Original Naugatuck Railroad (1845–1887) The Naugatuck Railroad was chartered May 1845 and organized February 1848. On May 15, 1849, the first section opened, from a junction with the just-completed
New York and New Haven Railroad north to
Seymour. Extensions opened to
Waterbury June 11 and the rest of the way to
Winsted September 24, where the
Central New England Railway later passed through. On November 1, 1870 the Naugatuck Railroad leased the Watertown and Waterville Railroad, giving it a branch to
Waterville. The
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Naugatuck on May 24, 1887, and merged it January 31, 1906.
New Haven era (1887–1969) The former Naugatuck Railroad became part of the New Haven's network of branch lines extending throughout the state. In the mid-to-late 1900s, the line was abandoned from Derby Junction north to
Ansonia in favor of the original
New Haven and Derby Railroad on the other (west) side of the
Naugatuck River. In 1938, the New Haven abandoned the former
Central New England Railway route that connected at Winsted. Passenger service north of Waterbury, to Torrington and Winsted, ended in December 1958. The Thomaston Dam flood control project constructed by the
Army Corps of Engineers required roughly of track to be relocated between 1959 and 1960. The new construction begins just north of Thomaston station and returns to the original alignment near East Litchfield. Tracks between Torrington and Winsted were abandoned in 1963.
Post-New Haven era (1969–1995) The New Haven was merged into
Penn Central on January 1, 1969. By then the line north of Waterbury was named the
Torrington Secondary Track, and ended at
Torrington. On January 1, 1971, the
State of Connecticut and the
MTA leased passenger and freight operations along the Waterbury Branch to
Penn Central. Other freight services are provided at East Litchfield and Torrington. While NAUG's operating limit begins nearby
Metro-North Railroad's
Waterbury station, no coordinated connecting passenger service is available. ==References==