The Naugatuck Railroad was opened to Waterbury on June 11, 1849 and to Winsted on September 24, 1849.

The Waterbury and Watertown Railroad, (Watertown Branch) was opened between these points on November 1, 1870 and leased to the Naugatuck RR for 5 years.

When this road was being built, Waterbury people were not interested in its going north of that point. Since the opening of the Farmington Canal, Waterbury freight had been hauled to Cheshire and shipped on the canals. By 1848, the New Haven and Northampton RR was in operation between New Haven and Plainville and Waterbury people were in favor of the railroad being extended to connect with the New Haven and Northampton at Cheshire. However, after much talk pro and con, the line to Cheshire was never built and the Naugatuck was completed to Winsted.

The only line between Waterbury and Cheshire was the Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River RR which was opened to Waterbury in 1888 and will be referred to later.

The Naugatuck did a fine business for many years. They made an agreement with the New York and New Haven RR to run their trains from Naugatuck Jct. (now Devon) to Bridgeport and from 1868 to 1871, ran trains from Waterbury to New Haven. When the New Haven and Derby RR opened August 5,1871, the passenger service to New Haven ran over this line.

The Naugatuck RR was leased to the N Y, N H & H May 24, 1887 and was then known as the Naugatuck Division. In the early 1900's it was combined with the Berkshire Division. Early in 1908, the Highland Division from Hartford to Hopewell Jct., a former part of the New York and New England, was combined with the Berkshire Naugatuck Division and for a number of years this combination was known as the Western Division.

About 1905, the double tracking of the Naugatuck Division was commenced at the end of double track at Wheelers Farms and was completed to Waterbury in 1908. It was a big job, in places the course of the Naugatuck River was changed. An entire new railroad was built from Derby Jct. to Ansonia, doing away with the former New Haven and Derby and Naugatuck railroads between those points.

About 1912, automatic train control was installed between Derby and Ansonia and engine 1413 was equipped to test out the new system.

During World War I, the Shelton-Derby loop was put in service and freight trains formerly coming into Waterbury via Sandy Hook, were now routed via Botsford and the Shelton. This eliminated the pushers from Sandy Hook to Towontic.

On March 29, 1908, the last train left the Bank St. Station, Waterbury. This station and the old N Y & N E station on Meadow Street was closed, and while construction of the new Waterbury station was in progress, a temporary station was maintained at West Main Street.

The present Waterbury station was opened to the public on June 11, 1909. The tower is modeled after a building in Sienna, Italy, which was built in 1338 and is said to be still standing. If the Waterbury station stands that long it will be a great testimony to railroad men and to the thousands who have used it. It was a big day for Waterbury when the new station was opened.

Another big day was on October 30, 1909. On that date the entire equipment of the Western Division offices was moved from New Haven to their new quarters in the Waterbury station. A Waterbury newspaper stated that it was a momentous task to perform in a few hours. The train hauling this equipment consisted of 3 baggage cars, and 2 coaches for the Brass Hats and their personnel. It arrived at 1:00 p.m. and was met by a large crowd, as it had been well advertised. It was some job to tote 3 carloads of equipment up the 300 odd stairs to the offices, but by 6:00 p.m. everything was in order. The conductor of the train was Frank Scott, the flagman Ed Rabtoy, the engineer P. C. Blakeslee, and the fireman Charles Downs. Engine 924 hauled the train.

After what is known as the high grade yard, and fill was completed, there were, besides the yard tracks, four main line tracks between Bank St. Junction and Highland Junction towers. Tracks 2 and 4 were used for passenger trains and 1 and 3 for freight trains, Soon after World War I, this four track operation was changed to double track operation and tracks 2 and 4 changed to 1 and 2. In the middle 1940's, track 5 was operated as the Winsted main line between Bank St. and Highland Jct. under single track rules.

No one had any idea then, that on January 15, 1950, at 12:01 a.m., double track operations would be discontinued and single track operations established between Ansonia and Bank St. Jct.

Another busy place in the old days was the terminal at Winsted. There were about 12 runs tied up there at one time and some more at the Central New England engine house at West Winsted, long since gone. There are now only 2 passenger trains and one freight each day into Winsted. This is only one example of similar conditions all over the system.

The Naugy is still running for its entire length, which is more than can be said for some of her sister roads. With the many large industrial plants and large towns and cities along its route, with a fair competition, it should be able to operate for many years. There is no doubt that the Naugatuck Railroad has done more than any other single factor in developing the busy industrial section between Derby and Winsted.

In the 1850's the Naugatuck RR was said to have the first vestibuled car in the United States.

Back in the 90's there was a famous pleasure resort between Beacon Falls and Naugatuck known as High Rock Grove. It contained all the usual attractions of resorts of this kind, including a brass band. This band had to be playing whenever a passenger train passed by, and as the superintendent often rode these trains, he wanted to be sure that the members of the band were on their jobs.

During the season, many of the regular trains stopped there and many special trains with picnic parties were run from Waterbury, Bridgeport, New Haven and other points. Pensioned engineer Fred Jackson of Waterbury and retired foreman hostler Charles Downs of Northford worked at this resort when they were boys. Mr. Downs has an unlimited amount of information on the resort.

While it cannot compare with the many famous trains of today, the old theater train which left New Haven at 11:30 p.m. will be well remembered by many. In the early 1900's there were no movies and some of the stage presentations often had five acts. Many of the people from points outside of New Haven would begin to plan missing the last act in order to get their trains home. When the curtain fell on the fourth act, however, announcement was made from the stage that the theater trains for Meriden, Guilford and Waterbury would wait for the completion of the show. The trains would wait to allow ample time for all to get aboard, including the few bad men who stopped for a beer. If the old combination car on this train could talk, there would be many an interesting tale told.

One of the fastest runs ever made on the Naugatuck was on February 2, 1902, when Engineer Barney Hubbel brought the Bridgeport Fire Department to Waterbury to assist in extinguishing the great fire that threatened the city.

Much of the information on the Naugatuck Railroad was furnished by Mr. John T. Collins, engine dispatcher at Waterbury, Conn.