History
1835-1852
The 'Danbury and Norwalk Railroad' was chartered May
1835 as the '
Fairfield County Railroad'
[1]. The objective of the railroad was to build from
Danbury to somewhere on
Long Island Sound. The backers wanted to end Danbury's isolation
[1].
Professor Alexander C. Twining of Yale was hired to conduct a survey. Several options were researched, and Professor Twining recommended the route following the
Norwalk River. This route would come through
Norwalk and
South Norwalk, and terminate on the shores of the Long Island Sound at
Belden's Point. It was longer than other options, but the total travel time to
New York was shorter, because less travel over water was needed.
The railroad was initially planned as a horsedrawn railroad
[1]. As financing the project was a problem, attention was paid to the area north of
Danbury, along the
Housatonic River. If these places would be connected, more options would come available to financing the railroad.
A survey was performed By
Mr. E H. Broadhead. This route would connect
Danbury by a 70 mile route with the
Western Railroad at
West Stockbridge.
Then in
1836 the '
Housatonic Railroad Company' is chartered in
Bridgeport.
Danbury is offered to subscribe in the extent of $100,000 and to secure a railroad connection in this way. Danbury declines. The 'Housatonic Railroad' starts building its railroad, bypassing Danbury, and going north along the route that was surveyed for the '
Fairfield County Railroad'.
On May 29,
1850 the charter of the '
Fairfield County Railroad' was again renewed, but the name was changed to 'Danbury and Norwalk Railroad'. On June 7,
1850 the company was organized with
Eli T. Hoyt as president.
The surveyed route to
Norwalk from
Danbury was built, but not the extension to
Belden's Neck. The railroad would connect to the '
New York & New Haven' in
South Norwalk.
On February 25,
1852 the railroad opened to regular service. A simple schedule of two trains in each direction was run each day. One mixed and one passenger train. The initial dividend at the end of the first year was 5.25%.
1853-1872
An additional passenger round trip was added to the schedule. The railroad was making a good profit. The railroad did not have any competitors along its road. These resulted in slow speeds and high profits. In
1862 the '
Norwalk Horse Railway Company' was formed with
Edwin Lockwood as president. This company would connect
South Norwalk with
Norwalk. This would take revenue away from the railroad. The response of the D&N was to compete. To make its track suitable for horse drawn carriages, boards were placed between tracks. In April 1862 operation between Norwalk (Wall Street) and South Norwalk started with little tiny cars. The next year, nine steam or horse-drawn trains would run between these two stations. But in
1863 the horse railway got operational and was a major success. Higher frequencies, lower fares and more stops were pleasing the public. The D&N withdrew its service very soon.
In
1864 Edwin Lockwood became president of the D&N. The Lockwoods were major stockholders in this railroad and natives of Norwalk. A line from
Danbury to
Brookfield was considered. This would give the D&N an important connection. But another railroad was already organised to build along the right of way needed by the D&N. The '
New York, Housatonic & Northern' was opened between Danbury and Brookfield in
1868. During construction there was a connection between the D&N and the
NYH&N, but it was torn up after construction finished.
In
1869 construction of the branch from
Branchville (formerly
Ridgefield) to Ridgefield started. This 4 mile branch was very difficult to construct, due the steep climb needed to reach Ridgefield. On
June 25,
1870 the first trains started running, and the official opening was on
July 1,
1870.
In Spring
1872 a branch between
Bethel and
Hawleyville was started. This would give a connection with the '
Shepaug Valley Railroad', '
Housatonic Railroad' and eventually the '
Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad' once it would be completed through Hawleyville. There were plans in which the D&N would be a link in a railroad connecting New York and Boston, but these died with
LeGrande Lockwood, the nephew and financial backer of
Edwin Lockwood, in 1872.
