|
********************
TIN
BRIDGE
TIN BRIDGE. Also known as MILL RIVER
JUNCTION, BELLE DOCK JUNCTION, SHORE LINE JUNCTION. There seems to have been a passenger stop here from 1849 onward when the
NY&NH laid track to this point and created a junction with the H&NH main line to Belle Dock. The 1849 annual report
actually defines the extent of the NY&NH as "commencing at the junction of the Hartford and New-Haven Rail Road,
near Mill River..." The first bridge over the river was wooden, covered with tin as was done on many railroad bridges
to keep them from catching fire from the locomotives, and the station and nearby area would be known into the next century as 'Tin bridge' in spite of the fact that the H&NH replaced the wooden span
with one in arches "constructed of massive blocks" of Portland sandstone in 1864. In 1852, the NH&NL opened
and crossed the river here on its own 'tin bridge' that was removed in 1881 when the Consolidated reconfigured the
tracks to have what was by then its Shore Line Division come in on the Hartford line bridge. The snippet from the Bailey bird's-eye map of New Haven shows
the two adjacent bridges in 1879. An 1873 article said
that a new station was going to be built here between East St. and the 'tin' bridge with the opening of NEW HAVEN4,
but we do not think that ever happened. When the new downtown depot on Meadow St. opened in 1875, the newspaper said that
"short trains" were being run from FAIR HAVEN EAST, FAIR HAVEN, "the Tin bridge," and "the old depot"
[NEW HAVEN3] to the new station.
While we can't be certain yet, we are thinking that the TIN BRIDGE station was in the tall building that stands at the
corner of Walnut St. and Mill River St., an intersection that still exists today. This stop appears only
in the 1875 newspaper articles cited below and on no timetable we have yet seen, being apparently considered a local affair.
The designation of SHORE LINE JUNCTION seems to appear for the first time in the 1888 annual report as the beginning mileage
point for the division. The other two alternate names seem as unofficial in use as TIN BRIDGE for this important junction
point that was eclipsed when the CEDAR HILL station debuted just across the river
in 1889: see C stations for more. The upper photos [add2/17]
show the bridge today that surely does not date back to 1852, but does mark where the old Shore Line cut off to go through
Fair Haven and where the Manufacturers' RR also accessed the NYNH&H tracks for years. Today, trains for the Belle
Dock branch use a newer connection to the south and out of sight in the photo at upper right. [REFS: NYNHAR 1849;
NHDP/01/27/1849/02; HDC/08/08/1864/02; HDC/11/24/1864/02; NHJC/05/20/1875/02;
NHER/05/21/1875/04; ET/08/19/1881/??; NHAR17.1888.10]
********************
TOLLAND [> WEST WILLINGTON]
********************
TOLLAND AND WILLINGTON [> WEST WILLINGTON]
********************
TOLLES
TOLLES. [REFS: D134]
********************
TOPSTONE [> SANFORD]
********************
TORRINGFORD STREET
TORRINGFORD STREET. The exact origins of this station are unclear. The
rationale seems to have been to allow riders to switch between CNE trains and the trolleys of the Torrington & Winchester
Street Rwy, which began operating on 6/29/1897, without going all the way into Winsted. The top snippets
[add2/14, rev>] are from the 1908 Bailey bird's-eye map of Winsted and
show what is perhaps the only contemporary rendering of this depot. Once again we owe thanks to Mr.
B. who, if he stopped sketching a single inch sooner, would not have preserved this image! The upper middle items are from a sketch by Victor G. Westman, showing a westbound train and a depot that corresponds pretty well to the
structure on the map. The sketch appeared with an article that Bob Adams wrote in 1977. Adams says the
shelter-type structure was open on the east and north sides and had the flag mechanism seen in the sketch. The station stood
in the southwest quadrant of the crossing, the location marked by the red arrow on the 1893 map at lower middle left. This stop is not on Official List #33
of August, 1907 but it appears in ICC Valuation Order #3 [1919], excerpted at lower
middle right. Adams says it debuted around June 15, 1908 but we found an article that pushes the date back to 1903 when the
Springfield Republican reported that one John Feeley was killed by an eastbound freight
train on the CNE 1/4 mile east of Winsted "where the railroad connects with the Torrington & Winchester street railway."
