Stafford - Rockville Trolley Line

Stafford - Rockville Trolley Line
The "Interurban"
"Stafford Springs Street Railway Company"
1906 - 1930

Passes thru Stafford (~5.5mi), Ellington (1.75mi),
Tolland (4 mi), & Rockville (~1.5mi to center)
(From Rockville, there are connections to Willimantic, Hartford, & Springfield)

10 January 2006 - Stafford Historical Society SR Trolley slide presentation by Bob White, 7pm
21 May 2006 - Vernon Historical Society SR Trolley slide presentation by Bob White, 2pm

Stafford-Rockville Trolley Trail (SRTT) Brochure (228kb pdf)

map Go to Bottom Bike-path Resources Bike-path Loop Back to Holt Fountain page

History -
            The trolley line (1906 - 1928) started at the garage on Furnace Ave, passed to the north of the Holt Fountain, up the center of Main Street, thru the center of the triangle where the "cannon" is now, thru the red 2 car garage, & ran parallel, but above the train tracks up to the bridge over the Central Vermont tracks & Middle River. The route went by the Fair Grounds to WStafford, behind Pelizari Sales, over Cooper Lane. It went thru a cut & under a wooden bridge on Conklin Road near the Button Shop on Rt30.
            In 1912, service was opened between Rockville & Hartford. The Stafford route was extended along the present Rt-30 to join the Rockville Trolley at Crystal Lake. The Rockville Trolley had extended from Grove St Station first to Shenipsit Lake, passing thru what is now the St Bernard Cemetery. Crossed present Rt74 & up the E side of the Lake past the now gone recreation site. It later was extended to the Crystal Lake Hotel
            Automobiles became more common in the 20's & 30's. It may look as tho the automobile put the trolley out of business, but actually it was the program of the Ct state government to upgrade roads for "all weather use" that made it economically feasible for buses to replace trolleys, shifting the cost of road maintainence from the company to the taxpayer. Buses used public maintained roads rather than privately maintained tracks.
            The earliest mention of the "Stafford Springs Street Railway" in the land records is in 1902. Other names that appear are the "Rockville-Stafford Springs Trolley Line", the "Connecticut Street Railway Company", & finally the "Connecticut Company" was selling pieces of its ROW to adjacent land owners in 1929. It appears, therefore, that the Stafford Spgs Str Railway didn't simply go out of business, but evolved by growth, or "mergers & acquisitions" into the Connecticut Company (which switched to buses ~1930), bought by ConnDOT in 1976.
            Today interest is developing to follow as much of the old trolley line as possible with a multi-use Rail Trail through the 4 towns to join the "Spur" in Rockville. Some people even feel that trolley & passenger trains may eventually become competitive again as fossil fuel becomes scarse.
            NYNHH Railway history
            Connecticut Company Trolleys

Stafford Section - 5.5mi - There are 5 segments: Stafford map, WStafford map, Crystal Lake North map

Main Street in Stafford Spgs
Behind houses between Main St & the CV tracks
CV tracks & 300ft bridge to Fair Grounds
Fairgrounds to WStafford, along Cooper Lane

Pelizari Feed

Cow Passage

WStafford to Ellington Town Line along Rt-30

Stafford Bike Trail Committee

SBTC

Stafford-Rockville Trolley Bike Trail Alliance

Ellington Section - 1.75mi - Crystal Lake map
Under Rt-30 - WShore Rd could be used to keep off Rt-30
Was there a spur running off main line toward the Green, & the hotel? By Summer 2005, I have come to believe the trolley was first extended to the Crystal Lake Hotel. When the decision was made to extend it to Stafford, this "spur" was tornup, & the trolley bed was partly dug up for the new route (or some other purpose).

