Naugatuck Railroad

Naugatuck Railroad

Overview
Headquarters	Thomaston, CT
Reporting mark	NAUG
Locale	east of Stratford, CT to Winsted, CT
Dates of operation	1849–

Metro-North Railroad's Waterbury Branch is a branch of their New Haven Line, running north from a junction east of Stratford, CT to Waterbury. Originally built as the Naugatuck Railroad, it once continued north to Winsted. The part north of Waterbury is now leased from CDOT by the Railroad Museum of New England, which operates excursion trains from Thomaston station; that part is still called the Naugatuck Railroad (reporting mark NAUG). The trackage ends in Torrington.

Commuters make up the vast majority of riders using the line. The Connecticut Rail Commuter Council is a board created by the state to represent commuter's interests before Metro North and state officials.

Station stops

Continues southwest to Grand Central Terminal on the New Haven Line

• Stratford (one AM inbound, one PM run outbound)

splits from New Haven Line

• Derby-Shelton
• Ansonia
• Seymour
• Beacon Falls
• Naugatuck
• Waterbury

The stations on the Waterbury Branch have two major differences in comparison to most other stations in the Metro-North system. None have ticket machines, making it possible to buy fares on board with no surcharge. Also, outside of Waterbury, all stations have low-level platforms (with the exception of Merritt 7 on the Danbury Branch, no regular stations east of the Hudson have such platforms).

Commuter advocacy

Commuters make up the vast majority of riders on the line. The Connecticut Rail Commuter Council is a board created by the state to represent commuter's interests before Metro North and state officials.

History

The Naugatuck Railroad was chartered May 1845 and organized February 1848. On May 15, 1849, the first section opened, from a junction with the just-completed New York and New Haven Railroad north to Seymour. Extensions opened to Waterbury June 11 and the rest of the way to Winsted September 24, where the Central New England Railway later passed through. On November 1, 1870 the Naugatuck Railroad leased the Watertown and Waterville Railroad, giving it a branch to Waterville. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Naugatuck on May 24, 1887, and merged it January 31, 1906.

In the mid- to late 1900s, the line was abandoned from Derby Junction north to Ansonia in favor of the original New Haven and Derby Railroad on the other (west) side of the Naugatuck River.

Passenger service north of Waterbury, to Torrington and Winsted, ended in December 1958, and the line was abandoned between Torrington and Winsted in 1963.

The NYNH&H merged into Penn Central in 1969; by then the line north of Waterbury was named the Torrington Secondary Track, and ended at Torrington. On January 1, 1971, the State of Connecticut leased the Waterbury Branch from Penn Central. [2]

The State of Connecticut Dept. of Transportation (CDOT) purchased the line between Devon and Torrington in 1982 from Conrail. The line north of Waterbury was leased by CDOT to Boston & Maine in 1982, and after B&M discontinued freight service north of Waterbury in 1995, CDOT leased the line to the new Naugatuck Railroad Company (NAUG). NAUG started operations in September 1996. Operated by the Railroad Museum of New England, NAUG is a heritage railway, primarily an excursion and historic passenger operation, with an irregular freight service (as-needed).

References

• Railroad History Database
• Philip C. Blakeslee, A Brief History Lines West Of The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co. (1953)
• Naugatuck Railroad Website

See also

• List of heritage railways