Connecticut Central Railroad Records

Collection

Identifier: 2009-0091

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The collection consists of administrative files, photographs, and DVDs associated with the formation, operation and demise of the Connecticut Central Railroad, a freight line that ran in and around Middletown, Connecticut, from 1987 to 1998. Included in the collection are administrative files of day-to-day operations, employee timesheets, rate quotes, bills of laden, train operation manuals, financial documents, and notes written by company presidents James Goodwin and Russell St. John. Also in the collection are documents dealing with the creation and eventual sale of the company, proposed business plans, logo sketches, naming of officers, corporation set-up forms, and stock transfer agreements. The collection includes photographs of company employees, trains and equipment, derailments and break-ins, track surveys, and construction photos, as well as DVDs showing the building of railroad track, a video of one of the company’s locomotives appearing on the David Letterman Show as part of a sketch for a show on August 13, 1990, and of the swing bridge in Middletown, Connecticut, used in a 1993 music video of the Billy Joel song "River of Dreams."

Dates

Creation: undated, 1967-1998, 2008

Access

The collection is open and available for research.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

History

In 1986, Conrail filed for abandonment of trackage in and around Middletown, Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Transportation purchased this so-called "Middletown Cluster" and named the Valley Railroad as designated operator. The Valley Railroad - an Essex, Connecticut-based tourist operator - had successfully negotiated an interchange agreement with Conrail and set up a subsidiary called the Connecticut Central Railroad to provide the service. The first train ran on May 26, 1987.

Connecticut Central Railroad (assigned alphanumeric code CCCL - 416) handled pulpboard, lumber, fertilizer, chemicals, and brick at above-projected levels until 1990 when its volume fell by one-third mostly due to the recession and closure of a major customer. That same year the Valley Railroad sold its interest to a group of investors and the CCCL became independent. The signing of a large sludge-hauling contract with the City of Middletown in 1990 plus the 1992 arrival of a large steel business enabled the CCCL to maintain a viable operation.

With a view to expansion, CCCL negotiated with the State of Connecticut for freight operation rights on the "Wethersfield Secondary" between the railroad’s northern end in Cromwell, Connecticut, and the Connecticut Southern Railroad’s Hartford, Connecticut, terminal. Shortly after these rights were awarded, the Providence and Worcester Railroad acquired the CCCL and began operations in April 1998.

Extent

3 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection consists of administrative files, photographs, and DVDs associated with the formation, maintenance and demise of the Connecticut Central Railroad, a freight line that ran in and around Middletown, Connecticut, from 1987 to 1998.

Acquisition Information

The Connecticut Central Railroad Records were donated in August 2009 by Mr. James Goodwin and Mr. Russell St. John, former presidents of the company.

Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to New England railroad and Connecticut businesses. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the Reading Room desk.