Track 12: CT Passenger Stations, TI-V
See TCS Home Page links for information, abbreviations, and sources.
Use Track 11 map link to locate stations, rail and trolley lines, and POIs.
Use Track 11 map link to locate stations, rail and trolley lines, and POIs.
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TIN BRIDGE [NH&NL, 1849]
More formally known as MILL RIVER JUNCTION and also as BELLE DOCK JUNCTION, SHORE LINE JUNCTION. This city of NEW HAVEN passenger stop seems to have started in 1849 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 H&NH bridge over the river was wooden and covered with tin as was often done to prevent locomotive-spark fires. and, in spite of the replacement with one in arches "constructed of massive blocks" of Portland sandstone in 1864, the 'Tin Bridge' name persisted for the station and the area. An 1867 newspaper article lends credence to the existence of an actual station structure here when it reports that passenger was severely injured while detraining "at the junction just above the Shore Line depot here, and instead, stepped off the Stone bridge -- formerly known as the tin bridge..." and fell into the river bed below. The NH&NL had, of course, opened in 1852 and crossed the river here on its own 'tin bridge' that was removed in 1881 when the Consolidated reconfigured the Shore Line Division come in on its Hartford line bridge. The snippet from the Bailey 1879 bird's-eye map of New Haven shows the two adjacent bridges. 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. The photos show the bridge today that surely does not date back to 1852, but does mark the spot where the old Shore Line diverged eastward 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 just to the south and out of sight in the photo at right. [REFS: NYNHAR 1849; NHDP/01/27/1849/02; HDC/08/08/1864/02; HDC/11/24/1864/02; NA/09/25/1867/04; NHJC/05/20/1875/02; NHER/05/21/1875/04; HET/08/19/1881/??; NHER/08/19/1881/04; NHAR17.1888.10]
More formally known as MILL RIVER JUNCTION and also as BELLE DOCK JUNCTION, SHORE LINE JUNCTION. This city of NEW HAVEN passenger stop seems to have started in 1849 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 H&NH bridge over the river was wooden and covered with tin as was often done to prevent locomotive-spark fires. and, in spite of the replacement with one in arches "constructed of massive blocks" of Portland sandstone in 1864, the 'Tin Bridge' name persisted for the station and the area. An 1867 newspaper article lends credence to the existence of an actual station structure here when it reports that passenger was severely injured while detraining "at the junction just above the Shore Line depot here, and instead, stepped off the Stone bridge -- formerly known as the tin bridge..." and fell into the river bed below. The NH&NL had, of course, opened in 1852 and crossed the river here on its own 'tin bridge' that was removed in 1881 when the Consolidated reconfigured the Shore Line Division come in on its Hartford line bridge. The snippet from the Bailey 1879 bird's-eye map of New Haven shows the two adjacent bridges. 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. The photos show the bridge today that surely does not date back to 1852, but does mark the spot where the old Shore Line diverged eastward 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 just to the south and out of sight in the photo at right. [REFS: NYNHAR 1849; NHDP/01/27/1849/02; HDC/08/08/1864/02; HDC/11/24/1864/02; NA/09/25/1867/04; NHJC/05/20/1875/02; NHER/05/21/1875/04; HET/08/19/1881/??; NHER/08/19/1881/04; NHAR17.1888.10]
TOLLAND AND WILLINGTON [> WEST WILLINGTON]
TOLLES [HP&F, 1855]
This stop in the town of Plymouth was probably established in 1855 when the HP&F extended its line to Waterbury. It appears by at least 1859 on an American Railway Guide timetable. [REFS: D134]
This stop in the town of Plymouth was probably established in 1855 when the HP&F extended its line to Waterbury. It appears by at least 1859 on an American Railway Guide timetable. [REFS: D134]
TOPSTONE [> SANFORD]
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TORRINGFORD STREET [CNE, c1903]
The exact origins of this station in the town of Winchester 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 snippets at [1] and [2] 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 station stood in the southwest quadrant of the crossing that was eliminated by the overgrade highway bridge, the location marked by the red arrow on the 1893 map at [3] The items at [4] and [5] 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 said the shelter-type structure was open on the east and north sides and had the flag mechanism seen in the sketch. This stop is not on Official List #33 of August, 1907 but it appears in ICC Valuation Order #3 [1919], excerpted at [6]. 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 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' meant a station was in place by that time. Adams says there were two bridges here, the wooden one for the road and a steel girder structure for the trolley, with stairs, seen in the sketch and possibly visible in the map image, leading 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 ETT snippet posted at [7]. The last of these listings he claims was 6/17/1923 when light patronage was being 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 enhanced if this stop was better served and listed on public schedules. [REFS: SR/03/19/1903/10; CNE ETT69 (9/24/1916); NMRA Bulletin, June 1977, p20+][rev020318]
The exact origins of this station in the town of Winchester 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 snippets at [1] and [2] 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 station stood in the southwest quadrant of the crossing that was eliminated by the overgrade highway bridge, the location marked by the red arrow on the 1893 map at [3] The items at [4] and [5] 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 said the shelter-type structure was open on the east and north sides and had the flag mechanism seen in the sketch. This stop is not on Official List #33 of August, 1907 but it appears in ICC Valuation Order #3 [1919], excerpted at [6]. 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 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' meant a station was in place by that time. Adams says there were two bridges here, the wooden one for the road and a steel girder structure for the trolley, with stairs, seen in the sketch and possibly visible in the map image, leading 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 ETT snippet posted at [7]. The last of these listings he claims was 6/17/1923 when light patronage was being 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 enhanced if this stop was better served and listed on public schedules. [REFS: SR/03/19/1903/10; CNE ETT69 (9/24/1916); NMRA Bulletin, June 1977, p20+][rev020318]
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TORRINGTON1 [NRR, 1849; opened as WOLCOTTVILLE]
As seen on the 1852 map, this station [red arrow] was located in the northeast quadrant of the Water St. grade crossing where there was convenient access for the metal-working plants in the village, including the Wolcottville, later Coe, brass mill [blue arrow]. From the NRR's opening in 1849 until 1881, this stop in the town of Torrington was called WOLCOTTVILLE, a name that derived from Frederick Wolcott, one of the village's earliest industrialists who constructed a woolen mill in 1813. We have no photo of the first station but assume that it was the standard early NRR depot like NAUGATUCK1 [middle] or the somewhat larger DERBY1 [right]. Whatever its appearance, the Courant said that this station 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 suspected arson fire began and with the ticket office and passenger rooms in the south part. [REFS: HDC/03/03/1869/03; HDC/03/19/1869/02][rev122913]
As seen on the 1852 map, this station [red arrow] was located in the northeast quadrant of the Water St. grade crossing where there was convenient access for the metal-working plants in the village, including the Wolcottville, later Coe, brass mill [blue arrow]. From the NRR's opening in 1849 until 1881, this stop in the town of Torrington was called WOLCOTTVILLE, a name that derived from Frederick Wolcott, one of the village's earliest industrialists who constructed a woolen mill in 1813. We have no photo of the first station but assume that it was the standard early NRR depot like NAUGATUCK1 [middle] or the somewhat larger DERBY1 [right]. Whatever its appearance, the Courant said that this station 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 suspected arson fire began and with the ticket office and passenger rooms in the south part. [REFS: HDC/03/03/1869/03; HDC/03/19/1869/02][rev122913]
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Torrington Historical Society
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TORRINGTON2 [NRR, 1870]