Feeley was reportedly lying on the platform with his head toward the tracks when struck
by the pilot truck of the passing locomotive. We are assuming that 'platform' means a station was in place by that
time. Sometime, perhaps as early as the 1897 T&W opening, the crossing was
bridged to allow the trolleys to pass safely overhead and the stairs, seen in the sketch,and possibly visible in the map image,
were constructed down to the station. Adams says that the
stop did not appear on public timetables but was handled instead by a note on the train schedules, by which he seems to have meant employee timetables. Train 2 east and Train 13 west, the first in the morning and last at night, reportedly provided the service, as shown
in the 1916 excerpt posted at bottom left. The last of these listings he claims was
6/17/1923 when light patronage was further eroded by buses and improved highways. We
can't help but wonder if this is one more instance of CNE potential being overlooked or squandered by an indifferent NYNH&H
and whether ridership wouldn't have been better if this stop was listed on public schedules. [REFS:
SR/03/19/1903/10; CNE ETT69 (9/24/1916); NMRA Bulletin, June 1977, p20+]
********************
TORRINGTON1
TORRINGTON1.
As seen on the 1854LC map, this stop was was first called WOLCOTTVILLE when the NRR opened in 1849. In reexamining this photo,
the fancy brackets supporting the roof seem not to match the freight end of the second station, as we had thought previously,
but rather make this a view of the first station. Similar brackets are found on NAUGATUCK1, ANSONIA1, and other early NRR
depots.
********************
TORRINGTON2
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
TORRINGTON2
dated to 1870. It is seen here labeled WOLCOTTVILLE, the name of the village that was the manufacturing center
of the township when the NRR opened in 1849. It is still named as such on an 1879 timetable we have seen, but by 1883
the stop is listed as TORRINGTON. We had wondered if this station was created by the addition of the Mansard-roofed head house
onto the 1849 depot, as was done with SEYMOUR1, but the Courant clarifies that the first station here was "entirely
consumed" by fire early in the morning of 3/2/1869 and "nothing was saved of any account but the safe." TORRINGTON1
was described as a combination station with the freight portion on the north end, where the fire, thought to be incendiary
in nature, began and the ticket office and passenger rooms in the south part. We assume it looked like DERBY1, NAUGATUCK1,
and other early NRR depots. [REFS: HDC/03/03/1869/03; HDC/03/19/1869/02; HDC/05/15/1871/01; CRC18.1870.19; D94; R99]
********************
TORRINGTON3
|
| Wikipedia |
TORRINGTON3, as photographed on March 20,
2010, dated back to 1898. The
subject of sporadic preservation efforts over the years, this 113-year-old station lost its battle for survival on 1/4/2011,
over the cries of some that it was not saved and the relief of others that an eyesore was gone [click here]. It seems a shame that some way was
not found to rehab it and
put it to good use. The postcard at upper left is reportedly ca. 1907. [REFS: CRC46.1898.19; R99; D95]
********************
TOWANTIC1
|
| Tom Derwin Collection, NHRHTA, Inc. |
TOWANTIC1. This was another of the Leman Oatman 1881 NY&NE stations, this being of the smaller variety
like NEWTOWN3. This depot burned in 1894 and was replaced with one very similar in design.
