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AMTRAK’S HIGH SPEED RAIL PROGRAM NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON

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AMTRAK’S HIGH SPEED RAIL PROGRAM NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON

HISTORY AND HISTORIC RESOURCES

This document was prepared by PAL (The Public Archaeology Laboratory,Inc.) with funding provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Amtrak.

Printed in Rhode Island 2001 INTRODUCTION A major key to the implementation of Acela service is the electrification A major key to the implementation of Acela service is the In the year 2000, Passenger the National Corporation,Railroad Amtrak, ushered in America with the initiation of Acela high-speed in a new era of railroading service in the Northeast. Acela, the words which is derived from “excellence” to passenger new approach is the brand name for Amtrak’s and“acceleration,” rail service. Its centerpiece will be a fleet of ultramodern, high-speed electric Acela is the first trains capable of attaining speeds up to 150 miles per hour. in its effort of many high-speed rail systems that Amtrak plans to implement Americans to train travel as a viable and attractive alternative to to reintroduce driving or flying. of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven, Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts. That section of the line is a descendent of four early railroads New Haven, consolidated into a single unit in 1893 by the New York, that were mph. minutes 150 years ago was 30 90 s era line to the 1940 , the railroad between New , High Speed Rail 1999 and 1992 David J. Carol Vice President Vice billion in new rails and ties, signal system upgrades, 1.7 $ , Amtrak inaugurated its new Acela Express high-speed rail , Amtrak inaugurated its new Acela 2000 CONTENTS and Service Facilities 3 Introduction 7 History 39 Stations 52 Maintenance Railroad 55 Signals and Switches 61 Eliminations Grade Crossing 65 Bridges 73 and Industries Freight 80 Image Credits 80 Recommended Reading extended to Boston. This single project alone has shaved some of travel time from Boston-New trains. York This program of improvements was not without its opponents and controver- line, sies. Many important issues were raised by residents living near the rail and boaters, and state environmental and transportation agencies. The project region are clearly better off for these efforts and Amtrak sincerely appreciates the hard work of those who insisted that local environmental, historic and quality of life issues be respected. leave the region better off than when we began, with a vastly improved We the rail passenger system and better communications with those impacted by rail line. This program has been a success. Amtrak looks forward to continued transportation system. efforts to improve the region’s bridge replacements, capacity and station improvements, curve realignments, and at-grade crossing upgrades. In addition, the electrification system that some was first installed between New Haven and New York In the year service on the Northeast Corridor, ushering in a premium level of service that ushering in a premium level service on the Northeast Corridor, this mile- Achieving will set the standard for transportation in this country. stone has required a Herculean effort by many states, agencies, companies and individuals. Indeed, between premier rail line in North America, capable of train speeds up to This has required some Haven and Boston was transformed from a sleepy, Haven and Boston was transformed from a sleepy,

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 2 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 2 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 5 INTRODUCTION , FRA HABS/HAER (HABS/HAER) mitigative measures were agreed upon agreed were mitigative measures During the survey, judgements were made judgements were During the survey, of the projectabout the potential affect on identified. each of the historic resources did not require While the electrification project a large amount of demolition, it was deter- would be mined that a number of properties by the visual impact caused adversely affected by the installation of the catenary poles, which set an average of about 200 feet apart are In those cases, addi- along the 156-mile route. tional during consultation among Amtrak, the documentation, which involved taking large- stable photographs format negative, archivally a written description and history and producing the improvements before of the properties constructed.Copieswere of all the deposited in the Library of documentation were within each state. and safe archives Congress and the state historic preservation offices in offices and the state historic preservation Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In most instances, the mitigation took the form of Historical American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record Conducted in 1992-1993, the survey of historic Conducted in 1992-1993, the survey of directly included not only resources properties right-of-way, on or adjacent to the railroad from but also those whose setting might suffer visual impacts of the electrification elements. within the project In all, about 140 properties listed or poten- identified as being were area tially eligible for listing in the National Register. surveyed were A number of the properties They included to the railroad. related directly train stations, signaling and switching towers, bridges. Many others, however, and railroad located simply because they were recorded were numerous near the rail line. Among them were districts, and residential historic commercial factories, agricultural individual residences, landscapes, cemeteries, and public buildings. to conduct provide sufficient clearance for the installation clearance sufficient provide The construction of these of the overhead wires. was determined to constitute improvements the a major federal undertaking, requiring Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal Railroad various studies to identify the impacts that might have on the environment the project and consider ways of mitigating those impacts judged to be adverse. Among the environ- mental impact studies completed was a survey to locate, document, and evaluate historic on the New Haven to Boston section properties Under federal law of the Northeast Corridor. is applied to those the term “historic property” either listed or eligible for that are resources listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is the nation’s federal list of significant buildings, official objects, landscapes, and sites, structures, districts. The basic criteria for listing in the be at that a property National Register are its historic least 50 years old and retain to a high degree. appearance, or integrity, must also have associations with Properties or events significant important people, trends, archaeology, architecture, in American history, engineering, or culture. was electri- The electrification project involved the The electrification project fied in the first half of the twentieth century. The completion of the electrification project will allow passengers to travel the entire Northeast Corridor without switching trains at New Haven. installation of an overhead catenary system suspended over the rail- composed of wires tracks and supported by steel poles with road arms; the construction of a number cantilevered of electrical switching, paralleling, and sub- stations; and raising bridges or lowering the to tracks at 40 locations along the route and Hartford Railroad.and Hartford south of The corridor DC New Haven to Washington,

