Today's Train of Thought- Springtime Is Near-Lee Here, March 20th 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to the hills of western Massachusetts and the busy-yet-picturesque Housatonic Railroad.


The hills of Berkshire County generally get more snow accumulation than the valleys, forests and open terrain further east- although this winter, much of New England got shellacked by old man winter regardless of elevation. Still, while places in the New York or Boston metropolitan area may only get a light dusting, this translates into more snow for ski resorts and bucolic state parks in the far west corner of Massachusetts [even if Mother Nature or old man winter can't provide the white stuff in a timely manner, the resorts are often equipped with snowmaking equipment for the slopes- NANESB!].


Neglected and split in two by indifferent class one railroads, the former New York, New Haven & Hartford's Canaan running track between Danbury, CT and Pittsfield, MA runs through the heart of this territory sought out by skiers and snow-shoers in the wintertime. Since dieselization, the New Haven provided both freight and passenger service on the line with Alco RS3s and self-propelled Budd RDCs. However, by 1969 the bankrupt New Haven's assets were purchased by the Penn Central- the ill-fated merger between the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad that would give way to Conrail in early 1976. The Canaan running track was one of many branchlines Conrail wasn't interested in, since two years prior the middle section between Boardman Bridge and New Milford, CT was abandoned and not included in the formation of Conrail. By 1982, the stretch just south of the Connecticut state line in Canaan and the Conrail interchange at Pittsfield, MA was purchased by the Boston & Maine. However, within two years the B&M would become part of Guilford and the line was still considered a fairly insignificant backwater and prime candidate for abandonment.


But in 1983, a company revived the name of New Haven predecessor Housatonic Railway and began operating nearly 30 miles of the abandoned ex-New Haven track that wasn't included in Conrail. By 1992, the Housatonic had purchased the Canaan running track from Guilford and was able to interchange with Conrail's former Boston & Albany mainline in Pittsfield, MA.


Both carloadings and speed limits were low in the early years as the Housatonic operated with a hand-me-down SW switcher, a GP9 and a rebuilt RS3. Traffic north of Canaan usually consisted of plastic products from Beckton Dickinson in Canaan and paper products from the Mead-Westvaco paper plant in Lee, MA. Throughout the 1990s, improvements were made to the tracks that allowed the Housatonic to operate longer trains with bigger power in the form of five rebuilt former Pennsy GP35s between Danbury and Pittsfield.


Here- railpictures.net contributor Ryan Parent catches Housatonic GP35M #3604 busting through a snowbank behind the old Hurlbut paper mill in Lee, MA in March 2008 with symbol freight NX-13x [a revival of New Haven-era train symbols- NANESB!]. Besides the plastic pellets, and paper traffic, the Housatonic has also been kept busy hauling lumber, propane, trash, limestone, construction debris and even the occasional carnival train.


The Housatonic is also fairly unique in that it is one of the few revenue freight carriers in the USA that is seriously looking into reviving passenger service- the only way into and out of some of these ski areas in the Berkshires from Connecticut and New York's suburbs is usually a narrow and winding US Route 7. Passenger service along the Canaan running track would save a lot of hassle and treacherous wintertime driving for a number of visitors.

Today's Train Of Though- Canaan Able, Feb 13 2012

Today's Train of Though takes us to the wintry foothills of Western Massachusetts where a wintertime snowstorm seems to do little to slow down Canaan, CT-based shortline Housatonic Railroad.

The former New York, New Haven & Hartford line between Pittsfield, MA and Danbury, CT- sometimes known as the Canaan Running Track- went through a number of owners since the New Haven's 1969 merger with Penn Central. Shortly before the 1976 formation of Conrail, the section of the former NYNH&H line between New Milford and Boardman Bridge was abandoned. While the line south of New Milford was included in Conrail, the Canaan to Pittsfield line became part of the Boston & Maine (later Guilford) in 1982. The following year, the Housatonic Railroad was formed and began rebuilding the abandoned trackage between New Milford and Canaan.

While being operated by Guilford, the Canaan Running track was isolated from the rest of the Guilford lines and both the line and freight service began to detriorate. Operations were more or less limited to one train a week out of Pittsfield for the Beckton Dickinson plant in Canaan and some paper mills in Lee, MA. The Berkshire Scenic would run seasonal excursions over the line in the late 1980s, but operations were suspended when the track continued to deteriorate.

