This place is awesome! I am surprised it is kind of active. I would have thought it would have fully ceased to operate after WWII because trains were pretty much obsolete. 3:00 It was probably some sort of utility or maintenance tunnel. 5:50 Usually a good way to know if railroad tracks are active is to see if the top of the track is silver or shiny. 8:48 It appears to be some sort of boiler or generator building. Next to it was a collapsed light tower so that is my best guess. 13:45 Polar Bear! That thing is awesome! 18:55 Yet another collapsed light tower. The building next to it may have been another generator building to power the lights? I may be wrong but at one point I think there were three switch towers, but one collapsed or was razed
It was truly an amazing place! I do think I recall there being a third switch tower as well, but I could not find it while I was there (just the two seen in the video).
Julian/J-Mass Trains remain the cheapest form of freight transportation and is arguably still the backbone of countless industries. It’s usually the actual location (town/city) that become obsolete…
@@BodhiBushido "I feel like you have to know that trains aren’t even close to obsolete! 😂 What a strange statement." The usage of trains has decrease in smaller towns and even in big train years as many other places have taken over their operation. I would argue my statement is not strange.
@@julianmalcolm Ha! Yeah, you're responding to a comment I deleted because I felt it lacked tact. I rephrased my comment and it's posted above. I can see how one would think trains had become obsolete, and you're right that they aren't as ubiquitous as they were in the mid-1900s, but as I said in my revised comment, there are other reasons for that perception...but they are far from obsolete...the big rail hubs and smaller shipping towns have simply moved. Here are some figures: "Freight rail accounts for around 40% of long-distance ton-miles - more than any other mode of transportation. The Federal Highway Administration forecasts that total U.S. freight movements will rise from around 19.3 billion tons in 2020 to 25.1 billion tons in 2040 - a 30% increase." Jussayin.
I live a few minutes from here. We had a tornado pass through North Haven in August 2020, and I believe that’s what knocked down that steel light tower onto the building ruins at 9:25. If you look at videos of cedar hill from before then the tower is still standing.
Fun fact: @23:05 you can see the silhouette of a mountain (center of screen) locally known as "Sleeping Giant". It's a state park in Hamden, CT resembling a "sleeping giant" on the horizon.
The first machine is a NH Haven RR switch stand. The rail cars that you saw are on active track. I wouldn't walk in that area. A lot of the piping you see is associated with a pneumatic train order handling system. The NH railroad was struggling with bankruptcy for some time. Then the Penn Central took over and that resulted in more cost saving measures. Nice video .
When I go in there I enjoy seeing WWI era ties,spikes and assorted metal artifacts.I saw a metal plate,I think associated with joining the rail to the ties with the date 1917:embossed on it.
Thanks for the video. Can you talk a bit about the safety. It seems isolated and has the potential for people to be hiding/living/hanging out in and amongst the structures. I didn't see other hikers or dog walkers in your video. I would like to visit, but not sure how safe it is so anything you can offer would be great.
So usually when I film these videos, I prefer to keep other people out of them when possible (for privacy reasons), which is why you don’t see any other hikers there. That being said, I saw at least a dozen other hikers and urbexers while I was there! The trailhead to get in is public property, and well worth a visit! The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is keeping to the trails, as it is a very big area and quite easy to get lost (and some trails are not very well-marked).
Your channel is the reason I want my drivers license and a car I would explore so much if I could I have train tracks not too far from where I live but kind of far, what happens if a train needs to come by and the abandoned ones are in the way
If I’m not mistaken, I believe all the abandoned train tracks and train cars are disconnected and/or out of the way of active rail lines, so hopefully that shouldn’t ever be an issue (this rail yard is actually still semi-in use).
Great video -- I visited this place in 1971 and it was indeed a wide-open space. I think that one of the photos in the link that follows shows the tower you visited: th-cam.com/video/9GEDCtcYUkc/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared&t=27
This place is awesome! I am surprised it is kind of active. I would have thought it would have fully ceased to operate after WWII because trains were pretty much obsolete. 3:00 It was probably some sort of utility or maintenance tunnel. 5:50 Usually a good way to know if railroad tracks are active is to see if the top of the track is silver or shiny. 8:48 It appears to be some sort of boiler or generator building. Next to it was a collapsed light tower so that is my best guess. 13:45 Polar Bear! That thing is awesome! 18:55 Yet another collapsed light tower. The building next to it may have been another generator building to power the lights? I may be wrong but at one point I think there were three switch towers, but one collapsed or was razed
It was truly an amazing place! I do think I recall there being a third switch tower as well, but I could not find it while I was there (just the two seen in the video).
