On Saturday my family had a surprise birthday party for my father, and I was the one tasked with getting him out of the house while everybody assembled at my parents’ house. Due to the fact that I don’t drive, this was somewhat easy – I just had to get him to give me a ride somewhere. Somehow, I convinced him to go over to Ansonia station so I could take photos, and then to pick up some tools to work on my railroad sign/lights. I punched in the address for Ansonia in the GPS, and when we arrived my Dad was like, “So, where’s the station?” I pointed and said that it was right in front of us. He was confused, “No really, where is it?”
Needless to say, the Ansonia station is very small. I almost don’t even want to call it a station, it is a railroad stop. There is a track, a small low-level platform, a canopy and bus-stop style waiting area, and that is about it. Well, actually there were crows that were probably feasting on something a train had run over, and stacks of Watchtower magazines left by the delightful Jehovah’s Witnesses (people with propaganda love train stations!). On the 71 mile ride to Grand Central, you’ll have plenty of time to read that aforementioned propaganda – especially since there are no direct to Grand Central trains on the Waterbury Branch. Slightly more interesting than the station was the railroad bridge just south of the station, where the tracks cross the Naugatuck River. I waited for the late north-bound train, and didn’t even get that spectacular of a photo.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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In the early 1950’s, there were three or four sidings, a large brick passenger station and a larger frame freight station at this location. My first trips from here to Bridgeport were behind steam (wish I knew just what the locos were). Later trips were behind Alco RS models and, finally, on Budd cars. From Bridgeport, I rode to New York behind old flat bottomed electrics. In August of 1955, this area was devastated by flooding with the passenger station being almost completely submerged. If my memory is correct, the trestle south of the station was moved off the end piers by the force of the water. The rails of the main line were bent almost like pretzels. In October of the same year, another severe flood hit this area. After those disasters, the line went downhill rapidly and the stations were never rehabilitated. The platform was built several years later and I am not sure that the current platform is the one dating to that period.
As an aside, I worked in the factory to the north of the station one summer and was very pleased that a train passed by every night when we had our second shift lunch hour.