R72; SL.12.3.8][rev1/20]
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NEW LONDON4
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| Edward J. Ozog Collection |
|
| Copyright NHRHTA, Inc. |
NEW LONDON4. As John Roy points
out, it was the CVT, lessee of the NLN, that built this station with plans drawn up by renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson
who died before this project was completed. The NYNH&H, which always had more service here on its Shore Line, was a
mere tenant. A unique feature was the passenger canopy, seen in the photo at top right, that mirrored the broad curve the
tracks still take along the waterfront and had a raised 'eybrow' over the State St. grade crossing. Once threatened
by urban renewal, the station was put on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1971 and completely
renovated 1976-1977. CVT passenger service ceased in 1949 but the structure still serves Amtrak and Shore Line East riders in 2011. The steel footbridge was ordered by the PUC in 1912 to allow
pedestrians to get safely to the boats just to the east, an intermodal access point to Long Island still in use today. [REFS:
NHDP/03//19/1886/04box; NHAR16.1887.7; HC/11/07/1912/06;
Q148k; R72][rev9/23]
********************
NEW MILFORD1
|
| Boston Public Library |
NEW MILFORD1. The location is seen on the
1856FC map and corresponds with the structure seen in the center of the 1882 Bailey bird's-eye map [click here] image on the upper right . Though the station seems disproportionately large,
it appears to be a combination depot with the large freight door on the south end. We still can't be completely sure with
so little of the station seen in the photo at lower left, but based on the difference in the brackets supporting the overhang
on either side and the freight door that seems to match what see on the bird's-eye image, the photo would have to be of
NEW MILFORD1 and date to sometime between 1841 and 1886 when the next station was built. We do not yet know the fate of this
structure. Note the water tank and one-stall engine house on the other side of the track from the station. The turntable is
south of the depot across Bridge St., as seen on the full map.
********************
NEW MILFORD2
NEW MILFORD2. The newspaper said that the new station here was nearly completed in July, 1886. John Roy says the cost
was $15,000, which was a rather large sum for the time.
[REFS: CWN/07/07/1886/03; CRC34.1886.7; CRC54.1906.32;
R74; D60+]
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NEW PRESTON1
This stop in the town of Washington was established
in 1872 with the opening of the Shepaug RR.
********************
NEW PRESTON2
NEW PRESTON2 is seen in the photo on the left and behind the
freight depot in the photo on the right. It was built in 1912 to replace NEW PRESTON1, for which we have no photo yet. A report
in the Courant in August, 1872 said "you alight on a platform, which bears resemblance
to a stranded raft, just in time to see your trunk dumped out into a convenient sand-bank. But as it's only a sand-bank,
its tender mercies are much to be preferred to the careful handling of the average baggagemaster." The platform, presumably between tracks, appears to have been supplemented by a structure in October, when the CWN said "the new depot on the Shepaug Valley R. R. at New Preston is nearly completed." [REFS: NHAR41.1912.10;
HDC/08/15/1872/03; CWN/10/04/1872/03; NHAR42.1913.14;
D152]
********************
NEWFIELD
NEWFIELD. This station was in the northwest quadrant
of this crossing that was by means of an overgrade bridge on today's Mile Lane, just east off of Newfield St. Al Weaver
has pointed out that Newfield St. has the distinction of being crossed by three separate railroads: the Air Line to the south,
the Berlin branch that originated as the Middletown RR just north of here, and the M&C up at West Cromwell. Interestingly, the Newfield St. crossing was at grade,
while the less-traveled Mile Lane crossing was on a bridge, a fact that may possibly be explained more by the ditch-like grade
