Nostalgia & History > Jenkins Curve, Bridgeport, CT in 1965

Jenkins Curve in Bridgeport, CT is a well-known NEC rail landmark.

A short distance south of the Bridgeport station, the 4-track main line makes a 90 degree change-of-direction on an approximately 600 ft radius curve. There has always been a 30 mph speed restriction on this curve. When I used to ride the New Haven between New York and Boston, I looked forward to this curve because it was one of the few locations on the Shoreline where you might see the head end of your own train.

These pictures are from about 1965.

Picture #1 shows the train just entering the curve. At the left is the Bridgeport factory of the Underwood Typewriter Company (their main factory was located in Hartford). In 1965, just about everyone who wrote anything had to own such a machine.

Picture #2, taken a few seconds later (at the sharpest point of the curve), shows the head end of my train. The power is an EP-5, followed by one head-end car and a string of the New Haven's Pullman-Standard lightweight coaches. The water tank of the Jenkins Valve Company (after which the curve is named) is visible on the left.

This was the site of a 1955 derailment of New Haven Train #172, the Federal. For some reason, the engineer of the eastbound train did not slow down when entering the curve at about 3 AM. This accident was brought up again recently in the aftermath of Metro North's sleep apnea derailment at Spuyten Dyvil in New York City.

With the deindustrialization of New England, the site in my pictures has become a parking lot area for the Bridgeport baseball stadium.


Ray

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I recall that curve from my New Haven riding days in 1967-68. No doubt Bridgeport has drastically changed since then.

What is it-- a 5-degree curve?

timz Wrote:
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> What is it-- a 5-degree curve?

More like a 9.5 degree curve (R~600 feet).

Ray