Our welcome to Danbury.
Photo by Doug Scott

The Housatonic Flyer

The "Maybrook" was once NH's main east west freight route between Devon, CT on the Shore Line and Campbell Hall, NY at the west end of the railroad. The large Maybrook freight yard east of Campbell Hall gave the line its name. After the Poughkeepsie Bridge burned in 1974, the Maybrook lost its status as a through freight route. West of Danbury, what remains of the Maybrook is out of service; east of Berkshire Junction, it serves a few HRRC customers. In summer, Providence & Worcester trainloads of construction stone move from Reeds Gap quarry to Danbury via the Maybrook.

From Berkshire Junction to Danbury, a double track remains, though HRRC designates one track as a long siding. We threaded through an industrial area before arriving at the "Maybrook side" platform of the Danbury station, built in 1903. The station is headquarters of the Danbury Railway Museum, our host during the Flyer's one-hour layover.