********************
TOWANTIC2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| Max Miller Collection |
TOWANTIC2. This station has a different foundation and there seems to be a horizontal break in the exterior finish, making it
appear as the one that the railroad commissioners mentioned in their 1894 annual report. Otherwise it seems identical to the
station above. The locomotives double-heading behind the station would seem to make this scene much more likely the New Haven
era than NY&NE, hence our conclusion that we are looking at the second station here. The lower left photo is dated 10/14/1925. [REFS: CRC42.1894.22; HC/05/28/1904/07; D136]
********************
TOWER STATION
|
| Connecticut Historical Society |
TOWER STATION. It is always interesting when an unknown depot pops up and
there were apparently many that were flag stops for seasonal or other limited use, perhaps only appearing on local timetables
and in newspaper ads. One such stop was here in the northerly tip of the town of Bloomfield just below
TARIFFVILLE. An interesting article in Connecticut
Magazine [1.180 (1895)] says lookout structures on towering Talcott Mountain dated back to the
1830s but that the fourth tower [right photo], built in 1889, was taller at 70 feet high and had a large pavilion and bowling
alley attached. Apparently the railroad was quick to capitalize on the new attraction which was more convenient to reach than the earlier towers, being only a third of a mile from the track. A 6/16/1890 CNE&W timetable has a note saying that "Trains
Nos. 21 and 14 will stop at Bartlett's Tower for 15 or more passengers." By 1895, when the
magazine article was written, it says "a tower station has been built and all passenger trains from Hartford stop, excursion
tickets being daily sold" on the then-PR&NE. The surprise CHS station photo, with the tower seen above it to the left, fits here very nicely. The 1892 topographic
map shows Bartlett Tower at the red circle, the approximate location of TOWER STATION at the lower yellow highlight, and the
location of the TARIFFVILLE depot at the upper highlight. Conveyance from TOWER STATION up the mountain was available for
those "not wishing to walk," and one could also visit Newgate Prison from here, though another little-known station,
COPPER HILL, on the Canal line in Granby [see C stations] was likely a closer access point if it was in use at the time. The
1889 Bartlett Tower burned on March 24, 1936 in a fire that could be seen for miles [HC/05/25/1936/01]. Neither it nor its predecessors on Talcott Mountain should be confused with the 150-ft Heublein Tower built in
1914 that stands a few miles south and survives today. [REFS: HDC/09/02/1879/04; HC/10/04/1914/X3]
********************
TRUMBULL1
TRUMBULL1. This station was originally a flag stop
called TRUMBULL CHURCH and likely dates back to the 1840 opening of the HRR.
It appears as TRUMBULL on an 1849 broadside [C56].
A retrospective Bridgeport Post article in 1936 said that there was only a platform here on the west
side of the track to start with, later augmented by a small
shanty. The block at the red arrow on the 1856FC map may be the shanty now on the east side
of the track.
********************
TRUMBULL2
|
| Copyright Trumbull Historical Society |
TRUMBULL2.
The rare photo is courtesy of the Trumbull Historical Society
[click here] and shows the second station probably after 1889 when, according to the Register, the name
was simplified to TRUMBULL. This stop does not show up on timetables and RRM maps
until 1882. [REFS: 1851TT; 1858TT; 1871TT; 1875TT; NHJC/07/21/1877/02; 1883TT; RRM1882;
NHER/05/31/1889/04; NHER/08/16/1889/04; BEP/02/23/1936/??].
********************
TRUMBULL3
|
| Copyright Trumbull Historical Society |
TRUMBULL3. The railroad
commissioners reported in 1905 that a new station had been built here. The photo on the right is an eastward view with box cars on the siding. When passenger service was discontinued in 1931 or 1932 [K56],
the Bridgeport Post reported with feigned horror that the depot had been sold to be moved and used as a hot dog stand.
We do not yet know if that was its fate. [REFS: CRC53.1905.26; BEP/02/23/1936]
********************
TUCKER [> WEST CHESHIRE]
********************
TURKEY
HILL
This was an NH&D flag stop
on opening in 1871 in the town of Orange at Turkey Hill Rd. It was elminated ca. 1881 and we
have no photo of any structure.
********************
TURNERVILLE1
TURNERVILLE1. This stop in the town of Hebron was established by the NHM&W in 1873 when
the road was completed to Willimantic. This point would later be the junction for the Colchester RR that opened in 1877. When
the first actual depot was built is unclear. [REFS: CRC27.1880.28: no depot yet; NHAR14.1886.11: burns 9/85; cheap temp station
in use]
********************
TUNERVILLE2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
TURNERVILLE2. A "new
and very good station" to replace the previous one was built in 1886 at a cost of $4,000. It was
renamed AMSTON ca. 1915. The Courant reported in that year that the nearby area was already largely owned by Mr. Charles M. Ams, a New York industrialist.
