Retracing the Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut River Railroad

Back in 2015 when driving north on I-91 I noticed an abandoned railroad right-of-way (ROW) in the woods in Cromwell - link >.  It turns out it was the vestiges of the Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut River Railroad (later a trolley system).

Subsequent to my 2015 visit, a paved trail has been built in the area and I returned today to explore a bit more...

Mattabesset Bike Trail and the Abandoned Bridge

My goal here was to check out the abandoned Railroad bridge over the Mattabesset River. I ended up parking at the Wooster Street Pizza on Rt 372 because south of the river, its only private parking everywhere for the various apartment complexes.

I took the unofficial spur to the abandoned railroad bridge

Fallen stonework

railroad ties!

Here's where the "spur" connects to the paved trail

A little rock cut - yeah!

Now this looks like an old RR ROW!

A little offshoot to a scenic spot

The kiosk map has seen better days...

Where the trail ended - I should have parked here!

A super short riding video

West of I-91

I then drove over to Industrial Park Road to find the trolley ROW

I saw the ROW remnant and parked here

I hiked the old ROW eastward

I was able to hike all the way to the Interstate

I saw 4 or 5 wild turkeys scrambling through the woods here. Sadly, I was too far way to get a decent photo...

Oops - my bad!

It turns out after carefully examining maps and ARCGIS topos - this boxed section that I documented descending to the stream was actually an old road NOT the RR ROW. The ROW turned sharply south and has been obliterated by all the commercial and industrial properties.

I then scrambled through the bush by the parking lot and found the old ROW and hiked a bit westward

At the stream crossing, it appeared it may have been a rock causeway with a culvert. I didn't attempt to cross the stream but headed back to the car.

There were faint traces of barbed wire along the edge of the ROW...

Highland Pond

Next, I headed south to Highland Pond Preserve because I knew there was a section of navigable ROW there...

The ROW continued northeasterly here:

Turning southwesterly to the right, I rode this section. It was an easy and super short ride but pleasant - especially considering how warm it was!

A little narrow to ride!

Here's the view from across the pond - arrow points to trail/ROW

Further Historical Info

Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut River Railroad
(Wolcott Historical Society)

Hudson and Berkshire Railroad

 Abandoned ROW Spotted

While heading eastward on the Berkshire Connector of the New York Thruway (I-95) I believe I spotted a stretch of the abandoned Hudson and Berkshire ROW. Due to the lack of foliage at this time of the year, the embankment and even a rock cut that parallels the Berkshire Connector was easily visible. Records indicate it was abandoned in 1860.

Just past County Rd 5 going southeastward, the ROW is visible. 

OpenRailwayMap (location)

Aerial

ROW Photos

On Feb 3rd, 2022, I was able to drive by and take a hand held video of the stretch where the ROW parallels the Interstate. Here are a couple of shots extracted from the primitive video:

Embankment

There's a short rock cut visible on the left

Further Details

• Hudson and Boston Railroad  (Wikipedia)
• Zoom View 1897 Map

Portland CT Railroad Remnants

I was in the area and as always, curious about what kind of railroad presence still exists. A quick ride through the industrial area south of Rt 66 (Marlborough Street) showed there are still tracks and a few hoppers on a siding. Of course the street I drove on was called Airline Street--named after the Airline route that whizzed through here ages ago.

Google Aerials >

Open Railway Map >

Airline Street

Former Freight Station

Further Info

The Providence & Worcester railroad bridge  (Wikipedia)

Did you know the Portland-Middletown Railroad Bridge was...

1. used in the Billy Joel video "River of Dreams"?
2. collided by a huge steamship ?

Airline Trail Explorations:

1. The Airline Trail
2. Portland Airline Trail

Farmington Rail Trail

Today having business in Southington (actually Plantsville), I decide to ride the Farmington Rail Trail -- officially known as the "Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. " I parked at Dean's Stove and Spa (I had a pellet class at 5pm) and first rode north to where it ends.

There was a section with some really nice artwork on many of the old repurposed factories.

And it was good to see old industrial buildings from the railroad days still being used all along the trail.

At the end of the line where I turned around and rode south:

I was hungry (it was around 1:30pm) so when I saw the Brewery right by the rail trail stopped by for a beer and a sandwich. Brew and Grub was good - service sadly was a little confused: Kinsmen Brewing Company

The old station! :-)

And even a short section with the tracks still preserved!

It was an easy flat ride but there were some really pleasant sections...

Google Map Route >

There were even a couple of documented railroad crossings!

1

2

This old lock even still worked by hand! (I opened and closed the lock gates)

I turned around at Brooksvale Road - I needed to be back at Dean's by 5pm

-Short Video-

Further Info

• Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (Trail Link)
• Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (Wikipedia)
• Farmington Canal

Narrow Gauge Quarry Railroad (Portland CT)

When riding in Portland, CT this morning I checked out the Riverfront Park and took a a snapshot of one of the kiosks that had a map of the quarries' narrow gauge railroad.

Kiosk Map of the former narrow gauge railway

Enhanced to illustrate the railroad

I've highlighted the narrow gauge railroad on the thumbnails below. There's a great site that has lots of historical detail and postcards of the operation - check it out!   Stone Quarries and Beyond

The quarries are flooded now and home to both a water sports park and a sculpture park.

Flooded quarry

Riverfront Park (former rr tracks)

Further Info

• The Quarry That Built Boston and New York City
• Portland - My Bike Ride
• Quarryview Sculpture Park