of the rail line in comparison to Mile Lane than the need to actually separate the road from the track at the crossing. Max
Miller tells us that, when the Berlin branch was cut back to a point south of here, which Karr [p75] says was in 1961, the
bridge was removed and the land filled and leveled. [REFS: DC/08/02/1871/02]
********************
NEWINGTON1
|
| Dodd Center, UConn |
NEWINGTON1. The 1886 Memorial History of Hartford County says that the H&NH
did not build the first station here until "some years after" the 1839 debut of the railroad, that the HP&F
established a station here in 1850 [vol. 2, p482], meaning apparently only a stop so that the NY&NE and the
NYNH&H had a "common depot" at the time that the history was compiled in 1886 [p319]. An 1869 newspaper
article said that the railroad station at Newington was robbed, not specifying which, and likely indicating that the
only one was the H&NH depot shared by the then-BH&E. This single-depot theory is born out by news coverage of a train
wreck on 11/29/1878, wherein it says that John C. Sternberg was the station agent, selling tickets for, and looking after
the affairs, of both roads, a daunting responsibility that probably figured in the accident. He also had to handle all
the freight, monitor and throw eight track switches, serve as the Adams Express agent and the postmaster, all for about
$40 per month, "not enough pay to it to support two men." Perhaps not surprisingly, he lived right across the tracks,
which by then numbered three, the third put in by the H&NH in 1870 and the fourth coming in 1884 when the NY&NE
upgraded its line. Popularly called NEWINGTON JUNCTION for the meeting of tracks here, there was no connection we are aware
of until the later NYNH&H era. We happened across this image
in
a NY&NE real estate map book recently. When Al Weaver pointed out that the H&NH station, above the track
on the map, was south of the thoroughfare we know today
as Willard St., it made us realize that we were seeing the location and footprint
of NEWINGTON1, a first-time ever TCS research find. The date on the map page says it is 1886, revised to 1889, but, interestingly, it also shows NEWINGTON3, below the track and on the left, which was not built until 1891.
These observations show the value of scrutinizing these old map books and the fact that subsequent revisions to these maps
went well beyond the dates that they purport to represent. [REFS: HDC/04/08/1869/04; HDC/07/15/1870/02; HDC/11/30/1878/02;
HDC/07/01/1884/02]
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NEWINGTON2
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| J. J. Harness Collection, Copyright NHRHTA, Inc. |
|
| Richard A. Fleischer Collection |
NEWINGTON2.
The
NYNH&H passenger station is seen here with the freight depot behind it. These structures are the ones reported by the railroad
commissioners as having been built for the Hartford Division of the NYNH&H in 1890, a little north of the site
of the original H&NH depot, as now corroborated by the map in our previous entry. The shot on the left is a valuation
photo probably taken in the 1930s. The image at right is a Benton and Drake, also taken in the 1930s, and looking north at
NEWINGTON2 standing east of the tracks. Also seen is the NY&NE depot, NEWINGTON3, built in 1891 on the west side of the
tracks.
The 1915 val map at lower left shows the two stations opposite each other, NEWINGTON2 on the bottom, east side of the four-tracked
railroad corridor. The 1890 NYNH&H freight station still stands here today in commercial use. John Roy's date range
of 1850-1874 for all these structures is incorrect, as is the NRHP treatment of these properties: see next entry. [REFS: CRC38.1890.19;
R75]
********************
NEWINGTON3
NEWINGTON3. According to the Courant, a new passenger station was planned and
built here by the NY&NE in 1891. Its size was to be 15x25 feet, with a three-foot projection for the ticket office. A
freight depot is mentioned but apparently was never built. The structure seen here is the 1891 station, NEWINGTON3.
Still standing in 2009 as seen in the color photo, its size is corroborated in the data for its listing as part of the 1986
Newington Junction MRA on the National Register of Historic Places. Surprisingly and disappointingly, the NRHP documentation [click here] has no mention and no seeming awareness of the railroads involved,
the separate ownership, and differing build dates for the structures, which are lumped together as treats both stations as a single
historical unit, ca. 1870. The floor plan we found in NHRHTA documents also misled us until we figured out that it was for NEWINGTON3, not NEWINGTON2 across the tracks. Though the tracing
date appears to be 1913 and the NYNH&H owned everything lock, stock and barrel by then, we wonder whether this former
NY&NE property should not have been labeled for the Highland, instead of the Hartford, Division. [REFS:
NHER/03/11/1891/04; HC/03/24/1891/06; HC/09/12/1891/06]
********************
NEWTOWN1
NEWTOWN1, as seen on the 1856FC map. This location is corroborated by the
Storrs article [SL11.1.22] which says the first station was about a quarter mile south of the later ones.
********************
NEWTOWN2
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
NEWTOWN2 is quite similar in style to other HRR
depots of the period, with the fancy gingerbread at the peak and the arched name lettering. See DANBURY4, later to become
BROOKFIELD JUNCTION2, and
CORNWALL BRIDGE2. An
1880 Register article said that Pres. Barnum and other officials were in town to site
a new station, which was to be a "commodious structure, with two large waiting rooms, and will closely resemble the depot
building at Canaan." That statement has to be considered an exaggeration but, together with the land for the new
location north of the old depot, NEWTOWN2 cost a tidy $8,400 as stated in the 1881 HRR annual report. The Register announced in August, 1880 that the new 69x24-ft depot
with its 70-ft platform was open to the public, saying that it had cost $11,000(!), details echoed
by the Connecticut Western News. NEWTOWN2 burned in March, 1890, according
to the Images of America Newtown book. That date is partially incorrect. The Register
reported that lightning struck the building on the morning of June 6 and the value of the lost building was estimated at that
time to be $3,000, $6,500 according to the Connecticut Western News. [REFS: NHER/04/23/1880/01; HDC/05/19/1880/01; NHER/08/06/1880/04; WA/08/09/1880/00: first occupied upon visit; CWN/08/11/1880/02;
CRC28.1881.67; NHER/06/06/1890/01; CWN/06/11/1890/03; R76]
********************
NEWTOWN3
NEWTOWN3 was the NY&NE station, considerably north of the center
of town, as seen on the 1893 Hurd atlas map [upper left]. The HRR station, also on the map, is seen much farther south. Although
this station appears to have opened in 1881, for some reason it is not found in the NY&NE real estate atlas, with maps dated 1886 and revised in some cases to 1889. There are somewhat conflicting claims about the size of
the stations on the NY&NE's western extension, as either being small or large. The photographs show that there
were some of both, all reportedly
built by Leman Oatman of Hartford, with the one here being the smaller type like MILL PLAIN [see M stations]. This station would become known as NORTH
NEWTOWN, presumably after the NYNH&H eliminated the NY&NE in 1898 and had to differentiate this station from
the older HRR depot, which had been under the Consolidated's control since 1892. The val map shows the layout in
1915, with the station in the southeast quadrant at the undergrade crossing of today's Echo Valley Road. The abutment
on the west side of the road still stands in 2010. Storrs says in a Shoreliner article about Newtown's station that this
one was dismantled in 1931 and used to build a house in Danbury. [REFS: HDC/07/23/1881/02; DN/07/27/1881/01;
SL11.1.26]
********************
NEWTOWN4
|
| TCS Collection |
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
NEWTOWN4. The Images of America book Newtown [p82] says
that this station was built
within nine months of the burning of NEWTOWN2 and that it was virtually identical to the 1880 station. Again, the newspaper
has to set the record straight on the speed of the replacement. The Courant reported in July, 1890, only a month after the fire, that "the new depot
is rapidly assuming shape" and that, modeled after the old one and going up in exactly the same spot, it should be ready
in about a month! Though largely similar, differences in the windows and chimneys show that NEWTOWN4 was indeed the successor
structure. We have not found a notice of its opening, though August or September, 1890 seems likely based on what the newspaper
said. [REFS: NHER/06/06/1890/01; NYH/06/07/1890/03; HC/07/12/1890/06; R76]
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