This is wonderful! I spent my summers at my grandfather's resort hotel in Old Saybrook until the mid '60s. We drove to Old Saybrook on the old Route 9, which meant we saw plenty of the Valley Line from the road. As a kid my dad would take me to the Old Saybrook RR station to watch the New Haven. And since my dad grew up in Chester, the Valley Line was an integral part of our family history. Thank you for shooting this.
no its a hancock air chime, at the Valley RR they try to preserve the history of the New Haven and New Haven used Hancock Air Whistles on most of their diesel and electric locomotives until they got U25Bs i believe.
The stone is called 'ballast'. It's heavy crushed stone, and it's spread on the ground before rails and ties are laid, to give the track a firm, stable support.
