NORTH OF PASSENGER STATION-HOUSATONIC AVE-MERRITT PKWY
	OTHER RAILROAD HISTORY
	SOUTH OF I-95
	EAST BRIDGEPORT
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	WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT
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Year 2004 (now 2015) NO freight service exists in this city. (2015 one customer on East side) Even all spurs branching off of Metro-North-Amtrak are broken and gone as if they were 'unsightly".


CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLY FREIGHT CUSTOMER LEFT IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT


I am going to divide Bridgeport into sections to cover the rail spurs/lines in each section. I think it helps to avoid confusion. The sections are just random choices. SEE BELOW.
BRIDGEPORT RAILROAD STATION-HOUSATONIC AVENUE-MERRIT PARKWAY 'NORTH' -THIS PAGE-







The old Bridgeport,Ct. Railroad Station. On the left is the old Housatonic RR Line going North to Newtown,Botsford,Ct. This station burned 1970's? with suspicious causes. Never solved.(or pursued?) Observe the Trollies in street below.

LINKS

Various low quality pictures of ex-Housatonic Railroad-New Haven-Penn Central-Conrail of the line north of the passenger station and south of Merrit Parkway (and Boston Avenue (along Housatonic Avenue), Bridgeport,Ct. was being torn up circa 1998 ? Today nothing survives. Sorry for too small pictures. UPDATE: I am not sure Conrail took over this line BUT a Conrail train serviced it to the end. This industrial spur went from the Metro-North/Amtrak line in Bridgeport NORTH to Northern Bridgeport. Originally it was the line from Bridgeport to Newtown. Abandonment left a spur in the south and also on the northern end in Newtown-Monroe-Trumbull but that section was ripped up in the 1960's. (?) -- In short a very small spur left on the North end and the Southern section ripped up 1998 ? -- but the middle sections abandoned 1960's and South of the parkway the first very small section late 1930's and later south along Bunnells Pond to Boston Avenue ??

This page relates to the rail line from Bridgeport-Ct. Railroad Station (Amtrak-Metro-North) that went to Newtown, Ct. but was abandoned at different times.The southern section on this page.


The pictures below are mostly along Housatonic Avenue down to the Railroad Station where the tracks were torn up some years ago and turned into a bike trail. There was a long metal trestle on the south of this spur.


The pictures below are the bridge over the Merrit Parkway (a major 4 lane expressway built in late 1930's) for the railroad. Built in the 1930's and the rumor is there was never a train over it. The line was abandoned soon afterwards but why abandon and build a bridge ? (later (1940+) the bridge carried Rocky Hill Road over the parkway for cars/trucks, etc.) The railroad section here is kind of a mystery. Trumbull..abandoned 1930's...North Bridgeport what was on this line as abandonment dates unclear. The section up to the parkway going north what was there ? I saw on some old map an image of a quarry. This northern section was scraped for a mile or so and the spur furthur south remained up to recent decades.


Some pictures 2015 of the area to north of Quarry Road, Trumbull to Merritt Parkway.






Below a Conrail train services the old Housatonic line in Bridgeport. I said it was never serviced by Conrail but it appears so..The pictures come from old damaged slides and the quality is poor.






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Above some old pictures I found on decomposing slides of the old complex right north of Boston Avenue (Boston Avenue and North Avenue are the same streets except re-named over time as to different sections etc.) that was later the HI-HO facility. I need to find a picture of area with the HI-HO facility. Note the old section where 2 rail tracks went to the machinery.(cement processing)

Below street maps of this line/industrial spur and what remained up to recent decades. NOW GONE. EVEN THE LONG TRESTLE.




Click for some older images of right-of-way north of Bridgeport,Ct.

Click for other Bridgeport,Ct. Industrial Spurs

Click for Fairfield,Ct. Industrial Spurs

Click for Stratford,Ct. Industrial Track

Click for Wilson Point,Norwalk,Ct. Industrial Track

Click for some comments in a Railroad Forum as to the Seaview line in Bridgeport, Ct.