In 1921, the paper had said that "at the request of the railroad company, it [the village] had blushingly changed its
name to Amston" to honor him. The first places to show the change are the 1916RAM map, which calls the stop AMSTON AND
HEBRON, and a 1917 timetable, effective 9/24/1916. [REFS: NHAR15.1886.10; HC/06/15/1915/04;
HC/10/23/1921/10; PTH925.1917.61; 1923TT; 1939TT]
********************
TWIN LAKES1
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
TWIN LAKES1. This station in the lake resort area of Salisbury was only a flag stop on opening but, as early as ETT#5 (4/3/1872),
it is a regular stop. An article in the Winsted Herald in October,
1872 said that the CW "have erected at the Twin Lakes station, a much larger and finer depot than was generally supposed
would be put there." The 1880 NY&NE appraisal of CW assets put the value of this structure
at a mere $250 and the adjacent picnic pavilion that the CW built at $350, mkaing us wonder if you can use these dollar values
as any kind of estimate for a station that seems undervalued in this case. It burned on 6/18/1901 when sparks from the 10:37 a.m. train were thought to have ignited
the roof and "it was totally destroyed." Work was started on 7/16 to build its replacement, TWIN LAKES2. Click
here for an interesting article published on 11/19/2009 in the Lakeville
Journal. [REFS: HDC/12/21/1871/02; WH/10/23/1872/03; DC/10/16/1874/02; CW/NYNE1880; CWN/06/20/1901/03;
CWN/07/18/1901/03; A36; D44; N3.91]
********************
TWIN LAKES2
|
| Connecticut Historical Society |
TWIN LAKES2. The photo on the upper
left carries a date of 1905 in one copy we have seen, so it is before the enlargement of the station for the addition of the
post office in 1911. The addition looks to be on the west end in the photo on the upper right. The lower left photo shows a
westbound train on the causeway and pulling into TWIN LAKES2. Either this CHS photo was mislabeled as MOHEGAN or we made an
error in placing it there along the Thames River, but reconsideration has it now properly located here. [REFS: CRC49.1901.23;
A36; D45; N3.91 has 1937 photo]
********************
TYLER CITY
|
| Orange Historical Society |
TYLER CITY station, this website's namesake, was built in the town
of Orange in 1872 and presented to the NH&D on condition that trains stop there which they did until 1925 for passengers
and possibly later for freight before service ended. The structure was burned by Fourth of July "celebrants" at
4:00 A.M. on the morning of 7/5/1936.
********************
TYLERVILLE [> GOODSPEEDS]
********************
UNION CITY1 [NRR]
UNION
CITY1. This station served the village of this name within the township of Naugatuck. The 'city' was north of the
central borough and, by the late 1800s, encompassed some of the area east of the Naugatuck River as well. The 1877 Bailey
map of Naugatuck does not identify a station here per se. We are thinking that it is
at the arrow on the left, with the freight house at the arrow on the right. The name of the locale seems to derive from the
reverence for the U. S. federal union of states and appears in many geographic names of the era. There was no railroad
stop here when the NRR opened in 1849 [see Connecticut Railroads, p92] but there was a station here on the 1859
timetable. This manufacturing district is first spoken of in the Courant in 1856 [HDC/01/26/1856/02]. B.B.
Tuttle and John H. Whittemore opened a malleable iron works factory in the 1850s [click here] that would eventually employ much of the local workforce. The operation was undoubtedly aided by the coming of
the railroad and the adjacent UNION CITY1 station. Whittemore would become a NYNH&H director and a generous benefactor
to the borough of Naugatuck where the public library is named for him. It was through his influence that the celebrated
NAUGATUCK4 station [see N stations] and its beautiful grounds were designed as a gateway to the area.