In 1991, the Housatonic entered into an agreement with Guilford to purchase the Canaan Running Track and less than a year later, purchased the New Milford, CT to Danbury segment from Conrail.

Now, in addition to the already-existing customers on the line, the Canaan Running Track was acting as a bridge line and the Housatonic was being used to forward contaminated soil and construction or demolition debris to out-of-state landfills [embodying the old saw of 'It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it'- NANESB].

Above, railpictures.net contributor Ryan Parent catches Housatonic GP35M #3601 heading north through Great Barrington, MA with Canaan, CT to Pittsfield, MA freight NX-13X. The #3601 is only a few miles into its trip out of Canaan, having crossed the state line at Sheffield, MA before making its way through Great Barrington.

The crisp yellow and green EMDs in the Housatonic fleet keep busy with at least one roundtrip to the CSX interchange at Pittsfield, MA each weekday and sometimes on Sunday. Apparently the train symbols from the Housatonic are throwback to the New Haven-era ones used on that part of the NYNH&H.

Today's Train of Thought- The Strates Story, September 7, 2011

Today's train of thought takes us to Connecticut for a yearly- yet seemingly timeless- ritual in the western corner of the Nutmeg state.

Since the Great Depression, the Orlando, FL based James E Strates carnival train has been travelling up and down the east coast. The train typically consists of 50 flatcars, 10 sleeping cars and a generator car.

One fairly recent stop that the current 61-car train added to its East Coast tour in the last decade is the Danbury City Fair. And for the Strates carnival train, the way in and out of Danbury is the Housatonic Railroad's line between Danbury, CT and Pittsfield, MA. Acquiring the line incrementally throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the Housatonic earns its keep by hauling paper products, limestone, plastics, liquefied natural gas, lumber and construction debris on a near daily basis- not bad for a line that both Guilford and Conrail seemed more than willing to leave for dead.

However, in addition to the near-daily freight on the Canaan running track Interchanging with the CSX in Pittsfield, MA and Providence & Worcester in Danbury, each summer brings the sight of the unique and colorful Strates Carnival Train through the rolling hills of Western Massachusetts and Northwestern Connecticut.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Dave Jacobs caught Housatonic GP35M #3603 leading a trio of EMDs south with the distinctive Strates trainset at River Rd in Cornwall, CT in June 2007 as the line parallels its namesake river.

Today's Train of Thought- Berkshire Revival; October 11, 2010

Perhaps no railroad in New England could better personify the revival of rail freight in Western New England than the Housatonic Railroad. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, I had relatives who lived in towns along the weed-choked and forlorn Canaan running track between Canaan, CT and Pittsfield, MA which the Boston and Maine received during the formation of Conrail in 1976. A decade of neglect under B&M successor Guilford Transportation didn't help matters much: the outlook for the former New Haven Railway line was bleak and it looked as though western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut would get yet another sorely needed bike trail.

To the south, the most recent incarnation of the Houstaonic Railway started up service in 1983 between New Milford and Canaan, CT. It was expected that the Housatonic would do reasonably well hauling excursion trains on the weekend, but these plans were undone by the line's 10 MPH speed limit. However, there were a number of freight customers available that allowed the railway to continue operating.

In 1991, the Housatonic took over operations on the 35-mile former B&M/Guilford section of the Canaan running track between Canaan, CT and Pittsfield, MA. In that time, the line has gone from once-a-week service to weekday freight trains to and from the CSX interchange in Pittsfield as well as excursion trains in Berkshire County and the occasional circus train. Freight traffic includes lumber, plastics, limestone, paper products, construction debris and contaminated soil. The railway has even begun doing feasibility studies for restoring regular passenger service along the route.

Most of these duties are handled by the Housatonic's fleet of dapper green and yellow rebuilt GP35s. Here, railpictures,net contributor John Ryan snaps Housatonic GP35M #3600, heading southbound from the CSX interchange at Pittsfield, MA with symbol freight NX-13 at the village of Housatonic, MA on a sunny November 2007 afternoon. The line between Canaan, CT and Pittsfield, MA follows its namesake river pretty closely.