Branford Steam Railroad
standard gauge | |
Length | 7.2 miles (11.6 km) |
---|---|
Other | |
Website | Official website |
The Branford Steam Railroad (
By 1916, the Branford Steam Railroad had ended passenger business in favor of freight transport. The company has hauled
In 1954, the Branford Steam Railroad purchased its first
History
Founding
Louis A. Fisk was a politically connected businessman from
Damascus Railroad
In 1900, the creation of the
Charter modification controversy
In 1907, Fisk decided to open a quarry on Totoket Mountain in North Branford.[4] He applied for a modification to the Damascus Railroad's charter, allowing the company to extend to the quarry site.[14] Fisk attended a town meeting in Branford on March 26 and canvassed support from the town's residents for the railroad extension, finding most residents in favor.[14][15] Despite local enthusiasm, the proposed modification of the railroad's charter faced multiple challenges in the state legislature. The bill to modify the charter initially passed the state house and senate. In early June, a state representative objected to the amended charter because it empowered the Damascus Railroad, a private company, to exercise eminent domain (the power to take control of private property for a public use). The representative argued that eminent domain is a power reserved for the government for public benefit.[12] As a result, the bill was temporarily recalled, until on June 7 state Attorney General Marcus H. Holcomb pronounced the bill legal, because the railroad served a public purpose.[16]
While this first challenge to the bill was resolved, on July 12 the bill was vetoed by governor
Expansion
While the modified Damascus Railroad charter allowed Fisk to expand rail operations northward, he also sought to expand the Branford Steam Railroad's tracks southward to a dock he owned at Juniper Point on Long Island Sound (between the Pine Orchard and Stony Creek neighborhoods of Branford).[4] To this end, he announced in December 1908 that the Branford Steam Railroad would apply for an amendment to its charter in the next session of the state legislature allowing an extension southward, along with improved interchange facilities with the New Haven Railroad.[20] The proposed amendment would also authorize the railroad to connect to any quarries along its right of way, and allow the Branford Steam Railroad to assume corporate control of the Damascus Railroad by purchasing its stock.[20][21] On April 29, 1909, the Connecticut General Assembly approved the amendment to the charter, allowing construction to proceed southward and the BSRR to take direct control of the Damascus Railroad.[22]
At the same time, the
Initially, the Shore Line attempted to build across the BSRR's right of way, but was forced to stop by an
The Shore Line refused to accept this, and filed a nearly identical petition to the commission shortly afterwards, this time with the direct support of the two North Branford selectmen. In February 1911, this second petition was also denied by the commission, which stated that it lacked the authority to allow the Shore Line's proposed route to interfere with the approved route of the BSRR.[21] The Shore Line Electric Railway was undeterred by its repeated losses before the commission, and conceived a new strategy to build its line through North Branford – a property owner in the contested area transferred his property to the Shore Line, which immediately commenced construction in earnest with 200 workmen on the night of February 4 in an attempt to secure the right of possession.[23] Fisk promptly sued, and following an emergency summons again obtained an injunction forcing the Shore Line to cease construction. The entire police force of Branford was summoned to halt work at four A.M. on February 5.[23]
Litigation over the issue continued for two years, until the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in Fisk's favor on February 6, 1914, and ordered the Shore Line to allow the Branford Steam Railroad to build its proposed railroad line.[24]
New Haven Trap Rock Company
Fisk's interests in both the Branford Steam Railroad and the quarry were purchased by a group of bankers in 1914, on behalf of a group of clients seeking to develop the quarry.[25] These clients included the Blakeslee family of New Haven and Hayden, Stone & Co., who in April 1914 jointly incorporated the New Haven Trap Rock Company, which began operating a new quarry on Totoket Mountain.[8][26] The Blakeslee family owned the C.W. Blakeslee and Sons construction firm, founded in 1844.[4] As part of the joint venture, the New Haven Trap Rock Company committed $750,000 (equivalent to $25 million in 2023[27]) to develop quarries and to complete the extension of the Branford Steam Railroad to the docks on Long Island Sound, which had been held up by the railroad's dispute with the Shore Line Electric Railway.[26] By 1916, the railroad had ceased hauling passengers and was exclusively a freight railroad.[28] The quarry quickly grew, soon becoming the primary customer of the Branford Steam Railroad.[4] The Blakeslees subsequently bought out Hayden, Stone & Co., becoming sole owners of the quarry and railroad.[8]
Several locomotives were used within the 300-acre (120 ha) quarry complex. Within the quarry itself, several 15-short-ton (13.6-metric-ton; 13.4-long-ton) 0-4-0T saddle tank locomotives hauled excavated stone in gondola cars to the plant's rock crusher.[4] Two heavier locomotives, a 4-6-0 and 2-6-0 (BSRR 1 and 2 respectively), were used to haul crushed stone from the quarry, either to Juniper Point for loading into barges, or to the New Haven Railroad interchange in Pine Orchard.[4]
