By the time Diane got to New England, it was primarily a tropical rainstorm.
The Waterbury-Winsted route had several serious washouts and it was nearly a year before service, freight and passenger, was resumed.
One of the Holyoke jobs was stranded near Simsbury for weeks.
NH had pretty much been run into the ground before Hurricane Diane and so much equipment was temporarily stranded that NH got the loan of a number of Alco diesels from the Army's stock. These were seen throughout the region for months, up until Spring 1956, at least. The Army had to really apply pressure to get its engines back.
The NY-Portland East Wind summer train was cancelled for the rest of the season and from accounts I've heard, never completed its trips the day of the storm, which I think was maybe 8/19. That day's trips may have never even started.
Not all that far away, the Boston and Albany was washed out at points along the Westfield River and for the better part of two months, B & A Division varnish ran out of Boston's North Station through to Troy, NY. Freight was routed from Greenfield to Springfield and then east.
Hurricane Hazel hit in October '55, very late for this type of storm, and the State of Maine came through Framingham about 9:30-10:00 am the morning after. Don't know if the blockade was on the B & M or NH south of Worcester. Mostly rain in Eastern New England. The most severe damage was west of New England way up into Ontario. Hurricanes are certainly unusual up there.
1955 was tough weatherwise in New England.