********************
UNION CITY2
[NY&NE]
UNION CITY2. Click here to see the 1892 topo map and look down on the lower right for the
broader tick mark above the first 'N' in Union City for the depot location. On the 'today' map at left, that
point is marked by the red arrow. This structure looks similar enough
to the Leman Oatman stations elsewhere along the NY&NE's 1881 extension to the Hudson River, but there are some interesting
differences. This one looks somewhat larger
than the smaller ones like TOWANTIC and yet it does not match the combination depots like at SOUTHFORD. There appears
to be a separate freight house here, perpendicular to the tracks, and the eyelet roof feature on the passenger station is
also unseen elsewhere. This depot was also known as HOP BROOK and there was almost an immediate call for it to be moved to Bradleyville
Rd., today's Rte. 63, on the west side of the ravine. A newspaper article said that the move would have made the
station more accessible to Naugatuck and surrounding towns and would have made the building of a road up from Union City
unnecessary. At the elevation of the stone arch over over Rte. 63, as seen below, one wonders how a station would
have been possible there at all, which was perhaps the reason that the railroad commissioners denied the request. The area
north and east of this station would later be the home of the large Bristol Co. industrial complex [click here]. That extensive property stretched to the river and the NRR line, which served it from the PLATTS MILL stop [see P stations]. Curiously
and coincidentally, another potential union was in the offing here at Union City. An 1887 Register article
said that a projected extension of the New Haven & Derby RR was going to meet the NY&NE here to provide a
parallel freight route for the Naugatuck Valley and competing passenger service to Boston. That connection, of course, was
never realized but the substantial size of this station, off the beaten path, may reflect the grander intentions never realized
here. As seen on the 1915 val map [top center], only the foundation remained at that time and our 1907 timetable has it
already delisted then. We might speculate that it was eliminated after the 1898 takeover of NY&NE by the NYNH&H which
decided to make the UNION CITY station on the NRR the only one in this part of Naugatuck. [REFS: NHER/05/14/1881/01; CRC30.1883.35;
NHER/12/31/1887/01; C306; RAM08: not
a stop on Highland Div]
The engineering
feat known as the Hop Brook trestle stood just west of the UNION CITY3 station on the NY&NE. About 90 feet in height
and 300 feet in length, it was completed in 1881 for the opening of the road. The
massive stone culvert for the brook was reportedly built by the BH&E in 1868-1869 "at an enormous expense"
and was said to be 30 feet high. This claim appears to be corroborated by a Courant item that
says "The embankment now building at Hop Brook, near Waterbury, is the highest of any on the line of the Boston, Hartford
and Erie railroad, and the whole work on the line between Waterbury and Southford is the hardest on the road."
It seems likely that the beautiful stone arch [far right] over Middlebury Rd., today's Rte. 63, was built at the
same time as the culvert. The trestlework was sturdy enough to last until 1897 when it was filled in, reportedly
at the somewhat trifling cost of $9,000. The arch over the roadway was reportedly taken down in 1940, shortly after
the NY&NE line from ALLERTON FARMS to SOUTHBURY was abandoned in 1937. The culvert over the brook is, thankfully, still
intact today and is visitable just south of the Hop Brook Dam. The view below to the left looks north through the culvert,
the other looks south. [REFS: HDC/07/30/1868/02; HDC/08/12/1869/04;
DN/07/27/1881/01; CRC45.1897.23; K84; NL20.3.11]
********************
UNION CITY3
[NRR]
UNION CITY3. Not seen on the Bailey 1877 map and with no clues otherwise, we speculate that the second
station was built in the 1880s and is seen in this snip from the 1906 Hughes & Bailey map [click here]. While once thinking that this station matched the one we now have listed as UNION CITY4, this one has small
gables on each of the four sides of the hip roof. We wonder if the munificence of Mr. Whittemore did not play a role here
in building an unusually stylish station for the grounds adjacent to his factory. We have learned not to question the sketch
artist's eye for detail, especially after recent vindications at COLLINSVILLE2 and COLLINSVLLE3 [see C stations]. It appears
we have been fortunate once again to have the artist in town in 1906, just prior to the building of UNION CITY4 in 1907, so
we have this unique image preserved. We hope at some point to find a photograph that would verify the image. The fate of this
station is unknown.
