Connecticut Valley Railroad
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The Connecticut Valley Railroad was a railroad in the state of
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
founded in 1868. The company built a line along the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
between
Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
and
Old Saybrook Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, an ...
, which opened in 1871. It was reorganized as the Hartford and Connecticut Valley Railroad in 1880, and leased by the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
in 1887. Following partial abandonments by the New Haven Railroad and successor
Penn Central Transportation Company The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania Railroad, ...
between 1968 and 1972, the line south of Middletown was revived as the Valley Railroad, a heritage railroad, while the portion in Middletown and northward saw operation by several freight railroads. As of 2022, the
Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W; ) is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York (state), New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build ...
and Connecticut Southern Railroad both operate portions of the former Connecticut Valley Railroad.


History


Founding

The
Connecticut Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
, which follows the course of the Connecticut River, was an important transportation corridor for New England. The
Hartford and New Haven Railroad The Hartford and New Haven Railroad (H&NH), chartered in 1833, was the first railroad built in the state of Connecticut and an important direct predecessor of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven). The company was forme ...
, Connecticut's first railroad, built much of its route along the river valley between Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts. Northwards, the Connecticut River Railroad followed the river's course to Vermont. By 1860, the only portion of the river without a railroad line following it was the southernmost portion, between Hartford and Old Saybrook, on
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
. This portion was heavily traveled by steamboats, but in 1868 the Connecticut Valley Railroad was founded by businessmen in Hartford, led by
James Clark Walkley James Clark Walkley (March 3, 1817 – October 4, 1890) was an American attorney and politician. Early life and education Walkley, son of Deacon James and Lydia (Spencer) Walkley, was born in Haddam, Connecticut, on March 3, 1817. After gradua ...
, to build along the river.


Construction

Following a survey, the railroad began construction along the river's western bank in 1869. As late as December 1869, the location of the railroad's southern terminus at Long Island Sound had not been decided – the towns of Clinton and Westbrook both wanted the Valley Railroad to locate its terminus within their borders, as did the city of Old Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut River. The railroad ultimately decided on Old Saybrook, with the route approved by the Connecticut Railroad Commission on March 24, 1870. This left three miles of the route out of Hartford as the only portion of the route not decided upon. Service between Hartford and Old Saybrook began in 1871; an extension southwards to Fenwick, Connecticut was built the following year, bringing the railroad's total length to 47 miles.


Operations

Two years after beginning operations, the Connecticut Valley Railroad was badly affected by the
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
; by 1876, it had defaulted and the holders of its bonds became the new owners. The company was then reorganized, adopting the new name Hartford and Connecticut Valley Railroad starting in 1880. Judging that the railroad was not particularly valuable, its ownership decided the best course of action was to convince the competing
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
(The New Haven) to buy the company. To put this plan into action, the Valley Railroad made some investments into its physical plant, while openly declaring its intentions to expand northwards beyond Hartford to
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
. This would allow a continuous route from the
Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...
main line in Massachusetts to the Connecticut coastline, directly competing with the New Haven's ex-
Hartford and New Haven Railroad The Hartford and New Haven Railroad (H&NH), chartered in 1833, was the first railroad built in the state of Connecticut and an important direct predecessor of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven). The company was forme ...
line. The scheme was a success – fiercely protective of its lines and fearing any competition, the New Haven spent a considerable amount of money to take control of the Valley Railroad in fall 1882, paying well above market value in doing so.


New Haven

Following its assumption of control in 1882, the New Haven Railroad leased the Valley Railroad outright in 1887, with it becoming the company's Valley Division. Several changes were made in Hartford around 1907 as part of yard reconfiguration and construction of the
Bulkeley Bridge The Bulkeley Bridge (also known as Hartford Bridge, Bridge No. 980A) is the oldest of three highway bridges over the Connecticut River between Hartford, Connecticut and East Hartford, Connecticut. A stone arch bridge composed of nine spans, the ...
, including replacement of the State Street station building. As the railroad's route bypassed much of Connecticut's industrial areas, it was never an important part of the New Haven system. Following declines in connecting steamship traffic, the southern end of the line was gradually abandoned, cut back from Fenwick to Saybrook Point in 1917, and then again to Old Saybrook in 1922. In 1933, the New Haven ended all passenger service along the line. What little industry remained on the line gradually declined, and by 1960 the New Haven served the entire line with a single freight train per week. In 1968, the southern portion of the line was abandoned, from Old Saybrook to a waypoint called Laurel, four miles south of Middletown. On January 1, 1969,
Penn Central Transportation Company The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania Railroad, ...
succeeded the New Haven; the company abandoned a further portion of the line between Rocky Hill and
Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...
in 1972, leaving two disconnected parts in service. On the remaining tracks between Hartford and Rocky Hill, and between Cromwell and Middletown, infrequent freight service was provided around once per week. Bankrupt since 1970, Penn Central was absorbed by government-formed
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...
in 1976. The infrequently used remnants of the Connecticut Valley Railroad were not initially planned to be included in Conrail by the
United States Railway Association The United States Railway Association (USRA) was a government-owned corporation created by United States federal law that oversaw the creation of Conrail, a railroad corporation that would acquire and operate bankrupt and other failing freight ra ...
, but the state of Connecticut intervened to prevent the line from being entirely abandoned, directly leasing the segment between Wethersfield and Rock Hill and hiring Conrail to operate freight service. The remaining portions of the line were directly operated by Conrail; between Hartford and Rocky Hill one to two trains a week operated out of
Hartford Yard Hartford Yard is a classification yard located in Hartford, Connecticut. It was originally built by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The yard was greatly expanded between 1925 and 1926 to alleviate congestion in the railroad's nearby ...
to serve local customers, while sporadic train service was provided in and north of Middletown by a Conrail train based out of
Cedar Hill Yard Cedar Hill Yard is a classification yard located in New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven, North Haven, Connecticut, North Haven and Hamden, Connecticut, United States. It was built by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (often known ...
near
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
. In the 1980s, Conrail began to spin off its operations in central Connecticut, selling the northern part of the line to the
Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...
in 1982, which also took over the contract with the state of Connecticut. This was then followed in 1987 by the sale of all Conrail operations in and around Middletown to a new
shortline railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...
called the Connecticut Central Railroad.


The new Valley Railroad

The portion of the line abandoned by the New Haven Railroad in 1968 was saved by the Valley Railroad and the state of Connecticut. The state designated the entire abandoned line as a
linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...
, protecting it from being redeveloped. Meanwhile, the new Valley Railroad launched heritage train services in 1971 between
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
and Deep River, with an eye to eventually returning the entire line from Old Saybrook to Middletown to service.


References

{{Reflist Defunct Connecticut railroads Railway companies established in 1868 Predecessors of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Companies affiliated with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad