THE CROTON CHRONICLE--DREAMING OF TRAINS: IN A CONNECTICUT BASEMENT, ROBERT CARLO HAS RECREATED HIS CHILDHOOD VISITS TO CROTON AND ITS CELEBRATED STATION AND RAIL YARD

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    Entrance to Croton-Harmon station in the early 1970s/ Photo by Michael Balter

Dreaming of trains: In a Connecticut basement, Robert Carlo has recreated his childhood visits to Croton and its celebrated station and rail yard.

A model train buff since childhood, Carlo built a layout based on the Croton-Harmon station and rail yard of the early 1970s.

MICHAEL BALTER--THE CROTON CHRONICLE--NOV. 18, 2024

Entrance to Croton-Harmon station in the early 1970s/ Photo by Michael Balter

WATERBURY, CT— When Robert Carlo was a boy growing up in Connecticut and Michigan, he would often visit his great aunt and uncle in Croton-on-Hudson. Laura and Richard Beaumont, who lived on Crest Street, had raised Robert’s mother—also named Laura—and so this village on the Hudson River was a deep part of his roots.

The house on Crest Street overlooked the river, but also the Croton-Harmon station and its vast rail yard. The view from Crest Street is obscured by tall trees today, but back then young Robert had a clear view of it across Route 9. He loved hanging out at the station during the day. At night, when everyone else was sleeping, he would wake to the sound of train whistles blowing, jump out of bed, and run to the window to listen to what was happening down below. READ AND SEE MORE AT (36) Dreaming of trains: In a Connecticut basement, Robert Carlo has recreated his childhood visits to Croton and its celebrated station and rail yard.