In what year did freight service actually end in Winsted for the following companies?

New England Knitting Company- Prospect Street

Wachter Grist Mill- Prospect Street

Carter and Hakes Machine Company-Prospect Street

Fitzgerald Manufacturing- Meadow Street

Did all four companies still get freight service up to the the 1955 flood or did the New Haven end freight service to those companies many years before the flood?

I know that the Wachter Grist Mill and the Carter and Hakes Machine Company were destroyed in the flood. But the New England Knitting Company and Fitzgeralds survived the flood and were still operating. Was freight service restored to those two companies after the flood?

When did any use of the line east of the Winsted Station actually end?

Sorry about all the questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: How far was Winsted Line? One of the last customers in Winsted was the Burwell Lumber Company, they did not want the service to end. The line did not go west of the Winsted Station after the 1955 flood but the tracks were still intact over the old CNE bridge over the original route 8 after the flood. I think they had maybe one or two customers over that bridge at the time.

The line between Torrington and Winsted was officially abandoned by wire bulletin on April 15, 1953, I have a copy of that wire bulletin.

Re: How far was Winsted Line?

These are fascinating questions! I dug into R. W. Nimke's wonderful books to get as much as I could find for you. When the CNE was torn up in 1937, they left a short amount of track just West of the John Street underpass. There is a 1940 photo that shows a crosstie bumping block just East of John Street underpass. This amount of track West of Winsted station would leave the capability of service, in 1940, to all the companies that you mentioned. Back then, The Fitzgerald Comapny was the T.C.Richards Manufacturing Company. I found no information as to when service to these companies ended.

There is a photo of a Budd car in Winsted station dated 1966. Passenger service to Winsted had ended before that so Mr. Nimke figured that was a special of some nature. In that photo, a full sized bumping block was visible on the East side of bridge Street. Apparently there was still some freight business spotted at the Winsted freight house then.

As to the CNE line East of Winsted, I have seen a photo of out of service boxcars stored on the Main line from Rowley Street East as far as could be seen. I believe this section of track was torn up in 1937 with the iron Red Car Bridge over the river, and the concrete underpass over Rowley street removed shortly thereafter, making the Naugatuck Line the only route into Winsted.

Winsted Based on Noel's abandonment date of 1963, we must conclude that Bob Nimke's RDC photo is misdated. I have the book and have always suspected it was misdated.

Clarification and West Winsted facilities...

Thanks for the info. So if I understand correctly, in 1940, the track stopped just east of the John Street underpass at a tie bumper. Thus the businesses listed above could have still been getting freight service at that time.

Judging by your photos, in 1940, the old CNE line east of Winsted station must have crossed Rowley Road over the bridge and apparently ended just east of the Still River. Located on that short spur just east of Rowley Street was a large coal pocket (which is still there today) and a siding into Tiffany & Pickett for coal and lumber delivery.

Did Tiffany and Pickett still get freight service in the 1940's from this spur?

Once last question. The old CNE West Winsted Station, located on Lake Street, near T.C. Richards had at one time a 50ft turntable, two stall engine house, a machine shop, a coal shed, and a feed storage building.

In 1940, were all these structures gone or were they abandoned but still standing?

Re: Clarification and West Winsted facilities

I did some more digging and found a couple more answers for you. There are a couple of photos showing the main line still in place East of Winsted, one taken looking East from the Torringford Street bridge, and another looking East with the photographer standing on the track Just West of Red Car bridge over the Still River. There is a crosstie bumping block just West of Red Car Bridge. These pictures are dated 1937. It looks like it may be early in the year, and I still think the track was taken up, from the East, to a point just West of Red Car bridge later in 1937. This would leave enough track to service Tiffany and Pickett, and there are a couple of Dec 1941 photos showing the NH 479 switching there.

The concrete underpass for Rowley Street was still in place in Feb 1948, there is a photo of a Naugatuck passenger train approaching Winsted with the photographer standing on the underpass.

The West Winsted 2 stall engine house, and associated buildings and the turntable were all still in place in 1937. In 1940 everything but the turntable pit was gone.

I tend to agree with Tom that the Budd car picture may be misdated. Bob Nimke included a photo of the Winsted Freight House dated 1961, and he mentioned that he was the agent when the business was closed for good "a year or so later". This would home in on a 1963 date. There are pictures of the Winsted Passenger Station being demolished dated 1966, but I wonder if that is correct.

