Exploring the ABANDONED Cedar Hill Rail Yard (North Haven, CT)

Описание: J-MASS INSTAGRAM: @jmassofficial

Located along the Tidal Marsh Trail in North Haven, Connecticut are remnants of what was once one of the busiest and biggest rail yards, not just in New England, but in the United States: the Cedar Hill Rail Yard. First constructed in the early 1890s by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, the rail yard first opened for operations in 1894, with a capacity of just 400 railroad cars. However, as the Cedar Hill Rail Yard grew and expanded over the coming years, so too would its ability to hold even more trains. By 1917, as the U.S. was entering World War I, Cedar Hill Rail Yard was granted a $20 million budget to increase its operations, giving it a new capacity of 4,320 railroad cars. The rail yard would rapidly modernize and expand until it reached the era of World War II, the peak of its operations. By 1941, the Cedar Hill Rail Yard was "the world's largest single-railroad-operated freight yard" and could handle more than 5,000 railroad cars each day. Unfortunately, this boom in operations would not last long; after the end of the war, the rail yard changed hands between many different railroad companies as they fell into bankruptcy or moved to rival rail yards. By 1999, the rail yard had been purchased by CSX Transportation and its size and capacity was significantly diminished.

It is important to note that Cedar Hill Rail Yard is, in fact, still a working rail yard. There are still trains that utilize the railroads, including Amtrak, the Providence and Worcester Railroad, and the Connecticut Southern Railroad. However, deep in the woods beyond the active rail lines are a number of abandoned structures and ruins, deteriorating with the passage of time. Railroad switch towers, tracks, and other skeletal structures dot the dense forests along the nearby Quinnipiac River, remnants of the once-thriving rail yard at its height. Of course, one of the most iconic landmarks here in the abandoned section of Cedar Hill Rail Yard is the polar bear sculpture, designed by New Haven artist M. J. DeAngelo in 2020. This 14-foot-tall polar bear is made from scrap wood and metal, collected from the large abandoned structure it is located in. As this was my very first time exploring the rail yard, I was truly shocked by how much abandoned history there was to see! It was admittedly difficult at times to navigate through the dense woods, but coming face-to-face with the polar bear sculpture was truly breathtaking! I'd highly recommend this site to any urban explorer! If you guys liked this video, make sure to stay tuned for more exploration videos all across New England!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_H...

00:00 "J-MASS Explores New England" Intro
00:20 Introduction to Cedar Hill Rail Yard
02:38 Tunnel & Culvert
05:32 Active Railroad Tracks
06:40 Defunct Railroad Tracks
08:32 Mysterious Ruins
09:40 First Railroad Switch Tower
12:53 Abandoned Building & Polar Bear
18:46 Scrap Metal Ruins
19:47 Postwar History
21:21 Second Railroad Switch Tower
22:52 Quinnipiac River & Tidal Marsh
23:22 Final Exploration
25:33 Outro