This station probably dates to early 1870 though we cannot find a specific mention of its opening in the newspapers. A September, 1869 Courant article does read as follows: "Drawings have been completed of the new depot in Wolcottville. The building is to be 41 feet front and 95 feet deep, with an eight foot platform extending across the front and side, to be used as a passenger and freight depot. The passenger end of the building will have a French roof, surmounted with a balustrade and flagstaff. The upper rooms are to be used for railroad and telegraph offices. The rear end extends along the side of the track, and is of sufficient capacity for the accommodation of the large freight business which is done at that station." According to R&LHS notes at the Baker Library, the Bridgeport architectural firm of Lambert and Bunnell was paid $150 on 2/14/1870 for the plans. The 1875 bird's-eye map of Wolcottville at lower right shows the depot from O.H. Bailey's perspective. This stop was dubbed TORRINGTON in March, 1881, apparently to follow the renaming of the post office. Interestingly, Orsamus R. Fyler, later a state railroad commissioner, was the postmaster under the old and new names when the transition was made. The 6/27/1881 timetable at lower middle is probably the first to reflect the change, which was said by the Connecticut Western News, perhaps facetiously, to have caused "... no little inconvenience. It takes a newspaper five days to travel from Thomaston to Torrington, whereas, it could go to Wolcottville in half an hour. On the cars when 'Torrington' is called out, the passengers start, look around in a puzzled way, and ask, 'Is this Wolcottville?' Torringtonians think now that a 'change' isn't what it's cracked up to be." The 1884 image at lower right looks west and shows the Thomaston about to lead a train south across Water St. As preparations were being made in 1898 for the new depot, the old one was maligned for its shortcomings much as we have seen elsewhere: "The little depot in use, with its queer style of architecture, soon to be done away with, was built during the war and has had no change of account since, but has consumed hogsheads of paint in the effort to make it presentable, while the inconveniences to which its location has subjected people in getting off the cars, have been almost unbearable. Under the new arrangements the freight track will run right through in such a way as to clear the room for the comfort of passengers in getting on or alighting from trains." [REFS: HDC/03/03/1869/03; HDC/03/19/1869/02; HDC/09/30/1869/04; B1014 (1870); HDC/05/15/1871/01; CRC18. 1870.19; HDC/03/23/1881/03; CWN/04/13/1881/02; TR/10/22/1897/00; D94; R99][rev122913]
This station probably dates to early 1870 though we cannot find a specific mention of its opening in the newspapers. A September, 1869 Courant article does read as follows: "Drawings have been completed of the new depot in Wolcottville. The building is to be 41 feet front and 95 feet deep, with an eight foot platform extending across the front and side, to be used as a passenger and freight depot. The passenger end of the building will have a French roof, surmounted with a balustrade and flagstaff. The upper rooms are to be used for railroad and telegraph offices. The rear end extends along the side of the track, and is of sufficient capacity for the accommodation of the large freight business which is done at that station." According to R&LHS notes at the Baker Library, the Bridgeport architectural firm of Lambert and Bunnell was paid $150 on 2/14/1870 for the plans. The 1875 bird's-eye map of Wolcottville at lower right shows the depot from O.H. Bailey's perspective. This stop was dubbed TORRINGTON in March, 1881, apparently to follow the renaming of the post office. Interestingly, Orsamus R. Fyler, later a state railroad commissioner, was the postmaster under the old and new names when the transition was made. The 6/27/1881 timetable at lower middle is probably the first to reflect the change, which was said by the Connecticut Western News, perhaps facetiously, to have caused "... no little inconvenience. It takes a newspaper five days to travel from Thomaston to Torrington, whereas, it could go to Wolcottville in half an hour. On the cars when 'Torrington' is called out, the passengers start, look around in a puzzled way, and ask, 'Is this Wolcottville?' Torringtonians think now that a 'change' isn't what it's cracked up to be." The 1884 image at lower right looks west and shows the Thomaston about to lead a train south across Water St. As preparations were being made in 1898 for the new depot, the old one was maligned for its shortcomings much as we have seen elsewhere: "The little depot in use, with its queer style of architecture, soon to be done away with, was built during the war and has had no change of account since, but has consumed hogsheads of paint in the effort to make it presentable, while the inconveniences to which its location has subjected people in getting off the cars, have been almost unbearable. Under the new arrangements the freight track will run right through in such a way as to clear the room for the comfort of passengers in getting on or alighting from trains." [REFS: HDC/03/03/1869/03; HDC/03/19/1869/02; HDC/09/30/1869/04; B1014 (1870); HDC/05/15/1871/01; CRC18. 1870.19; HDC/03/23/1881/03; CWN/04/13/1881/02; TR/10/22/1897/00; D94; R99][rev122913]
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TORRINGTON3 [NYNH&H, 1898]
The station seems to have debuted in mid-1898 but once again we have found no specific reference to the opening date. A Torrington Register article titled "New Station at Last, Torrington's Hopes Realized" said on 10/22/1897 that, with assurances from Mr. Charles F. Brooker, president of Coe Brass Co. and NYNH&H director, work was to begin right away. It continued by saying that "the new depot is to be one not simply suited for the present, but is to be built of the size and style looking forward to the future, the future that all see for this rapidly growing town. The depot is to be on the general style and plan of that in the city of Stamford, built of yellow brick with a slate roof. It will be a handsome structure, worthy of the town and one we can all be proud of." The new brick passenger and freight structures, now separate and more convenient for all, were built midway between Water and Church Sts., expressly to alleviate trains standing on the latter thoroughfare. According to the paper, the new trackage through the redesigned station area was to be first used on 6/19/1898 and, though the old station was still standing and about to be torn down, one has to assume that service was in place at the new structure by that date. Passenger service ended on 12/3/1958 and, with freight service to Winsted lasting until 1963, the tracks from a point north of the station were taken up in that year. The subject of sporadic preservation efforts over the years, the 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 3/20/2010 right and lower photos are the last we got to take. [REFS: NHER/10/19/1897/11; TR/10/22/1897/00; TR/06/17/1898/03; CRC46.1898.19; HC/11/30/1966/30E; TR/07/22/2006/B1; TR/01/04/2011/A1; TR/01/05/2011/A1; TR/01/07/2011/A1; R99; D95][rev122913]
The station seems to have debuted in mid-1898 but once again we have found no specific reference to the opening date. A Torrington Register article titled "New Station at Last, Torrington's Hopes Realized" said on 10/22/1897 that, with assurances from Mr. Charles F. Brooker, president of Coe Brass Co. and NYNH&H director, work was to begin right away. It continued by saying that "the new depot is to be one not simply suited for the present, but is to be built of the size and style looking forward to the future, the future that all see for this rapidly growing town. The depot is to be on the general style and plan of that in the city of Stamford, built of yellow brick with a slate roof. It will be a handsome structure, worthy of the town and one we can all be proud of." The new brick passenger and freight structures, now separate and more convenient for all, were built midway between Water and Church Sts., expressly to alleviate trains standing on the latter thoroughfare. According to the paper, the new trackage through the redesigned station area was to be first used on 6/19/1898 and, though the old station was still standing and about to be torn down, one has to assume that service was in place at the new structure by that date. Passenger service ended on 12/3/1958 and, with freight service to Winsted lasting until 1963, the tracks from a point north of the station were taken up in that year. The subject of sporadic preservation efforts over the years, the 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 3/20/2010 right and lower photos are the last we got to take. [REFS: NHER/10/19/1897/11; TR/10/22/1897/00; TR/06/17/1898/03; CRC46.1898.19; HC/11/30/1966/30E; TR/07/22/2006/B1; TR/01/04/2011/A1; TR/01/05/2011/A1; TR/01/07/2011/A1; R99; D95][rev122913]
Tom Derwin Collection, NHRHTA.
