I was the operator at Devon handing up the clearance cards...I miss the SPV's, or as we called them: "Seldom powered Vehicles" They crapped out more than the older Budd Cars ever did!
Simon, at the time I had no idea this chap was making a film...It was a weekend morning and not much else was moving...Just to note: They got a clearance form "A" and clearance form "K". Going north, the remaining signals were out of service, so they used block stations set along the Right of Way to hold or move a train if necessary...... Dale in Alabama
At 1:20 is Seymour CT, as seen in the film; "Other People's Money". Just over the bridge is the old black station of Beacon Falls, now long gone...At this time there was an operator in Waterbury, who sold tickets, and they had just eliminated the Operator at Naugatuck sometime earlier..The Operator at Waterbury was soon gone...Leaving the Operator at Devon, as seen at 00:12 to handle the whole thing, not a big deal, nothing much was running in those days anyhow...
This line was only double tracked at the time of the video to CP Derby Jct. And it was out of service from a flood, they never restored it. The double track from Derby to Waterbury was lost in the 1955 Hurricane flood, and never restored...Too bad!
Waterbury was never electrified, only Danbury. As for "worth it", yeah, Waterbury is actually pretty interesting scenery, especially some of the abandoned/and run down factories in Ansonia and along the ROW in general. I suggest you invest $5 (Waterbury-Bridgeport round trip) and take a ride.
Cool. The timelapse kind of makes this seem like a rollercoaster.
The line definitely had that dirty 80's feel.
Still does today
Absolutely superb, RARE piece of film. So much has changed along this line since the 1980s. The rotted ties are numerous here. Excellent film!
Wow! Thank You saving this.
stay tuned - Chicago to Detroit is next
what year was this?
This cool because I live in Fairfield close to the railroad nice to see what it looked like back in the 1980s.
I was the operator at Devon handing up the clearance cards...I miss the SPV's, or as we called them: "Seldom powered Vehicles" They crapped out more than the older Budd Cars ever did!
Whenever I get homesick for Metro North, I just watch is fine video...
I like what you did here. I'd also love to watch that in 1:1 time as welll!!
No because the original film is shot at just a few frames per minute, this projection slows that down again by about half.
@trainluvr thanks anyways, still a great video. it's amazing how much the valley has changed along the line
Funny thing is, the Waterbury Branch looks and operates almost the same these days, except for using SPV's.
Simon, at the time I had no idea this chap was making a film...It was a weekend morning and not much else was moving...Just to note: They got a clearance form "A" and clearance form "K". Going north, the remaining signals were out of service, so they used block stations set along the Right of Way to hold or move a train if necessary......
Dale in Alabama
At 1:20 is Seymour CT, as seen in the film; "Other People's Money". Just over the bridge is the old black station of Beacon Falls, now long gone...At this time there was an operator in Waterbury, who sold tickets, and they had just eliminated the Operator at Naugatuck sometime earlier..The Operator at Waterbury was soon gone...Leaving the Operator at Devon, as seen at 00:12 to handle the whole thing, not a big deal, nothing much was running in those days anyhow...
Do you know when the current platform/station at Waterbury was put in?
This line was only double tracked at the time of the video to CP Derby Jct. And it was out of service from a flood, they never restored it. The double track from Derby to Waterbury was lost in the 1955 Hurricane flood, and never restored...Too bad!
at 00:12 the chap in the bottom right hand corner of the shot is youtube member "vonmazur1" handing out the "clearance card" for the section ahead.
1:44 That's about the location of Beacon Falls station.
Is that's the SPV-2000?. That was up here in New Hampshire when the MBTA used it on the Boston, MA. to Concord, NH back in 1980.
Waterbury was never electrified, only Danbury. As for "worth it", yeah, Waterbury is actually pretty interesting scenery, especially some of the abandoned/and run down factories in Ansonia and along the ROW in general.
I suggest you invest $5 (Waterbury-Bridgeport round trip) and take a ride.
Too bad you don't have a copy of this at regular speed. I loved the scenery, but it made me dizzy.