On Saturday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m., Robert Joseph Belletzkie will give a narrated video presentation on Plainville’s railroad history. He will focus on the station structures that served the town over the years, both on the Canal line, which opened in 1848, and the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill that arrived in 1850. By 1898, both of these companies were controlled by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, which then dominated all rail, trolley and water transportation in Southern New England. Special mention will be made about the movie “It Happened To Jane,” which brought Hollywood to Plainville in 1958.
Images will be drawn from the speaker’s TylerCityStation website and from visits to the National Archives as well as to other regional, state and local institutions and repositories, including the Plainville Historic Center.
Belletzkie is a retired academic reference librarian and is a member of the Connecticut Historical Society, the New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Association, and other local societies. He has given a number of talks how the Iron Horse impacted the state and its communities. From 2008 to 2011, he processed the papers of the Board of Railroad Commissioners at the Connecticut State Library, unwrapping materials that had been sealed for over 150 years, organizing them and making them accessible to researchers for the first time.
The presentation will last about an hour; questions and discussion to follow. All are welcome to attend this free, public event.