[?]

(I guess we should 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.

Posted by: Al Galanty on Mon, Aug 16, 99 at 7:42 RE: Bloomfield Meddie Beliveau (sic) runs the CNE Bloomfield (as the CNE Ry by the way). There is 1 customer at the end of the line - a Home Depot distribution center where lumber & other supplies are transloaded. They get quite a few cars a day in there but for the most part, they run during daylight hours. Rather than bemoan the Nimbys here in Bloomfield, just wait until the P&W starts up service from Hartford down the old Hartford & Connecticut Valley RR tracks to Middletown. That line went out of service since 1969 & many 'homesteaders' have encroached on the R-O-W. Also on that line (and other lines as well) the New Haven sold off sections of the R-O-W which made it kinda narrow in places (15' off the centerline vs the more typical for the New Haven 49'). Watch the reports coming out of Rocky Hill where the tony golfers congregate.

But in any case - it's good to see freight business back.

RE: Lakeville Branch

The general car loading guidelines for a shortline is 1 car per mile per week. That will give you a successful shortline - assuming a 2 man crew & very little office staff and maybe a track worker or so. If it is 1/2 car/mile/week - you are alive but pretty hungry. Around 2 cars/mile/week - you can afford to take a nice vacation.

My recollections going from Caanan to Lakeville seems like it is about 5-8 miles? If so, you would have needed 5 cars/week to keep the business. The former CT Central had a couple of thousand cars a year at their peak & was a fairly successful shortline. Check out the Quincy Bay Terminal - 2 miles of track & over 3000 cars/year - that is really nice.

As for tourist trains (and freight), I can speak from experience. There is a lot more to running a railroad than pulling the throttle (no disrespect intended - this is for educational purposes). Granted that the FRA (ICC) was a little easier on the paperwork back then and the regulations, but you still would have had to deal with the New Haven, and then the Penn Central. You would have had to negotiate freight rates with the carriers. In the late '50s, Lakeville was about 3-4 hours from New York City, almost the same amount from New Haven and Norwalk so you are talking about a destination tourist business - like the Durango & Silverton, C&TS and Strasburg - which just happened to start up around 1959 (they had a freight business which helped quite a bit).

The question is - could you have afforded the advertising, the $500 (at that time) for each reasonably useable coach, the couple of thousand for a clapped out steam locomotive plus the expertise to repair it (outdoors- of course). Diesel was not an option unless you wanted to paddle around with a siderod 45-tonner or 25 ton Whitcomb at 10 MPH. There was no 1st generation diesels up for sale since the 2nd generation was just starting up. Maybe an old New Haven HH660 was available or a B&M SW-1 or 44 tonner was going up for disposition around then.

Volunteerism - outside of the trolley museums still has not been developed, you would have pioneered the concept with all of its attendant headaches.

Of course this has been done before, but more unsucessfully that not.

In any case, keep an eye on the Naugatuck Railroad which runs from Waterbury to Torrington. They have a little freight and do run a tourist operation with mostly volunteers. The work is hard and may people are working 2 jobs to support the operation - one job to eat on a regular basis and the other job is the railroad.

Posted by: David Snow on Tue, Aug 17, 99 at 11:36 Want to see the CNE in ACTION? THe Farmington Valley Railway Society has a 40 X 40 room in the Canton Historical Society that depicts the CNE and Canal lines in the Town of Canton circa 1900. Also there are towns from Hartford to Springfield depicted, Bloomfield, tariffville, Granby, Agawam and Mitteneege. Museum is open tues-wed 1-4 Pm, thurs 1-8pm, fir 1-4, and tsat - sun 1-4 pm. Collinsville is the major focus of the Historical Diorama with the Collins Co. and it's buildings featured. Stop in on Thursday eveing from 7-9Pm the FVRS meets then and welcomes visits and NEW Members.

Posted by: Mark on Wed, Aug 18, 99 at 21:39 Street address (is it on Rte 44?) and directions from I-84 would be great, thanks.

Posted by: winston on Thu, Aug 19, 99 at 13:44 As a member of both the Farmington Valley Railway Society and the Canton Historical Museum I'll try to give some directions. We're located just off of Rte. 179 in the Collinsville section of Canton. From I-84 take the Rte 4 Exit to Farmington, stay on route 4 to burlington where the road your on changes to Rte 179. Take 179 into Collinsville. The Museum is on 11 Front St. in a large gray building. Front St. is off Main St. which is off 179 right at the Collins Co. you can see the Museum from Rte 179. The train layout is on the 2nd floor. Museum Hours are Apr.-Nov Wed-Sun 1-4pm.,Thur 1-8pm Dec-March Sat&Sun 1-4 the train people are there THUR. From about 6-8:30pm Addmision to tour the Museum is $3.00 no charge to come up on thur. and see the train layout Donations how ever are always welcome

Posted by: ed on Thu, Aug 19, 99 at 19:31 On 16 July Don Austen posted a note about construction in Amenia on the Harlem Line. Seems impossible: did he mean down at Wassaic which is just north of Dover Plains?

ed

Posted by: DONALD AUSTIN on Thu, Aug 19, 99 at 19:45 Poetic license just south of amenia Project includes parking etc etc and terminal facelities for trains just east of Amenis looks sort of rails to trails

Don

Posted by: KimG on Sat, Aug 21, 99 at 12:22 Trivia: Donald is technically correct, as the new terminus of the Harlem line is just north of the hamlet of Wassaic, which is in the Town of Amenia. However, it will not reach 'downtown' Amenia itself, which is 2-3 miles further north of Wassaic on the Harlem ROW.

I believe the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Assoc plans to extend their trail southward from its present southern end (old Amenia station site) to the new MN station outside Wassaic. This may be a year or more away though, they are now focusing on extending the trail northward to and thru Millerton from the Coleman Station site (above Sharon Station). They have done a nice job opening up the 4.5 miles between Amenia and Coleman Sta; it's a beautiful walk, especially in autumn. Still wish it was a RR though, even if it were railbanked and overgrown pending future socio-economic changes in the Harlem Valley.

To conclude (and to get back a little closer to the topic), look what CT railbanking did for the Housatonic (ex-NHRR Berk) line in NW CT! I still have to pinch myself when I "chase" freights traversing that line at 25-30mph (slower in several spots) where 15 years ago there were 6" dia trees growing up thru the roadbed. If only there could be a passenger excursion or two along the Berk in the autumn... THAT would be icing on my cake! But I think HRRC is averse to taking any risks with passenger trips, extra liability insurance, etc...

Posted by: Don Austin on Fri, Sep 3, 99 at 16:06 Yes Kim

Railbanking gave us CNE on both sides of the river and now from Hartford south to Middletown (P&W)? Add the Hous.the Naug and etc

GOD BLESS AMERICA

GOD BLESS THE CENTRAL NEW ENGLAND RAILROAD

Posted by: zz4 on Sat, Sep 4, 99 at 5:30 I passed by canaan,ct. today and saw the tracks from depot westbound were being ripped up and surveyors doing work. I struck up a few questions with one and he told me all the land was surrendered to the surrounding landowners by penn central railroad and last train to lakeville was in 1950's.This would not explain why a section in salisbury-lakeville became a rail-trail nor why such a project seems to exist in norfolk. Otherwise it appears somebody is desperate to rid canaan station westbound of any evidence of a rr ever being there.

Notes from letter---