Connecticut Central Railroad.

In 1986, Conrail filed for abandonment of trackage in and around Middletown, Connecticut. The Connecticut Department of Transportation purchased this so-called "Middletown Cluster" and named the Valley Railroad as designated operator. The Valley Railroad - an Essex, Connecticut-based tourist operator - had successfully negotiated an interchange agreement with Conrail and set up a subsidiary called the Connecticut Central Railroad to provide the service. The first train ran on May 26, 1987. Connecticut Central Railroad (assigned alphanumeric code CCCL - 416) handled pulpboard, lumber, fertilizer, chemicals, and brick at above-projected levels until 1990 when its volume fell by one-third mostly due to the recession and closure of a major customer. Providence and Worcester Railroad acquired the CCCL in April 1998.

In 1986, Conrail filed for abandonment of trackage in and around Middletown, Connecticut . The Connecticut Department of Transportation purchased this so-called "Middletown Cluster" and named the Valley Railroad as designated operator. The Valley Railroad - an Essex, Connecticut -based tourist operator - had successfully negotiated an interchange agreement with Conrail and set up a subsidiary called the Connecticut Central Railroad to provide the service. The first train ran on May 26, 1987.

Connecticut Central Railroad (assigned alphanumeric code CCCL - 416) handled pulpboard, lumber, fertilizer, chemicals, and brick at above-projected levels until 1990 when its volume fell by one-third mostly due to the recession and closure of a major customer. That same year the Valley Railroad sold its interest to a group of investors and the CCCL became independent. The signing of a large sludge-hauling contract with the City of Middletown in 1990 plus the 1992 arrival of a large steel business enabled the CCCL to maintain a viable operation.

With a view to expansion, CCCL negotiated with the State of Connecticut for freight operation rights on the "Wethersfield Secondary" between the railroad’s northern end in Cromwell, Connecticut, and the Connecticut Southern Railroad ’s Hartford, Connecticut, terminal. Shortly after these rights were awarded, the Providence and Worcester Railroad acquired the CCCL and began operations in April 1998.