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Revised 12/13/1999
Just as real railroads depend on interchange with other lines to exist, the Web wouldn't work without links to other pages. Each reference below goes to a section with some description and links to other sites on the topic listed. Click the pictures to see them full sized. All pictures taken by my father or myself unless otherwise credited.
Providence & Worcester Railroad
Massachusetts Central Railroad
Shore Line East Railroad/CONNDOT
Boston & Maine Railroad (Guilford)
Conrail
Amtrak
Other North Eastern Railroads/Multiple Railroad sites
Model Railroad Sites
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was formed by the merger of the New York and New Haven Railroad and the New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Often refered to as "The Consolidated", the New Haven under the control of J.P. Morgen combined nearly all the railroads and most other forms of public transportation in southern New England until 1914. Although bankruptcy and scandal forced the company to divest it self of many holdings, the New Haven remained the principle (indeed nearly the only) rail service in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The pictures below show restored New Haven equipment on the Valley R.R. at Essex, CT
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New Haven RS-3 at Valley RR |
Wood box car |
"Kitbashed" PRR caboose |
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CONN-DOT FL-9s at Danbury |
CONN-DOT FL-9s at Danbury |
RS-1 at Danbury RR Museum |
New Haven Historical and Technical Association (NHRHTA) web page.
New Haven Railroad Archives at the University of Connecticut
Photo Spotlight #1, New Haven Steam
The New York, Westchester & Boston A history of this NH subsidiary is on the Hudson County Rails site.
The Providence & Worcester Railroad is really a very old company, having been formed in 1844 and leased by the NYNH&H for 99 years in 1892. Unlike most companies leased by "the Consolidated", the P&W was never actually merged into the New Haven. The company stockholders continued to collect the lease payments until Penn Central took over the New Haven and defaulted on the payments. Rather than continuing as a ghost corporation, the P&W choose to break free from new parent PC and become an independent shortline. The line started with leased D&H RS-3s painted a predominately white and orange scheme often refered to as the "popcicle" scheme. As service expanded (after winning a couple of lawsuits against PC), the line acquired additional used power including RS-3s and an RS-2, as well as a slightly more somber paint scheme (but not much more!) with red-orange predominating. When the railroad went in search of new power, the major U.S. builders wouldn't offer the best terms so P&W became the first and only U.S. railroad to purchase locomotives from Montreal Locomotive Works (formerly Alco's Canadian subsidiary) in the form of five M420R wide cab units (I believe these were also the first "Comfort Cab" type units in the U.S.). I remember seeing one as a teenager from the footbridge in Willimantic, Connecticut. I had no idea what it was at the time other than it had to be the most bizarre locomotive I had ever seen, made more so by the red/orange paint with white hood sides! Eventually the railroad added GP-38s, GP-9, a U18-B, B23-7 and more recently a number of ex-Conrail U23-Bs and B23-7s (the MLW units having been sold).
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GP-38s at Plainfield |
GP-38 at Plainfield |
GP-9 at Essex (Railfan day) | PW GP-38 at Plainfield |
JEFF'S PROVIDENCE & WORCESTER WEBPAGE
The original Housatonic railroad was chartered in 1836 to build from Bridgeport, CT to the Massachusetts border with a connecting line to Pittsfield, MA. It was leased by the NYNH&H in 1892 and became the Berkshire line. The line north of New Milford to Canaan was abandoned by Penn Central in 1972 and became heavily overgrown (the Canaan to Pittsfield trackage was operated off PC's Boston and Albany line). The new Housatonic started in 1985 as a tourist line operating through the more scenic parts of the Housatonic river valley. By 1992 the railroad took over marginal Conrail lines from Danbury and received five reconditioned GP35 locomotives from Conrail to supplement the Altoona RS-3m (Alco RS-3 re-engineed with an EMD prime mover) which had been their only power. All units are painted in a very nice yellow and green scheme, quite close to New Haven's orange and green hood unit scheme of the early 1950's; although the colors remind me of C&NW. (That's fine with me, I always liked the C&NW paint but had no chance to see the real thing nor reason to model it!). About that time, the tourist operation ended as freight service became the line's reason for being. The ex-Reading passenger cars have since gone to the Danbury Railroad Museum.