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TOWANTIC1 [NY&NE, 1881]
This was another of the Leman Oatman 1881 NY&NE stations, this being of the smaller variety like MILL PLAIN. This depot in the town of OXFORD burned in 1894 and was replaced with one very similar in design. The location is shown a little right of center on the 1893 topographic map. [rev010918]
This was another of the Leman Oatman 1881 NY&NE stations, this being of the smaller variety like MILL PLAIN. This depot in the town of OXFORD burned in 1894 and was replaced with one very similar in design. The location is shown a little right of center on the 1893 topographic map. [rev010918]
Dave Peters Collection
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Max Miller Collection
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TOWANTIC2 [NY&NE, 1894]
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 preceding station. Note the locomotives double-heading behind the station in the val photo at [1] and the 8/31/1916 date assures us that this is the second station. The 10/14/1925 PUC inspection photo [2] looks west. The 1915 val map at [3] shows the layout of the station grounds; the [FP=framed (wooden) passenger] depot stood in the southwest quadrant of the grade crossing at our red arrow. The snippet at [4] is from our Track 11 Google Earth map and show the intersection of Riggs St. with Towantic and Woodruff Hill Rds. [REFS: CRC42.1894.22; HC/05/28/1904/07; D136] [rev010918]
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 preceding station. Note the locomotives double-heading behind the station in the val photo at [1] and the 8/31/1916 date assures us that this is the second station. The 10/14/1925 PUC inspection photo [2] looks west. The 1915 val map at [3] shows the layout of the station grounds; the [FP=framed (wooden) passenger] depot stood in the southwest quadrant of the grade crossing at our red arrow. The snippet at [4] is from our Track 11 Google Earth map and show the intersection of Riggs St. with Towantic and Woodruff Hill Rds. [REFS: CRC42.1894.22; HC/05/28/1904/07; D136] [rev010918]
Connecticut Historical Society
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TOWER STATION [CNE&W, 1889 ]
This station in the town of Simsbury, just above the Bloomfield line, was built in 1889 by Matthew H. Bartlett. to give visitors easy access to his tower and recreational facilities on Talcott Mountain. An interesting article in Connecticut Magazine says lookout structures there dated back to the 1830s but that the fourth tower seen at [3] was the tallest at 70 feet high. Bartlett had built the first of his two towers in 1867, and when it was sold in 1889, he felt as though he needed to build a new one bigger, better and taller so as not to deprive the public of the wonderful views toward Hartford, Newgate Prison, and westward as far as Prospect, CT. The railroad took good advantage of this tourist destination from the start. The CW had opened late in 1871 and early in the next season was offering joint fares that included admission to the tower, leaving passengers at SIMSBURY to complete the journey by coach or carriage. The old tower had such amenities as telescope, 'lunching' tables, hammocks, swings, croquet, piano, bowling alleys, and dancing pavilion and presumably the new one had much the same or better. The new one was easier to access from TARIFFVILLE and trains began seasonal stops from April to October in 1889 at Bartlett's TOWER STATION. A 6/16/1890 CNE&W timetable has a footnote saying that "Trains Nos. 21 and 14 will stop at Bartlett's Tower for 15 or more passengers," smaller parties detraining at TARIFFVILE and journeying by carriage. At first Bartlett only built a platform but by May, 1891 the newspaper reported that he had added a roof, as seen in the photo at [1] ahead of the tower atop the mountain. The westward view at [2] shows the station in the lower foreground from Andrus Ledge across the river in East Granby. The undated view at [3] shows people enjoying the view at the several levels the tower offered. The woodcut at [4] shows Bartlett's first tower. The 1892 topographic map at [5] shows Bartlett Tower at dead center. Conveyance from TOWER STATION up the mountain was available for those "not wishing to walk." Bartlett retired from public life in 1899, selling the tower in 1898 to Mrs. Antoinette Eno Wood, scion of a well-known local family, who made it into a private family retreat, although serving tea to occasional group visits that she entertained. Even as the tower was being closed to the public and the battle to complete the Tariffville Extension was being fought, the Springfield Republican was extolling visits to the tower from which the Massachusetts city could be seen. The tower burned on 3/24/1936 in a fire that could be seen for miles; all that remains today is a chimney. Neither it nor its predecessors on Talcott Mountain should be confused with the 150-ft Heublein Tower that stands today. Coincidentally it was built in 1914 a few miles south at the location of Bartlett's first tower and, adding more irony, Bartlett died on December 14th in that same year at the age of 81. The location of TOWER STATION is seen at [6] on the snippet from our Track 11 Google Earth map. [REFS: HDC/09/02/1879/04; HC/04/15/1889/08; HC/08/04/1889/08; HC/04/28/1891/06; HC/05/12/1891/06; CM1.180 (1895); HC/01/27/1898/03; SR/04/05/1899/05; HC/10/12/1903/08; HC/10/04/1914/X3; HC/12/15/1914/04; HC/05/25/1936/01][rev051716, 040819, 111719]
This station in the town of Simsbury, just above the Bloomfield line, was built in 1889 by Matthew H. Bartlett. to give visitors easy access to his tower and recreational facilities on Talcott Mountain. An interesting article in Connecticut Magazine says lookout structures there dated back to the 1830s but that the fourth tower seen at [3] was the tallest at 70 feet high. Bartlett had built the first of his two towers in 1867, and when it was sold in 1889, he felt as though he needed to build a new one bigger, better and taller so as not to deprive the public of the wonderful views toward Hartford, Newgate Prison, and westward as far as Prospect, CT. The railroad took good advantage of this tourist destination from the start. The CW had opened late in 1871 and early in the next season was offering joint fares that included admission to the tower, leaving passengers at SIMSBURY to complete the journey by coach or carriage. The old tower had such amenities as telescope, 'lunching' tables, hammocks, swings, croquet, piano, bowling alleys, and dancing pavilion and presumably the new one had much the same or better. The new one was easier to access from TARIFFVILLE and trains began seasonal stops from April to October in 1889 at Bartlett's TOWER STATION. A 6/16/1890 CNE&W timetable has a footnote saying that "Trains Nos. 21 and 14 will stop at Bartlett's Tower for 15 or more passengers," smaller parties detraining at TARIFFVILE and journeying by carriage. At first Bartlett only built a platform but by May, 1891 the newspaper reported that he had added a roof, as seen in the photo at [1] ahead of the tower atop the mountain. The westward view at [2] shows the station in the lower foreground from Andrus Ledge across the river in East Granby. The undated view at [3] shows people enjoying the view at the several levels the tower offered. The woodcut at [4] shows Bartlett's first tower. The 1892 topographic map at [5] shows Bartlett Tower at dead center. Conveyance from TOWER STATION up the mountain was available for those "not wishing to walk." Bartlett retired from public life in 1899, selling the tower in 1898 to Mrs. Antoinette Eno Wood, scion of a well-known local family, who made it into a private family retreat, although serving tea to occasional group visits that she entertained. Even as the tower was being closed to the public and the battle to complete the Tariffville Extension was being fought, the Springfield Republican was extolling visits to the tower from which the Massachusetts city could be seen. The tower burned on 3/24/1936 in a fire that could be seen for miles; all that remains today is a chimney. Neither it nor its predecessors on Talcott Mountain should be confused with the 150-ft Heublein Tower that stands today. Coincidentally it was built in 1914 a few miles south at the location of Bartlett's first tower and, adding more irony, Bartlett died on December 14th in that same year at the age of 81. The location of TOWER STATION is seen at [6] on the snippet from our Track 11 Google Earth map. [REFS: HDC/09/02/1879/04; HC/04/15/1889/08; HC/08/04/1889/08; HC/04/28/1891/06; HC/05/12/1891/06; CM1.180 (1895); HC/01/27/1898/03; SR/04/05/1899/05; HC/10/12/1903/08; HC/10/04/1914/X3; HC/12/15/1914/04; HC/05/25/1936/01][rev051716, 040819, 111719]
TRUMBULL1 [HRR, 1840]
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. 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, then on the east side of the track. [REFS: C56]
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. 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, then on the east side of the track. [REFS: C56]
Copyright Trumbull Historical Society
TRUMBULL2 [HRR, 1880?]