********************
UNION CITY4
[NRR]
|
| C. Dunn Collection |
UNION CITY4. The plans for the third station
here on the NRR line, controlled since April, 1887 by the NYNH&H, are dated 11/9/1906 and construction was probably completed in 1907. This functional combination station neatly served both the passenger and freight needs of this busy industrial
section of Naugatuck. The unusual bracket work on the ends of the structure gave it a distinctive look and is a detail not
shown on any of the other building-plan views we have. [REFS: HC/06/03/1907/17]
********************
UNION VILLAGE [> MANCHESTER1]
********************
UNIONVILLE1
|
| Phil Wooding Collection |
UNIONVILLE1. In 1850, the NH&N
opened the Collinsville branch and established a stop for this village in the town of Farmington. The location is shown to
be east of Bridge St. on the 1855HC map at right. The
1878 Bailey bird's-eye map image at lower left shows a train heading east past the freight depot at the red arrow and
about to stop at UNIONVILLE2. With early railroads known for recycling structures, we wondered if the freight station had
not served as UNIONVILLE1 earlier and was possibly moved across the street when the second station was built. The photo [add12/6] says it is the freight depot. While smaller
than the structure in the bird's-eye image, it has the hip roof and looks too stylish to have been built as a freight
station, as its use appears to be when the photo was taken. It looks like it has been elevated on a newer foundation and the
center door enlarged for freight. In some ways it mirrors the small Henry Austin depots we have listed as COLLINSVILLE1 and
PLAINVILLE1. Unless someone or something enlightens us otherwise, we think have found another hitherto lost depot, UNIONVILLE1,
and we intend to pursue the possiblity that it is an 'Austin' that has gone unnoticed. If so, there is a further possibility
that he designed TARIFFVILLE1 that also opened in 1850 as the northeastern terminus of the Canal line in Simsbury.
********************
UNIONVILLE2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
UNIONVILLE2. This was one of the "old and inconvenient passenger depot
buildings" that the railroad commissioners said in their 1875 annual report had been replaced by the NH&N. We speculated
above that the old one may have been converted for use as the freight depot. The 2010 photo at lower left shows this station, complete with basement, still standing today as an antiques and collectibles shop [click
here]. While TCS is a non-profit and educational effort that does not promote commercial businesses, we do think that operations
in old railroad stations should be noted as one way of helping to keep them economically viable and staving off the wrecker's
ball. See T stations for TORRINGTON3 and what was not
done to save the station that was lost there earlier in 2011. [REFS: R100; D114+; CRC22.1875.6+]
********************
VALLEY STATION
VALLEY STATION. The top right photo is a recent shot that replicates the one on the top left. If you expand the recent
shot you will see the stone abutment on the west side of the Shepaug River. The abutment on the east side of the river is
out of sight to the right. If you think the suspension structure looks a little like the Brooklyn Bridge, you are correct.
It was designed by the same John A. Roebling.
********************
VERNON1
VERNON1. Though the community here is called Centreville on the 1857TC
map, Tancanhoosen (sic) Lake identifies this location as the stop on the HP&F that was known as VERNON
from the opening of the railroad. A newspaper article from the Courant said the freight depot here burned on 6/29/1855
but the Boston Press and Post said that it was the passenger and freight depots. Inasmuch
as the early HP&F stations were probably combination affairs, both papers may be correct. No news coverage of the rebuilding
has been found but it is assumed that it took place later in the year. [REFS: 1851TT; HPFAR6.1855.8; HDC/06/29/1855/02;
BPP/07/02/1855/04]
********************
VERNON2
VERNON2 is a bit speculative but the next station looks far too substantial
to date back to 1855 when VERNON1 burned, so we think there was an intervening depot before VERNON3 was put up.
********************
VERNON3
|
| vernondepot.com |
VERNON3. The lower right image is from the 1895 Bailey aero view map of Rockville, Talcottville and Vernon. Click
here for the LOC panoramic map collection and look under Connecticut. The snippet seems to show this second station in place by
1895, with an exact build date undiscovered by us as of yet. Click here for Vernon Depot website with more about this station and locale.
********************
VERNON CENTER
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| Max Miller Collection |
VERNON CENTER. Station on the Rockville line about a mile above VERNON.
********************
VERNON
JUNCTION [> WEST STREET]
********************
VERSAILLES1
VERSAILLES1. This station was first called LOVETTS, as shown on 1854NL
map
reflecting the date when the HP&F opened this line. [REFS: CRC15.1868.30 mentions LOVETTS; NYNEAR5.1880.12: new station built;
C157]
********************
VERSAILLES2
|
| Dave Peters Collection |
|
| Leroy Roberts Collection |
VERSAILLES2
______________________________________
Click here to go to CT Passenger Stations, W-WE.
|