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| Housatonic enginehouse at Canaan |
Connecticut Central was a shortline running from Middletown, CT to Cedar Hill yard. They started with an Alco S-4 and an S-6, then added an ex-SP GP-9. Also on the property were a privately owned RS-1 in New Haven paint (since moved) and two U.S. Army GP-10s in red paint, used by the national guard for training and by the railroad at other times. Even later, a "DeWitt" RS-3m from Cape Code joined the roster (see the center photo, below). UPDATE: Since the preceding was written, Connecticut Central was purchased by P&W. Railpace reports the GP-9 is now re-painted, and I see a P&W U-boat at the old CC yard in Middletown (reportedly U-18b 1801).
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Connecticut Central S-4 |
CC engines at Middletown |
CC GP-9 (ex S.P.)on sludge train |
The Mass Central is a shortline operating over former B&M and B&A trackage out of Palmer; MA where it interchanges with New England Central and Conrail; to Ware and South Barre. The line started in the 1980 with a Whitcomb 44 tonner then added a rare SRR NW5 (EMD version of an RS-1), both still on the property. They started with a dull green and black paint scheme. Later the NW5 was painted (along with a CF-7 and GP-7) in a blue version of NYC lightning stripe. The latter units were traded or leased to other lines and a pair of very rough looking GP-7s in blacked out Milwaukee paint appeared (dubbed "leprosy liners" by fans). These were repainted in a scheme reminiscent of D&H gray and dark blue. About this time Alaska RR F7 came on the property, and has been used without repainting! The last new units were a pair of ex-BN Alco C-425s, painted orange and black. Latest word is that the railroad has new owners who want nothing to do with oddball power. The Alcos are out, EMD will rule (and the F7 must go elsewhere as well).
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Mass Central engines at Ware |
Alaska RR F7 switching for Mass Central at Palmer |
Mass Central NW 5 at Ware |
Mass Central CF-7 and GP-7 at Palmer |
Connecticut's state sponsored commuter rail line from Old Saybrook to New Haven. The locomotives used are painted in the New Haven McGinnis cab unit paint scheme (even hood units) which many say has finally provided a prototype for all those Athearn NH units over the years!
The Shore Line East Commuter Railroad in Pictures © Robert A. LaMay
The Central Vermont Railway ran from the mid nineteenth century until 1995 connecting St. Albins, VT (where if interchanged with Canadian National out of Montreal) to New London, CT where it had port facilities as well as an interchange with the New Haven RR. CN gained control of the line early in this century. The railroad used steam until 1956/57, with CN cab and hood units filling in on many through trains (leading Jim Boyd of Carstens Publications to call CV the only railroad in the U.S. to dieselize with another railroad's locomotives!). The main power used from the 1960's through the 1980's were GP-9s and RS-11s (often in sets of four to six units on the Southern Division), many times swapped with sister CN lines Grand Trunk (in Maine) and Grand Trunk Western (mid-west). By the 1990's most trains ran with GP-38 ACs and some GP-9 rebuilds (with a GP-35 style nose and cab).
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CV USRA wood caboose |
Last steam fan trip on CV |
CV crane at Bellows Falls |
CV 5801 moves ex Valley RR 2-8-2 thru Willimantic, CT |
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| GT GP-38 at CV facility, Palmer | GT 5802 switches Conrail interchange, Palmer |
Ex CV S-4 8085 at NRHS Museum, Willimantic |
Central Vermont Historical Society
The New England Central (owned by RailTex) bought the Central Vermont property from former owner Canadian National and began operations in 1995. Despite some rough spots in the beginning, the company was named Shortline of the Year in 1996. They operate a variety of units, but mostly GP-38s on the former Southern Division (Palmer to New London). Their light yellow/orange and dark blue paint reminds many people of CNJ's first diesel paint scheme.
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| NEC train at Franklin, CT Jan '98 | Same train, my wife's picture (other side of track) | GP-38 at Willimantic |
Unofficial New England Central Railroad Web Page
Sites listed here have pictures or information on several railroads and/or on railroads other than the ones listed above.
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Green Mountain steel plow, White River Jct (Check out the lic. plate on the truck) |
St. Lawrence & Atlantic dinner train. (photo by Dr. Patrricia Cantwell) |
Ex-D&H GP on CSX in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. |
Northern New England Railfan Site
Scenic Railroads of New England
Other Railroads of the Region; Providence & Worcester, Housatonic, and New England Central
This Page Copyright Pieter Roos, 1998, 1999
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