Glimpses of Railroad Remnants near Cromwell, CT
Mattabesset River near Interstate 91
A few times when I've traveled north on Interstate 91 between New Haven and Hartford, I thought I noticed what appeared to be an old railroad bed at Location A. I was curious and looked it up on the ITO map. It turned out to be the old ROW of the Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River Railroad.
Meriden Branch and the Middletown Branch of the NYNH&H
Feb 22nd, 2015 - A quick jaunt eastward on Rt 372 rewarded me with more views of the ROW. Looking south at Location B one gets a clear view of the embankment on the north bank of the Mattabesset River. Although it looks like an old railroad right of way—all historical maps indicate the ROW on the south side of the river along here. It must be a dike for flood control... (?)
I stopped at Location #1 and took a nice shot of this embankment in the sunset and drove on up and into the housing complex to shoot Photos #2 and #3. Photo #3 is a nice tribute to the railroad history!
A short drive further up the road provided me with a view of the ROW as it passed by the north shore of the marshy lake (Location C) but the huge snowbanks along the road made it impossible to stop and take a shot.
Bing Bird’s Eye Views
Other Photos
It turns there has been quite a bit of abandoned photo documentation of this line. This Flicker collection is quite extensive MWCR Railroad Research and even has an interactive map showing you the locations of the photos. Nicely done!
Further Info
- Visiting The Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut Railroad In Middletown
- Crowmwell Station (scroll down) | Berlin Station (scroll down)
- Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut River Railroad
(Wolcott Historical Society) - Open Street Maps:
Middletown (Berlin) Branch - NYNH&H | Meriden Branch - NYNH&H - Abandoned Bridges on the Connecticut Company Waterbury-Cheshire Line