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. The Bee said in 1905 that plans for the new station included using this one as the freight house thereafter. [REFS: 1851TT; 1858TT; 1871TT; 1875TT; NHJC/07/21/1877/02; 1883TT; RRM1882; NHER/05/31/1889/04; NHER/08/16/1889/04; NBE/02/24/1905/02; BEP/02/23/1936/??]
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. The Bee said in 1905 that plans for the new station included using this one as the freight house thereafter. [REFS: 1851TT; 1858TT; 1871TT; 1875TT; NHJC/07/21/1877/02; 1883TT; RRM1882; NHER/05/31/1889/04; NHER/08/16/1889/04; NBE/02/24/1905/02; BEP/02/23/1936/??]
National Archives
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TRUMBULL3 [NYNH&H, 1905]
The railroad commissioners reported in 1905 that a new station had been built here. The Bee reported in May that "Trumbull people feel quite flattered over the compliment paid to them by the Railroad Company in the form of so substantial and artistic a depot. Evidently the company at least has faith in the future of Trumbull. Not a little credit for this is due to Mr. Beach, the station agent, under whose administrations Trumbull has obtained freight and express conveniences, which have so increased the business of their departments as to warrant the present enlargement. It is rumored, also, that trouble is to have a regular telegraph office. A May Bee article has many valuable details about the ongoing construction and plans. The contract was let to A.H. Milkins of Norwalk. Measuring 22x57 feet, the depot was to clapboarded on the outside up as far as the windows and the rest of the way shingled, a detail which is born out in the photos. The 25x21-ft freight room was to be on the north side with a door on the east side so team could drive right up to get their merchandise; baggage room 10x10; waiting room 21x31; office 13x10 at the bay window on the west side; interior of Southern pine; platform 280-ft long, 8-14 feet in width; roof eaves to overhang all the way around. The val photo at [1] is dated 9/11/1916 and looks north. The photo at [2] is an eastward view ca. 1920 with box cars on the house track; Al Weaver's colorization brings out the details. Agent Beach stands proudly in the shot at [3]; the Dutch clock says the last northbound train passed at 7:10. Passenger service was discontinued in 1932 and trackage from bridgeport to the Monroe line was torn up in 1940, around which time TRUMBULL3 was sold. The Bridgeport Post reported with feigned horror that the depot was to be moved and possibly used as a hot dog stand. We do not yet know if that was its fate. [REFS: NBE/05/19/1905/02; NBE/06/16/1905/03; CRC53.1905.26; K56; NHAR34.1905.7; BEP/02/23/1936;][rev123017]
The railroad commissioners reported in 1905 that a new station had been built here. The Bee reported in May that "Trumbull people feel quite flattered over the compliment paid to them by the Railroad Company in the form of so substantial and artistic a depot. Evidently the company at least has faith in the future of Trumbull. Not a little credit for this is due to Mr. Beach, the station agent, under whose administrations Trumbull has obtained freight and express conveniences, which have so increased the business of their departments as to warrant the present enlargement. It is rumored, also, that trouble is to have a regular telegraph office. A May Bee article has many valuable details about the ongoing construction and plans. The contract was let to A.H. Milkins of Norwalk. Measuring 22x57 feet, the depot was to clapboarded on the outside up as far as the windows and the rest of the way shingled, a detail which is born out in the photos. The 25x21-ft freight room was to be on the north side with a door on the east side so team could drive right up to get their merchandise; baggage room 10x10; waiting room 21x31; office 13x10 at the bay window on the west side; interior of Southern pine; platform 280-ft long, 8-14 feet in width; roof eaves to overhang all the way around. The val photo at [1] is dated 9/11/1916 and looks north. The photo at [2] is an eastward view ca. 1920 with box cars on the house track; Al Weaver's colorization brings out the details. Agent Beach stands proudly in the shot at [3]; the Dutch clock says the last northbound train passed at 7:10. Passenger service was discontinued in 1932 and trackage from bridgeport to the Monroe line was torn up in 1940, around which time TRUMBULL3 was sold. The Bridgeport Post reported with feigned horror that the depot was to be moved and possibly used as a hot dog stand. We do not yet know if that was its fate. [REFS: NBE/05/19/1905/02; NBE/06/16/1905/03; CRC53.1905.26; K56; NHAR34.1905.7; BEP/02/23/1936;][rev123017]
TUCKER [> WEST CHESHIRE]
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TURKEY HILL [NH&D, 1871]
This was an NH&D flag stop on opening in 1871 in the town of Orange. It appears to have been eliminated ca. 1882. It has always been of interest that the 1868 Beers Atlas of New Haven County has the NH&D ROW already laid out and seeming to be in existence three years before the railroad was completed. Better if it had been labeled 'Proposed' but nevertheless the image at [1] shows the line and our red arrows indicate both the namesake hill and the flag stop location. The 6/27/1927 PUC photo at [2] looks west at the crossing. Today, the Turkey Hill School exit driveway utilizes the old NH&D ROW, as seen on the Track 11 Google Earth map snippet at [3]. The 12/4/1871 timetable at [4] shows the stop as five minutes west of Orange center. There may have been a small shed here or just a platform or nothing at all. [REFS: PL4.1.38 (Jan. 1883): no][rev052217]
This was an NH&D flag stop on opening in 1871 in the town of Orange. It appears to have been eliminated ca. 1882. It has always been of interest that the 1868 Beers Atlas of New Haven County has the NH&D ROW already laid out and seeming to be in existence three years before the railroad was completed. Better if it had been labeled 'Proposed' but nevertheless the image at [1] shows the line and our red arrows indicate both the namesake hill and the flag stop location. The 6/27/1927 PUC photo at [2] looks west at the crossing. Today, the Turkey Hill School exit driveway utilizes the old NH&D ROW, as seen on the Track 11 Google Earth map snippet at [3]. The 12/4/1871 timetable at [4] shows the stop as five minutes west of Orange center. There may have been a small shed here or just a platform or nothing at all. [REFS: PL4.1.38 (Jan. 1883): no][rev052217]
TURNERVILLE1 [NHM&W, 1873]
This stop in the town of Hebron was established by the NHM&W in 1873 when the road was completed to Willimantic. In 1877, this point would later be the junction for the Colchester RR. 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]
This stop in the town of Hebron was established by the NHM&W in 1873 when the road was completed to Willimantic. In 1877, this point would later be the junction for the Colchester RR. 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]
Dave Peters Collection
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TURNERVILLE2 [NYNH&H, 1886]
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. It is to be noted that this stylish little station appears to be an exact copy of EAST NORWALK1 which was built in 1885. [REFS: NHAR15.1886.10; HC/06/15/1915/04; HC/10/23/1921/10; PTH925.1917.61; 1923TT; 1939TT][rev042013]
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. It is to be noted that this stylish little station appears to be an exact copy of EAST NORWALK1 which was built in 1885. [REFS: NHAR15.1886.10; HC/06/15/1915/04; HC/10/23/1921/10; PTH925.1917.61; 1923TT; 1939TT][rev042013]
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New Haven Museum
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Richard Paddock Collection
TWIN LAKES1 [CW, 1871; depot 1872]
