Posted by: Leroy Beaujon on Fri, Jul 9, 99 at 23:58
Yes, the CNE did have a connection (as well as crossing over)with the Harlem at Millerton. For several years the CNE operated a through coach from Winsted to New York that was attached to the morning Harlem train at Millerton. It came north in the afternoon out of New York. My guess is that the CNE train went out on to the Harlem after the southbound train passed the junction and backed the coach down to the waiting Harlem train. On the northbound run the Harlem train would drop the coach north of the junction for the CNE train to pick up. - - - A series of three books on the CNE was published about three years ago by a Robert W. Nimke; 36 Old Route 12 North; Westmoreland, N.H. 03467 - 4703. The last I heard he only had a few copies of Volume 3 left at a cost of about $50.00. This volume, if still available, is worth having. - - - Yes, the CNE lines in Ct. sat unused from about 1927 (when the last passenger train ran) until official abandonment came in 1938. Most of those tracks were pulled up about a year later and shipped to Japan for scrap. - - - I did recently hear that some of the r-o-w west of Norfolk could now be walked on but I haven't personally seen it. The spur you wrote about in the Twin Lakes area actually took off from the station at Taconic and did go almost a mile to the north in to the village of Taconic. It was probably taken up in the early 1900's.
Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Sun, Jul 11, 99 at 12:43
At Griffins,siding rebuilt & track laid farther north in the r o w to store track equip.misc cars etc
Overflor cars from home depot operation on only other siding in Bloomfield Center unfortunate siding is cut by Wintonbury Ave They should have spent the extra $ to fix it
Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Mon, Jul 12, 99 at 20:46
THE CITIZENS OF BLOOMFIELD came out again tonite before town council to complain abt noise at home Depot ie.16 hrs switching Sat.
Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Thu, Jul 15, 99 at 13:16
JUST CAME FROM GRIFFINS? HOME DEPOI
30 to 40 cars up there right now wow
On orher side of river CNE moving very slowly with there E Windsor Hill/ Mass line work
Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Fri, Jul 16, 99 at 15:48
Had lunch at Canaan Depot today
Cabooses and track west of station to Rt. 44 still in place.Mark had bad info
Also went to Armenia or Amenia and saw heavy duty construction on extension of Putnam line
North of Amenia irs Rails to Trails
Posted by: Leroy Beaujon on Fri, Jul 16, 99 at 22:11
Yes, there are still some of the caboose's left on the old CNE track in Canaan west of the diamond. Some were trucked out a few months ago and the rest will be going "who knows when?" They have definitely all been sold and the hardware store on Rte 44 next to the track wants them out so that they can commence on a new building that will take up some of the old r-o-w where they now sit. By the way, there is no way that the remaining cabooses can be taken out by rail as the former CNE rails west of the diamond are no longer connected to the Housatonic's trackage. I also have heard that the Housatonic wants to pull up the diamond itself due to the costs in keeping it properly maintained. Back in New Haven RR days when I worked at the Canaan Station (late 40's) they (NH) often sent in a truck with acetylene torch equipment to build up the diamond where it received the most pounding.
Posted by: Mark on Fri, Jul 16, 99 at 23:25
Thanks for sticking up for me Mr. Beaujon. You're alright for a west coast CNE fan! The clock is ticking on the CNE stub west of Canaan UnionStation. When I saw it last Fall I did not think it would make it to the summer.
And I think Donald Austin is referring to the Harlem Division, not the Putnam Division. Those boilermakers at Keilty's are strong...
Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Sat, Jul 17, 99 at 7:17
I Only had 1 artificial beer at Keiltys
Health makes a boilermaker tempting but dangerous
Harlem it is
Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Mon, Jul 19, 99 at 13:37
AS WE SPEAK IN BLOOMFIELD CENTER,contractor reviving passing track.maybe siding and clearing off land where CNE DEPOT stood I remember the depot,played in it as a kid in 38-39 I DONT THINK THESE GUYS KNEW HOW MUCH TRAFFIC THEY WOULD GET
Im off to look again !
Posted by: Robert Lord on Sat, Aug 14, 99 at 14:23
Residents of Bloomfield, CT. are really up in arms about the new rail line (formerly CNE trackage) and according to a story in the August 11, 1999 edition of the Hartford Courant, they say "they are tired of listening to 'train music' day and night along Tunxis Avenue". They are urging the town council to figure out how to reduce noise from trains headed to the Home Depot Distribution Center.
Local citizens have filed a petition asking the town to end the "noise pollution." one local lady has reminded the council that the train noise was violating the town's noise ordinance which, she said, defined noise as "unwanted sound."
All this seems to prove there's nothing new under the sun. When I was writing my book on steam railroads in Northwest Connecticut, I found that local people objected to the railroad sounds...especially the whistles on Sunday during church services...and at night when local folk were awakened from a sound sleep. Ahhhh...to hear that wonderful old steam whistle again!!!
Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Sat, Aug 14, 99 at 15:33
Mr Lord
I live in Bloomfield,& watched the Council meeting on local access T V
One lady said they should call OSHA !!
Not one person understands the real railroading world No one remembers the 30s,40s,50s etc
Ive been here 66 yrs and have seen it all.
Also have been Vol Fireman since 1951
Who invented NIMBY ?
Don
Posted by: Leroy Beaujon on Sat, Aug 14, 99 at 22:28
To the "Fine People of Bloomfield"; it's too late folks! You can not interrupt interstate commerce on the grounds that "those darned trains make too much noise." I am very familiar with the NIMBY crowd and they did put a stop to efforts friends and I made to secure another portion of the CNE back in the 50's between Canaan and Lakeville. Our biggest mistake at that time was stating that we wanted to operate a tourist train over the route and this really p----d off the "New York Weekenders" who had Summer homes around Twin Lakes and other spots along the r-o-w. If we had stuck to just continuing the freight service (which we intended to do as well) on the line, the tourist operation could have been brought up at another time and probably would have worked.
Posted by: Mark on Sun, Aug 15, 99 at 23:40
I believe the correct word for New York Weekenders, in parts of Columbia and Duchess Counties at least, is "Goomers'. Not sure how the term originated, but I've heard it a few times.
Would a successful purchase of the Canaan-Lakeville ex-CNE segment back in the 1950s have saved the line beyond its actual abandonment in the mid-1960s? Possibly if it was a tourist operation, but there was only one freight customer on the line in those last years, correct?
(I guess we shoudl move this thread to the New Haven forum...)
Posted by: Leroy Beaujon on Mon, Aug 16, 99 at 2:07
The Canaan - Lakeville section of the former CNE had two pretty good freight customers up until it was shut down in 1965. One was a company called Community Service. It was located in Lakeville just east of where the trestle used to cross the highway and it received mostly tank cars of fuel oil and some building materials. The other company was located in Salisbury and was called the Tri-State Supply Co. It was actually formed back in the early 50's when the New Haven first applied to abandon the line. Tri-State was sort of a co-op that handled building supplies for several smaller concerns located in Northwestern Connecticut, Southwestern Massachusets and Eastern New York and was set up primarily to help keep the rail line open. I remember doing a survey in 1963 when it looked like the New Haven would again apply to abandon the line. The average number of cars handled each month of that year was thirty. Anywhere from 50% to 75% of the cars were fuel oil which originated in New Haven, Ct. I don't know what the revenue would have been on each car but my guess is that a short line could have survived over this stretch of track with the freight to start out with and the tourist train operation soon afterwards.