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 4 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 4 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL tories and HISTORY finished goods to marketplaces, and created new opportunities for Americans finished goods to marketplaces, and created The history of to travel to other parts of the country for business and pleasure. development Northeast Corridor extends to the earliest period of railroad Amtrak’s in the United States. and parallels in many ways the general history of railroading highlighting the important national The following narrative traces that history, and events that influenced the development of the Northeast Corridor trends which to view a context from between New Haven and Boston and providing sections the focus of the remaining that are the history of the individual resources of this book. The introduction of railroads beginning in the 1820s and their rapid deployment of railroads The introduction nation during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the throughout the way Americans lived, worked, and played. During that fundamentally altered became the dominant means of long-distance travel for people period, railroads for settlement, fueled the Industrial and goods. They opened up new areas to fac Revolution by allowing the rapid transport of raw materials Acela promises to revolutionize train travel to revolutionize Acela promises the electrification project. The second section the electrification project. constructed by or focuses on the resources discussions Included are because of the railroad. stations; bridges, about passenger and freight underpasses, and tunnels; signal and routing and cuts that repre- systems; and crossings promoted sented major engineering projects, in and changed the built environment safety, located. they are the towns and cities where but it is important in the Northeast Corridor, that the system is just the next to remember advancement in a long continuum of railroad for previous innovations, each representing in generations as dramatic an improvement and service. The sleek speed, comfort, safety, new trains will travel over portions of right- the earliest period of of-way that date from in the United States. Ample physical railroading evidence of all periods of the Northeast be seen along the development can Corridor’s New Haven to Boston section of the line. It is to the hoped that this booklet will alert readers and that they that remain historic resources will gain an understanding of the importance of the Northeast Corridor in the history of the it services. region , and the FRA The booklet is divided into two major The production of this booklet is one of the The production final pieces of mitigation for the construction It grew of the electrification improvements. out of a stipulation in a Memorandum of among Amtrak, the Agreement Connecticut State Historic Preservation Officer Connecticut State Historic Preservation covering that asked for an illustrated report associated with the directly historic resources in Connecticut. The parties later agreed, railroad to expand the scope of the work to however, New Haven to Boston encompass the entire The booklet section of the Northeast Corridor. is intended to serve as an educational tool and will be distributed to libraries and schools within Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. a history of the sections. The first provides development of the New Haven to Boston The material portion of the Northeast Corridor. some of the for the history was distilled from in New many books available on railroading materials collected England and research during investigations for the historic property

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 6 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 6 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 9 HISTORY Early wagons and stagecoaches slowly and stagecoaches wagons Early and comfortable into more evolved A major of transportation. faster modes in the first three evolution occurred as century, decades of the nineteenth take on new shapes, coaches began to cushioned seats to with springs and ride. comfortable allow for a more in the 1820s, theFinally, “Concord Coach,” carriage, had a flat-topped choice. evolved as the style and shape of ultimately found Coach The Concord the United wide popularity throughout States, South Africa, South America, used and Australia, and continued to be until the early days of the automobile. 1787 U.S. Constitution is written, Northwest Ordinance. 1787 U.S. Constitution is written, Northwest Ordinance. 1804 Richard Trevithick of England builds first locomotive. 1804 Richard Trevithick 1780s First canals in New England built. 1785 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Blanchard Jean-Pierre canals in New England built. 1785 Frenchman 1780s First Early nineteenth- Early below: century Currier and Ives century Currier of steamboat depiction traffic on the and barge Hudson River. centuries. In New England, numerous turnpikes crisscrossed the shorter region, with branches of smaller, routes to outlying areas extending from them. These toll roads were often chartered and constructed by private companies that sought profit by pro- viding a decent surface for wheeled vehicles to travel. Only large cities, where financial resources and demand for intercity travel were great, could afford to construct and maintain smooth public roads. Communities in interior sections of the Communities in interior sections self- country had to be much more be sufficient. The only way they could reached was by foot or horse-drawn often conveyance on roads that were little more than slightly improved former Native American trails. Early coaches were offered little in the way of luxury, usually crowded, and lacked suspension systems that could effectively cushion the ride against the numerous obstacles that characterized most early roads. Road construction methods improved during the late eighteenth and early nine- teenth 1776 Colonies declare Independence from Britain. 1776 Colonies declare largest 1789 George Washington becomes first U.S.1789 George Washington President. 1803 Louisiana Purchase. 20

system to connect the various

American John Jeffries of Boston become the first balloonists to successfully cross the English Channel. Before the advent of the railroad, there was no single comprehensive transporta- tion regions of the United States. The country grew up around coastal seaports and along navigable rivers where ships and boats supplied the primary means for importing and exporting goods and supplies. Port towns relied heavily upon and owed much of their growth to maritime trade, exporting locally produced products and importing goods for distribution within the com- munity and its hinterlands. Even today, all but four of the nation’s cities have major harbors. TRAVEL BEFORE THE BEFORE RAILROAD TRAVEL

1776

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 8 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 8 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 11 HISTORY 1830). ; 1852) Massa- – ( . (1803 1847) – ovements, Concord Coach (ca. Northampton (1825 & ; and the New Haven ) 1812 War of 1812 begins. 1812 War MCA Canal ) 1849) The completion of completion The – the Blackstone Canal from Providence, Massachusetts Rhode Island to Worcester, (1825 (Connecticut the Erie Canal and others the Erie Canal new attention like it focused for tapping on the potential resources and opening in new areas to settlement of the the interior sections country. Canals, however, were extremely expensive and to build and maintain, required water sources at both ends, restricting where they could be constructed. Railroads, which were faster, relatively cheap to construct, and could be laid almost anywhere, brought the canal era to an abrupt end. resources from the Great Lakes region to Its immediate City. the port of New York success prompted the formation of numerous canal companies in other parts of the United States. In New England several modestly successful canals were constructed in the early included the They nineteenth century. Middlesex Canal from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts below: below: Courtesy of chusetts -mile 1807, 360 , the Erie 1825 and completed in The introduction of the steamboat and construction of several major canals during the early nineteenth century rep- resented major advancements in the movement of goods and people into the In interior sections of the country. Robert Fulton ushered in a new era for internal travel with the historic first run of his steamboat, Clermont. Several years construction began on the later, Erie Barge Canal between Albany and Partially opened in Buffalo, New York. 1819 Canal enabled for the first time an efficient means of carrying products and 1824 General Survey Act allows survey of roads and canals considered nationally important. . 1803 hours.Within 32 record three years of the maiden three years voyage,steamboats Fulton’s the were regularly plying rivers Hudson and Delaware making and soon after were of the possible settlement the lands acquired through of Louisiana Purchase York City to Albany in a Albany in City to York makes successful run on the City and Albany. York Hudson River between New

Clermont “Fulton’s Folly,” as Folly,” “Fulton’s -mile trip from New 1821 Missouri Compromise. 1823 Monroe Doctrine. Robert Fulton’s Clermont Robert Fulton’s was the was nicknamed, technological first of many advances in transportation that transformed American society in the nineteenth against Traveling century. Hudson the current of the made the Fulton River, 150 below: below: 1816 First high-pressure steamboat 1816 introduced First by Henry M. Shreve. Stagecoach impr begins. 1800-30 1817 Erie Canal construction

1807 Fulton’s Folley1807 Fulton’s —Robert Fulton’s 1815 Battle of New Orleans.

1807

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 10 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 10 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL s, & 1830 Providence. & setts, the Quincy Railway. Ohio Railroad extended to Ohio River. Worcester, the Boston Worcester, & & railroad companies were formed , to move the stone for the Bunker Hill Monument from the quarries to a a distance wharf on the Neponset River, of four miles. During the mid- several freight and passenger lines were organized in New England, including the Boston New England’s first railroad, the Quincy New England’s Granite Railroad, was constructed in 1826 This trio of lines radiated out from Boston, providing direct service to three important interior areas. Within the next three decades, numerous inde- pendent in states throughout the eastern seaboard. Maine, and the Boston . & 1828 , 4 s the rail- 1820 by the City of 1827 , 28 The first successful freight and pas- engine as a viable means to propel By the vehicles on water. Ohio Railroad, which was chartered on February Baltimore in hopes of expanding its economic base by funneling products of port. to the city’s the Ohio River Valley Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, broke ground for the road on July Other cities soon followed Baltimore’s lead, and the pace of railroad develop- ment along the east coast quickened. road’s potential for improving travel road’s and freight shipping was well-recognized in the United States. senger railroad was the Baltimore 1827 First common carrier railroad in U.S., Baltimore 1827 First the when miles. when a 1900 BPL 000 , 1807 and 1764 186 Courtesy of 1830 miles to 23 and road more than little on railway coaches mounted wheels.axles and Each was continuing given a name, with a tradition that began stagecoaches of previous years. names were often The passed on to successor same trains that plied the routes. when Richard Trevithick of when Richard Trevithick square miles of public lands to and 1804 000 , Railroad technology in the United 1865 35,000 England made the first “locomotive” able to run on wheels and Robert Fulton pioneered use of the steam States is traced back to cable-operated tramway made of grooved logs was constructed in Lewiston, Major advances occurred New York. after trade routes. The federal government did what it could to foster railroad expansion, turning over more than 300 and furnishing large loans, grants, and subsidies companies. During to railroad the period between railroad trackage in the United States increased from miles. Original Boston & , the total amount of , the total . In many cases, early 1890 in the United railroad track States rose from 200,000 remote sections of the sections remote country. Between right: Providence Railroad Car, 1834 trains were horse-drawn at 10, 1869 1825 Erie Canal completed,Canal Erie 1825 joining Albany to Buffalo on Lake Erie. 1826 Early horse-drawn, single purpose railway, in Massachu , which established a system 1826 Former Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die on July John Adams and Thomas Presidents 1826 Former 4.

1863 Driving theDriving “Golden and the passing of the Homestead

Spike” on May Summit in Utah. Promontory marked the The ceremony first completion of the in transcontinental railroad the United States. The rapid in the expansion of railroads post-Civil era allowed War settlement in previously The development of the railroad in the United States fostered three major social and economic changes: the growth of and cities, the spread of heavy industry, western expansion. Railroad expansion initiated the “transportation revolution,” which unified the American people, and transformed the United States from a primarily agricultural economic state to the preeminent industrial nation. Events such as the California Gold Rush of 1849 Act of for the free distribution of federal lands, created demand for railroads to carry settlers to their new homes and directly connect the east coast market- places with west coast resources and below: below: EARLY RAILROAD DEVELOPMENT INEARLY UNITED STATES

1825

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 12 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 12 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 15 HISTORY P), are built. P), are built. & Providence (B Providence & Travel between New York and Boston and York New between Travel of a rail route the construction before perilous. and often was difficult The overland journey along winding Post formed the basis for Road, which later U.S. Highway to complete. 1, took days faster and more Ship travel, while the rounding comfortable, required tidal strong arm of Cape Cod, where weather unpredictable and currents haz- could make the trip extremely ardous. the Boston The completion of in 1835 provided Railroad & Providence the first viable alternative to ship travel Goods could be trans- the Cape. around Boston to India Point ported by rail from onto ships and off-loaded in Providence Narragansett via bound for New York Bay. The Stonington Road, which was put into service in 1837, made the trip safer still, allowing shippers to sea bypass the sometimes treacherous Point Judith at the passage around southwest corner Narragansett Bay of access to relatively in favor of direct calm Long Island Sound. 1840s Concept of Manifest Destiny first espoused. M), the Boston & 1836 Fall of the Alamo. 1836 Fall Maine (B & . , , was Roger RIHS RIHS Stonington 1837 passenger ticket Courtesy of Courtesy of 2263 1881 ) 3 The locomotive Worcester, the Boston Worcester, below : left : for the Boston &Providence section of the New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad. neg.(x the first engine to run on run the first engine to the Providence & Railroad. Williams, built in & P) chartered, completed 1835. & . The line and the first 1834 Providence (B after construction 1832 & 1835 1831 Boston support for the project in Providence, which feared that the success of the recently-completed Blackstone Canal would be threatened by competition from the railroad. Opposition waned quickly, when the advantages of a direct however, largest link with Boston, New England’s city and port, were realized. Construction began in Boston in trains were operated between that city and Dedham in June was extended to Canton the following and was completed to September, Providence in of the massive Canton Viaduct. made , was 1831 Boston; the & Providence; the THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR THE NORTHEAST & 1831 Nat Turner Rebellion. 1831 Nat Turner New London; and the Stonington. The Boston & & Mid-1830s First major New England rail lines, including the Boston Mid-1830s First

INNINGS OF OF INNINGS

Providence, chartered in 1837 New York, Providence, and Boston line (Stonington Line), completed from and Boston line (Stonington Line), Providence, 1837 New York, to South Stonington,Providence CT. New Haven The portion of Amtrak’s Northeast The portion of Amtrak’s Corridor from New Haven to Boston was assembled from four historic rail- road lines: the Boston & New York, Providence, New York, New London an almost straight line between its namesake cities. Initially there was little New England’s first viable common car- New England’s rier railroad. Surveyed by prominent early American engineers Captain William Gibbs McNeill and George Washington the railroad right-of-way Whistler, THE BEG

1830s

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 14 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 14 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 17 HISTORY & 1848 P at Union Station. & Providence to reach Providence, & Courtesy Providence were joined at Providence’s Union Station. then ferry across the harbor to the Stongington Road railhead at South Providence, and proceed to Stonington where they could take a steamship to Direct rail service from Boston New York. to Stonington was established in when the Stonington Road and Boston miles in length. The six miles of the line in Connecticut constituted the first oper- ating railroad in that state. It allowed passengers from Boston to use the Boston Courtesy of Courtesy of Compound-Type , Allyn Fuller , Charlie Gunn & Locomotive 47 Locomotive Locomotive 1849 California Gold Rush. to form Boston. BPL & Providence “J.W. Miller”, “Daniel Nason”, of top left: UCONNASC bottom left: UCONNASC Collection center left: Collection Locomotive. 1833 & the Providence , the “Stonington s, this 1837 1840 1832 ”, or “American”, ”, 0 - 4 - 4 Shortly after the Boston Stonington Railroad and the New York and Stonington steamship line were chartered to construct a rail line from Providence to Stonington, Connecticut and provide steamer transport across The Long Island Sound to New York. two companies merged in Providence the New York, Several locomotives that locomotives Several along the predeces- operated the New York, sor lines of & Hartford New Haven on the Railroad are shown left. These locomotives share a wheel arrangement small consisting of two under the front idler wheels larger smokebox, and two drive wheels under the boiler. Developed in the configuration was referred to as a “ wheel arrangement. was chartered, plans were set in motion to extend rail service farther south toward In New York. Completed in as the line was known, was Road,” 1848 Through Service to Boston completed on Stonington Line when line was extended to Providence, joining the B 1848 New Haven and New London line chartered to connect with the New York and New Haven line. 1848 New Haven and New London line chartered to connect with the New York

1846 Introduction of telegraphy and expansion of railroads forms nationwide transportation and communication linkages. 1846 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 16 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 19 HISTORY Stonington. & Cape Cod Bay Massachusetts Bay Canton Sharon Boston & Providence & Boston Providence NY, (New Haven & New London) Shoreline NY & New Haven Attleboro Boston Kingston d. Ends. 1865 Civil War Atlantic Ocean RHODE ISLAND Westerly Map of the four Map Providence Stonington formed the NewYork,formed the Mystic original railroads that original railroads later New Haven, Hartford main line. bottom: bottom: New London Saybrook , Guilford UCONNASC New Haven Locomotive Coal Lithograph of a of Lithograph Allyn Collection Fuller top: Courtesy of Dimpfel by the Burner operated Railroad. New Haven MASSACHUSETTS CONNECTICUT LONG ISLAND New York NEW YORK it & & 1870, Stonington & , the New Haven, Stonington, unable to New London and that 1864 & & the line was absorbed by the S) line chartered to connect with and Boston line (service is completed from Boston to New York). Providence, New York, & exception of ferry rides across the exception of ferry rides across at Old Connecticut and Thames rivers travel Saybrook and New London, to to Boston. by rail from New York Problems in financing the road, however, forced the New London Stonington. In Stonington. New London New Haven. meet its interest payments, went into receivership. The eastern portion of the line between Groton and Stonington was sold to the Stonington Railroad and subsequently became known as the “Groton Extension.” The western sec- tion was reorganized as the Shore Line its debt restructured, the With Railway. In Shore Line began to prosper. financed a rail drawbridge over the the That same year, Connecticut River. line was leased to the New York into bankruptcy within four years. In 1857, New Haven company was reorganized under the name New Haven, New London & -mile . Over 13 , and con- 1854 New Haven New Haven 1857 New merges into the London and Stonington line New Hampshire and New London line under the name New Haven, New London 1848 New London & . Initially char- & . Yale University . Yale & 1858 1850 as the New London New Haven Railroad. New Haven were promi-

& & 1853 began in 1861 Civil War Begins. 1862 Homestead Act enacted. Begins. 1861 Civil War 1863 Emancipation issued. 1865 Abraham Lincoln Assassinate Proclamation 1852 New London and Stonington (NL

The last link in the route between Railroad. Among the promoters of the Railroad. Among the promoters New York time this route became the “funnel” through which nearly all New York- bound traffic from New England passed. New Haven and Boston, the section between New London and Stonington, was completed in added a second track in stretch made it possible, with the Stonington Railroad, this short The New Haven The New Haven Originally laid out as a single track system, the New York Railroad was chartered in Railroad was chartered struction nent New York capitalists Robert and nent New York Anson G. Phelps, George L. Schuyler, and Elihu Thompson and Connecticut businessmen Joseph E. Sheffield and Samuel J. Hitchcock, president of the Hartford tered in engineering professor Alexander C. engineering professor Alexander the route, which surveyed Twining of traveled along the scenic shoreline Haven Long Island Sound. In New passengers and freight traveling south ferried across the were to New York Quinnipiac River to make connections with the New York 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act.

1852

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 18 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 18 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 21 HISTORY supplemented electric inter-urban railways. The New Haven’s success led a group led success New Haven’s The seek investors to New York of wealthy board. of the organization’s control Headed by J. Morgan, the Pierpont a complete set about creating group in New monopoly on transportation England. nine- the late Throughout the New Haven had teenth century, companies and trolley several acquired line had undertaken several trolley under experiments of its own. Now, this new leadership, the focus shifted to the acquisition of all lines and means of transportation within the Morgan’s territory. “Consolidated’s” ambitions led to the buyouts of steamboat lines, trolley numerous companies, lines regardless and railroad of price. In 1903, Charles S. Mellen of the railroad. was installed as president under reach The New Haven Railroad’s Mellen extended far beyond its tracks. Along with supplying rail service, the buy to made a concerted effort railroad up steamship lines within its territory over to gain full control in an effort of transportation.the main routes The New Haven owned its own steamship service and, when competition from in the early twentieth automobiles arose England organized the New century, which was at Company, Transportation one time one of the largest bus lines in New England. Like some other railroad companies, New Haven the their transportation from revenues services by buying or constructing utility supply companies. ich later evolve into 1869 First transcontinental railroad completed.1869 First of Process 1870s TR , came TR 1887 Courtesy of Courtesy of . J. Pierpont Morgan: Charles Sanger Mellen: 1892 to the New Haven after the absorption former railroad’s in A Hartford native, the wealthy and influential Morgan was once referred to as a “one-man Federal Morgan, who Reserve.” had served on the Board of for the New Director’s Providence & Boston York, Railroad since left: above: Installed by Morgan as President of the New Haven, Mellen had for a time also been its President. Vice Under his leadership, the New Haven implemented a disastrous campaign to gain control of all forms of transportation in New England. 1867 Reconstruction Act. . 11 , 1860 1890 and miles of track, . By small, indepen- 1850 500 30 100 , the number of railroad compa- had dwindled through merger and Approximately 1865 By dent railroads were built in southern New England between nies acquisition to about large railroad conglomerates sought to capitalize on untapped markets and gain monopolistic control of lines within regions already served by railroads. major systems controlled railroad traffic and New in the region. The New York England Railroad, with was the largest running from Boston through Hartford to the Hudson River. is charac- 1930 and 1870 expansion and consolidation.

sparked a furious period of rail- 1865-1890 Total rail trackage in U.S. rises from 35,000 rail trackage in 1865-1890 Total 200,000 miles. to

consolidation of rail lines begins. 1870 Almost every major city begins to develop to begins city consolidation of rail lines begins. 1870 Almost every major lines, wh trolley horse-drawn of network a NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN RAILROAD & HARTFORD The history of railroads in America between about terized by The trend began in earnest during the when efficient interregional Civil War, transportation became a priority for national defense purposes. At the close of the conflict vast markets in the west and south, where railroad capabilities had been seriously degraded during the awaited the vision of railroad war, tycoons like J.P. Morgan. The completion Railroad in of the Transcontinental 1872 road construction and consolidation as RAILROAD CONSOLIDATION–CREATIONRAILROAD OF THE

1865

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 20 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 20 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 23 HISTORY 1876 Custer’s last stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn. At first the only competition to the only competition the At first ships, stagecoaches, were railroad however, boats. By 1870, and canal city in the region almost every large horse-drawn trolley had a network of a cheap mode lines, which supplied for factory workers of transportation A team of and “Sunday excursionists.” horses could draw 10 or 12 passengers stone in omnibuses over dirt or cobble same horses could haul These streets. rails. up to 75 passengers on street By the late 1870s, an active search was for a mechanical sub- under way stitution due to the large amount and of money needed for boarding were feeding the horses. Cable systems installed in many cities in the 1880s and 1890s. During the early twentieth electric railways century intercity short trips were popular for relatively to neighboring towns and resorts. 1886 Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor. 1886 Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York , RIHS , rail lines 1851 PPL Courtesy of The popularity of As shown by this (x3)9124 rovidence merge into the New Haven system linking the Boston-New York route under one railroad. rovidence merge into the New Haven system linking the Boston-New York neg. below: Courtesy of above: excursions into the country or to waterfront amusements began in earnest in the late Here, nineteenth century. a trolley operated by the Newport Street Railway Company, cheap offered and efficient transportation for Newport excursionists. notice from had begun purchasing and/ or organizing their own steamship lines to provide Here, passage over water. the steamship Chicopee provided passage between Stonington and New London. the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad. New Haven, and Hartford the New York, Boston ( Maine— & New England & New England’s stock. New England’s 1885 Karl Benz builds the world’s first gasoline powered vehicle. & Providence made the New , and the Boston ) & . During the ensuing sale of assets miles of track, the largest railroad first time. The acquisition of the first time. The acquisition of By the end of the nineteenth century Albany Haven, which then leased or owned Haven, which then leased or 644 domi- system in New England. The region nance of the railroad in the increased after lawsuits brought against the New York & Railroad forced it into receivership in Railroad forced it into receivership 1895 the New Haven bought up nearly all of the New York By the turn of the century, the New By the turn of the century, Haven had a virtual monopoly over rail travel in Connecticut, southeastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and maintained the most popular route of and Boston. travel between New York the rail lines of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut formed one of the densest rail networks in America, crisscrossing southern New England and leaving few centers of population unserved. Numerous intercity routes had been established, making it easy to travel or ship goods almost anywhere in the region. The consolidation of New railroads was largely complete, England’s with three railroad systems—the New Central Haven, the New York controlling all of the major routes. New Haven was able to lease the line, New Haven was on a single rail- creating direct service to Boston for road from New York the Boston & & the with New Boston, & the New 1893 Hartford, & 1864 Providence Maine. & 1879 Edison invents electric light. & 1870, & 1892-93 New York, Providence & Boston, and Providence 1892-93 New York, & Boston the P Worcester, the Old Worcester, . The Old Colony also & . Its efforts to complete 1888 1892 Hartford Railroad, commonly New Haven leased the Shore & &

In addition to the absorption of The consolidation process for the The consolidation process for

the Stonington Road’s purchase of the the Stonington Road’s of the Groton to Stonington portion former New Haven, New London Line Railway between New Haven and New London and began coordinating operations with the Hartford the New York, Providence Providence the New York, known as the New Haven. smaller lines through buyouts and mergers, the New Haven also leased several lines in an attempt to dominate the railroad market in southern New England. The New Haven reached as far north as Providence following the Providence lease of the New York, Colony, and the Boston Colony, Haven Railroad, providing a link to years later those two lines Boston. Two New merged to form the New York, Haven Boston in its route to Boston were hampered by the Old Colony Railroad, which began leasing the Boston York York Other prominent railroads included the Other prominent New Haven New York, Stonington Railroad. In Railroad in the Providence Northeast Corridor line from New Northeast Corridor line from Haven to Boston began in had its own line of steamers connecting in Finally, with New York. 1872 New York and New Haven merge with the Hartford and New Haven line, forming and New Haven 1872 New York 1877 Great Railroad Strike. 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee. 1890 Battle of Wounded

1872

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 22 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 22 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 25 HISTORY Maine Railroads. & Albany), and the Boston & 1898 Spanish American War. 1898 Spanish American War. By the late nineteenth century, railroads century, late nineteenth By the change in a significant had influenced the American landscape—the evolution periphery the around of suburban zones of cities. and streetcar The dense railroad people who formerly networks allowed in the cities to estab- lived and worked attractive areas in more lish residences of the within cheap, practical commute cities. In this period sections of the main line became some New Haven’s lines. busiest commuter of the nation’s service, express In addition to its intercity daily numerous the New Haven offered morning and evening commuter trains trans- to the suburbs. Suburbanization formed the character of communities the major cities on the line. surrounding up Early housing subdivisions grew within easy walking distance of the which built pleasing, com- railroad, fortable new stations to complement busy town centers. increasingly the New Haven, the New York Central (Boston Central the New Haven, the New York . large systems: 1914 and freight traffic. Numerous sections of track were rerouted to eliminate dangerous curves and grade crossings, and new switching mechanisms and automatic block signals were installed of passenger Issues to improve safety. comfort and convenience were addressed by the improvement of station facilities and the upgrade of locomotives and coaches. A massive electrification project, undertaken during the period when colorful railroad mogul Charles S. Mellen served as president of the New Haven, was completed between New and New Haven in York Bird’s-EyeView PPL track 1930 1903 Wright brothers make first airplane flight.1903 Wright controls over railroads. Act enacted to tighten Federal 1905 Hepburn and bottom right: bottom Courtesy of of Providence showing the of Providence transportation comprehensive in place by the network early twentieth century. By this period, transportation made it developments had remotest possible for even the the state of villages within to be easily accessible. s, demand for 1890 1890 3)9126 BPL , neg.(x NTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY PEAK CENTURY TWENTIETH EARLY NTH AND 1890s J.P. Morgan gains control of New Haven, seeking to monopolize1890s J.P. transportation market in New England. RIHS . As shown by the the northeast. During the late nine- and early twentieth centuries, the Courtesy of Courtesy of Photograph of a New of Photograph Timetable showing Timetable 1901

teenth railroad initiated an intensive program to upgrade facilities and improve safety along the line. In the service was so high that the New Haven added a third and then a fourth and New Havenbetween New York to accommodate the increased passenger represented the golden era for train travel on the New Haven. Through its mergers and acquisitions the company positioned itself as a dominant force in transporta- tion in table, the New Haven table, the New Haven with provided commuters the convenience of a number of morning and evening departure and arrival times. stops included on the New stops included on Shoreline route Haven’s in The forty years between Haven car prior to the advent Haven car streamlined of the new image. below: right: Courtesy of

