Along the Valley Line. Max R. Miller

Middletown, CT, 1868. Looking north at Main Street. The large building on the left is the front of the McDonough House where meetings were held to form the Connecticut Valley Railroad. The wide Main Street is unpaved and the sidewalks consist of wooden planks. PHOTO: ROBERT T. EASTWOOD, SR.

      Surveying the proposed line started in late 1868 and was completed in 1869; it followed very closely the survey done for the chartered Middlesex & Hartford County Railroad of earlier days. The topography of the Connecticut River Valley gave the CVRR several unusual features. One was the fact that the line was laid out near the river and by-passed the business and population centers of nearly every town it served. In Hartford it was located on the west bank of the river at the extreme eastern edge of the city. The CVRR, also referred to as the Valley Line, went west of Wethersfield, east of Rocky Hill, more or less through the center of Cromwell and Middletown, east of Higganum, slightly east of Haddam and far to the east of Chester and Deep River town centers. By going through Centerbrook it fell far to the west of Essex. The plan brought track through the center of Old Saybrook with three stations: one at the north end of town, where it crossed the Shore Line Railway; then on to Saybrook Point and finally Fenwick. As it left the Dividend section of Rocky Hill it was forced to climb the sandy hills that now border the Tournament Players Golf Course. The steep sandy banks of the Connecticut River were unstable and would have created many problems if the railroad were closer to the river. This higher ground, at an elevation of 135 feet, is the highest point on the entire route. In later years the track on this high bluff was relocated even farther away from the river to avoid the risk of a washout that could send a train plunging into the water.

      Before the 1950’s there was little flood control north of Connecticut and spring freshets downstream occurred almost annually. The line crossed many marshes, inlets, coves and flood plains along the Connecticut River. Rail workers built or constructed nearly three miles of the line on trestles to transverse these flood-prone areas because it was the quickest and cheapest way to avoid rough or hilly terrain further to the west. At the time of surveying for the track location, proposals included more than one route at several different locations. There were numerous reasons both for and against these different routes.

      In January 1870, surveyors laid out the line from Cromwell south to a point near Chester Cove. In March 1870 they continued the line from Chester to Saybrook. (Saybrook was the original name for the present Town of Deep River. The name change to Deep River became effective July 1, 1947 after having been approved by the town, passed by the Connecticut State Legislature and signed by Governor James L. McConaughty.) There were two routes under consideration, the inland route via the center of Chester and the river route, which was the one chosen.

      There were also two routes proposed from Saybrook (Deep River) to Essex. The river route would have taken the line through the center of Essex. The other was the inland “toll gate” route that passed close to the southern most tollhouse on the existing Middlesex Turnpike, bringing the railroad through Centerbrook. Samuel M. Comstock, a director of the CVRR from Oct. 2, 1869, owned an ivory products factory in Ivoryton, the western portion of Essex. He wanted the railroad to be as close to his factory as possible. His influence prevailed and the Centerbrook option was selected. Old Saybrook had been chosen as the southern coastal terminus because it was located at the mouth of the Connecticut River and was the best available seaport. The town was willing to support the railroad by purchasing CVRR stock. Westbrook had been rejected because the needed dockage and breakwater would be too expensive and would take too much time to build. Clinton was rejected because there were sand bars in the harbor that made it very shallow and the town, already served by the Shore Line Railway, expressed no interest in becoming a stockholder in the CVRR.

      The spring of 1870 also saw the purchase of Lynde Farm at Light House Point, near Saybrook Point, by a group of 65 prominent Hartford men; one influential Hartford woman, Mrs. Samuel H. Colt; and one Old Saybrook man, Mr. Daniel C. Spencer—each subscribing to 40 shares of the New Saybrook Company, an organization formed to develop this land into a summer resort. The New Saybrook Company had close ties to the CVRR since four stockholders were directors of the railroad, and three were company officers.

      By fall contractors were constructing a hotel, Fenwick Hall, and engineering a wagon bridge, more than a half-mile long, to span South Cove from Saybrook Point to New Saybrook (later named Fenwick). Near the south end of this bridge was a short draw span to allow small boats to pass. A year after CVRR was opened from Hartford to Saybrook Point the railroad was extended across the South Cove to Fenwick where a station was built. For many years Fenwick Station was in service only during the summer season.

      In May 1870, less than a month after the groundbreaking in Haddam, the directors met again to consider the route of the railroad from “a northerly point in Wethersfield to some convenient point in said Hartford.”² The west route would have taken the railroad through the campus of Trinity College and into the existing Union Station. The railroad also planned to build its car shops and maintenance buildings next to the college. This route would have created 22 railroad-highway grade crossings in Hartford. The cost of excavating a cut to put the railroad below street grade and the price of the highway bridges needed to carry these streets over the railroad was prohibitive. Another consideration was the high cost of buying, or taking by eminent domain, many private homes. The city fathers knew too that if the railroad were built with numerous railroad-highway grade crossings the residents would be subjected to smoke and frequent noise from train whistles. Opposition was growing. Finally, Trinity College’s president and trustees attended the hearings held at Hartford’s Center hall and threatened to move the college from its present location if the railroad project went forward. The directors suggested an alternative eastern route between Colt’s Patented Arms Company and the Connecticut River. The cost of securing undeveloped land along the proposed eastern route would be uncontested and much less expensive.

Connecticut Valley Railroad Stock Certificate #144. Three shares ($300) made out on May 13, 1871 to Benjamin Douglas of Middletown, CT. It is signed by President James C. Walkley and Secretary Levi Woodhouse. It still has its revenue stamp attached. COURTESY MIDDLESEX