Everything about Hartford And Providence Railroad totally explained
The
New England Railroad was the final name for a
railroad system connecting
New York state with
Providence, Rhode Island,
Boston, Massachusetts and other parts of
New England before its
1898 lease by the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Earlier names included the
New York and New England Railroad and
Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad.
History
West from Providence: 1846-1863
The corridor from
Providence, Rhode Island west into
New York was originally chartered as three companies. The
Providence and Plainfield Railroad, chartered in June
1846, would run from Providence to the
Rhode Island/
Connecticut state line. The
Hartford and Providence Railroad, incorporated in May
1847, would continue west to
Hartford, Connecticut, and the
New York and Hartford Railroad, chartered and incorporated in May
1845, would continue to the
New York and Harlem Railroad at
Brewster, New York. In
1849, the two Connecticut companies merged to form the
Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad, with a modified charter to continue past Brewster to
Fishkill, New York on the
Hudson River, and in
1851 the Rhode Island company was merged into it. Later that year the first section opened, from Hartford east to
Willimantic. Extensions opened east to Providence in
1854 and west to
Waterbury in
1855. The HP&F went
bankrupt on
January 1,
1858, and was run by the
trustees until
1863, when it was leased by the newly-formed Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad.
Southwest from Boston: 1847-1867
At the
Boston end, the earliest predecessor was the
Norfolk County Railroad, chartered
April 24,
1847. The line from the
Boston and Providence Railroad's branch at
Dedham, Massachusetts southwest to
Walpole opened on
April 23,
1849, and an extension to the
Providence and Worcester Railroad in
Blackstone opened
May 16. The company went
bankrupt soon after. The short
Medway Branch Railroad was leased in
1851, opening
December 29,
1852.
On
May 1,
1849 the
Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad was incorporated to extend the line west from Blackstone to
Southbridge. The
Midland Railroad was incorporated
May 2,
1850 to build a new entrance to Boston, merging with the existing one south of Dedham. The two companies were consolidated with the Norfolk County Railroad on
December 12,
1853 to form the
Boston and New York Central Railroad, which had the intent of continuing southwest through
Connecticut all the way to
New York City. The first section of this extension was incorporated in May
1853 as the
East Thompson Railroad, forming the Connecticut portion of the Southbridge and Blackstone.
The extension from Blackstone southwest to
Mechanicsville, Connecticut on the
Norwich and Worcester Railroad was completed in
1853. In January
1855 the new main line to Boston was opened, but was closed six months later until December
1856 because of an
injunction due to the danger of the numerous
grade crossings. The new line ran to a terminal at the foot of
Summer Street in downtown
Boston via
South Boston. The full line was first operated as one on
June 1,
1855, but again failed quickly. On
August 6 operations were restarted on only the original Dedham-Blackstone line, operated by the
Boston and Providence Railroad as a branch. On
March 2,
1857 the
trustees took
repossession, ending the operation by the B&P. The East Thompson Railroad leased the line, reopening it again in full for about a year before another failure. At that time, all but the original Dedham-Blackstone line and Medway Branch were closed until
1867. The closed lines were sold in November
1858 to the Midland Railroad, but were not operated due to bad condition. The
Midland Land Damage Company tried again in
1862, changing its name to the
Southern Midland Railroad in
1863 without success.
Combined routes from Providence and Boston: 1863-1898
In May
1863, the
Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad was chartered to take over operations of the failed lines and continue the line west to
Fishkill, New York, with a
car float from there to the
Erie Railroad at
Newburgh. It quickly leased the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad from its
trustees, giving it a line from
Providence west to
Waterbury. In September of that year it acquired the former Boston and New York Central Railroad, but didn't operate it yet; the old Norfolk County Railroad continued operations by its
trustees.
In the meantime, the
New York and Boston Railroad had built a line from
Brookline, Massachusetts (outside
Boston) southwest to
Woonsocket, Rhode Island, crossing the Norfolk County Railroad in
Blackstone. On
January 4,
1865 the BH&E absorbed that company, making its Woonsocket Division. On
December 13 of the same year, various
Erie Railway men were elected to the BH&E board, placing it under partial control of the Erie.
