Founded in 1996, the Naugatuck Railroad is a common carrier railroad owned by the Railroad Museum of New England and operated by Naugatuck Railroad on tracks leased by Naugatuck Railroad from the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The original Naugatuck Railroad was a railroad chartered to operate through south central Connecticut in 1845, with the first section opening for service in 1849. In 1887 the line was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and became wholly owned by 1906. At its greatest extent the Naugatuck ran from Bridgeport north to Winsted. Today's Naugatuck Railroad runs from Waterbury to the end of track in Torrington, Connecticut. From Waterbury south to the New Haven Line, Metro-North Railroad operates commuter service on the Waterbury Branch. Original Naugatuck Railroad (1845-1887) The Naugatuck Railroad was chartered May 1845 and organized February 1848. On May 15, 1849, the first section opened, from a junction with the just-completed New York and New Haven Railroad north to Seymour. Extensions opened to Waterbury June 11 and the rest of the way to Winsted September 24, where the Central New England Railway later passed through. On November 1, 1870 the Naugatuck Railroad leased the Watertown and Waterville Railroad, giving it a branch to Waterville. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Naugatuck on May 24, 1887, and merged it January 31, 1906. New Haven Era (1887-1969) The former Naugatuck Railroad became part of the New Haven's network of branch lines extending throughout the state. In the mid-to-late 1900s, the line was abandoned from Derby Junction north to Ansonia in favor of the original New Haven and Derby Railroad on the other (west) side of the Naugatuck River. In 1938, the New Haven abandoned the former Central New England Railway route that connected at Winsted. The Thomaston Dam flood control project constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers required roughly 8 miles of track to be relocated between 1959 and 1960. The new construction begins just north of Thomaston station and returns to the original alignment near East Litchfield. Passenger service north of Waterbury, to Torrington and Winsted, ended in December 1958. Tracks between Torrington and Winsted were abandoned in 1963. Post-New Haven Era (1969-1995) The New Haven was merged into Penn Central on January 1, 1969. By then the line north of Waterbury was named the Torrington Secondary Track, and ended at Torrington. On