LATE NINETEE LATE 1900 All major rail lines in southern New England merged into one of three

1890s

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 24 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 24 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 27 HISTORY orld 1920 when nomic country to 1918 and by strikes of 1917 U.S. enters World War I. War 1917 U.S. enters World 1921 , . Recovery after the return of the - 1 1935 BPL 110 up the system, were leveled at the com- New Haven The solvency of the pany. was in serious question in the federal government seized control of all major railroads in the support the war effort during W War railroad to private ownership in was slowed by the national eco depression of coal miners and railway shopmen in the following year. BPL -hour Comet Courtesy of Debuted in Baggage being Baggage loaded onto the famous loaded onto Federal, ran which to from Providence D.C. Washington, right: Courtesy of below: the Newthe Haven’s mile-per stream-liner, built by the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, was dedicated to Boston-Providence service. s, the New Haven 1910 In the late endured a brief, but unsettling period during which its stranglehold on the transportation market in the northeast was challenged. The aggressive improve- ment and expansion programs instituted in the previous two decades had been and competition from other lines costly, and an increased reliance on automo- biles for daily travel began to seriously impact profits. In addition, several anti- trust lawsuits, which threatened to break 1910s New Haven experiences financial trouble due to overspending and threats from anti-trust lawsuits. Canal opened. Panama and New Haven. 1914 New York Despite the improvements to the line, to the improvements the Despite numerous experienced the company quarter of during the first setbacks of the heavy As a result the century. Morgan and Mellen’s spending under reported the New Haven was control, “brink of financial as being on the 1907. from disaster” in a report Investigations led by Boston attorney Court Justice, and later Supreme Louis D. light on the Brandeis, shed sometimes nefarious tactics of Morgan and Mellen in their attempts forms of transportation in all to control New England. began One such attempt when a Canadian firm, the Grand began constructing Railroad, Trunk the “Southern New England Railroad,” heavy which would have provided competition to the New Haven. the Boston Planned as a rail line from MA to Providence, & Albany at Palmer, the line was eagerly anticipated by businesses, who could Providence competitive rates. benefit from was Construction of the railroad well underway when the company’s president, Charles Melville Hays, died while on the Titanic. Hays was suc- ceeded by a childhood friend of Mellen, was abandoned and soon the project under suspicious circumstances. These events so enraged Brandeis, among others, that several lawsuits company in against the brought were to halt their attempts at a an effort Mellen was later indicted monopoly. Act. for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust 1914 Electrification of New Haven line between 9128 ) 3 , neg. (x map showing 1906 Henry Ford implements high-volume automobile manufacture. 1906 Henry Ford RIHS 1901

Courtesy of above: vast transportation network created by New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Note steamer routes still operated in conjunction with rail lines at this time. 1906 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 26 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 29 HISTORY . , of the 77 , the New UCONNASC 1935

Spirit of St.Louis , A ticket envelope 23 above: Courtesy of from the early twentieth century touts the New new streamlined Haven’s passenger trains with all the “modern” conveniences, including air conditioning, dining cars, and a new look. Advertising Materials file laws. Efforts were then ganization under Section Like nearly every other facet of the industry the railroad national economy, in the United States was hit hard by the Great Depression. Dozens of railroads were forced into bankruptcy and had to or suspend opera- either reorganize tions. On October Haven petitioned the Federal Court for reor bankruptcy made to eliminate lines and services that were no longer profitable. As part of this reorganization, the rail network was judiciously pruned and the company’s steamship lines were abandoned. miles 1929, 131 , 2 both services and equipment depression was followed by a new, lightweight air conditioned new, Fortunately for the New Haven, the Fortunately for the New Haven, 1921 period of general economic prosperity that enabled the railroad to regain much Programs were insti- of its former glory. tuted by the company to upgrade and modernize services to meet the changing demands of its passengers and shippers. This effort to streamline operations and reduce losses resulted in overall improve- ments to on the lines. Once again, a significant attempt was made to cater to passenger comfort. During the decade, outdated coaches were replaced by more than 400 cars. Schedules were sped up and higher standards were set for service. By the company reached the peak of its operational reach, controlling of track in New York, Connecticut, of track in New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. ship men and freight throughout the Northeast. 1927 Charles Lindbergh makes first trans Atlantic flight in the BPL Courtesy of Interior view of pas- 1919 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified, Prohibition takes effect. takes Constitution ratified, Prohibition 1919 18th Amendment to the U.S.

above: senger car offering all the luxuries of home. travel Train was viewed by many as civilized and stylish. Noted American industrial designers were involved in the creation of a cohesive “modern” look to both the interior and exteriors of the trains. Note the carpeting, seat covers, and curtains as well as the sleek and “streamlined” chairs. 1918 Government wartime takeover of all rail lines, New Haven Railroad is used to 1918 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 28 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 31 HISTORY 1933 Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal recovery program begins. 1941 U.S. enters World War 11. War program begins. 1941 U.S. enters World Roosevelt’s New Deal recovery 1933 Franklin BPL BPL Courtesy of s. New Haven Railroad Courtesy of Railroads still cap- 1930 tured the heart and imagi- tured the heart and nation of the American public and were often used for political campaign “whistlestops.” Here the Clipper Yankee New Haven’s is used for a promotional event. promotional image of modern streamlined passenger car operated by the railroad in the right: below: 1929 Many railroads declare bankruptcy, busline in America. steamship lines abandoned. 1929 Greyhound becomes largest 1930-80 Number of railway miles cut in half.

