Clamdigger (train)

The Clamdigger was a daily passenger train which ran along the Northeast Corridor during the 1970s. The train had two iterations: from 1898 to 1972 it was a local commuter service under the New Haven Railroad, Penn Central, and Amtrak between New London and New Haven, while from 1976 to 1978 it was a long-distance commuter service operated by Amtrak from Providence to New Haven. In 1978 it was canceled and replaced with the Beacon Hill.

The Shore Line East service, run by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, currently runs from New London to New Haven, serving many of the same stops as the two incarnations of the Clamdigger.

Original service (1898-1972)

Clamdigger (1898-1972)
Overview
Service type	Regional rail
Status	Discontinued
First service	1898
Last service	January 28, 1972
Successor	Clamdigger (revived service)
Former operator(s)	NYNH&HRR (1898-1968) Penn Central (1969-1971) Amtrak (1971-1972)
Ridership	66 daily (1971)
Route
Start	New London
End	New Haven
Distance travelled	50.2 miles (80.8 km)
Average journey time	1:15
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	402/403 (Amtrak)
Line used	Northeast Corridor
Technical
Rolling stock	Budd RDC
Route map Legend New London Niantic East Lyme Old Saybrook Clinton Madison Guilford Leetes Island Pine Orchard Stony Creek Branford New Haven

New Haven Railroad

The New Haven & New London Railroad was charted in 1848, began construction in 1850, and opened for service in July 1852.^[1] After several ownership changes, it was acquired by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad (the "New Haven") in 1870.^[1] In 1898, the New Haven introduced a commuter train between New London and New Haven which made most local stops along the Shore Line. The service acquired the Clamdigger name during the Great Depression from riders who collected clams in the clam beds near Stony Creek station.^[2]

Clamdigger service as run in 1971

Penn Central

Penn Central took over operations of the New Haven Railroad effective January 1, 1969. New York-New Haven service was mostly kept, as was Boston-Providence service, but most service between New Haven and Providence was cut. The remaining service was a single Boston-New London round trip (which lasted until 1972), and a New London-New Haven round trip (the Clamdigger).^[3] The Clamdigger, through connections at New Haven, was the only train from New London allowing commuting to New York for regular work hours.^[4]

Amtrak

Amtrak took over most Penn Central operations, including the Clamdigger, effective May 1, 1971.^[5] Under Amtrak, the train made intermediate stops between New London and New Haven at Niantic, East Lyme, Old Saybrook, Clinton, Madison, Guilford, Leete's Island, Stony Creek, Pine Orchard, and Branford.^[5] The stops at Niantic and East Lyme were discontinued effective July 12, 1971.^[6]

Cancellation

On October 14, 1971, Amtrak announced their intent to discontinue the Clamdigger, citing ridership of just 66 passengers per train - not enough to fill the single Budd RDC.^[7][2] The service was allowed to continue until the end of 1971.^[7] A. Earl Wood, Connecticut's Commissioner of Transportation, filed a lawsuit to prevent Amtrak from terminating service.^[8] The service was revived briefly on January 13, 1972, but it was discontinued again on January 28, 1972.^[9] At the same time, Penn Central was allowed to discontinue their lone Boston-New London commuter trip. It was replaced by a Rhode Island-funded Westerly-Providence train which was run until December 1979.^[3]

After the Clamdigger was discontinued, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) studied rail corridors in the state and determined that the Shore Line was the optimum line for restored service. In 1975, plans were made for a twice-daily Clamdigger making the same stops as the former service. The restored service was expected to draw 600 daily riders, but budgetary constraints prevented implementation.^[10]

Amtrak revival (1976-1978)

Clamdigger (1976-1978)
Overview
Predecessor	Clamdigger (previous service)
First service	September 9, 1976
Last service	April 30, 1978
Successor	Beacon Hill (1978-1981) Shore Line East (1990-present)
Former operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Start	Providence
End	New Haven
Distance travelled	112.4 miles (180.9 km)
Average journey time	2:10
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	151/152
Route map Legend Providence Kingston Westerly Rhode Island/Connecticut border Mystic Groton New London Old Saybrook Clinton Madison Stony Creek Branford New Haven

Clamdigger service as run in 1978

1976-1977

On September 9, 1976, Amtrak began a Providence-New Haven local service with the Clamdigger name.^[11] It operated on an approximately 2-hour schedule as #151 southbound Monday through Saturday, and #152 northbound Sunday through Friday.^[12] The train made intermediate station stops only at Kingston, Westerly, Mystic, New London, and Old Saybrook, limiting its usefulness for commuters.^[12] The service was ended on October 30, 1977, as part of a wide range of Amtrak service cuts and adjustments.^[13]

1978 and Beacon Hill

The Clamdigger was reinstated on January 8, 1978, with commuter-based flag stops added at Groton, Clinton, Madison, Stony Creek, and Branford.^[14] It was replaced by the Boston-New Haven Beacon Hill effective April 30, 1978.^[15] The Beacon Hill was not a true replacement for the Clamdigger, though - it ran towards Boston in the morning, serving the Providence and Boston commuting markets rather than New Haven and New York.

Shore Line East

After the Beacon Hill was canceled in 1981, the Connecticut Department of Transportation began planning for a return of commuter service in southern Connecticut. Shore Line East service began between Old Saybrook and New Haven in May 1990, and was extended to New London in February 1996. Shore Line East serves mostly the same station stops as the original Clamdigger, but thanks to modernized equipment and higher frequency it has been more successful. Shore Line East currently operates 15 trains in each direction daily on weekdays, and 9-10 trains each direction on weekends.

References