Julian/J-Mass
Trains remain the cheapest form of freight transportation and is arguably still the backbone of countless industries.
It’s usually the actual location (town/city) that become obsolete…
@@BodhiBushido "I feel like you have to know that trains aren’t even close to obsolete! 😂 What a strange statement." The usage of trains has decrease in smaller towns and even in big train years as many other places have taken over their operation. I would argue my statement is not strange.
@@julianmalcolm Ha! Yeah, you're responding to a comment I deleted because I felt it lacked tact. I rephrased my comment and it's posted above.
I can see how one would think trains had become obsolete, and you're right that they aren't as ubiquitous as they were in the mid-1900s, but as I said in my revised comment, there are other reasons for that perception...but they are far from obsolete...the big rail hubs and smaller shipping towns have simply moved.
Here are some figures: "Freight rail accounts for around 40% of long-distance ton-miles - more than any other mode of transportation. The Federal Highway Administration forecasts that total U.S. freight movements will rise from around 19.3 billion tons in 2020 to 25.1 billion tons in 2040 - a 30% increase."
Jussayin.
Nice! Practically in my backyard. Glad you got to check this out!
Thanks man! It really was a cool place to explore!
I live a few minutes from here. We had a tornado pass through North Haven in August 2020, and I believe that’s what knocked down that steel light tower onto the building ruins at 9:25. If you look at videos of cedar hill from before then the tower is still standing.
Wow, that’s interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Such an awesome video!! I absolutely love that spot! So much to see and I love how there is an official trail bringing you to all the best spots
Thanks! I agree, I do love how the Tidal Marsh Trail weaves you in between all these fascinating landmarks!
Fun fact: @23:05 you can see the silhouette of a mountain (center of screen) locally known as "Sleeping Giant". It's a state park in Hamden, CT resembling a "sleeping giant" on the horizon.
The first machine is a NH Haven RR switch stand. The rail cars that you saw are on active track. I wouldn't walk in that area. A lot of the piping you see is associated with a pneumatic train order handling system. The NH railroad was struggling with bankruptcy for some time. Then the Penn Central took over and that resulted in more cost saving measures. Nice video
.
I walk my dog there we both love it.also fished there a few time also. It's very unique
When I go in there I enjoy seeing WWI era ties,spikes and assorted metal artifacts.I saw a metal plate,I think associated with joining the rail to the ties with the date 1917:embossed on it.
Wow, sick finds! I really loved seeing all of the historic remnants scattered around the property!
It went from the most used trainyard to have its operations reduced by so much thats sad
Yeah, it’s sad to see how far this place has fallen from its peak.
Thanks for the video. Can you talk a bit about the safety. It seems isolated and has the potential for people to be hiding/living/hanging out in and amongst the structures. I didn't see other hikers or dog walkers in your video. I would like to visit, but not sure how safe it is so anything you can offer would be great.
So usually when I film these videos, I prefer to keep other people out of them when possible (for privacy reasons), which is why you don’t see any other hikers there. That being said, I saw at least a dozen other hikers and urbexers while I was there! The trailhead to get in is public property, and well worth a visit! The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is keeping to the trails, as it is a very big area and quite easy to get lost (and some trails are not very well-marked).
Your channel is the reason I want my drivers license and a car I would explore so much if I could I have train tracks not too far from where I live but kind of far, what happens if a train needs to come by and the abandoned ones are in the way
If I’m not mistaken, I believe all the abandoned train tracks and train cars are disconnected and/or out of the way of active rail lines, so hopefully that shouldn’t ever be an issue (this rail yard is actually still semi-in use).
In the building you couldn't figure out did you see any signs of tracks
I believe I saw tracks far behind the building in the woods, but not inside it or directly next to it.
Great video -- I visited this place in 1971 and it was indeed a wide-open space. I think that one of the photos in the link that follows shows the tower you visited: th-cam.com/video/9GEDCtcYUkc/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared&t=27