The New Haven and Northampton Railroad (founded as the New Haven and Northampton Company, also known as the Canal Line) was a railroad originally built alongside a canal between 1847 and 1850 in Connecticut. Leased by the New York and New Haven Railroad from 1849 to 1869, the railroad expanded northwards to Massachusetts and its second namesake city in 1859. Upon the end of the lease in 1869, the company expanded further into Massachusetts, reaching as far north as Shelburne and Turners Falls.
After a fight for control of the company by several other railroads in the 1880s, the New Haven and Northampton was leased by New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1887. The company continued to exist as a lessor until October 26, 1910, when it was formally merged into the New Haven system. In the 20th century, much of the line was gradually abandoned, though two portions continue to see freight service as of 2021. The vast majority of the abandoned line is now part of the New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway, which includes the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail where the right of way is owned by the State of Connecticut.
As a canal
The New Haven and Northampton began in the 1820s as a canal company. It operated a canal which, upon its opening in 1835, provided a connection between New Haven, Connecticut, and Northampton, Massachusetts. Despite the belief of its promoters that the canal would carry a significant amount of business, the expected levels of traffic never materialized, thanks in large part to the completion of the parallel Hartford and New Haven Railroad a few years after the opening of the canal. Additionally, the canal was only operable for eight months of the year, as it closed during the winter.
In the early 1840s, the canal was bought by New Haven businessman Joseph Earl Sheffield, who came to the conclusion that the struggling canal could work much better if it were converted to a railroad. Sheffield had become wealthy from cotton business in the Southern United States and took control through purchasing a large portion of the company's stock.
As a railroad
Formation Following authorization in May 1846 by the Connecticut General Assembly to switch from a canal company to a railroad company, work began on building a railroad along the canal right of way. Sheffield hired engineer Alexander Catlin Twining, a veteran railroad surveyor, to determine the new railroad's route. Twining's survey found the best route was to reuse the canal infrastructure, including its bed and towpath, from New Haven north to Plainville, beyond which a number of destinations in Massachusetts were possible. Twining singled out Westfield, Northampton, and Pittsfield as good options. Sheffield ordered construction to begin at once while leaving the question of the northern terminus open, and to this end formed his own construction company to do the work.
Starting in New Haven, the railroad reached Plainville, away, by the end of 1847. A temporary station was built between Hillhouse Avenue and Temple Street in downtown New Haven along with engine facilities, though the canal continued further south. As built, the railroad closely followed (or in places was even built on top of) the existing Cheshire Turnpike between New Haven and Hamden, leading to a high frequency of accidents between trains and horse-drawn carriages. In 1850, it was joined by the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill Railroad's line between Hartford and Waterbury. The first trains ran in January 1848, though construction continued northwards to Granby, Connecticut.
Expansion and lease by the New York and New Haven Railroad On January 11, 1848, the New York and New Haven Railroad leased the line between New Haven and Plainville for 20 years effective on July 1, 1849, for a price of $45,000 per year. The New York and New Haven was not yet complete between its namesake cities itself, and Sheffield was both a member of the company's board of directors and a significant investor. The lease agreement was orchestrated by Sheffield to allow northward construction on the New Haven and Northampton Railroad to continue, with a provision allowing the New York and New Haven to lease further segments as they were built.
Under Sheffield's leadership, the New Haven and Northampton continued to build north. In 1849, the Canal Line made an attempt to reach Springfield, Massachusetts, and requested charters from the Massachusetts and Connecticut legislatures authorizing such an extension. This ran into intense opposition, both from the competing Hartford and New Haven Railroad, and from legislators in both states. Opponents argued that the New Haven and Northampton's charter authorized it to build a railroad "on or near" the right of way of the previous canal. This granted the company the freedom to diverge slightly from the canal's route where necessary by terrain or other obstacles, but also constrained them to follow the canal's general route, from New Haven northward towards Granby, and therefore not towards Springfield. The matter went to the Connecticut Superior Court, where a judge ruled that the railroad could not build towards Springfield, as doing so would violate its charter.
Between 1849 and 1850, two branch lines were constructed. The first was between Farmington and Collinsville, where it connected with Samuel W. Collins's Collins Company, a major manufacturer. Sheffield envisioned this branch as the start of a longer route ultimately reaching Pittsfield and even Vermont. The other was a short extension connecting Simsbury to Tariffville, which had a significant concentration of manufacturers. Both opened in 1850, as did the extension of the main line to Granby. Almost immediately after they opened, the New York and New Haven leased these as well, effective April 25, 1850, for an additional $40,000 per year.