Re: Clarification and West Winsted facilities....

This is exactly the information I was looking for. Did you get all of the pictures from the Nimke book? The Nimke book is out of print and it may be very difficult to get a copy of the book.

Is there any way I could contact you offline and get photo copies of the pictures you are referencing?

Thanks for your effort on this, this info is vital to my research.

Re: Clarification and West Winsted facilities, I'll e-mail you......

A few corrected dates re CNE Lines Winsted area! I happen to have newspaper clippings taken from the Winsted Citizen newspaper over several years. These were saved by Joe McMahon, a onetime Winsted resident, and passed on to me by his son a few years ago.

The major abandonment of the CNE both east of East Winsted and west of West Winsted was effective March 16, 1938. These lines, however, were virtually unused after the abandonment of passenger services which occurred on Dec. 17, 1927. A former friend of mine, who was the telephone lineman for the New Haven RR in Canaan, said that he often ran his motor car between Canaan and Winsted long after trains had stopped running. Apparently the telephone lines remained active right up to 1938 between these points. In the Winter, it was often after dark when he returned to Canaan and he stated that this was one real lonely stretch of track at that time of year. Rails began to be lifted west of West Winsted in October, 1938 and on the line east of East Winsted in January, 1939. The Red Car bridge over the Still River was removed in April, 1939.

The track west of (and including) the John Street bridge in West Winsted to the Martin B. Dodd oil facility (about 1/4 mile) was abandoned in July, 1940 and the bridge itself was torn out in November, 1940. It was in November, 1955 that the remaining trackage between Bridge Street and Lake Street was torn up.

As for the remaining consignees between Bridge Street and the east end of John Street after 1940, I'll have to defer that question to Bob Nimke who is still living in Westmoreland, NH. He was the New Haven's last Agent (and the last employee as well) in Winsted when things were shut down north of Torrington in 1963. I believe that it was only the Tiffany & Pickett facility in East Winsted that was still getting service in the early 60's and the track went right up to the abutment of the Red Car Bridge.

The CNE station in West Winsted was torn down in 1930 and the enginehouse (plus turntable) were removed in Oct., 1932.

Ask and Yee Shall Receive...

Thanks for the incredible info. It's amazing how fast questions are answered on this forum. You guys are the best!

Winsted Station & Turntable

What year was the Winsted station torn down? I remember seeing the pile of bricks, where it had stood. I found the turntable pit at Winsted, It had a wooden platform around the edge, so the men could push the table around.

Winsted Area CNE Lines! After my posting yesterday, I took it upon myself to try and reach Bob Nimke today to ask him about some of the questions that have been posed about Winsted. To my surprise, his wife told me that he had stroke back around Thanksgiving last year and has been in a nursing home in Keene ever since. To make matters worse, his speech capabilites are almost nil at this time. It looks like one more very important member of the CNE enthusiasts family has been sidelined.

Bob Nimke's CNE History Volume 3 has a picture of the wrecker's ball tearing down the Winsted station and the date says that it was being done in July, 1966. That was just three years after the line in there was shut down.

Re: Winsted Area CNE Lines!

Thanks! I started working on the NYNH&H in June 1966. The second place NH sent me was Plainville. I passed through Winsted on my way there and was on the lookout for the station, I found it a little late, as the pile of bricks was there. Sorry to hear about Bob, a true CNE fan. His O Scale Layout had a model of the Canaan Yards. Also many scatch built CNE cars. His CNE books have some of my photos in them, they say author's collection.

Winsted As recently as --- I believe it was --- 1980 the ruins of the wooden crbbing for the Armstrong TT in Winsted were remarkable intact. I remember wandering around there one day and finding it.

By the way, a note for modelers: from my viewing of the ruins, and from the photos, and from the NHRHTA film To the End of the Line it appears this TT was constructed on the surface of the ground, with a ramp leading up to it. Looks like it could be a good modeling opportunity for those who consider "digging" a turntable pit into your benchwork to be beyond your skills or your patience

Need Year for NH Engine House Removal Lee,

The CNE Enginehouse in West Winsted was torn down in 1932. What about the New Haven Engine House in East Winsted?

In pictures I have, the tracks to the East Winsted engine house were gone by 1937, but the buildings are still standing in 1939.

In your newspaper clippings do you have the year when the New Haven Engine House in East Winsted was demolished?

Re: Need Year for NH Engine House Removal