According to Dick Paddock in one of his Lakeville Journal articles, the creation of this flag stop was due to Frederick Miles whose 'contract' with the railroad was affirmed by his son William in 1923 when the NYNH&H was cutting back service. At that time it was noted that Salisbury land records mention a 'flag station' as part of an arbitrated compensation for Miles's land in 1870 and the CW stock subscription book shows 50 shares purchased by Miles in December of 1868 "on the express condition that a flag station for passengers be maintained on my farm in Salisbury." It is assumed that Miles, by having a stop on his property, intended to profit from the tourism that the railroad was expected to bring or possibly in some other commercial way. Miles, farmer, grocer, owner of the Copake Iron Works and U.S. congressman was no stranger to business or politics. The railroad was apparently in agreement on the business potential even here in such a remote place. An article in the Winsted Herald in October, 1872 said that the CW had "erected at the Twin Lakes station, a much larger and finer depot than was generally supposed would be put there." While the NY&NE's 1880 appraisal of CW assets put the value of this structure at a mere $250 plus $350 for the adjacent picnic pavilion, the investment was sufficient and tourists did come. The allure of the CW's scenic route brought the Hartford Camera Club for one of their Memorial Day excursions on 5/30/1892. Riders snapped views at Satan's Kingdom along the way and were entertained at the lake cottage of R.S. Delamater, noted Hartford photographer. TWIN LAKES1 burned on 6/18/1901, sparks from the 10:37 a.m. train thought to have ignited the roof and resulting in total destruction. Few photos of TWIN LAKES1 are to be found. The shot at [1] shows a credit to H. Miles, likely a relation to the 'landlord,' and a timely date of 1900, just a year before the fire. This depot had neither a canopy nor an agent's bay, as seen in both [1] and [2]. The image at [3] is from the CW Index Map book and shows the planned location amidst the 'twin' lakes, Washining and Washinee. The view at [4] shows the locomotive State Line, flanked by locals, ca. 1871 on the east trestle work. The westward shot at [5] shows the depot on the north side of the track midway through the lakes. The photo at [6] shows locomotive no. 7, likely PR&NE in the 1890s, traversing the wooded environs of the area. The image at [7] is a stereocard view of the west trestle; both wooden structures were largely filled later in but still prone to occasional sinkage and fires. [REFS: HDC/12/21/1871/02; CWN/08/02/1872/02; WH/10/25/1872/03; DC/10/16/1874/02; NYNE/CW1880; HC/05/31/1892/05; CWN/06/20/1901/03; LJ/06/22/1901/05; LJ/11/19/2009/00; A36; D44; N3.91; Richard Paddock, Rail Tales, p86-89][rev052317]
According to Dick Paddock in one of his Lakeville Journal articles, the creation of this flag stop was due to Frederick Miles whose 'contract' with the railroad was affirmed by his son William in 1923 when the NYNH&H was cutting back service. At that time it was noted that Salisbury land records mention a 'flag station' as part of an arbitrated compensation for Miles's land in 1870 and the CW stock subscription book shows 50 shares purchased by Miles in December of 1868 "on the express condition that a flag station for passengers be maintained on my farm in Salisbury." It is assumed that Miles, by having a stop on his property, intended to profit from the tourism that the railroad was expected to bring or possibly in some other commercial way. Miles, farmer, grocer, owner of the Copake Iron Works and U.S. congressman was no stranger to business or politics. The railroad was apparently in agreement on the business potential even here in such a remote place. An article in the Winsted Herald in October, 1872 said that the CW had "erected at the Twin Lakes station, a much larger and finer depot than was generally supposed would be put there." While the NY&NE's 1880 appraisal of CW assets put the value of this structure at a mere $250 plus $350 for the adjacent picnic pavilion, the investment was sufficient and tourists did come. The allure of the CW's scenic route brought the Hartford Camera Club for one of their Memorial Day excursions on 5/30/1892. Riders snapped views at Satan's Kingdom along the way and were entertained at the lake cottage of R.S. Delamater, noted Hartford photographer. TWIN LAKES1 burned on 6/18/1901, sparks from the 10:37 a.m. train thought to have ignited the roof and resulting in total destruction. Few photos of TWIN LAKES1 are to be found. The shot at [1] shows a credit to H. Miles, likely a relation to the 'landlord,' and a timely date of 1900, just a year before the fire. This depot had neither a canopy nor an agent's bay, as seen in both [1] and [2]. The image at [3] is from the CW Index Map book and shows the planned location amidst the 'twin' lakes, Washining and Washinee. The view at [4] shows the locomotive State Line, flanked by locals, ca. 1871 on the east trestle work. The westward shot at [5] shows the depot on the north side of the track midway through the lakes. The photo at [6] shows locomotive no. 7, likely PR&NE in the 1890s, traversing the wooded environs of the area. The image at [7] is a stereocard view of the west trestle; both wooden structures were largely filled later in but still prone to occasional sinkage and fires. [REFS: HDC/12/21/1871/02; CWN/08/02/1872/02; WH/10/25/1872/03; DC/10/16/1874/02; NYNE/CW1880; HC/05/31/1892/05; CWN/06/20/1901/03; LJ/06/22/1901/05; LJ/11/19/2009/00; A36; D44; N3.91; Richard Paddock, Rail Tales, p86-89][rev052317]
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Max Miller Collection
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National Archives
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TWIN LAKES2 [CNE, 1901]
Work began on 7/16/1901 to build TWIN LAKES2. It was completed by 10/31/1901 and subsequently mentioned in the state railroad commission report in December of the year. One copy of the view on the postcard at [1] carries a date of 1905. Note the fancy diamond-paned windows which starkly contrast with the unfinished tree limbs, branch stubs and all, supporting the covershed! This latter feature would carry over to the bungalow-style store building seen in the postcard at [2]. A seasonal post office was established in this rustic structure in 1909 on the petition of the Twin Lakes Association and lasted until 1942. The shot at [3] shows a westbound train on the causeway, pulling into TWIN LAKES2. The 10/19/1927 PUC shot at [4] looks east, with a section house ahead of the depot and ties piled up as a bumper at the end of the house track. The edited, later copy of the 1916 val map at [5] shows the layout of the grounds and property then owned by W. A. Miles, Frederick's son. The stop signal shown on the map is not seen in the PUC photo, likely due to the end of passenger service in 1927. Lewis H. Benton photo #2665 at [6], taken in June, 1930, shows a rather desolate scene, with station roof intact but sagging. In its early 1900s heyday, this flag stop saw much summer traffic. Margaret and Antoinette Kellogg of Philadelphia are seen in [7] arriving for a stay. In perhaps the most phantasmagorical piece that ever appeared in the Connecticut Western News, a 1906 article recorded the vision of a clairvoyant who foresaw the NYNH&H getting control of all the lake property and by 1911 creating an Electric Park, with amusement rides, trolley service from surrounding points and staged train wrecks between "freight locomotives that have outlived their usefulness... caused to crash together, under a full head of steam, on a track specially built for this purpose." Though the NYNH&H was then gobbling up everything in sight and such rail-crash spectacles took place elsewhere, nothing like this was in the cards here. So opposed to any change were locals they opposed a steam tourist train on the line from Lakeville to Canaan, which was up for abandonment in the 1960s. The president of the Twin Lakes Association, Atty. Catherine G. Roraback, and her counterpart at The Salisbury Association, Abbot K. Hamilton, maintained that the new Connecticut Western Railroad Co. would violate zoning ordinances "because of its entertainment nature," would create problems of "dirt and noise" (though oil was to be burned, not coal), endanger property values and "become a detriment to one of Connecticut's most beautiful areas." This is a sad, ironic commentary from a community that owed its creation to the coming of the Iron Horse. The last freight train ran in 1965. Nimke has a 1937 photo of TWIN LAKES2. The 1938 SSRR list says that it was rented as the post office at that time. Its fate thereafter is yet unknown to us. [REFS: CWN/07/18/1901/03; CWN/07/19/1906/01 (pt1); CWN/07/26/1906/01 (pt2); LJ/07/20/1901/01; CRC49.1901.23; HC/04/24/1963/23B; A36; D45; N3.91][rev010518]
