Bethel’s Old Train Station (1899)

The former train station at 5 Depot Place in Bethel was built in 1899. It replaced an earlier station, erected at the same location in 1852, when it was on the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. The original station had burned down in December of 1898. The second station continued in use until 1996, when a new station opened on Durant Avenue. For some years the former station became a bicycle shop and it is now home to Broken Symmetry Gastro Brewery. In 2019 the station’s old canopy, which extends along the tracks on the west side of the building, was restored.

Canaan Union Station (1872)

The Housatonic Railroad was established in 1836 as a route between Bridgeport and Great Barrington, Massachusetts. A right-of-way for the railroad passed through what is now the Town of North Canaan, where Canaan village would develop around the new railroad station. That original station was in the Warner-Canfield Hotel building, which stood on the east side of the tracks and fronted on Main Street. In 1872, a new Italianate-style train station was erected on the south side of the tracks. Called Canaan Union Depot, it was built as a collaboration of the Housatonic Railroad and a new east-west line, the Connecticut Western Railroad (later acquired by the Central New England Railroad), which intersected the Housatonic line in the center of the village. Both rail lines would eventually come under the control of the New York New Haven & Hartford Railroad. The depot had a large restaurant on the first floor, an important feature in the era before dining cars. Rail service ended in the early 1970s, and the station became a retail center, which included a railway-themed restaurant. Rail service (for freight and excursions, but not regular passenger service, yet) resumed after a new Housatonic Railroad was chartered in 1983. The southeast half of the building, including the original tower, was destroyed by arson on October 12, 2001. The Connecticut Railroad Historical Association purchased the structure in 2003 and began a rebuilding of the historic station, which was dedicated in 2018.

Forestville Station (1881)

The Forestville Passenger Station is a former train station in the village of Forestville in Bristol. It was built in 1881 by the New York and New England Railroad and remained in service until 1960. According to local tradition, the building was prefabricated elsewhere and delivered to Forestville by rail. The station originally had a two-story tower over the east entrance and vestibule, but this was destroyed in a fire in 1900. It was replaced by the current platform shelter that extends out from the east end of the building. When it opened, the station had thirteen passenger rail stops a day, which contributed to the economic prosperity of the village. The Roberge Painting Company owns and restored the historic station.

Noank Depot (1858)

At 102 Front Street in Noank is a small building with board-and-batten siding that is believed to have been the community’s original railroad station. It was built in 1858, with the completion of the last major section of the Shore Line Rail Road, connecting Boston and New York City. Since the discontinuation of railroad service, the building has been used as a store, with an extension erected on the Front Street side.

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Danbury Railway Museum (1903)

By the 1880s, three railroads served the city of Danbury: the Danbury and Norwalk, the Housatonic, and the New York and New England. By 1892, these had all merged with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Soon after, the public began to demand that the three separate stations be consolidated into one new station. Built in 1903, the resulting Union Station, designed by A. Malkin, has a Richardsonian Romanesque structure with Colonial Revival details. Alfred Hitchcock filmed station scenes for the 1951 film Strangers on a Train on the platform. The station eventually became the northern terminus of the Danbury Branch of Metro-North’s New Haven Line. Metro-North closed the station in 1993, but it was soon restored to become the Danbury Railway Museum. In 1998, the museum restored the original 1912 railroad turntable, essentially a swing bridge, located several hundred yards east of the passenger station.

Willington Train Depot (1894)

In 1850, the New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad Company erected a train depot near what is now 14 Tolland Turnpike in Willington. The rail line became part of the Central Vermont Railway in 1871. The original depot burned down in 1894 and was replaced that same year by a new train station/freight depot building. The station/depot was originally called the Tolland Station, because nearby Tolland was the county seat. It was later renamed the Tolland & Willington Station, and then the West Willington Station. By 1947 the station had closed and was then used by the Ruby Lumber Company until it was renovated to become a branch of the Savings Bank of Tolland in 1976. The bank moved to a new location at Phelps Way in Willington in 1988 and took with it a collection of train memorabilia, donated over the years by local residents. In 2016, by which time it was a branch of First Niagara (it’s now KeyBank), the bank donated the collection of 22 objects to the Willington Historical Society.

Union Station, Hartford (1889)

Hartford’s Union Station is located between Union Place and Spruce Street, north of Asylum Street at the western end of the city’s downtown. The original Union Station was an Italianate structure built in 1849. It was replaced by a new station, built in 1887-1889. Hartford architect George Keller initially conceived the design, but the plans were drawn up by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston. A fire in February 1914 gutted the building‘s roof and interior. The structure was repaired and rebuilt, but instead of the original hipped roof with large gables on the Prospect Place Side, the building was raised to a full third story. A major restoration of Union Station was completed in 1987. Future alterations to the rail line and platforms will need to be made as part of the I-84 Hartford Project. (more…)