Housatonic Railroad

The Housatonic Railroad is a Class III short line freight railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. Its original incarnation was chartered in 1836 and began service in 1840, running north from Bridgeport, Connecticut along the Housatonic River valley into Massachusetts. That company was leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1892 and merged into it in 1898, eventually forming part of the New Haven's Berkshire Division. Passenger service declined after the New Haven merged into Penn Central in 1969, and the last passenger train ran on April 30, 1971, with parts of the line abandoned or transferred to other operators over the following decade. A new Housatonic Railroad company was chartered in 1983 to revive freight service on the abandoned trackage, beginning with 34 miles between New Milford and Canaan, Connecticut. The modern railroad has since expanded northward into Massachusetts and westward into New York, operating 161 miles of track from its headquarters in Canaan, Connecticut. In 2015 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts purchased 37 miles of the railroad's Berkshire Line with an eye toward future passenger service.