Work began on 7/16/1901 to build TWIN LAKES2. It was completed by 10/31/1901 and subsequently mentioned in the state railroad commission report in December of the year. One copy of the view on the postcard at [1] carries a date of 1905. Note the fancy diamond-paned windows which starkly contrast with the unfinished tree limbs, branch stubs and all, supporting the covershed! This latter feature would carry over to the bungalow-style store building seen in the postcard at [2]. A seasonal post office was established in this rustic structure in 1909 on the petition of the Twin Lakes Association and lasted until 1942. The shot at [3] shows a westbound train on the causeway, pulling into TWIN LAKES2. The 10/19/1927 PUC shot at [4] looks east, with a section house ahead of the depot and ties piled up as a bumper at the end of the house track. The edited, later copy of the 1916 val map at [5] shows the layout of the grounds and property then owned by W. A. Miles, Frederick's son. The stop signal shown on the map is not seen in the PUC photo, likely due to the end of passenger service in 1927. Lewis H. Benton photo #2665 at [6], taken in June, 1930, shows a rather desolate scene, with station roof intact but sagging. In its early 1900s heyday, this flag stop saw much summer traffic. Margaret and Antoinette Kellogg of Philadelphia are seen in [7] arriving for a stay. In perhaps the most phantasmagorical piece that ever appeared in the Connecticut Western News, a 1906 article recorded the vision of a clairvoyant who foresaw the NYNH&H getting control of all the lake property and by 1911 creating an Electric Park, with amusement rides, trolley service from surrounding points and staged train wrecks between "freight locomotives that have outlived their usefulness... caused to crash together, under a full head of steam, on a track specially built for this purpose." Though the NYNH&H was then gobbling up everything in sight and such rail-crash spectacles took place elsewhere, nothing like this was in the cards here. So opposed to any change were locals they opposed a steam tourist train on the line from Lakeville to Canaan, which was up for abandonment in the 1960s. The president of the Twin Lakes Association, Atty. Catherine G. Roraback, and her counterpart at The Salisbury Association, Abbot K. Hamilton, maintained that the new Connecticut Western Railroad Co. would violate zoning ordinances "because of its entertainment nature," would create problems of "dirt and noise" (though oil was to be burned, not coal), endanger property values and "become a detriment to one of Connecticut's most beautiful areas." This is a sad, ironic commentary from a community that owed its creation to the coming of the Iron Horse. The last freight train ran in 1965. Nimke has a 1937 photo of TWIN LAKES2. The 1938 SSRR list says that it was rented as the post office at that time. Its fate thereafter is yet unknown to us. [REFS: CWN/07/18/1901/03; CWN/07/19/1906/01 (pt1); CWN/07/26/1906/01 (pt2); LJ/07/20/1901/01; CRC49.1901.23; HC/04/24/1963/23B; A36; D45; N3.91][rev010518]
Orange Historical Society
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TYLER CITY [NH&D, 1872]
This website's namesake station was built in the town of Orange in 1872 and presented to the NH&D on condition that trains always stop there. Some did until 1925 when passenger service ended, with freight shipments probably continued until 1937. The structure was burned by Fourth of July "celebrants" at 4:00 A.M. on the morning of 7/5/1936. See Track 1 for more.
This website's namesake station was built in the town of Orange in 1872 and presented to the NH&D on condition that trains always stop there. Some did until 1925 when passenger service ended, with freight shipments probably continued until 1937. The structure was burned by Fourth of July "celebrants" at 4:00 A.M. on the morning of 7/5/1936. See Track 1 for more.
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UNION CITY/N1 [NRR, 1855]
There was no railroad stop here in the town of NAUGATUCK between 1849 when the NRR opened and a January, 1855 timetable we have, but by May, 1855, the image at lower left lists the station. This manufacturing district in the town of Naugatuck is first spoken of in the Courant in 1856. In 1858 John Howard Whittemore and Bronson Beecher Tuttle teamed up to build a foundry for the production of malleable iron products that were far superior to their older cast iron counterparts [click here]. Their successful venture would eventually employ much of the area labor force at a location that was undoubtedly chosen for its adjacency to the railroad, thereby creating a need and a market for a station. This 'city' was north of the central borough and the name also applied to some of the area east of the Naugatuck River, as it still does today. The earliest map we could find is the 1868 at upper right [add030513] which shows a station west of the tracks. The 1877 Bailey bird's-eye map of Naugatuck [left, middle] does not identify a station per se, but the structure that corresponds to the earlier map is shown. The name of the locale seems to derive from the reverence for the U. S. federal union of states, possibly in anticipation of the coming Civil War, and appears in many geographic names of the era. J.H. Whittemore would become a NYNH&H director and a generous benefactor to the borough of Naugatuck where the public library is named for one of his sons. It was through the industrialist's influence that the NAUGATUCK3 station came to fruition. Tuttle and Whittemore Iron Works was reorganized many times and survives today as the Eastern Company [click here], still headquartered in the Union City section of Naugatuck. [REFS: HDC/01/26/1856/02; C92][rev030513]
There was no railroad stop here in the town of NAUGATUCK between 1849 when the NRR opened and a January, 1855 timetable we have, but by May, 1855, the image at lower left lists the station. This manufacturing district in the town of Naugatuck is first spoken of in the Courant in 1856. In 1858 John Howard Whittemore and Bronson Beecher Tuttle teamed up to build a foundry for the production of malleable iron products that were far superior to their older cast iron counterparts [click here]. Their successful venture would eventually employ much of the area labor force at a location that was undoubtedly chosen for its adjacency to the railroad, thereby creating a need and a market for a station. This 'city' was north of the central borough and the name also applied to some of the area east of the Naugatuck River, as it still does today. The earliest map we could find is the 1868 at upper right [add030513] which shows a station west of the tracks. The 1877 Bailey bird's-eye map of Naugatuck [left, middle] does not identify a station per se, but the structure that corresponds to the earlier map is shown. The name of the locale seems to derive from the reverence for the U. S. federal union of states, possibly in anticipation of the coming Civil War, and appears in many geographic names of the era. J.H. Whittemore would become a NYNH&H director and a generous benefactor to the borough of Naugatuck where the public library is named for one of his sons. It was through the industrialist's influence that the NAUGATUCK3 station came to fruition. Tuttle and Whittemore Iron Works was reorganized many times and survives today as the Eastern Company [click here], still headquartered in the Union City section of Naugatuck. [REFS: HDC/01/26/1856/02; C92][rev030513]
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UNION CITY/N2 [NRR, 1880s]
Not on the Bailey 1877 map, we speculate that the second station was put up in the 1880s and is seen in this snip from the 1906 Hughes & Bailey map [click here]. With small gables on each of the four sides of the hipped roof, this station may have also reflect the Whittemore munificence. It appears we have been fortunate once again to have Bailey back in town in 1906, just prior to the building of the next station here in 1907, so we have this unique image preserved. We hope at some point to find a photograph that would provide corroboration. The fate of this station is unknown but it may have fallen with the double-tracking project completed by 1908. [REFS: HC/01/20/1908/12]
Not on the Bailey 1877 map, we speculate that the second station was put up in the 1880s and is seen in this snip from the 1906 Hughes & Bailey map [click here]. With small gables on each of the four sides of the hipped roof, this station may have also reflect the Whittemore munificence. It appears we have been fortunate once again to have Bailey back in town in 1906, just prior to the building of the next station here in 1907, so we have this unique image preserved. We hope at some point to find a photograph that would provide corroboration. The fate of this station is unknown but it may have fallen with the double-tracking project completed by 1908. [REFS: HC/01/20/1908/12]
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UNION CITY/N3 [NYNH&H, 1907]
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 in conjunction with the double-tracking. 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 building plans we have. The val photos are dated 7/2/1917 [upper left] and 4/27/1924 [upper middle] and the one at upper right is a Lewis H. Benton, is from August, 1917. The 1938 SSRR list shows this station as rented for $300 per year. It was reportedly torn down in the winter of 1968. [REFS: HC/06/03/1907/17][rev010518, 112320]
