(The Hartford Courant posted the following story by David Owens on its website on July 7.)
HARTFORD, Conn. — When a commuter train struck a boulder that had rolled onto the rails in Branford in January 2001, the impact resonated in the northwest hills.
Shortly after that incident, the state Department of Transportation ordered the Railroad Museum of New England and its subsidiary, Naugatuck Railroad, to stop running passenger trains through a rock cut just north of the Thomaston Dam. The fear was that falling stone would imperil passengers.
Two and a half years later, the tracks remain clear of fallen rock, and museum and railroad leaders and the state are close to a deal that would again allow trains to carry tourists through the cut to destinations in East Litchfield and Torrington.
That’s important to the railroad and the museum, because they see the northern portion of the line as a source of revenue that would help them raise money needed to maintain equipment and support the museum – a repository of vintage rail equipment in need of restoration.
Since the DOT order, the railroad museum has limited its excursions to track south of the rock cut. Trains travel from the station in Thomaston north across the dam’s front, then head south to Waterbury.
Ralph Harris , president of the Railroad Museum of New England, which owns the Naugatuck Railroad and leases the rail line from the state, hopes to have trains running from the refurbished Thomaston depot north to East Litchfield and Torrington soon.
Harris also said he’d like to see passengers board trains at Torrington and East Litchfield for rides south.
“We need to maximize whatever economic benefit we can get from our physical plant,” Harris said.
There’s also a more practical matter that’s driving the railroad’s desire to return service to the northern section.
“We find if we’re not regularly using a piece of track, trespassing and vandalism increase,” Harris said. “People start to expect there not to be a train. That’s what’s happened in the past. When we start using a piece of track, people stay off it more because they tend to expect a train.”
Torrington Mayor Owen Quinn, whose city is working on an economic revitalization plan, said he sees the railroad as an important piece of the puzzle.
Quinn, who admits he likes trains, said in his first year in office, Santa Claus arrived by train at Torrington’s Christmas Village, a holiday tradition more than 50 years old in which children can meet Santa and receive a small gift.
The train didn’t run the following year, and Quinn wanted to find out why. He was told about the rock problem.
“I basically started calling the Naugatuck Railroad, the museum and other people who are interested to ask: `Why isn’t this train running to Torrington?’ ” Quinn recalled. “I wanted it to happen. I thought it would be a great thing to bring people from Thomaston and Waterbury to see Christmas Village” and to partake of other destinations Torrington has to offer, such as the Warner Theater and the Nutmeg Conservatory.
Quinn has committed the city to repairing any problems it has caused the railroad, such as clogged drainage ditches. He also is investigating whether a section of track next to Christmas Village could be converted into a boarding area for the railroad.
Lighting and some other minor improvements would be necessary. Quinn is even intrigued with the idea of building a replica of the nearby Torrington train station on the site.
“I think we can work in conjunction with them,” Quinn said of the railroad. “If we bring the railroad back to Torrington, if we can show there are people riding it … I think it makes economic sense.”
Staff at the DOT are confident the work can be completed relatively quickly. Raymond F. Cox, assistant rail administrator for the DOT, said the work necessary to alleviate the DOT’s concerns can be completed for about $100,000. That would allow the problem rock face to be cut back farther from the track, the track to be resurfaced and improved, and barriers to be installed to catch falling rocks.
The track along the Naugatuck line meets Federal Rail Administration standards for trains to travel at 25 mph, although train speed would be reduced to 10 mph through the cut. The track “is in very good shape,” Cox said.
Combined with the work and the speed restriction through the cut, an inspection car would travel through the cut ahead of every passenger train to make sure there are no problems. The railroad would have to inspect that section of track regularly, Cox said.
Since the DOT owns the line, the bulk of the cost would be covered by the DOT, Cox said. The railroad would provide some equipment and manpower to do the work.
If a contract involving the DOT, the railroad and a contractor can be approved quickly, the line could be open by Labor Day, Cox added.
That would allow the railroad to run fall foliage trains along a picturesque piece of its line. Harris also wants to reactivate the wine trains the railroad used to run up to Litchfield.
After making the trip from Thomaston to Torrington in an antique Baltimore & Ohio business car hauled by a vintage locomotive, Quinn said he’s excited about the possibilities.
“After riding it, I’m impressed,” he said. “I was impressed before and I want it.”
More information about the Naugatuck Railroad and the Railroad Museum of New England can be found at www.rmne.org.