🚂 All Aboard!! 🚂 Virtual 4.0 2024 Virtual Cache

The Essex Steam Train and Riverboat has been in operation since 1971. I am placing this virtual in memory of my Grandfather Who I have many found memories of. He was an avid train watcher as well as a model railroad collector. He and I both came here on many occasions and road the steam train and riverboat. He never got to experience some of the newer activities they do now, like the mystery train ride or the Christmas themed rides like the Polar Express, which I know he would have enjoyed. 

Construction

The vision of a Valley Railroad started in the 1840s when President of the Charter Oak Life Insurance Company, James Clark Walkleytraced the 44-mile route by stagecoach with friend Horace Johnson.

Walkley and a group of business men obtained a state charter on July 17, 1868, to form the Connecticut Valley Railroad Company and start the process of building a railroad.

During 1868–1869, survey crews worked to map out the line from Hartford, Connecticut, to Saybrook Point. In April 1870, construction of the line began, with ground breaking taking place in Higganum, Connecticut. The plan called for three phases, the "Northern Division" starting in Hartford and continuing to Middletown, the "Middle Division" which continued to what is known today as Goodspeed Landing, and the "South Division" which finished the line to Saybrook Point.

The Connecticut River Valley allowed for an easy construction, as no tunnels or major bridges were required. The line was completed during the summer of 1871 with the first ceremonial train run over the 45 miles (72 km) on July 29, 1871, at a steady speed of 22 mph.[1] At $34,000 per mile, the line ended up costing $1,482,903.

Connecticut Valley Railroad

The first "regular" train started on July 31, 1871. On August 24, 1871, the Connecticut Valley Railroad declared an official opening. The schedules of trains operating along the Valley Railroad called for one mixed train and four passenger trains each way daily (except Sunday) with fifteen stops along the way.

The company grossed $34,000 in its first year. It continued to grow, grossing $250,000/year in 1873.

Financial trouble plagued many early railroads, and the Connecticut Valley defaulted in 1876 on its second mortgage bonds and was placed in receivership.

Hartford & Connecticut Valley Railroad

On July 1, 1880, the Hartford and Connecticut Valley Railroad took control with president Samuel Babcock.

Passenger service ended in stages: between Saybrook Point and Fenwick in 1917, between Fenwick and Saybrook Junction in 1922, between Saybrook Junction and Middletown in 1929 or 1930, and Middletown and Hartford in 1933.

Valley Railroad Company (Present Day Company)

The Valley Line was abandoned in March 1968, by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad several months before merging into Penn Central. Penn Central had the Valley Line put up for abandonment. The Valley Line was saved by the Connecticut Valley Railroad Association (CVRA, later becoming Railroad Museum of New England) due to concerns of the abandoned branch line being torn up by the Penn Central. The Connecticut Valley Railroad Association, the Empire State Railway Museum, and private investors created today's for-profit Valley Railroad, obtaining a charter from the Connecticut State Legislature. The State of Connecticut took ownership of the line from the Penn Central, and designated the Valley line as a linear State Park. It reopened on July 29, 1971, with ESRM's 103 being the first locomotive to run on the current Valley Railroad with a train running between Essex and Deep River, 100 years to the day of the first train on the original line. The train was later expanded to Chester in the late 1970s and expanded as far north as Haddam in later years.

Seasonally, trains connect with a steam riverboat at Deep River, which offers rides along the Connecticut River.

History from Wikipedia

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👉 Logging requirements: 

On the left front side of the engine, just below the main steam pipe, there is a plaque that has the name of the Company that built the engine and a number. Send the name of that company along with the number. A photo of yourself in front of the steam engine, but without the plaque showing. If your with a group, a group photo as well.

You may post your find, and may only hear back from me if it is incorrect. 

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Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.