Naugatuck Valley RR Pics

[Rixer]

A couple of months ago I posted a thread describing my attempts to reproduce the Waterbury to Winsted Connecticut branch of the NYNH&H as it was in the 1930s (I grew up in Torrington back then). The right-of-way begins in Waterbury and follows the Naugatuck River north through Thomaston and Torrington and then moves away from the River ending in Winsted (Winchester). In fact, the track from Torrington to Winsted is gone along with the RR stations in both cities. Luckily, I was able to find topographic maps of the area dating back to the era, so I could determine where track and roads were at that time. What a sad testimony to developers who destroyed all that history. As is always the case in New England, modeling forests is always a challenge. Take a look. I will be posting more pics.

Jim

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[steamboateng]

These are great pix. Like the way you capture the era.

 

[JCitron]

Very well done. I've traveled in the area, but never road the train down there. You've captured the look and feel of the area very well.

Is there a road bridge missing from the Thomaston station area, or is that a more modern addition to the area?

Do you know if the prototype is being restored up to Springfield, or is it still terminated at the state line?

John

 

[817TAYLOR]

I like the look, makes me wanna re boot one of my older classical trainz routes

 

[Rixer]

John,
The road bridge over the Thomaston station was added as an on-ramp to the "new" Route 8 that entered the picture in the 1960s. It took out most of the Torrington-Thomaston roadways. I had to use old topographic maps to find the original Torrinton-Thomaston road. Also, after the floods of 1955 that took out large portions of cities along the Naugatuck, a large dry dam was built north of Thomaston. A large portion of right-of-way was re-routed around the dam. Luckily, my topographic maps allowed me to put the track back to where it was in the 1930s. As far as I know the only rail line to Springfield is the line through Hartford. Sad!

Jim

 

[kin3]

I love to run steam trains and this looks really good. I hope you will share it with us.

 

[JCitron]

John,
The road bridge over the Thomaston station was added as an on-ramp to the "new" Route 8 that entered the picture in the 1960s. It took out most of the Torrington-Thomaston roadways. I had to use old topographic maps to find the original Torrinton-Thomaston road. Also, after the floods of 1955 that took out large portions of cities along the Naugatuck, a large dry dam was built north of Thomaston. A large portion of right-of-way was re-routed around the dam. Luckily, my topographic maps allowed me to put the track back to where it was in the 1930s. As far as I know the only rail line to Springfield is the line through Hartford. Sad!

Jim

Thanks for the history on the region. It is sad that the tracks end right at the border. The line then becomes a bike trail in the city limits. They used to connect with the B&A right in Springfield many years ago. I think Guilford ripped up the tracks when they were running the line.

You might find this site helpful if you haven't been there already.

http://docs.unh.edu

There's a link to historic topographic maps. It's interesting to see how much we lost as things were "improved".

John