From the passenger station at Hartford (MP 36.6), the state capital, which has spruced-up government buildings, but factories in the area look as run-down as those in other such towns, where former New Haven lines turn away south and head east, across the Connecticut River, the single track, CTC, line, with speed limit 20 mph for passenger trains and 10 mph for freight trains, turns north at Waterbury Switch (MP 37.0), along the west side of the river, past the yard at Hart (MP 37.2), where the speed limit rises to 80/30, Fry (MP 38.9), the road crossing at Meadow Road (MP 39.7), the road crossing at Wilson Avenue (MP 39.9), the road crossing at East Barber Street (MP 40.2), the road crossing at Island Road (MP 42.3), the road crossing at Central Street (MP 42.9), the passenger station at Windsor Station (MP 42.9), Windsor (MP 43.0), where double track, CTC, resumes, with overall speed limit 79/50, the road crossing at Pierson Lane (MP 43.6), where passenger speed is restricted to 70 mph, the road crossing at Macktown Road (MP 45.1), where passenger speed is restricted to 70 mph, the road crossing at Haydens Station Road (MP 45.7), where passenger speed is restricted to 70 mph, MP 46.3 to MP 47.0, where speeds on Track 2 are restricted to 60/30, MP 47.0 to MP 49.0, where speeds are restricted to 50/30, and the passenger station at Windsor Locks (MP 47.4), where a line to Suffield leaves on the west side.
The route turns northeast and crosses the Connecticut River, with speeds 35/30 on the curves either side of the bridge, turning north on the west side of the river past the road crossing at Dexters (MP 48.1), the road crossing at Bridge Street (MP 48.5), where speed is restricted to 30 mph from 4:15 pm to 4:45 pm , Locks (MP 49.0), MP 49.0 to MP 54.8, where speeds on Track 2 are restricted to 60/30, the first curve north of MP 49.0, where speeds on Track 1 are restricted to 70/50, the road crossing at Parsons Lane (MP 51.4), where speeds on Track 1 are restricted to 70/50, the road crossing at Bridge Lane (MP 52.3), where speeds on Track 1 are restricted to 70/50, and reverse curves between MP 53.7 and MP 54.7, where speeds on Track 1 are restricted to 70/50, Enfield (MP 54.0), Field (MP 54.7), State Line (MP 55.8), where the line passes from Connecticut into Massachusetts, Longmeadow, the road crossing at Emerson Road (MP 58.2), where speeds are restricted to 60/50, the first curve north of MP 59.0, where speeds are restricted to 45/30, Pecowsic (MP 60.0), and MP 61.0 to the curve leading to Spring, where speeds are restricted to 20 mph.
The line turns northeast from Amtrak’s Springfield line onto ConRail’s Boston line at the junction at Spring (MP 61.7), where the Boston & Maine line continues straight ahead to make a flat crossing with the Conrail line, and speeds are restricted to 10 mph into the Springfield passenger station (MP 62.0), which has a couple of platforms with elevators to a pedestrian subway below, connecting to the main depot building on the north side of the tracks. Adjacent factories don’t look very active.