The New York and New Haven was motivated to lease the Canal Line as leverage in negotiations with the Hartford and New Haven. If the New Haven and Northampton were built to Northampton, it would be in direct competition with the H&NH's line between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts. These negotiations concluded with the New York and New Haven agreeing that the Canal Line would not build north of Granby, and only limited connecting service was to be made available with the HP&F in Plainville, since traffic could potentially travel between New Haven and Hartford via a transfer in that city. In return, the Hartford and New Haven contributed approximately $12,000 a year towards the New York and New Haven's payments for its lease of the Canal Line. This arrangement upset the communities along the Canal Line, such as Southington, which were left with poor service to and from Connecticut's capital city. Besides being a bargaining chip for the New York and New Haven, the lease also guaranteed the company both access to the New Haven and Northampton's land holdings in New Haven and to rail traffic generated on the line with an origin or destination on the New York and New Haven system.
In spite of the "gentlemen's agreement" between the Hartford and New Haven and the New York and New Haven, the Canal Line's proponents, led by Sheffield, were determined to still reach Northampton. To this end, in 1849 an officially unrelated company was created under the name of the Farmington Valley Railroad, which received a charter from the Connecticut legislature to build a rail line northwards from Granby to the Massachusetts state line. The Farmington Valley Railroad went as far as grading its line before the Hartford and New Haven obtained an injunction forcing work to stop, arguing that construction beyond Granby was prohibited by the agreement between it and the New York and New Haven. This succeeded only temporarily in stopping construction. While Sheffield left Connecticut for a time to support construction of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and the Michigan Southern Railroad in the Midwestern United States, within a few years he returned and committed funding to complete both the Farmington Valley Railroad and expansion into Massachusetts after the agreement blocking northward construction was annulled.
Soon after the Farmington Valley Railroad opened, the New Haven and Northampton acquired a 1,000 year lease of the new company for $10,000. Building in Massachusetts proved to be more difficult, as several railroads in that state were determined to keep the New Haven and Northampton confined to Connecticut, most of all the Hartford and New Haven. The New Haven and Northampton's charter allowed it to build in Connecticut, but it lacked an equivalent charter from the state of Massachusetts. Two more small companies were established in 1852 and promptly received charters from the Massachusetts General Court; the Hampden Railroad was to build from the state line to Westfield, Massachusetts, while the Northampton and Westfield Railroad would build from Westfield to Northampton. In 1853, these two companies merged to form the Hampshire and Hampden Railroad, the name derived from the Hampshire and Hampden Canal which was once the Massachusetts portion of the Farmington Canal. The combined line between Granby and Northampton opened in 1856, and was operated by the New Haven and Northampton. On October 1, 1859, the New Haven and Northampton acquired a new 999-year lease of the Hampshire and Hampden in exchange for agreeing to assume $200,000 of the latter company's bonds. All three of these smaller companies were formally consolidated with the New Haven and Northampton on July 1, 1862.
In 1867, construction began on a branch from Northampton to Williamsburg. The branch opened in 1868.
Independent operations
The New York and New Haven Railroad's lease of the New Haven and Northampton expired in 1869, and was not renewed. From the start, the New York and New Haven had been suffering a significant loss from its lease of the Canal Line, losing between $35,000 and $45,000 per year. By 1860, the New York and New Haven had lost over $250,000 from the lease, while the Hartford and New Haven lost a further $120,000. Thus, the New Haven and Northampton was an independent company for the first time in 20 years. The company quickly began to expand its lines at this time, nearly immediately starting construction on an extension of the Collinsville Branch to Pine Meadow, the site of a tool manufacturer. This extension opened for traffic in 1870, and was further expanded to New Hartford, Connecticut, in 1876. Construction between Collinsville and New Hartford was along a narrow gorge following the Farmington River. It was reported that construction along the river was so difficult that the area was nicknamed "Satan's Kingdom".
In Massachusetts, the New Haven and Northampton built a branch from North Westfield to Holyoke in 1871, a distance of . Here, the company connected with the Connecticut River Railroad.
The New Haven and Northampton began a switch from iron to steel rails in 1872, which were stronger and better able to handle increasingly heavy trains.
The between New Haven and Hamden, long the scene of collisions with traffic on the adjacent Cheshire Turnpike, were rebuilt on a dedicated right of way in 1880. The relocated route allowed 50 grade crossings to be closed.
In the early 1880s, two additional branches were built. The first was the long Shelburne Falls Extension, built in 1881 between Northampton and Shelburne via South Deerfield. The following year, the long Turners Falls branch was built between South Deerfield and Turners Falls.
Assumption of control by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad