Berkshire (NH train)

Berkshire

Overview
Service type	standard gauge
Route map v t e Legend Pittsfield Lenox Lee Housatonic Great Barrington Sheffield Massachusetts Connecticut Canaan Falls Village West Cornwall Cornwall Bridge Kent Gaylordsville New Milford Brookfield Danbury Bethel Redding Branchville Wilton South Norwalk Stamford Connecticut New York 125th Street New York

The Berkshire was a

While the route operated each day excepting Sunday, there were local stops unnamed trains available on Sundays. At peak years of post-World War II service the route was supplemented by other named trains for the New Haven's Berkshire Division route: Housatonic, Litchfield, Mahaiwe, Mahkeenac, Taconic.[4]

The route served as a path to country homes of New Yorkers,^[5] as well as to towns such as Canaan and New Milford in the transportation service-neglected northwest Connecticut, an area lacking Interstate highways or major airports. The route south of Danbury Union Station towards South Norwalk station was electrified until 1961.^[6] North from New Milford to Canaan, short of the Connecticut-Massachusetts state line, the route followed the Housatonic River. In summer months the train made stops in Lenox, Massachusetts, the town hosting the Tanglewood Music Festival.^[7]

Decline

By 1961 the Berkshire was cut to a Friday north-bound run; the Litchfield operated as a Sunday evening route from Pittsfield to New York. The diner-lounge was eliminated by 1961 in favor of parlor cars.