Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River Railroad

The Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River Railroad began as the Meriden and Cromwell Railroad, which was chartered in 1871 but never built. Meriden's manufacturers desired a railroad connection independent of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven)'s ex-Hartford and New Haven Railroad, which was Meriden's sole railroad line.[1] Meriden's citizens and industries championed the new railroad as an answer to what they felt were excessive rates charged by the New Haven.[2] In response, the New Haven offered a 25 percent reduction in its prices to Meriden shippers, but the offer came too late to stop construction.[2] Meriden resident Horace C. Wilcox was instrumental in organizing funding for the railroad by soliciting pledges of stock and ultimately serving as president of the project committee tasked with bringing the railroad to completion.[2] A route for the railroad was identified and agreed upon in 1892, but before construction began an improved route with a lower construction cost was selected in May 1883.[2]

The railroad began construction in September 1883, and ran into difficulties from Connecticut's winter weather and swampy ground near a pond along the route. The railroad began normal train service on April 6, 1885, between its Meriden depot at Center Street and docks on the Connecticut River in Cromwell, where steamboats met trains.[2][1]

Derailment in Meriden on August 10, 1888

As an independent railroad, the Meriden and Cromwell operated a pair of passenger trains between its namesake cities, stopping at several intermediate stations, along with freight trains. Connecting service was offered to New York City and as far south as Philadelphia.[2]

Shortly after opening, the Meriden and Cromwell Railroad decided to seek an extension to Waterbury, Connecticut, and the Meriden and Waterbury Railroad was chartered in 1887 for this purpose. Backed by $125,000 in funding from Waterbury residents, construction began the same year.[1] The Waterbury extension was significantly more expensive than planned, in particular because the Connecticut Railroad Commission forbid any grade crossings on the route.[1] As part of the extension, the railroad relocated the Meriden station, with the original location becoming a freight depot instead.[1] On May 24, 1888, the Meriden and Waterbury merged with the Meriden and Cromwell to form the Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River Railroad.[3]

The Waterbury extension opened as far as Dublin Street on July 4, 1888.[4] Construction on the final section in Waterbury to connect with the New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) began later that month and was completed early in 1889.[5] The route of this segment along the Mad River required several substantial trestles. Passenger service was extended to the NY&NE station in Waterbury on April 5, 1889.[6] However, the 2.6 miles (4.2 km) of rail between Dublin Street and the NY&NE stations took 17 minutes, while covering barely 1 mile (1.6 km) as the crow flies. Passenger service was cut back to Dublin Street in August 1890, with the NY&NE connection only used for freight.[7]

In its early years, the MW&CR was the frequent scene of derailments; one such derailment on August 10, 1888, disabled its primary locomotive for several months.[2] The bridge over the Mattabesset River east of Westfield collapsed under a train in January 1891, taking the Westfield–Cromwell section out of service for two months.[8] By 1889, the line owned five locomotives, seven passenger cars, and 154 freight cars.[1]

1912 postcard of West Main Street station in Meriden

Consistently unprofitable, the MW&CR was leased by the NY&NE – which was doing little better – effective October 15, 1892.[9] The New Haven took control of the NY&NE and merged it into its New England Railroad subsidiary in 1895. This gave the New Haven control of the MW&CR, which had been created for the primary purpose of being an alternative to the New Haven. When the MW&CR's bondholders decided to foreclose on the railroad, the New England Railroad responded by shutting down the entire line on May 30, 1896.[1][10] The MW&CR's idled rolling stock was taken away in October 1897, by which point the locomotives had already been sold off.[11]

The state of Connecticut was displeased with the line's closure, and in 1898 threatened to revoke the MW&CR charter unless train operations resumed. The New Haven heeded the warning and brought back train operations in December 1898 to January 1899, after reorganizing the MW&CR as the Middletown, Meriden and Waterbury Railroad and leasing it directly.[12] However, the eastern portion of the line between Cromwell and Westfield was not restored to service, and was abandoned in 1903. Trains instead used the Middletown Branch to reach Middletown from Westfield.[13] In 1904, the New Haven built a connecting track to the Canal Line in Cheshire and established a Waterbury and New Haven passenger service with four daily round trips. This lasted only several years until New Haven–Waterbury streetcar service began.[12][14]

In 1907, the New Haven added trolley wire to the Middletown Branch between Berlin and Middletown via Westfield, plus the ex-MW&CR between East Meriden and Westfield. Middletown–Meriden and Middletown–Berlin electric streetcar service, operated by the Connecticut Company began on July 8, 1907. Steam passenger service was discontinued between East Meriden and Westfield.[15][16] After 1909, remaining steam passenger service on the ex-MW&CR was a single daily round trip between the West Main Street station in Meriden and the Dublin Street station in Waterbury.[17][18] All service between Meriden and Waterbury ended on June 24, 1917, as the New Haven was short of personnel and rolling stock.[18]

The Quinnipiac River Gorge Trail in 2023

The line between the western outskirts of Meriden and the East Farms neighborhood of Waterbury was taken out of service entirely, and ultimately abandoned in 1924, dividing the line into two discontinuous segments.[19] Electric service was discontinued between Westfield and Middletown on December 4, 1927, and between Meriden and Westfield on September 28, 1931, ending all passenger service on the line.[15][20][21][22] The eastern section of the line was abandoned between Westfield and a quarry in eastern Meriden in 1938.[23] A further two miles (3.2 km) between downtown Meriden and the quarry were abandoned in 1969 by New Haven successor Penn Central, which took over that year. The remaining trackage in Meriden, known as the Center Street Branch, was not included in Conrail in 1976 and was instead abandoned.[24][25][26]

The remaining trackage in Waterbury was abandoned east of near Silver Street in 1958 to facilitate construction of Interstate 84, which reused some of the right-of-way. The remaining 2.6-mile (4.2 km) section saw operation by Conrail and subsequently Guilford Transportation Industries until final abandonment in 1994, marking the end of operations anywhere on the MW&CR.[25]

Several sections of the former railbed have been converted into rail trails. Two portions in southwestern Meriden are part of the Meriden Linear Trails system. The 1.3-mile (2.1 km) Quinnipiac River Gorge Trail runs along the Quinnipiac River between the Red Bridge and the Cheshire town line. It opened in December 2006, though formal dedication was not until November 3, 2007.[25][27] The connecting 1.1-mile (1.8 km) Hanover Pond Trail opened in October 2013.[28][29] A 0.5-mile (0.8 km) section of rail trail along Highland Pond in southwestern Middletown is part of the Mattabesett Trail.[30] Plans exist to turn much of the remaining railroad right-of-way into trails.[25]