On
February 11,
1867 the BH&E leased the Norfolk County Railroad, finally reopening the full line from
Mechanicsville to
Boston. That same year, the branch to
Southbridge (part of the original Southbridge and Blackstone charter) opened. The
Norwich and Worcester Railroad was leased in
1869, finally giving it a route to Boston, using the N&W from the Providence line at
Plainfield north to the old Norfolk County Railroad at Mechanicsville. In August
1872 a direct connection from
Willimantic on the line to Providence northeast to Mechanicsville opened, completing the direct line to Boston.
By
1869 the BH&E leased the
Dutchess and Columbia Railroad, which was building a line roughly southwest-northeast in
Dutchess County, New York. The BH&E planned to build west to the D&C at the future
Hopewell Junction, but wasn't able to complete the line and lost the lease in
1870.
On
September 9,
1872 the
Long Island Rail Road's
Boston Express began operations, using the BH&E from
Norwich (at the south end of the N&W) to Boston. This was later replaced around
1891 with the
Long Island and Eastern States Express, using the
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad from
Wilson Point to the BH&E (then the NY&NE) at
Hawleyville (east of
Danbury).
The
New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad was leased in
1873, giving a line to
New Haven. Later that year, the BH&E went bankrupt and was reorganized
April 17 as the
New York and New England Railroad; the N&W lease was kept but the NHM&W lease was forfeited (prior to its opening
August 12), becoming part of the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad system in
1879.
Note: Various sources note the Boston Hartford & Erie as failing and falling into receivership in 1870. The New York and New England Railroad Company was chartered by special act of the Massachusetts legislature on April 17, 1873. Such was the mess of the Boston Hartford & Erie's mortgages and land titles that the NY&NE didn't enter into possession of any of the BH&E "system" until sometime in 1875. Alvin F. Harlow in Steelways of New England states that the NY&NE didn't get possession of the Hartford Providence & Fishkill line until 1877.
I should note that through its entire existence (1873-1895) the NY&NE was always bedeviled by "mushiness" in its land titles. Symptomatic of this: the $20 million common stock of the NY&NE originated as the $20,000,000 principal amount of the "Berdell Bonds"; the chartering legislation said the NY&NE was to "succeed to the rights of the Berdell Bondholders". There was a 10% assessment levied on the Berdell Bondholders as part of the chartering legislation, which also appropriated the necessary monies for the state to pay its assessment on its $3,000,000 of Berdell Bonds. For some reason $1000 of Berdell bonds were never issued so for years the NY&NE had $19,999,000 of common stock outstanding.
Through all this the receivers of the BH&E and the later management of the NY&NE continued to hold on to the BH&E's Norwich & Worcester lease which was a major part, if not the principal prop to the entire system's existence. The N&W and its related Norwich Line steamers (passenger and freight) made money; enough that the NY&NE could afford to pay 8% (reduced from 10% by negotiation ca. 1885) on the N&W's capital stock.
In
1881 the extension from
Waterbury west to
Hopewell Junction on the
Newburg, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad opened. Along with
trackage rights over the ND&C southwest to
Beacon, and a short line built by the NY&NE to the
Hudson River at Beacon, this completed the main lines from Boston and Providence to the Hudson River, where a
train ferry took cars to the
New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad's
Newburg Branch at
Newburgh. Part of the line in New York was built along the never-used grade from the failed
Putnam and Dutchess Railroad.
Also in
1881 the
New York, Westchester and Putnam Railroad was completed, running north and east from
New York City to the NY&NE at
Brewster. This company had been previously involved with the BH&E in building a through line between New York and Boston, even being called the
New York and Boston Railroad at first, and with its opening such a through line was formed. For some time such a traffic arrangement was made, lasting through the NYW&P's absorption into the
New York Central Railroad in
1894.
The
Poughkeepsie Bridge opened in
1888, providing a fixed crossing of the
Hudson River at
Poughkeepsie, north of the NY&NE car float at Beacon. The
Central New England and Western Railroad, which owned the bridge, chartered the
Dutchess County Railroad in
1890 and completed it in
1892, providing a branch from the bridge to the NY&NE at
Hopewell Junction.
There was a December 31, 1883/January 1, 1884 receivership that got referred to at the time as the "Midnight Receivership" which featured the NY&NE officers trying to find a federal judge to issue a receivership order before the end of the year. This receivership was over by 1886.
Cyrus W. Field had become a major figure behind the NY&NE by 1886 but after the state of Massachusetts refused to sell him the $3 million in stock it held (instead disposing of the shares to a rival group because of concern about Field's close association with Jay Gould) Field sold his holdings in the NY&NE. The Mass. sale of NY&NE stock was part of a deliberate policy on the part of Massachusetts to get out of owning railroads; the sale of the Hoosac Tunnel line to the Fitchburg in 1887 was also done under this policy, a declared policy of Mass. Governor Andrew.
The new NY&NE President in 1887 was Jabez Bostwick, a Standard Oil partner of John D. Rockefeller. Interestingly, Rockefeller's brother William sat on the board of the New Haven. With Rockefeller lieutenants in both camps one wonders whether the NY&NE-NYNH&H "rivalry" may have been a Standard Oil "Divide & Conquer" policy to get low rates and other benefits out of both roads who together controlled nearly all rail business in New England south of the Boston & Albany.
The final bankruptcy of the NY&NE happened on December 27, 1893 and the company was reorganized on
August 26,
1895 as the
New England Railroad; Stuart Daggett in Railroad Reorganization states the 1895 NY&NE reorganization featured a hefty 20% assessment on NY&NE common. The
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the company for 99 years from
July 1,
1898 at 3% on the preferred (normal dividend) and common stock. The New England Railroad was merged into the New Haven in 1908.
Many souces state that most of the NE stock had early on been acquired by the New Haven, probably bought in 1895 when NY&NE stockholders who didn't want to forfeit their shares for non-assessment dumped their shares on the market. Baker in Formation of the New England Rail Systems claims there was a mini-Northern Pacific type corner in 1894 in NY&NE common when parties "Friendly" to the Boston & Albany tried to buy controlling influence in the NY&NE and the New Haven had to buy a large position in NY&NE common. Both parties apparently wound up together buying more NY&NE common than actually existed; worse, the NEw Haven had had to pay high prices for near worthless shares.
While there are many of us partial to the "Narrow Escape" road as the New York & New England was sometimes called (think Quadruple Wreck in 1891), we do have to admit that this company's history is rather negative and it can be argued the New York & New England was a major cause in crippling the New Haven in the 20th century.
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad: 1898-1969
As time passed and sections were abandoned, the former NY&NE main lines became minor branches.
Branches
In addition to the two main lines to
Boston and
Providence, splitting at
Willimantic, numerous branches and auxiliary lines existed.
Dedham
The original Boston line ended at Dedham with a connection to the Boston and Providence Railroad. In 1883 what had become a branch to Dedham was abandoned. Prior to that, a new branch just to the east had been built in 1881, and was supplemented in 1890 by a connection to the south.
Medway
The Medway Branch Railroad from the main line at Norfolk west to Medway was incorporated in 1849 and opened in 1852, being immediately leased to the Norfolk County Railroad. It closed in 1864, two years after the New York and Boston Railroad reached Medway.
Valley Falls
The Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad was chartered in 1875 and opened in 1877, connecting the main Boston line at Franklin to the Providence and Worcester Railroad at Valley Falls. The New York and New England Railroad leased it in 1887.
Milford/Hopkinton/Ashland
The Milford and Woonsocket Railroad was incorporated in 1855 and opened a line from Milford to Bellingham in 1868. It was leased by the Providence and Worcester Railroad until 1883.
The Hopkinton Railway was organized in 1870 and opened in 1872, running from Milford north via Hopkinton to the Boston and Worcester Railroad at Ashland. The Providence and Worcester leased it until 1885. In 1884 the Milford and Woonsocket bought the Hopkinton, and the two ran as one.
The Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad was organized in 1868 and opened in 1883, extending the line southeast from Milford to Franklin.
On April 1, 1897 the New England Railroad leased all three companies.
Woonsocket/Pascoag
The line eventually running from Brookline, Massachusetts to Harrisville, Rhode Island was originally built as a competitor to the NY&NE's Boston line. The first section opened in 1852 as part of the Charles River Railroad. It reached Woonsocket, Rhode Island in 1863, and in 1891 the Woonsocket and Pascoag Railroad opened, continuing the line to the Providence and Springfield Railroad at Harrisville. In 1873 the NY&NE obtained the line to Woonsocket via a merger; on April 1, 1896 the New England Railroad leased the continuation past Woonsocket.
Providence and Springfield
The Providence and Springfield Railroad was chartered in 1853 and opened in 1873 from Providence, Rhode Island northwest to Pascoag. An extension to Douglas Junction on the NY&NE main line in Massachusetts opened in 1893, and the New England Railroad leased the line on July 1, 1896.
Southbridge
The Southbridge Branch from East Thomspon, Connecticut to Southbridge, Massachusetts was part of the original charter for the Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad, and opened in 1867, after it had been consolidated.
Pawtuxet Valley
The Pawtuxet Valley Railroad was organized in 1872 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in 1874, running from the main line at River Point to Hope. The New York, Providence and Boston Railroad leased it in 1884 as a continuation of their Pontiac Branch Railroad.
Norwich and Worcester
The Norwich and Worcester Railroad was an 1837 consolidation of several other companies, running from Norwich, Connecticut (later New London) north to Worcester, Massachusetts. The Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad leased it in 1869, and the lease continued through the reorganizations. Connections were provided with the Providence line at Plainfield and the Boston line between Putnam and Mechanicsville.
New Haven
The New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad opened and was leased to the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad in 1873. The BH&E went bankrupt later that year, as did the NHM&W in 1875. The NHM&W became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1879.
Rockville
The Rockville Railroad was incorporated in 1857 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in 1863. It was a short branch from the main line at Vernon north and east to Rockville.
South Manchester
The South Manchester Railroad was chartered in 1866 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in 1869. It was a short branch from the main line at Manchester south to South Manchester.
Springfield
The Connecticut Central Railroad was chartered in 1871, and its continuation in Massachusetts, the Springfield and New London Railroad, in 1874, to build a line from East Hartford to Springfield, with a branch to the Rockville Railroad at Westway. It opened in 1876 and was immediately leased by the Connecticut Valley Railroad, which gave up the lease to the New York and New England Railroad in 1880.
Connecticut River
The Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River Railroad was formed in 1888 as a consolidation of two smaller companies, opening in 1885 and 1888. The New York and New England Railroad leased it in 1892, as a branch from the main line in Waterbury east to Cromwell on the Connecticut River. The company went bankrupt and was reorganized in 1898 as the Middletown, Meriden and Waterbury Railroad, and was immediately leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
Station listing
Boston line
For the line from Boston to
Readville, see
Fairmount Line. For the line from Readville to
Franklin, see
Franklin Line.
Modern day Usage
Within the last 10 years, funds have been set aside for a
rails to trails conversion. As of 12-03-05 most parts of the train right of way has been converted
Cranston (Washington Secondary/ Cranston Greenway)
Paved from Garfield ave (Northern Terminus of West Bay Greenway/Bikepath, as this right of way merges on
amtrak right of way not far up the path)to Ponatic Ave (Warwick Town line)
Warwick (Warwick Greenway)
Paved from Ponatic Ave (Cranston City line) to West Warwick town line(
RI 33-Tollgate Road/Providence Street)
West Warwick(west warwick greenway)
Paved from Warwick town line to Coventry Town line. Intersects with riverpoint park and walk, plus a real caboose
Coventry(Coventry Greenway)
Unpaved from WW town line to Station street (appox 2 miles)
Paved from Station to Coventry Center (Suburban Propane, Appox 5 miles, Southern Termuis of West Bay Greenway/ Bikepath)
Coventry (Tresle trail)
Unpaved trail from Coventry Center to CT. State line, currently being planned by
RIDOT
The Best train of the New York & New England Railroad was the New England Limited of 1891. A crack Boston - New York passenger train. In 1891 the Pullman Palace Car Company refitted train with luxurious new cars decorated in white and gold, inspiring the advertising department to call it the White Train and folks along the line to call it the Ghost Train as it sped through their towns after dark. Famed author
Rudyard Kipling memorialized the train in a popular verse:
» Without a jar, or roll, or antic,
Without a stop to Willimantic,
» The
New England Limited takes its way
At three o'clock each day,
» Maids and Matrons, daintily dimited,
Ride everyday on the
New England Limited;
» Rain nor snow ne'er stops its flight,
It makes New York at nine each night,
» One half the glories have not been told
Of that wonderful train of white and gold
» Which leaves each day for New York at three
Over the N.Y. & N.E.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hartford And Providence Railroad'.
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