1929 Great Depression begins. Depression 1929 Great

Throughout the first few decades of decades first few the Throughout the New century, the twentieth most of and replaced Haven updated passenger cars in its locomotives and ridership. Steam to increase an effort stoves lights replaced heat and electric lamps on trains, and oil and gas the chance of fires. decreasing thereby Most of the older wooden coaches with modern steel replaced were stock.rolling The New Haven operated many famous New England “name trains” on its main line, including Limited,the Merchant’s Yankee and the Federal.Clipper, This period marks the advent of the “Luxury trains were Liners.” These streamlined light-weight construction of more than conventional passenger trains, not many amenities and offered found on earlier cars, including air conditioning. Custom-built trainsets, Comet, such as the New Haven’s nation the hailed throughout were as and the quickest, most efficient, modern Inaugural-run of machines. held for these celebrations were put on view for trains, which were the general public. These trains were not only fast, they looked the part as well. New color schemes and logos sprang up on the cars, following the modern look of the day. and futuristic

1929

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 30 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 30 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 33 HISTORY long distances. . He was responsible 1948 with the installation of Another reorganization of the com- Another reorganization pany was completed on September 18, 1947 for several improvement campaigns for several improvement new image of the as well as the line’s interlocking “N” and “H” letters. Frederic C.Frederic as head of Dumaine Sr. the line. He, along with others, began of non-vital a campaign of reduction commuter services. lines and increased Following several attempts to gain command, Patrick B.McGinnis assumed in control 9 - diesel FL the 9 - , the New pulls a Courtesy FL New Haven , Charley Gunn 1947 ” in red-orange, new H BPL s the 60 New Haven New locomotive locomotive As part of its new s were the last classic 1950 9 ” and “ - UCONNASC N 1946 Post-World War 11 prosperity leads to suburban boom. 1946 Cold War begins. begins. 11 prosperity leads to suburban boom. 1946 Cold War War 1946 Post-World 1950s Air transport becomes foremost transporter of mail and passengers over passenger train on the New the train on passenger line.Haven main In late ordered black, and white. The new logo was designed by renowned graphic designer Patrick Herbert Matter. McGinnis’ wife is said to have developed the paint scheme for the trains. diesel General locomotives from Motors.Haven’s The New image after the reorganization of the line in Haven changed its corporate logo to a block capital “ Courtesy of below: below: FL streamlined diesel locomo- streamlined diesel tives manufactured in the United States; later diesel locomotives adopted a more boxy look. Collection right: of A matchbook image and presents image and dual services offered by dual services below left: below Russo Courtesy of Victor private collection the the New Haven Railroad. advertisement reinforces the advertisement new the northeast region. Civilian ridership gaso- also increased as the rationing of the along with line, oil, and rubber, federal takeover of automobile factories for war material production, made travel scrap metal Like saving by car a luxury. for recycling, the use of mass transit systems was considered a patriotic way to support the war effort.

when it played an important role in

After the Great Depression, the reorga- After the Great Depression, the nization of the New Haven allowed it to continue its railroad operations, position within the but the company’s regional transportation market had been seriously eroded. The New Haven’s War prospects brightened during World 11 moving troops and freight throughout 1941-45 New Haven experiences brief resurgence of prosperity during World War 11. War 1941-45 New Haven experiences brief resurgence of prosperity during World POST-WORLD WAR II DECLINE

1941

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 32 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 32 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL was 460 600 , tives. , , 4 8 3 - EP sisters s were 4 3 - - EP EF The General UCONNASC dedicated to high-speed pas- senger service in electrified territory between New Haven and New York. Their handled freight traffic in the electrified zone. Electrification was employed in densely populated urban areas to alleviate problems associated with dirt and smoke from coal-fired steam locomo Charley Gunn Collection Courtesy of above right: Electric Company also built specifically for the New Haven. The horsepower horsepower s s. 5 - 5 I - I 1940 s and The Baldwin 1959 Hawaii becomes 50th U.S. State. 1930 s, and held down the Locomotive Company above center: was the last of the steam engines built for the New Haven. The bullet-nosed were delivered in the late 1930 crack train” passenger “name express schedules between New Haven and Boston. Featured heavily in company advertising, they came to symbolize the New Haven’s fast express train service during the -mile- 90 , was , delivered 109 1941 - The American DL s were equally 109 - beginning in above left: DL the first heavy-duty, diesel- the first heavy-duty, engine “road” locomotive to run on the New Haven. Locomotive Company (“Alco”) capable of pulling passenger express per-hour and dragging, trains by day, heavy freight trains by slow, night. Diesel-powered loco- motives were three times as fuel efficient as steam loco- and motives, far cleaner, much easier to maintain. 1963 President John F. Kennedy assassinated. John F. 1963 President 1964 Civil Rights Act enacted. 1969 Astronaut Neil Armstrong first man to step on the moon. . 1961 s pub- 1940 . This union electric—captures 1969 . The focus of the This mid-This 1947 right: right: licity portrait of the New licity portrait three Haven Railroad’s of streamline- major types era locomotives—diesel, steam, and of the the pride and spirit its last New Haven during in the period of prosperity years around World II. War In an effort to adjust to the new cli- manufacturing companies, some with manufacturing companies, some years roots dating back to the earliest left in of the Industrial Revolution, taxes, lower search of cheaper labor, and more favorable business incentives. Competition from trucking and a decline in demand for raw materials for industry seriously cut into the New Haven’s freight shipping. mate of the post-war era, the New Haven underwent another major reor- ganization in reorganization centered on further reducing the number of non-vital lines and increasing commuter services. The company maintained its dominant niche in providing regional railroad service for the next two decades before again filing for bankruptcy in The railroad was subsequently operated under court supervision until it was incorporated into the Penn Central Railroad system in put under single control the entire mainline route of what became known as the Northeast Corridor between D.C. and Boston. Washington, 1961 New Haven Railroad forced into bankruptcy. s greatly 1960 1956 Passage of the Federal Highway Act leads to construction of the Federal 1956 Passage of a national interstate highway system. s and 1969 New Haven Railroad incorporated into Penn Central Railroad. 1969 New Haven Railroad incorporated into Penn 1950

The proliferation of interstate and Any hopes that the New Haven and Any hopes that the New Haven sit- other railroad companies in similar for a uations gained during the war return to their early-twentieth-century dominance, were dashed in the post-war era by rapidly shifting societal trends. The flight of families from urban centers to the suburbs—which railroads first made possible in the late nineteenth century—accelerated, but this time the automobile became the primary mode of transportation for commuters. The construction of the interstate highway system in the facilitated intercity and long-distance travel by automobile. For the New Haven, the construction of the Connecticut which paralleled the line, Turnpike, resulted in decreased passenger counts despite the post-war suburban boom in the northeast. state highways in the post-war era gave rise to an explosion in the long-haul the same time, At trucking industry. industrial-based economy New England’s entered a period of precipitous decline, as a large percentage of the region’s 1951 Korean War begins. War 1951 Korean

