Danbury and Harlem Traction Company

The Danbury and Harlem Traction Company was a proposed electric rapid-transit trolley line connecting Danbury, Connecticut, with the New York Central Railroad station at Goldens Bridge, New York. Established in 1901 as the consolidation of the Danbury and Goldens Bridge Street Railway of Connecticut and the Goldens Bridge Electric Railway of New York, construction progressed slowly. Tracks were constructed from a connection with the Danbury and Bethel Street Railway near the Danbury Fairgrounds west through Ridgebury, Connecticut, and eventually just across the state line to North Salem, New York by 1901. Aside from a few test runs with cars borrowed from the Danbury and Bethel line, there is no indication that regular service was ever offered on the partially completed line. In 1902, the project was acquired by the Westchester Traction Company, and immediately investors were sought to continue construction. Some work extended the roadbed grade to Goldens Bridge, but no rails were ever laid. A limited service was operated between Danbury and Ridgebury, possibly by the Danbury and Bethel Street Railway, but this was short-lived. Looking to recoup their investment, the rails were lifted sometime between 1910 and 1915, and the project was abandoned.