SGC-CT070-070 · Research edition September 12, 2026
A selected, source-based research collection for New Haven and Fairfield counties. Includes credited photographs where reusable images were located, historical interpretation and links to supporting records. It is a growing inventory, not an exhaustive survey. Photographs retain their individual dates and reuse terms; images do not establish present access conditions.
The story in pictures
Cos Cob Power Plant, Cos Cob, (Fairfield County, Connecticut)
VIEW OF REMAINS OF ORIGINAL 1907 CONTROL PANEL, LOCATED ON NORTH WALL OF EAST END OF CONTROL ROOM. PORTIONS OF THIS PANEL REMAINED IN USE UNTIL THE PLANT CLOSED. THE METERS HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A-52
1993
Remains of the original 1907 control panel at Cos Cob Power Plant, photographed in 1993.
Turbogenerators inside the former Cos Cob power station. Units 1–3 in the foreground and frequency converters behind them show how electric power generation occupied the turbine hall.
The Cos Cob station was built in 1907 to supply electricity for the New Haven Railroad. Its coal-fired steam turbines supported the railroad’s alternating-current electrification. The plant belongs to the history of the whole transport system, alongside locomotives, overhead wires and substations. [CT070-S01][CT070-S02]
ASME dates the end of plant operation to October 1986; broader accounts describe decommissioning in 1986–1987. The building was demolished in 2001 despite its historic recognition. Part of its former site became public parkland. Survey photographs preserve the building and machinery, and ASME identifies a commemorative plaque at Cos Cob Park. [CT070-S01][CT070-S02]
Electric trains depended on a network extending beyond the tracks. Built in 1907, Cos Cob's coal-fired steam turbines supplied the New Haven Railroad's alternating-current system. The station belongs alongside locomotives, wires and substations in an account of electrification. Machinery photographs help make this otherwise hidden part of a passenger journey visible. [CT070-S01][CT070-S02]
ASME's October 1986 operating-end date and broader 1986–1987 decommissioning accounts describe related but distinct events. Demolition in 2001 was a later physical ending, despite historic recognition. Parkland and a commemorative plaque subsequently preserved another kind of public connection with the site. Survey photographs now carry evidence of rooms and equipment no longer available to inspect in place. Comparing them with the later landscape raises a question about what documentation can preserve when a building itself is lost. [CT070-S01][CT070-S02]
VIEW OF REMAINS OF ORIGINAL 1907 CONTROL PANEL, LOCATED ON NORTH WALL OF EAST END OF CONTROL ROOM. PORTIONS OF THIS PANEL REMAINED IN USE UNTIL THE PLANT CLOSED. THE METERS HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A-52
Remains of the original 1907 control panel at Cos Cob Power Plant, photographed in 1993.
Turbogenerators inside the former Cos Cob power station. Units 1–3 in the foreground and frequency converters behind them show how electric power generation occupied the turbine hall.
Includes source text where acquired. Source websites require an internet connection. OCR may contain errors; verify names and dates against the scan.
9 catalog entries
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CT070-S01 · Sources & research leads · Source reviewed September 2026
Cos Cob Power Station: history and source bibliography
Supporting source for the collection’s history, chronology and research notes. Engineering photographs preserve a lost power station central to railroad electrification.
External source; the full publication remains with its publisher. The archive provides an original educational summary and a link. See the collection history for the claims supported by this record.
Credit: Cos Cob Power Station. Cite SGC SGC-CT070-070, CT070-S01, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
CT070-S02 · Sources & research leads · Source reviewed September 2026
ASME: New Haven Railroad electrification landmark
Supporting source for the collection’s history, chronology and research notes. Engineering photographs preserve a lost power station central to railroad electrification.
External source; the full publication remains with its publisher. The archive provides an original educational summary and a link. See the collection history for the claims supported by this record.
Credit: Jack Boucher / Public domain. Cite SGC SGC-CT070-070, CT070-P01, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
CT070-P02 · Photographs · 1993
View looking northwest from turbine hall roof at two 600,000 gallon reservoirs for boiler feed water.
Two boiler feed-water reservoirs at Cos Cob Power Plant, viewed from the turbine hall roof, 1993.
Public domain U.S. National Park Service photograph (PD-USGov-NPS). LOC: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government. Image supplied at web resolution; no editorial changes to the source image. Original repository record: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ct0568.photos.383634p
Credit: Jet Lowe / Historic American Engineering Record / Public domain. Cite SGC SGC-CT070-070, CT070-P02, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
CT070-P03 · Photographs · 1993
VIEW OF REMAINS OF ORIGINAL 1907 CONTROL PANEL, LOCATED ON NORTH WALL OF EAST END OF CONTROL ROOM. PORTIONS OF THIS PANEL REMAINED IN USE UNTIL THE PLANT CLOSED. THE METERS HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A-52
Remains of the original 1907 control panel at Cos Cob Power Plant, photographed in 1993.
Public domain U.S. National Park Service photograph (PD-USGov-NPS). LOC: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government. Image supplied at web resolution; no editorial changes to the source image. Original repository record: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ct0568.photos.383677p
Credit: Jet Lowe / Historic American Engineering Record / Public domain. Cite SGC SGC-CT070-070, CT070-P03, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
ED-H2-HT-SP-023 · Photographs · 1993
Turbogenerator hall looking west-northwest
Turbogenerators inside the former Cos Cob power station. Units 1–3 in the foreground and frequency converters behind them show how electric power generation occupied the turbine hall.
HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A--42. Catalog identifies photographer/date; direct URL not inferred when unobserved. Weathered machinery matches; film identifier CT-142-A-63 visible. Display copy optimized for the web with proportional resizing and compression. The linked repository identifies the original image. Reuse: LOC HAER: no known restrictions; US government documentation.
Credit: Jet Lowe / Library of Congress. Cite SGC SGC-CT070-070, ED-H2-HT-SP-023, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
ED-H2-HT-SP-024 · Photographs · 1993
Westinghouse Parsons turbine No. 2
Turbine No. 2, installed in 1925, appears in the station's 1993 engineering survey.
Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A--40. Catalog identifies photographer/date; direct URL not inferred when unobserved. Reuse: LOC HAER: no known restrictions; US government documentation.
Credit: Jet Lowe / Library of Congress. Cite SGC SGC-CT070-070, ED-H2-HT-SP-024, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
ED-H2-HT-SP-025 · Photographs · 1993
LeBlanc jet condenser under turbine No. 3
The condenser below turbine No. 3 records the equipment supporting steam turbine operation.
Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A--44. Catalog identifies photographer/date; direct URL not inferred when unobserved. Reuse: LOC HAER: no known restrictions; US government documentation.
Credit: Jet Lowe / Library of Congress. Cite SGC SGC-CT070-070, ED-H2-HT-SP-025, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-12.
ED-H2-HT-SP-026 · Photographs · 1993
Exciter generator C below the control room
The exciter supplied direct current to the field coils, connecting the control room to the generators.
Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A--49. Catalog identifies photographer/date; direct URL not inferred when unobserved. Reuse: LOC HAER: no known restrictions; US government documentation.
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