Tolland Section - 4mi - Crystal Lake South map, Brown's Bridge Rd map, Shenipsit Lake map
    Much of this distance is on CWC land - Brown's Bridge went over the Trolley line & the cut was filled before 2000
    South of Brown's Bridge is a cut, with knee wall at the south end, & farther on a brook went thru a big tunnel under a fill. In 2005, this tunnel appears to have been 1/2 collapsed for many years.
        Contact Linda Farmer, Town Planner, 871-3602
            Conserving Tolland

Rockville Section - 1.5mi - Rockville map
After the Trolley line emerges from the woods N of Rt-74 (near the CL&P garage), it crosses Rt-74, runs thru a couple houses, & crosses road into St.Bernard's Cemetary, then curves around toward Grove St.
Contact Bruce Dinnie, Parks & Rec, 870-3520 x101

Rail Trail Resources Connecticut Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance - () - Connecticut Bicycle Coalition - () - Connecticut Greenways - (East Coast Greenways - Ct) - Bill O'Neill Connecticut Trolley Museum - Enfield, 860-627-6540, 11am - 5pm, Hugh Brower UConn - SSSR Records Stafford Historical Society Rockville Spur (pdf) Rails with Trails - Could be the key to a Stafford-Palmer connection!! Massachusetts Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT - Acton-Hudson-Marlborough) "Bruce Freeman" Rail Trail (Lowell to Framingham; various stages of planning; Phase I funded, construction 2006) - A young group we should study to help us grow & make progress COCHITUATE RAIL TRAIL (Natick, Ma area) Design and Construction Issues discussed!! Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (Mass Bike) - Berkshire Bike Path Council - Mass Central RT project Craig Della Penna - Greenway Consultant, Belchertown Railtrail - planned, but stalled as of 2004 Natick Southwick Rails to Trails Project - concept & "Demonstration Grant" Palmer-Ware (no link) - planning Monson Bike routes (no link) - inactive committee? Norwortuck Railtrail - Northampton to Belchertown, Ma Northampton RT Webcam - The mysterious "Titanic Railroad" from Palmer to Providence. Construction stopped after Titanic Sank. Officially the "Grand Trunk Railway". Other Trail of the Month - search for New England trails - there are 2 in 2003 Key to Ct off-road RT New Haven to Northampton RT project NYC Bicycle Network Info Walkable Communities - Bicycle Policy & Signage - from Knoxville, Tn Tunneling for bike trail grade separated crossings - Contact Gerald M. Skalla GSkalla(at)dr-sauer.com Echo Bridges - New England Maps - 1890's to 1950's FHWA Transportation Enhancement Program - grant program Bicycle Quotes - Bill Strickland's "Quotations about Bicycling" Bike Lane/Trail Bloopers RTC-DART - trail development and technical assistance team National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse (NTEC) - we can help you learn how to use TE funds to revitalize the transportation experience in your community STPP - Surface Transportation Policy Project American League of Bicyclists - "Effective Cycling" by John Forester ($37) - model for Driver Training Manuals? Organization Assistance - - - -

Proposed
Stafford - Rockville - Willimantic
Bike Trail Loop

1) Stafford - Rockville (~12mi); in planning (red)
2) Rockville - Willimantic (~25mi); in operation (green) - if this was paved, even 6ft wide, you would get 10x the traffic!! Hop River Trail
Unit Manager Mike Reid, (860)295-9523 Michael.Reid(at)po.state.ct.us
        Rockville-Spur-part1 - 5.7mi
        Vernon-part2 - 3.8mi
        Bolton-part3 - 3.5mi
        Andover-part4 - 6mi (Echo Bridge for trail due Summer 2005!)
        Columbia/Coventry-part5 - 5.4mi - Why is this in such bad shape? No signs to mark this "beginning"
        Willimantic-part6-Missing (why?) - No signs to guide people thru the missing part 6!!
        Chaplin-part7
3) Willimantic - Stafford (~25mi); in concept stage (blue)
        We propose an On-road dedicated bike lane, until resources are available for all new construction parallel to Rt-32, & the Willimantic River; should be done in conjunction with the Willimantic River Alliance

Rockville - Ellington maps
1) Rockville
2) Windermere
3) Ellington
4) Sadd's Mill
The Hartford & Springfield Street Railway (HSSR) had tracks from Rockville to Warehouse Point until ~1928, passing thru Broad Brook, Melrose, & Ellington

Supported by (on Blue Line near I-84, Exit 69):
Alternative Spoke LLC (map)
Bicycle Sales, Service, & Accessories

15 Phelps Way
West Willington, Ct 06279
860-487-6100

Written August'04 by R.N.White, revised 19 Feb'07
Email: NEAR (at) cox.net

More support sought