It was a beautiful day on Saturday and I finally had time to go for a bike ride replete with railroad history exploration. The Cheney Rail Trail in Manchester was a short privately-owned spur to the Cheney Silk Factory complex (Historical detail below)
I started from the site of the old Manchester Trail Station - see previous posting.
Once on the trail, on the right are the railroad tracks and remnants of a trestle for the second set of tracks.
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| Trail on left - Track on right |
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| Pier remnants |
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| There were two tracks here |
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| The official start was a block south of where I started! |
The Bike Ride
(Short Video)
(Short Video)
Former Cheney Silk Factory
The Factory buildings have been converted into loft apartments - very nice!
Ah - maybe this is a spot for a Native American Flute concert :-)
Historical Details
South Manchester Railroad (also known as the Cheney Railroad) was a short-line railroad, operating in Manchester, Connecticut. It was in operation from 1869 to the 1980s. The two-mile-long railroad was the only line in the United States to be owned by a family rather than a company. It was used as a method to send silk products from their mill in Manchester to the other mill, based in Hartford. Some of the workers also used the rail as a way to get to the mills for a low fare, but most lived in houses located on the property.
Maps
Links
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| Source |
1944
Links
- South Manchester Railroad (Wikipedia)
- Connecting Manchester (Manchester History)