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 in conjunction with the double-tracking. 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 building plans we have. The val photos are dated 7/2/1917 [upper left] and 4/27/1924 [upper middle] and the one at upper right is a Lewis H. Benton, is from August, 1917. The 1938 SSRR list shows this station as rented for $300 per year. It was reportedly torn down in the winter of 1968. [REFS: HC/06/03/1907/17][rev010518, 112320]
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UNION CITY/W [NY&NE, 1881]
We have labeled this entry with the '/W' to distinguish this stop from the NRR line. The image at [1] purportedly is this station and it does looks similar to some of the Leman Oatman stations, e.g. TOWANTIC, elsewhere along the NY&NE's 1881 extension to the Hudson River. There are, however, some interesting differences like the eyelet roof feature which is unseen elsewhere and what looks to be a separate freight house behind the passenger station. Also contraindicating the image is the 1915 val map at [2] that shows a footprint more akin to combination stations like SOUTHFORD at [3]. This stop 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, today's Spring St., up from Union City proper unnecessary. Our red arrow on the 1892 topo map shows the location. At the elevation of the stone arch over over Rte. 63, as seen below, it would not have been easy to make a station accessible at that level, 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 Bristol Co. complex. That extensive property stretched to the river and the NRR line, which served it from the PLATTS MILL stop. Curiously and coincidentally, another potential union was in the offing at Union City when an 1887 Register article said that a projected extension of the NH&D 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 project never came to fruition but the substantial size of this off-the-beaten path station may reflect the grander intentions never realized here. Abandonment of this station as well as BRADLEYS in Middlebury was permitted by special act of the state legislature in 1899 in return for the creation of a new OSBORNTOWN stop, shortly thereafter renamed ALLERTON FARMS. This timing coincided with the final bow of the NY&NE which disappeared into the NYNH&H in 1898. A 1901 Courant article mentions a robbery at this station which was apparently still open then and exactly when it closed thereafter is unclear. [REFS: NHER/05/14/1881/01; NHER/08/03/1881/04; CRC30.1883.35; NHER/12/31/1887/01; HC/11/05/1898/10; 1899 Conn. Spec. Act 405; HC/11/28/1901/01; C306; RAM??][rev040116, 112320]
We have labeled this entry with the '/W' to distinguish this stop from the NRR line. The image at [1] purportedly is this station and it does looks similar to some of the Leman Oatman stations, e.g. TOWANTIC, elsewhere along the NY&NE's 1881 extension to the Hudson River. There are, however, some interesting differences like the eyelet roof feature which is unseen elsewhere and what looks to be a separate freight house behind the passenger station. Also contraindicating the image is the 1915 val map at [2] that shows a footprint more akin to combination stations like SOUTHFORD at [3]. This stop 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, today's Spring St., up from Union City proper unnecessary. Our red arrow on the 1892 topo map shows the location. At the elevation of the stone arch over over Rte. 63, as seen below, it would not have been easy to make a station accessible at that level, 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 Bristol Co. complex. That extensive property stretched to the river and the NRR line, which served it from the PLATTS MILL stop. Curiously and coincidentally, another potential union was in the offing at Union City when an 1887 Register article said that a projected extension of the NH&D 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 project never came to fruition but the substantial size of this off-the-beaten path station may reflect the grander intentions never realized here. Abandonment of this station as well as BRADLEYS in Middlebury was permitted by special act of the state legislature in 1899 in return for the creation of a new OSBORNTOWN stop, shortly thereafter renamed ALLERTON FARMS. This timing coincided with the final bow of the NY&NE which disappeared into the NYNH&H in 1898. A 1901 Courant article mentions a robbery at this station which was apparently still open then and exactly when it closed thereafter is unclear. [REFS: NHER/05/14/1881/01; NHER/08/03/1881/04; CRC30.1883.35; NHER/12/31/1887/01; HC/11/05/1898/10; 1899 Conn. Spec. Act 405; HC/11/28/1901/01; C306; RAM??][rev040116, 112320]
The engineering feat known as the Hop Brook trestle stood just west of the NY&NE's UNION CITY station. The composite image shows what the entire structure looked like, though the culvert for the brook is about 50 feet below the road level shown here. The beautiful stone culvert is approximately 250 feet long, 20 feet tall and almost as wide. It reportedly had been built by the BH&E in 1869 "at an enormous expense," at which time a Courant item commented that "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 would remain unused until 1881 when the trestle, stretching 300 feet across the ravine and 90 feet in the air, was completed for the opening of the NY&NE west to the Hudson River. The Georgia pine wooden latticework was filled in 1897. The arch over the roadway stood 25 feet tall but, only 16.5 feet wide at the base and it necessitated one-way vehicular traffic that became increasingly dangerous. The 'New England Arch' was taken down in 1940, shortly after the NY&NE line from Waterbury to Southbury was abandoned in 1937. The culvert over the brook is, thankfully, still intact today just south of the Hop Brook Dam. [REFS: HDC/07/30/1868/02; HC/09/22/1868/04; HDC/08/12/1869/04; BJ/08/11/1880/04; DN/07/27/1881/01; CRC45.1897.23; K84; NL20.3.11][rev040116]
UNION VILLAGE [> MANCHESTER1]
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UNIONVILLE1 [NH&H, 1850]
The NH&N opened the Collinsville branch and established a stop for this village in the town of Farmington in 1850. The location is shown to be east of Bridge St. on the 1855HC map at left. The 1878 Bailey bird's-eye map image at right 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. No actual photo of the first station here has yet been found and its fate is otherwise unknown. It is among the "old and inconvenient passenger depot buildings" that the railroad commissioners said in their 1875 annual report had been replaced by the NH&N. [REFS: RF/09/04/1849/02]
The NH&N opened the Collinsville branch and established a stop for this village in the town of Farmington in 1850. The location is shown to be east of Bridge St. on the 1855HC map at left. The 1878 Bailey bird's-eye map image at right 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. No actual photo of the first station here has yet been found and its fate is otherwise unknown. It is among the "old and inconvenient passenger depot buildings" that the railroad commissioners said in their 1875 annual report had been replaced by the NH&N. [REFS: RF/09/04/1849/02]
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Dave Peters Collection
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UNIONVILLE2 [NH&N, 1875]
This depot is mentioned in both the railroad commissioners annual report issued in May, 1876 and the NH&N's report to the stockholders in January, 1876. It would appear to have been built between May and December, 1875, leaning toward later in the year. The 2010 photo at right 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 TORRINGTON3 and what was not done to save the station that was lost there earlier in 2011. The 1938 SSRR retained list shows this as being retired but kept for railroad service. [REFS: CRC22.1875.6; CR/01/01/1876/02; CRC23.1876.17; D114+; R100][rev010518]
This depot is mentioned in both the railroad commissioners annual report issued in May, 1876 and the NH&N's report to the stockholders in January, 1876. It would appear to have been built between May and December, 1875, leaning toward later in the year. The 2010 photo at right 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 TORRINGTON3 and what was not done to save the station that was lost there earlier in 2011. The 1938 SSRR retained list shows this as being retired but kept for railroad service. [REFS: CRC22.1875.6; CR/01/01/1876/02; CRC23.1876.17; D114+; R100][rev010518]
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VALLEY STATION [SRR, 1880?]
