After the Whiting valley and East Canaan, the roadbed runs on the south side of Route 44 and is well preserved:
Eventually it crosses the road, because the tracks are once again down from the lime plant on the eastern end of town towards about 200 yrds. west of Union Station. There is an active crossing at Rt. 44 just east of the station. The tracks cross the Housatonic Line at the station itself; a spur on the east side of the station allows trains from the very much active Housatonic to travel east on the CNE towards the plant. There is a gap in the Central tracks where a switch would have been at the junction of the spur, rendering all trackage west of the switch useless. If none of that made sense; the old Central main line is being operated as a spur from the Housatonic.
Canaan Union Station was long considered a gem of the northwest hills, having been built in the 1870s by the Housatonic Rwy. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2001 arsonists lit a fire in the restaraunt that was occupying the Central New England side of the station, completely destroying that half. The station had been L shaped, and at the elbow had a magnificent cupola, which was also destroyed in the fire. Heroic efforts on the part of firefighters was able to save the Housatonic side of the station, and recently the Connecticut Railway Historical Society has bought the property in an attempt to restore the station to it's former glory. The news of the fire prompted dismay among rail fans and residents of the Northwest hills alike, as this was truly a beautiful building. This web page was created hastily, although the best tribute to the station was that of Leroy Beaujon, who grew up in the Northwest Hills and remembered working for the New Haven Railroad in the area. I think we're all pretty excited to see what's going to happen, though!
The disused track west of the switch can be seen running towards the burned station in this picture, facing west
Looking east, one can see the crossing of the two roads:
The track is down in this picture... but you can't tell! On the line west of the Housatonic Line are a few Boston and Maine and Maine Central cabooses; this picture is from the deck of one. Its cupola is just visible in the top picture passed the wrecked station.
Past Canaan, the line ran through Lakeville and Salisbury, and on to the state line and Millerton, NY. Eventually, the CNE crossed the Hudson on a magnificent bridge at Poughkeepsie. Someday, this web page will cover those areas. For now though, we have a lot more history in Conn. to find.
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