Welcome to Talmadge Hill – the station just south of New Canaan on that eponymous branch of the New Haven Line. Although New Canaan station is quite charming, the remainder of the stations on the branch are fairly regular and unremarkable, and this station is no different. Talmadge Hill is small – the platform accommodates four train cars – and it straddles the space between Talmadge Hill Road and the Merritt Parkway. The majority of the platform is of typical concrete – however the north end on the Merritt Parkway side is a metal grate, which was added on later. From this side of the platform you can get a pretty good view of the Merritt, and the steady stream of automobiles that pass under the railroad tracks. Because of the station’s placement between these two roads, lengthening the platform any further would be extremely difficult. Trains picking up passengers at the station extend out into the road at the grade crossing, temporarily halting traffic on Talmadge Hill Road.

Photo of Talmadge Hill in 1954

Although I mentioned most of the New Canaan branch stations are unremarkable in comparison with New Canaan itself, Talmadge Hill provides a stark contrast. Where New Canaan is beautiful, historical, and most obviously cared for, Talmadge Hill is apparently not. There is a bit of graffiti on the station name signs, and the platform has stencil-lettered tags that say “Authorised Graffiti Area” in black paint. Even the underside of the platform has been tagged and painted over – though you’d never see it from a train. Clearly Talmadge Hill isn’t the worst station in the Metro-North system, but it certainly isn’t the best.