Regional railroad: 1836–1898 , as pictured in a postcard sent in 1905 The Housatonic Railroad, originally (mis)spelled as 'Ousatonic Railroad', was chartered in May 1836 to build a line from
Bridgeport, Connecticut, north to the
Massachusetts state line, along the
Housatonic River valley. On February 19, 1840, regular service began from Bridgeport to
New Milford, and on December 1, 1842, it opened to the state line. On the other side of the line, the
Berkshire Railroad was incorporated April 13, 1837, to continue the line north to
West Stockbridge, where it would connect to the West Stockbridge Railroad (see below) and the never-built
Lee and Hudson Railroad. Construction began in February 1841, and it was completed on December 1, 1842, the same day the line in Connecticut opened. The Housatonic Railroad leased the Berkshire Railroad on January 1, 1843. The
West Stockbridge Railroad was chartered in 1831 and incorporated April 5, 1836 to run from West Stockbridge west to
State Line, where it would continue to the
Hudson River in
New York State as the
Hudson and Berkshire Railroad. The line opened on August 10, 1838. On February 6, 1844, the Berkshire Railroad (then leased to the Housatonic) leased the West Stockbridge and
Hudson and Berkshire Railroads. On November 21, 1854, the
Western Railroad bought the Hudson and Berkshire, which became a branch from the Western's line (later the
Boston and Albany Railroad) from
Chatham to
Hudson, and was abandoned east of Hudson. The West Stockbridge Railroad stayed part of the Housatonic system. The final section of main line was incorporated March 20, 1847, as the
Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad. This line split from the original main line at
Van Deusenville in
Great Barrington and ran east and north to
Pittsfield. The full line opened on January 1, 1850, under operation of the Housatonic, and was formally leased January 25. For a time the Housatonic operated the
Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad, running north from the
Western Railroad east of Pittsfield to
North Adams, but it was returned to the
Boston and Albany Railroad, the successor to the Western, in the early 1870s. The
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad opened in 1852 from
Danbury south to
Norwalk. The
New York, Housatonic and Northern Railroad was chartered in 1863 to run from
White Plains, New York, northeast via Danbury to
Brookfield, Connecticut, on the Housatonic. It was only built north of Danbury, and on May 1, 1874, the Housatonic leased and opened it. On May 6, 1881, the Housatonic outright bought it, and on July 27, 1887, the Housatonic leased the Danbury and Norwalk, by then including branches to
Ridgefield and
Hawleyville (the latter on the Housatonic's main line) and a southern extension to
Wilson Point. In the meantime, the
New Haven and Derby Railroad was chartered in 1864 to run from
New Haven west to
Derby, Connecticut, and north to
Ansonia, planned as part of the route over the never-built
Hudson Highland Suspension Bridge. It opened in 1871. On November 14, 1888, a 3.79-mile (6.10 km) extension from
Derby Junction to a point in
Shelton was opened. The rest of the extension, 9.79 mi (15.76 km) from that point to the Housatonic Railroad at
Botsford, was built by the Housatonic and opened on November 28. On July 9, 1889, the Housatonic leased the New Haven and Derby. On July 1, 1892, the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Housatonic, forming the
Berkshire Division; it was merged on March 29, 1898.
New Haven's Berkshire Division: 1892–1969 By the end of the New Haven's life, the Housatonic's original main line had been abandoned south of
Botsford, where the old New Haven branch ran only east to
Derby. The main line was also gone between
Brookfield and
Hawleyville, with traffic using the branch to Danbury and old
New York and New England Railroad. The Danbury and Norwalk was still in use, but most branches, including the original main line to
State Line, Massachusetts, were gone. On January 1, 1969 the New Haven was merged into
Penn Central, which named the lines as follows: •
Pittsfield Branch:
Berkshire Junction near
Danbury north to
Pittsfield •
Maybrook Branch:
Derby Junction west via Danbury and other New Haven lines to
Campbell Hall, New York •
Danbury Branch:
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad Penn Central and Conrail: 1969–1983 The last passenger train ran over the route on April 30, 1971, the day before
Amtrak took over Penn Central's passenger operations. At that time, the travel time from Danbury to Pittsfield required two hours and 45 minutes. By 1974 the middle section was abandoned, between
Boardman Bridge in
New Milford and
Canaan, Connecticut, and was not made part of
Conrail on April 1, 1976, instead being bought by the
State of Connecticut. In 1982 the
Boston and Maine Railroad bought the line north of Canaan, renaming it the
Canaan Running Track. Conrail continued to operate the line south of New Milford, and the old
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad was conveyed to the
Metro-North Commuter Railroad on January 1, 1983, becoming their
Danbury Branch. ==The New Housatonic Railroad (1983–present)==