New Haven and Derby Railroad

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New Haven and Derby Railroad
Derby Junction station site 099.JPG
The site of the railroad's former Derby Junction station. The station no longer exists, but the tracks are in service as part of Metro-North's Waterbury Branch.
Overview
Dates of operation1871–1889
SuccessorHousatonic Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length13 miles (21 km)

The New Haven and Derby Railroad was a railroad that connected the city of New Haven, Connecticut with the town of Derby. The railroad was built between 1868 and 1871, when it began operations.[1] The company was created by the city of New Haven, which owned it until 1889 when it was sold to the Housatonic Railroad. The Housatonic in turn was purchased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1892. Passenger service existed between New Haven and Derby Junction until 1925 when it was discontinued.[1]

The majority of the line was abandoned by the New Haven Railroad between 1939 and 1941. As of 2022, 3 miles (4.8 km) of track between Derby and Shelton are the only remaining portion of the New Haven and Derby Railroad in service.[1][2]

History[]

Founding[]

A railroad between New Haven and Derby was first seriously proposed in 1867. A meeting to discuss the proposed railroad was held in New Haven that year, where it was decided that the city of New Haven would provide some of the funding for the railroad, along with private shareholders. In total, approximately $200,000 in 1867 dollars was raised in order to begin construction.[3]

A mortgage certificate of the New Haven and Derby Railroad

Independent operations (1871–1889)[]

The company ran its first trains between its namesake cities in August 1871.[1] From the start, the company had difficult attracting significant business to justify the cost of operating its meandering route through rough terrain, and resorted to attempting to undercut the rates of competitor Naugatuck Railroad. This ended in 1879 when the two companies arranged a pooling agreement.[1] The Naugatuck came under the control of the New Haven railroad in 1887, ending this arrangement. Seeing the line was in trouble, the city of New Haven decided to sell the company to another operator that same year. Two railroads placed bids: the New Haven railroad offered $300,000, while the Housatonic offered $275,000 and a promise to extend the line west of Derby Junction. The city accepted the Housatonic's offer, and the promised 14-mile (23 km) long extension between Derby and the Housatonic's main line at Botsford, Connecticut was constructed in 1888. The city formally leased the line to the Housatonic for a period of 99 years on July 10, 1889, ending its independence.[1][4]

Purchase and dissolution (1889–1904)[]

Operations under the Housatonic Railroad were short lived, as the new owner of the NH and D was itself purchased by the New Haven Railroad in 1892.[1] The New Haven and Derby continued to exist as a shell corporation until 1904, when the Connecticut Supreme Court condemned the two remaining shares of the company, ending its existence.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The rail lines of southern New England : a handbook of railroad history. Pepperell, Mass.: Branch Line Press. pp. 65–67. ISBN 0-942147-02-2. OCLC 32604470.
  2. ^ "New Haven & Derby RR". Orange Historical Society Orange, CT. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  3. ^ "New Haven and Derby Railroad". Hartford Weekly Times. April 13, 1867. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "Housatonic Leases the Derby". The Day. New London, Connecticut. July 10, 1889. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "Railroad Mergers Favored By State". The Day. New London, Connecticut. December 28, 1904. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
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