Rail Spur

Niantic, CT  2020

 

Foot Bridge and Tracks

Norwich, CT  2020

I'm pretty sure this is still an active railroad line.  I think it's part of the old Providence and Worcester Railroad, which services this part of Connecticut.

Yantic River Bridge

Norwich, CT  2020

Socially Distant

Gales Ferry, CT  2020

30

Gales Ferry, CT  2020

Old Equipment

Westerly, RI  2019

Crossing Gate

New London, CT  2017

Another example of a photo taken with the iPhone 8 Plus.  

Gorham, NH II

Gorham, NH  2016

Gorham, NH lies about half way between Portland, ME and Montreal, Canada.  The St Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad arrived in 1851 and opened up the entire area to tourism, which is still the major business in this area.  The St Lawrence and Atlantic became the Grand Trunk Railroad then the Canadian National Railways.  Most recently it is again called The St Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad.  The station was built in 1907 and was saved from demolition in 1973.  It currently is a museum.

Gorham, NH

Gorham, NH  2016

At one time this station must have seen travelers arriving to partake in the scenic beauty and recreational activities available in the White Mountain Region of New Hampshire.  Today this building is home to the Gorham Historical Society.  They operate a small railroad museum here with some rolling stock on display.  Unfortunately, everything was closed when I was there.  Even though no passengers arrive by train here, the tracks are still active. 

Essex Station

Essex Station, Essex, CT  2016

When not hosting such luminaries  as Thomas the Tank Engine,  the Essex Station is the home of the Valley Railroad Company which operates the Essex Steam Train and has been serving the lower Connecticut River valley since 1971.  The steam train itself operates during the summer months and also runs special events at other time of the year along the Connecticut River.  

Amtrak Bridge

Groton/NewLondon  2015

Bridges are a favorite subject of mine and this one in particular has appeared in this blog previously, but but not from this point of view.  In deciding how I wanted to process this picture, I opted for the black and white version shown here.  I was surprised to find out that I had made a similar choice about two years ago in this post.

Railroad and River

Gales Ferry, CT  2014

Rock Outcroppings Along the Air Line Trail

Colchester, CT

No hike on any of the trails in Connecticut would be complete without some pictures of the various rock outcroppings and other geological features one can see.  Although other state parks in Connecticut have descriptions of the geology, I can find no such descriptions of the geology along the Air Line Trail State Park.  This could be due to the fact that the trail covers about 50 miles, and probably traverses too many different geologies to be adequately described in a couple of short paragraphs.  Ultimately it was the geology encountered when the Air Line Railroad was built that led to it's failure.  The various hills, valleys, and streams that had to be crossed limited the track that could be laid and prevented the use of larger and faster trains making the longer shoreline route between New Haven and Boston faster and more economically feasible.  

Lyman Viaduct II

When seeing the Lyman Viaduct today as shown here, it is hard to imagine exactly what is buried beneath the sand and gravel.

Colchester, CT

One can look down the side of the viaduct and see Dickenson Creek 137 feet below, which still flows through the viaduct thanks to some culverts that were installed when the original trestle was buried.  

I was impressed with the size of the "gravel" rocks seen here.  Most of the gravel is at least as big as one's fist if not bigger.  I wonder how they were able to dump so much sand and gravel here and pile it up 137 feet for a distance of over 1100 feet.  I don't think there are any roads nearby or other ways to access this area.  I wonder if trains were used to dump the gravel?  However, if one looks carefully, you can find some hints of what lies buried beneath, like this rusty bolt sticking out of the ground....

Or the rail running in front of this bench.

The Lyman Viaduct

I was on a mission during my recent hike along the Air Line Trail State Park.  Having learned about the trail and the history of the Air Line Railroad I set out to find one of the engineering marvels I had read about, the Lyman Viaduct.  A quick Google search for the viaduct will turn up all sort of images and some history.  Originally built in 1873, the Lyman Viaduct carried a single track across Dickenson Creek supported by a wrought iron post deck truss design. It was over 1100 feet long and rose to height of 137 feet above the creek.  A picture of what it looked like back in the day is shown below and reminds me of the classic train scenes one sees in old western movies.

It must have been a very impressive site to see, and the views afforded along the viaduct to train passengers must have been magnificent.  As the trains became heavier, the structure became unsafe. So to support the heavier loads, the valley was filled in with sand and gravel, burying the entire trestle and preserving it intact.  Even though it is easy to see pictures of what the viaduct looks like today, I needed to see it for myself.  Here's what I found.

Lyman Viaduct, Colchester, CT

I know long time residents of Connecticut know all about this, but I find this fascinating.  More pictures along the viaduct will be posted in the coming days.

Atop the River Road Bridge

Colchester, CT

This is what the Air Line Railroad looks like today.  Most of the original line is now a linear state park and is a trail popular for hiking, horseback riding and cycling.  This is how the trail looks as it crosses over the River Road Bridge, the subject of yesterday's post. 

River Road Bridge

Colchester, CT

I finally had a chance to do some walking along the Air Line Trail State Park, near Colchester, CT.  The trail follows the right of way of an old railroad line that was the most direct route between New Haven and Boston.  The original railroad began service in 1873 and had a pretty tumultuous history characterized by many mergers and owners.  Eventually it became apparent that the shoreline route to Boston was more economically feasible and the Air Line Railroad ceased to provide passenger service shortly before the start of World War II.  Nevertheless, the construction of this railroad resulted in some great engineering feats some of which exist to this day and can be found along the Air Line Trail.  This brownstone arch bridge was built in 1887, the brownstone blocks coming from a local quarry.  The bridge is 22 feet long and carried the trains 18 feet above the River Road.  

Air Line Trail Spur

Colchester, CT

Now a linear state park and trail, a railroad once carried passengers and freight to Colchester along this path.  This is looking away from Colchester.  Passengers would see the scene below when arriving in Colchester.

One can now walk this trail for a little over 3 miles to where it meets the main Air Line Trail.  On this day however, the trail looked a little treacherous with the ice, so I'll have return sometime when the weather is nicer.

Package Store

Colchester, CT

This package store is located right next to the antique shop featured in yesterday's blog post.  It's obvious by looking at these two buildings side by side that they once served  a far different purpose.  Some hints to the previous lives of these buildings can be seen in the photo below.  

Together these buildings made up the end of the line for a railroad spur that connected the town of Colchester to the Airline Railroad.  The package store was once  a passenger station, while the neighboring antique store was once a freight depot.  If you look closely to the left of the street light post, you can see the switching signal still there. The Airline Railroad was built in 1873 as the shortest route between New York and Boston and has fascinating history the details of which I'll leave for another time.   In 1875, the town of Colchester paid $25,000 to lay track from the town to connect to the Airline Railroad, and for over 80 years passengers and freight were carried down this spur to these twin depots.   Today the old Airline Railroad is now a linear state park trail.

Railroad Crossing

Norwich, CT