The photo at [2] is a recent shot that replicates the historical view at [1]. 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. The station here in the town of WASHINGTON was on the platform seen in the shot at [3]. [rev070115]
The photo at [2] is a recent shot that replicates the historical view at [1]. 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. The station here in the town of WASHINGTON was on the platform seen in the shot at [3]. [rev070115]
VERNON1 [HP&F, 1849]
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]
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 [HP&F, 1855]
This 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.
This 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.
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vernondepot.com
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vernondepot.com
VERNON3 [NYNH&H, c1890?]
The image at [1] 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 third station in place by now, with an exact build date undiscovered by us as of yet. The style matches FAIRFIELD2 and MILFORD2 that were built in the 1880s. The shot at [2] dates to 7/13/1934. The undated view at [3] shows an eastbound train with its conductor running ahead on some urgent business. At extreme right is the water tank and the Rockville Branch track. Click here for the informative VernonDepot website with more about this station and locale. It says the railroad closed the station on 12/31/1930 but our 2/8/1932 timetable still shows this as a passenger stop. The 1938 SSRR list says this station has been sold to A. Balchunas for $35.00 on 7/31/1939 The 3/15/1939 SSRR addendum says the passenger and coal house are occupied by the U.S. Geodetic Survey! More research obviously needs to be done here to clarify the build date and possibly the raze date and the events in between. [rev010818]
The image at [1] 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 third station in place by now, with an exact build date undiscovered by us as of yet. The style matches FAIRFIELD2 and MILFORD2 that were built in the 1880s. The shot at [2] dates to 7/13/1934. The undated view at [3] shows an eastbound train with its conductor running ahead on some urgent business. At extreme right is the water tank and the Rockville Branch track. Click here for the informative VernonDepot website with more about this station and locale. It says the railroad closed the station on 12/31/1930 but our 2/8/1932 timetable still shows this as a passenger stop. The 1938 SSRR list says this station has been sold to A. Balchunas for $35.00 on 7/31/1939 The 3/15/1939 SSRR addendum says the passenger and coal house are occupied by the U.S. Geodetic Survey! More research obviously needs to be done here to clarify the build date and possibly the raze date and the events in between. [rev010818]
Max Miller Collection
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VERNON CENTER [NYNH&H, c1900?]
Station in the town of the same name on the Rockville line about a mile above VERNON.
Station in the town of the same name on the Rockville line about a mile above VERNON.
VERNON JUNCTION [> WEST STREET]
VERSAILLES1 [HP&F, 1854; opened as LOVETTS]
This station in the town of Sprague was first called LOVETTS, as shown on 1854NL map that also reflects the year when the HP&F opened this line. [REFS: CRC15.1868.30 mentions LOVETTS]
This station in the town of Sprague was first called LOVETTS, as shown on 1854NL map that also reflects the year when the HP&F opened this line. [REFS: CRC15.1868.30 mentions LOVETTS]
VERSAILLES2 [NY&NE, 1880]
We have added a new listing here because the the NY&NE annual report of December, 1880 said that a new station had been built in the past year. It is speculative on our part whether this photo belongs here or at the next listing, but the style of dress of the young man on the left reminds us of the Civil War era and we are hedging our bets that this is VERSAILLES2. [REFS: NYNEAR5.1880.12; C175]
We have added a new listing here because the the NY&NE annual report of December, 1880 said that a new station had been built in the past year. It is speculative on our part whether this photo belongs here or at the next listing, but the style of dress of the young man on the left reminds us of the Civil War era and we are hedging our bets that this is VERSAILLES2. [REFS: NYNEAR5.1880.12; C175]
VERSAILLES3 [NYNH&H, 1899]
This listing is based on the railroad commissioners' report of 1899 that says "new small station buildings have been erected at Scotland and Versailles." We do not yet know why a new station was required. Fire is the usual suspect. [REFS: CRC47.1899.31]
This listing is based on the railroad commissioners' report of 1899 that says "new small station buildings have been erected at Scotland and Versailles." We do not yet know why a new station was required. Fire is the usual suspect. [REFS: CRC47.1899.31]
Dave Peters Collection
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National Archives
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VERSAILLES4 [NYNH&H, 1905]
The architectural plans at [1] carry a date of October, 1904 and, according to the railroad's annual report of December, 1905, this station was built during that calendar year. No mention of the fate of the preceding station or the construction of this one has been found either in the railroad commissioners' reports or in the newspapers. The val photo at [2] is dated 6/12/1917. The shot at [3] is a 9/6/1931 Lewis H. Benton with friend Drake posing in the left foreground and his sedan in front of the station. The shot at [4] is undated but gives a good trackside view; resident station agent poses and we note slant-back baggage carts. While Karr says passenger service was discontinued from Willimantic to Plainfield in 1927 or 1928, the shot at [5] shows Budd car #24 manufactured in 1952 doing the honors with what may be a young student just having disembarked. Was this some kind of special local train, perhaps in school service? The station itself is looking pretty dilapidated and is probably out of service. The image at [6] is dated 11/20/1967 and may be the last photo of this structure. The other burning question, which may not be answerable, is why this unusual residential-style station was built here and to such elegant standards. The interior appointments were reportedly quite ornate and costly. [REFS: NHAR34.1905.7; K84][rev020318]
The architectural plans at [1] carry a date of October, 1904 and, according to the railroad's annual report of December, 1905, this station was built during that calendar year. No mention of the fate of the preceding station or the construction of this one has been found either in the railroad commissioners' reports or in the newspapers. The val photo at [2] is dated 6/12/1917. The shot at [3] is a 9/6/1931 Lewis H. Benton with friend Drake posing in the left foreground and his sedan in front of the station. The shot at [4] is undated but gives a good trackside view; resident station agent poses and we note slant-back baggage carts. While Karr says passenger service was discontinued from Willimantic to Plainfield in 1927 or 1928, the shot at [5] shows Budd car #24 manufactured in 1952 doing the honors with what may be a young student just having disembarked. Was this some kind of special local train, perhaps in school service? The station itself is looking pretty dilapidated and is probably out of service. The image at [6] is dated 11/20/1967 and may be the last photo of this structure. The other burning question, which may not be answerable, is why this unusual residential-style station was built here and to such elegant standards. The interior appointments were reportedly quite ornate and costly. [REFS: NHAR34.1905.7; K84][rev020318]