Robin and I left from the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, Connecticut but due to the heavy traffic and the threat of rain, drove to Waterbury and parked. I had pre-purchased my tickets online for the journeys from Waterbury to Bridgeport and Stamford to New Canaan. I would buy an upgraded ticket from the conductor for the bridge between Bridgeport and Stamford. Robin would just buy a Waterbury-to-New Canaan ticket from the conductor on the Waterbury-to-Devon train. That way, even if it rained, I will have ridden every rail mile of Metro North.
Metro-North History and LinesMetro-North, a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), serves the New York Metropolitan Area, running service between New York City and its northern suburbs in New York and Connecticut, while also providing service within New Jersey. Areas served include Port Jervis, Spring Valley, Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, White Plains and Wassaic in New York and Stamford, New Canaan, Danbury, Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Haven in Connecticut. Service in Connecticut is operated under contract for the Connecticut Department of Transportation; conversely, service on lines west of the Hudson River is operated under contract by NJ Transit. Metro-North also provides local rail service within the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx.
Metro-North is the descendant of commuter rail services dating back as early as 1832. By 1969, they had all been acquired by Penn Central. The MTA acquired the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines by 1972, but Penn Central continued to operate them under contract. Service was transferred to Conrail in 1976, when it absorbed most of Penn Central's railroad functions after Penn Central's bankruptcy. The system took its current form in 1983, when the MTA took over direct operation of Conrail's commuter services in the northern portion of the Tri-State Area and formed Metro-North to run them.
There are 124 stations on Metro-North Railroad's five active lines and three branches, which operate on more than 787 miles of track, with the passenger railroad system totalling 385 miles of route. It is the second busiest commuter railroad in North America in terms of annual ridership.
The Harlem Line runs from Grand Central to Wassaic, in Amenia, New York and has 38 stations, the most out of any mainline on the system. On the electrified portion of the line, local trains usually run between Grand Central and North White Plains. Express trains usually skip the stops between Grand Central and White Plains, before running local between White Plains and Southeast. North of Southeast, the Harlem Line is single-tracked and uses diesel- powered trains. Service here is mostly shuttle or “scoot” operation between Southeast and Wassaic and is sometimes referred to as the "Wassaic Branch". At present, there are only two scheduled peak trains providing through service between Wassaic and Grand Central in each direction.
The Hudson Line runs alongside the Hudson River from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie, New York and is split into two distinct segments at Croton-Harmon, with electrified service running south of the station and diesel service running north of it. Additionally MNRR has introduced new dual-mode diesel/electric service on the full length of the Hudson line. Usually, electric trains run local between Grand Central and Croton-Harmon. Diesel trains run express between Grand Central and Croton-Harmon, before running local between Croton-Harmon and Poughkeepsie.
The New Haven Line runs between Grand Central and New Haven, Connecticut. Since most of its trackage is shared with Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, the New Haven Line is the only fully-electrified mainline on the Metro-North network. It is split into an "inner zone" and an "outer zone" at Stamford - similar to White Plains on the Harlem Line and Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line. Usually, "inner zone" trains run local, serving all stops between Grand Central and Stamford. "Outer zone" trains run express between Grand Central and Stamford, before running local between Stamford and New Haven. There is also limited peak-hour service to New Haven State Street. The New Haven Line also has three branch lines: the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury Branches. The New Canaan Branch, like the New Haven mainline, is fully electrified; the Danbury and Waterbury Branches use diesel-powered trains.
Metro-North provides service west of the Hudson River on trains from Hoboken Terminal, New Jersey, jointly run with NJ Transit under contract. There are two branches: the Port Jervis Line and the Pascack Valley Line. The Port Jervis Line is accessed from two NJ Transit lines, the Main Line and the Bergen County Line, and terminates in Port Jervis and the Pascack Valley line in Spring Valley. Trackage on the Port Jervis Line north of the Suffern Yard is leased from the Norfolk Southern Railway by the MTA. NJ Transit owns all of the Pascack Valley Line, including the portion in New York.
Most stops for the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Lines are in New Jersey, so NJ Transit provides most of the rolling stock and all the staff; Metro-North supplies some equipment. Metro-North equipment has been used on other NJ Transit lines on the Hoboken division. All stations west of the Hudson River in New York are owned and operated by Metro-North, except Suffern, which is owned and operated by NJ Transit.
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Waterbury station complete with tower, built in 1908.
The train to Devon.
The motive power for our journey. We boarded the Waterbury Branch train and for Robin, it was all new mileage, whereas my new mileage would be to Devon and the connection with the North East Corridor. The train stopped at Naugatuck, North Seymour, Seymour, Ansonia, Derby, Derby Junction and Devon, where we would detrain at the new station. Due to drawbridge rebuilding at the junction, all trains terminated there and passengers transferred to New Haven Line trains to reach their destination. We departed Waterbury and Robin bought his ticket to New Canaan from our conductor.
Views on the way to Devon.
We arrived at Devon as the day grew darker.
Looking down both platforms.
Our train to Stamford arrived and we boarded Metro-North's newest cars. The conductor sold me an upgrade so I could get to Stamford and the rain soon began as we made our way south on the North East Corridor.
The interior of the Metro-North's new cars.
On the way to Stamford. We arrived there and our New Canaan train was on another platform so we went up and over.
The sign told me we are on the correct train. We boarded to finally ride Metro-North's New Canaan Branch, whose stops were Glenbrook, Springdale, Woodway and Talmadge Hill before the final destination of New Canaan.
As we departed Stamford, then travelled about two miles to reach the New Canaan Branch.
From this timetable you have an idea of our route today, which is in a very urban environment.
The signage at the stations is extremely clear. A few minutes later, we arrived at the New Canaan station and I had completed riding every mile of the Metro-North Railroad.
The train at New Canaan.
Proof that I was here. Robin and I visited the Metro-North ticket machine where I bought my Stamford-to-Bridgeport segment and Robin bought his New Canaan-to-Waterbury segment.
Robin on the train here; we then returned on the same route.
Back at Stamford, we bid goodbye to the train.
It was a very wet evening but we went into the station to explore.
Interior of the station. We went to the basement and found a Subway to get dinner and took it back into the station to eat, after which we returned to the wet platform and found a dry spot to watch trains.
A New Haven line train came on its way to New York City.
More Metro-North trains arrived and departed as we waited for our train to Devon.
Right on time at 7:52 PM, a New Haven Line train arrived and picked us up. As we neared our destination, we had to walk through four cars forward to detrain. In a downpour, we dashed to the waiting Waterbury train and boarded for the ride back to Waterbury and once there, we left the Metro-North Railroad. A special thank you to the them for all the great trips they have provided me over the years.
It took a lot of concentration to drive through the construction zone to reach the Waterbury Quality Inn and a good night's sleep. A special thank you to Elizabeth for helping with the train times for this trip.
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