The Shepaug, Litchfield and Northern Railroad was a short independent railroad in western Connecticut that was chartered as the Shepaug Valley Railroad in 1868 and operated from 1872 to 1891 when it was taken over by the Housatonic Railroad . In 1898, the Housatonic operation was assumed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NH). As the Litchfield Division of the NH, the line was operated until abandonment in 1948. Much of the line remains as a rail trail .
19-400: "Shepaug" in the railroad's name derived from the name of the Shepaug River , followed by most of the line, which in turn was a Mohegan name that meant "rocky water". The railroad was chartered in 1866 or 1868 and opened for operation on December 7, 1871, as the Shepaug Valley Railroad. J. Deming Perkins was the company's first president. Henry R. Colt was the treasurer and Edwin McNeill was
38-442: A country hotel or retreat for young working women from New York City . It was a non sectarian effort run by St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York (then on 42nd street). Although Holiday House stopped operating as a retreat by 1918 and was torn down shortly thereafter, vestiges of it including stone walkways and stone foundations for a pedestrian suspension bridge that allowed train passengers to disembark and make their way to
57-410: A freight road in 1947. The ICC granted permission to abandon the line in 1948 which is when freight service stopped on the line. In 1947 and 1948 the line finally saw the arrival of more modern diesel-electric locomotives for freight hauling, but their use was very short lived. In 1949, the gandy dancers who had maintained the line pulled up the rails and ties as part of the abandonment. The Shepaug
76-562: A separate freight train ran on Saturdays. The need to get milk as fresh as possible to New York City markets led to runs of a Sunday " milk train ". At first the milk was delivered to Hawleyville to be picked up by the Housatonic and then carried to Bridgeport and on to New York. Eventually the creamery at Hawleyville was closed as was the Hawleyville branch, by which time the milk train ran through Danbury to South Norwalk. In 1872,
95-792: The New Haven Railroad leased the Shepaug, Litchfield and Northern from the Housatonic and operated it as its Litchfield Branch until business weakened in the first half of the 20th century. The Borden Creamery in Washington was closed down in 1928. Passenger service on the Shepaug Division was stopped by 1932 and the New Haven petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line as
114-590: The Shepaug line were from the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey named Shepaug , Weatinaug , and Waramaug . In addition to passenger traffic, the railroad shipped freight. Gail Borden 's condensed milk business had started operation in the Burrville section of Torrington in the 1860s. Strong sales during the Civil War led to expansion in the 1870s. A new Borden creamery
133-477: The hydroelectric Shepaug Dam . The river's watershed area comprises approximately 150 square miles (390 km ), which encompasses the towns of Cornwall , Goshen , Torrington , Warren, Litchfield , Washington, Morris , New Milford , Roxbury, Bridgewater , and Southbury. The vicinity of the Shepaug River has been inhabited by humans since around 4000 B.C. , though according to archaeology , there
152-528: The railroad reached an agreement with the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad to operate trains on that company's newly constructed 6-mile (9.7 km) Hawleyville Branch to Bethel . Eventually the SL&;N would run trains from Litchfield down to South Norwalk for connection with the New Haven or to Wilson's Point for ferry service connection to either New York or to Oyster Bay on Long Island . On July 1, 1898,
171-465: The rails over the Housatonic River between the village of Shepaug and Hawleyville. Other smaller bridges over the Shepaug River were of the box truss type. In 1889, a branch of the line from New Preston was planned four miles (6.4 km) to Lake Wauramaug . This line would have carried vacationing passengers in the summer time and also helped to distribute ice from icehouses throughout
190-665: The retreat still stand in the Steep Rock revervation. In 1925 Rossiter donated his land to a group of trustees so that it could be preserved in its wooded state. In 1929 the Steep Rock Association trustees purchased the rounded oxbow encircled hill known as the Clam Shell and added it to the preserve. The floods of 1955 removed the remnants of the SL&N bridge over the river near the Clam Shell. Over
209-571: The south end of the Shepaug Reservoir in the town of Warren . The reservoir is fed at its northern end by the West Branch Shepaug River and East Branch Shepaug River. The Shepaug runs south through Washington , Roxbury , and Southbury , where it joins the Housatonic River at Lake Lillinonah ( 41°30′37″N 73°19′08″W / 41.5102°N 73.3190°W / 41.5102; -73.3190 ) dammed by
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#1732784005718228-527: The superintendent. Regular service to Litchfield started by January 11, 1872. Due to the expense of building and maintaining the line through rocky rural terrain the railroad suffered low profitability throughout its existence. To help pay creditors it was reorganized as the Shepaug Railroad in 1873 and was again reorganized as the Shepaug, Litchfield and Northern (or SL&N) on May 9, 1887. The first three 30–ton 4-4-0 steam locomotives to run on
247-810: The year. In 1892, the NYNH&;H leased the Hawleyville-Bethel branch to the Shepaug. Stations and flag stops along the line from northeast to southwest with distances from Hawleyville included: In 1889 architect Ehrick Rossiter (1854-1941), an 1871 graduate of The Gunnery in Washington, Connecticut , purchased 100 acres (40 ha) along the Shepaug River to save it from logging. The area included several miles of SL&N tracks. In 1893 philanthropists Edward I. and Mary Lawrence McLane Van Ingen built Holiday House south of Washington Depot following plans drawn up by Rossiter. Holiday House served as
266-501: The years additional land in separate parcels was donated to the trust and it currently conserves more than 2,700 acres (1,100 ha). Several kilometers of former SL&N track right of way form hiking and bridle trails within the Steep Rock Association preserves today. Shepaug River The Shepaug River is a 26.0-mile-long (41.8 km) river in western Connecticut , in the United States . The river originates at
285-401: Was a decline in population around 1000 B.C. The river is a primary source of drinking water for the city of Waterbury , and has been the subject of regional litigation over how much water may be removed from the river. Ehrick Rossiter Ehrick Kensett Rossiter (September 14, 1854 – October 14, 1941) was an American architect known for the country homes he designed. Rossiter
304-861: Was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Architectural League of New York . He retired in 1921 and subsequently made his home in Washington, Connecticut. He died in White Plains, New York , on October 14, 1941. Among Rossiter's architectural designs are 25 estate homes, referred to as "summer cottages", and artist's studios in Washington, Connecticut, most in the Queen Anne ("shingle style") and colonial revival styles. Rossiter buildings in Washington include: Other Rossiter designs include: In 1889 Rossiter bought about 100 acres (40 ha) of land in
323-849: Was born to American parents in Paris, France , on September 14, 1854. His father, Thomas Pritchard Rossiter (1818-1871), was a Hudson River School artist. Ehrick attended The Gunnery school in Washington , Connecticut , graduating in 1871. He then studied architecture at Cornell University , where he received a degree in 1875. He practiced architecture in New York City from 1877 until 1921, working first with partner Frank A. Wright and later with John Muller . He designed residential, institutional and public buildings in New England , New York , New Jersey and Maryland , many of which are now designated as historic properties. Rossiter
342-426: Was built and started shipping dairy products out of Washington Depot soon after the start of operations on the SL&N. Other significant freight shippers included stone quarries near Roxbury and New Preston (marble and granite) and ice cut from Bantam Lake. At first, the SL&N would run two trains down from Litchfield toward Hawleyville with two return trains later in the day each weekday. A single passenger and
361-472: Was renowned for its labyrinthine route. It was said that the line took 32 miles (51 km) of track to travel a distance of only 18 miles (29 km) as the crow flies. A 235 ft (72 m) curved tunnel was cut through rock southwest of Washington Depot that still exists along a hiking trail. There were reputed to be 192 curves along the line from Litchfield to Hawleyville, about six per mile. A 428 ft (130 m) Brown truss type bridge carried
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