1872-1886
In
1873 the railroad was running six
locomotives, which all were running on
coal. Three of them were new and three were converted from wood. On June 18th, 1873
Roswell Pettibone Flower became president of the railroad. Even through the depression the railroad was kept into good shape and investments were being made. The railroad remained a very modern one. Plans for further extensions were put aside, and focus was on improving the lines already present. 56 Pound
steel was replacing iron rails. The best iron rails were being used to relay yards and sidings. Also the branches were improved with the old iron rails. In
1879 all passenger cars were equipped with
air brakes.
In
1880 a tract of land in
Redding was bought. It was already used for religious camps. The railroad promoted it as an ideal place for a day in the country. The summer resort attracted quite a lot of passengers. Most of which were moved on regular trains. The schedule called now for three passenger trains and a freight train in each direction on the mainline. Three trips were made on the
Ridgefield Branch. The
Hawleyville branch was operated by the '
Shepaug Valley Railroad'.
Also an additional train was running between
Bethel and
Danbury, which provided service for the large number of commuters between these two towns, working in the facturies near the
Danbury yard.
In
1881 Mr. James W. Hyatt succeeds as
J.P. Flower as president. Just before the take over plans were started to build the final stretch from
South Norwalk to
Belden's Point. This would give the railroad a direct connection with
New York and other point along the Sound by means of ferries. Construction started quickly and on
July 4th, 1882 the pier could be opened. The new pier was an enormous boost to traffic on the line. Trains were running 24 hours a day. Just after completing of the pier
James W. Hyatt was succeeded by
F. St. John Lockwood. The new pier made the D&N a very interesting railroad to take over. On October 1st, 1886 the D&N would become the Danbury & Norwalk Division of the
Housatonic Railroad, by means of a 99 year lease. This was 8 years after the first proposal by the
Housatonic Railroad.
1886 and later
The
Housatonic Railroad relayed tracks between
Hawleyville and
Bethel with steel track. Trains were now routed towards
Wilsons Point instead of
Bridgeport. The D&N division was getting busier every year. Especially when the
NY & NE started diverting its traffic towards
Wilsons Point after it lost its original connection with
New York.
In
1892 the
Housatonic Railroad was taken over by the
NYNH&H. The D&N was subsequently leased to the
NYNH&H. Later on there was an exchange in stocks, and the
NYNH&H now outright owned the D&N.
Rolling Stock
Locomotives
The D&N has owned 13 locomotives in total. All of which were 4-4-0. Never more than 7 locomotives were operated at the same time.
Passenger Cars
In
1858 the railroad had 4 coaches. It went up to 6 in the early
1870s and finally became 8 in the
1880s. Number 5 of these had a monitor roof. The road had 2 baggage cars in
1870, the number of merchandise cars had risen from 48 to 62 in
1870.
Freight Cars
The following data is from the
1888 ORER, after the take over by the
Housatonic Railroad.
| Kind of Car | Numbers | Length | Width | Height | Capacity | Number of Cars |
|---|
Box, even Nos
★ | 2 to 36 | 26 | 7.6 | 6.2 | 24000 | 16 |
| Flat, odd Nos | 1 to 143 | 30 | | | 20000 | 73 |
| Gondola | 145 | | | | 30000 | 1 |
| Stake Flat | 151, 155 | | | | | 2 |
| Gondola, odd Nos | 153, 157 to 197 | | | | 30 & 36000 | 22 |
| Derrick | 199 | | | | | 1 |
| Gondola, odd Nos | 201-225 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 45000 | 12 |
| Gondola, odd Nos, Hopper Bottom | 227 to 255 | 24 | 8 | 3.6 | 46000 | 15 |
| Total | | | | | | 141 |
Routes
Main line
South to North
★ only if opened after rest of line.
Ridgefield Branch
This branch had one station, Ridgefield and two flag stops along the way, Florida and Cooper. Trains generally consisted of two cars. One passenger car, plus a combination car for baggage, express and mail. Freight cars were added as needed. Ridgefield had a one stall engine house and a turntable.
Hawleyville Branch
There was only one flag stop along this branch. It had a siding as well.
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