In 1935, the New Haven Trap Rock Company merged with the Connecticut Quarries Company.[29] With this merger, the New Haven Trap Rock Company became owner of a total of six quarries across Connecticut, including the North Branford quarry. Around the time of the merger, the tracks within the quarry were removed and all but two of the saddle tank locomotives were sold.[4] The 4-6-0 was retired around this time as well.[4] The railroad continued to haul stone from the crusher to Pine Orchard, and operations continued largely unchanged throughout the next decade.[4]
Dieselization and ownership changes
In August 1968, the New Haven Trap Rock Company was purchased by
In 2009, the State of Connecticut applied for a
Operations
The Branford Steam Railroad reported hauling approximately 1.3 million tons (1.17 million metric tons) of freight in 2010.[35] As of 2012[update], the BSRR has a total of 7.2 miles (11.6 km) of track.[35] As of 2022, the Branford Steam Railroad continues to serve the Tilcon Connecticut quarry in North Branford. Some aggregate is transferred to the Providence and Worcester Railroad at the Pine Orchard interchange, but the majority is brought to the docks of the Buchanan Marine Company (like the BSRR, a Tilcon Connecticut subsidiary), where it is loaded onto barges.[36][37] At the docks, an enclosed and soundproofed building covers the unloading platform, where hopper cars are unloaded and aggregate sorted by size and then transferred to barges by a conveyor. Tilcon Connecticut uses these barges, operated by subsidiary Buchanan Marine Company, to transport aggregate to locations across the Northeastern United States.[36]
References
- ^ 41°19′59″N 72°47′24″W / 41.333°N 72.790°W Quarry
- ^ 41°15′58″N 72°45′54″W / 41.266°N 72.765°W Dock
- ^ 41°16′41″N 72°46′01″W / 41.278°N 72.767°W Interchange yard
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Steamtown NHS: Special History Study". National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "New Steam Railroad". The Branford Opinion. December 20, 1902. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "New Branford Steam Road". The Branford Opinion. February 28, 1903. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ State of Connecticut (January 1903). Special Acts and Resolutions Passed by the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut. pp. 16–17. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8014-1578-4. Archivedfrom the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ Hilton, George W. (May 1, 2006). "A history of track gauge". Trains. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ Mikkelson, David (April 16, 2001). "FACT CHECK: Are U.S. Railroad Gauges Based on Roman Chariots?". Snopes.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ a b State of Connecticut (1905). Special Acts of the State of Connecticut, Volume 14, Part 2. pp. 1081–1082. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ a b "Railroad Bill Now Recalled". The Day. June 3, 1907. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Bowles, Oliver; Williams, Roger L. (1963). Traprock. U.S. Bureau of Mines. pp. 10–12. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ a b "Legislative Matters". The Branford Opinion. March 22, 1907. p. 4. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "Branford Special Town Meeting". The Branford Opinion. March 29, 1907. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "Charter is Constitutional". The Branford Opinion. June 7, 1907. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Meriden Daily Journal. July 12, 1907. p. 1. Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Howe, J. Olin (August 10, 1907). "A Business Governor". Boston Evening Transcript. p. 18. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- Meriden Daily Journal. July 17, 1907. p. 2. Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b "Branford News". The Branford Opinion. December 25, 1908. p. 4. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ The Norwalk Hour. March 2, 1911. p. 2. Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ State of Connecticut (1909). Special Acts and Resolutions Passed by the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut. J.L. Boswell. pp. 687–688.
- ^ a b "Night Work Upon Trolley Stopped". The Day. February 6, 1911. p. 9. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "Short Line Electric Railway Loses Case". The Day. February 6, 1914. p. 4. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Stone: Devoted to the Quarrying and Cutting of Stone for Architectural Uses. 1914. p. 240. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ a b "Big Trap Rock Concern". Boston Evening Transcript. April 29, 1914. p. 12. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Steam Railroads". The Day. December 8, 1916. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- Meriden Journal. February 24, 1954. Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "Our Equipment". Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad Company. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ProQuest 206635944.
- Meriden Journal. August 5, 1968. p. 18. Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "History | Tilcon Connecticut Inc". September 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Connecticut Department of Transportation (2009). "Branford Steam Railroad TIGER Discretionary Grant Application" (PDF). CT.gov. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Connecticut Department of Transportation (2012). "Connecticut State Rail Plan" (PDF). CT.gov. pp. 81, 83. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b AsphaltPro Staff. "Tilcon Connecticut Barges Aggregate". AsphaltPro Magazine. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ Commissioner Richard Carpenter. "Rail Freight In Connecticut Today (ConnDOT)". Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
- Attribution
This article incorporates public domain material from the National Park Service
External links
- Media related to Branford Steam Railroad at Wikimedia Commons