We stopped by Norwich on our way back from Niantic and I of course insisted on documenting the RR station. It certainly its not the most scenic of stations... :-(
Today I decided to retrace the former CNE railroad between Satan's Kingdom up to Winsted, CT. It was a beautiful autumn day and a fun and productive trek!
Most of the ROW has been obliterated in the towns due to redevelopment but along the rural forested areas, the railroad bed is still intact.
I have divided the trek into three sections:
I started my adventure from the area aptly named “Satan's Kingdom” - the spot where Rt 44 crosses the Farmington River. Ages ago it was the site of a former railroad bridge. It’s amazing how nature has reclaimed the area - it’s strewn with huge fallen boulders and the railroad beds are barely recognizable.
I was expecting lots of hard-to-penetrate undergrowth but hiking in was easy as there was a slightly overgrown trail.
- Click on any image to enlarge -
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| The trail leads under the Rt 44 bridge |
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| Looking south on the west side of the river |
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| Digitally enhanced from a Facebook post by John DeCarolis |
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| Digitally enhanced from a Facebook post by John DeCarolis |
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| Digitally enhanced from a Facebook post by John DeCarolis |
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| Digitally enhanced from Wikipedia Photographed by Alan M. Perrie, March 22, 2016 |
Not much left to see of the CNE in New Hartford but the abutment, although I scrambled up the overgrown slope behind Dunkin’ and managed to rretrace a bit of the embankment.
- click any image to enlarge -
As you drive along Rt 44, the CNE RR embankment parallels much of the highway and its easy to see (of course when there is less tree foliage). I pulled over on the parking spot by Old North Road (which is now private) and one again scurried up the slope to take these shots.
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| Looking south |
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| Looking north |
This was a nice trek. The ROW was a local hiking trail. It abruptly ended at a large grassy hill which could be a huge town garbage mound (see the lidar map)
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| Side view of embankment |
(Kens Wine & Spirit)
Across from and a little bit east of Ken's Wine & Spirit there's remnant of a small rr bridge visible from the road. I noticed this on the way back but didn’t stop to document it - ah... maybe next time :-)
Winsted is a pretty big town but sadly most traces of the railroads through here have been obliterated.
I drove to Depot Street and snapped this photo of where the ROW once was…
But just outside the town (south of the cemetery) I found these stone piers and abandoned structure built into the slope. Perhaps it was a spot for coal dumping?
The 1892 Sanborn Insurance map indicates there was a lot of trackage there but no further details were available.
Knowing the Still River was just a bit east - I was curious and found a path to the eastward ROW from the cemetery. Once I hiked to the actual ROW there were railroad ties all along the tread and the abutments to the former bridge were mighty impressive!
Although I had plans to stop at for lunch at Brewery Legitimus, they weren’t open until 3 PM so I drove to one of my favorite spots for a burger and beer - the former railroad station at Collinsville!! Crown & Hammer Restaurant & Pub.
