Railroads in Guilford

Railroads in Guilford. . , Railroads have provided a vital lifeline for Guilford residents since July 1, 1852, when the first train steamed into the new wood-framed depot pictured in the postcard above. For a fare of 60 cents, open flatcars pulled by a small wood-fired locomotive carried passengers from New Haven at the breakneck speed of 25 miles per hour. The original Shore Line Railway was absorbed by the New Haven Railroad, which in the mid-1870s erected an impressive array of maintenance facilities in Guilford., The complex included a rectangular brick engine house and an octagonal water tower (with a redwood tank on the second story, essential for supplying steam locomotives), as well as a 50-foot-diameter turntable, carpenter shop, express office, switching tower, and freight yards. By 1880 Guilford was served by nearly a dozen passenger trains a day, with additional flag stops in Leete's Island and Sachem's Head., The adjacent Knowles-Lombard Canning and Preserving Company helped generate a reliable flow of freight traffic until the end of the steam era in the late 1940s. The long decline in passenger traffic was reversed by the inauguration of the Shore Line East Commuter Rail service in 1989. Guilford's historic depot was razed in 2000, but the water tower and engine house, with their ornate pilasters and oculus windows, are recognized as rare surviving examples of 19th-century railroad buildings., Display by the Guilford Preservation Alliance