1951

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 34 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 34 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 1973 Regional Rail Reorganization Act. introduces the Macintosh, the first viable personal computer. 1991 Persian Gulf War. introduces the Macintosh, the first viable personal computer. 1991 Persian 1973 Last American troops leave Vietnam. 1973 Last American troops leave Vietnam. called Railpax later named Amtrak. 1971 Penn Central Railroad mainline between called Railpax later named Amtrak. 1971 Penn Courtesy and Boston A new The Acela Amtrak diesel Amtrak D.C. ,which created the the the Penn Central line ) Congress finally addressed Amtrak. below right: traveling the Northeast traveling along the Corridor shoreline. Connecticut below left: below Courtesy Amtrak. below center: Amtrak Diesel. Courtesy Amtrak. Express high-speed train. Express high-speed 1971 RPSA ( 1970 , or “Amtrak,” as it more com- , or “Amtrak,” ) NRPC between Washington, between Washington, monly known. Amtrak, a quasi-public the responsi- was charged with agency, bility for keeping intercity passenger rail service in the Northeast and Midwest running. In was designated Amtrak’s “Northeast Corridor” route. National Railroad Passenger Corporation ( The collapse of regional freight service The collapse of regional freight and the threat to passenger service on what was still one of the busiest commuter lines in the country precipitated what became known as the “Northeast Rail In Crisis.” the problem by passing the Rail Passenger Service Act s. The 1960 era led to numerous com- 11

Washington, D.C. and Boston incorporated into Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.

1976 U.S. bicentennial. 1981 U.S. hostages released by Iran. 1984 Apple1976 U.S. bicentennial. 1981 U.S. hostages released Computer Even with the merger of the New Haven into the Penn Central, and the potential for additional markets that the line could tap, the prospects for its survival were bleak. The drastic cutbacks in ser- vice that railroads were forced to implement to stay solvent in the post- War World plaints to Congress by the general dissatisfaction resulted in still fewer people riding the rails. Due to a combination of unprofitable passenger operations, poor management, and over- whelming freight traffic confusion gener- ated by the biggest merger in American Penn Central the corporate history, declared bankruptcy soon after its forced absorption of the New Haven. 1970 Rail Passenger Service Act, government sponsored passenger service created 1970 Rail Passenger AMTRAK

1970

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 36 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 36 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL STATIONS The surviving historic passenger stations of the New Haven to Boston section of The surviving historic passenger stations of the New Haven to of interesting and architecturally the most prominent the Northeast Corridor are small-town, wood-frame found along the line. They range from the structures depots with Victorian period designs to the large, ornate union stations found in representative and Boston. Their designs are the cities of New Haven, Providence, the country began to view throughout of a period during which railroads stations the first their corporate image. Because stations were of as a projection important in establishing the customers, they were point of contact for railroad the communities in which the tone for the travel experience. For similar reasons, station as a mea- located viewed the size and design of the railroad stations were often spent long periods negotiating with and local officials of importance, sure pleasing buildings. architecturally for larger and more the railroad Amtrak states and 1999 trains per day, 45 route miles. Its million passengers. 265 000 Acela Express, , 21 22 were run on the North- left: Regional, and Commuter service routes. Featuring a fleet of ultramodern, high- speed electric trains, Acela promises to reinvigorate passenger train travel on the Northeast Corridor by significantly cutting travel time between New York and Boston and providing a high level of passenger service and amenities. Courtesy Amtrak. many as 117 railroad lines. In miles of track owned by the cor- operated as operates over of which east Corridor and its feeder lines, and served more than busiest route remains the Northeast of the which comprises most Corridor, 730 on host poration. Other routes are run freight stations and equipment in an effort to stations and equipment to rail travel. reintroduce Americans Amtrak serves Today,

. In recent years, Amtrak 1971

high-speed electric rail service implemented on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. has implemented a program aimed at has implemented a program aimed improving service and modernizing its From its inception, Amtrak was inad- From its inception, and subject to the equately funded to pool whims of Congress. It was forced together existing passenger equipment drop from participating railroads and that about half of the passenger trains Some were being run before it took over. of those services were later restored, much although Amtrak operates a trains smaller system of passenger than was operated by the railroads before Acela

2000

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 38 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 38 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 41 STATIONS , 1875 the Courtesy 2 , James Klarr 1876 Constructed in right: UCONNASC Collection, Box Kingston Station in South Kingstown, Rhode Island is the only station built by Providence the New York, & Boston Railroad that is still in use. Its construction fostered the development of Kingston, the village of West and influenced the location of the University of Rhode Island. In Narragansett Pier Railroad was built from the station south to serve mills in Peace Dale and seaside resorts at Narragansett. The station was originally surrounded by a complex including a roundhouse, freight house and yard, and turntable. Only the Interlocking Tower, now moved back from the tracks east of the station, survives today. CHS Courtesy ought news from As this 1870s view left: of the Canton Junction, Massachusetts Station shows, the depot was a popular place for people to congregate. The clicking telegraph and passing trav- elers br the outside world. Mail and packages handled by the railway postal service were exchanged there.Small handled, items were freight and traveling salesmen hawked their wares. As the became a new railroad element of the landscape, it changed the organization of small-town life.The station became the focus and invari- of social activity, ably became the nucleus of development commercial that often eclipsed the “old” center of the towns passed the railroad through. tracks. These buildings were usually functional structures designed by rail- road construction departments, which gave little thought to aesthetics. By the mid-nineteenth century the railroad station had evolved into an identifiable these buildings building type. Externally, typically echoed the revival and styles of their time. Many had Victorian Gothic- and Stick-style features, including vertical board-and-batten siding and prominent roof brackets. Visibility requirements resulted in the common feature of a protruding bay on the track side of most small stations. The ticket office usually included levers to control an “order board,” a prominent manual rooftop signal that informed approaching trains to stop for instruc- doors on one end of the tions. Wide building indicated the location of the baggage room. rely on for the towns. Initially, there was little precedent to design of such buildings. As a functional design problem, the railroad station presented highly specific needs. It was more than simply a waiting place for the convenience of passengers. It had to have rooms for handling and stor- ing mail, baggage, and freight, and it required a centrally-located ticket and telegraph office that afforded clear views of the interior spaces as well as the tracks in both directions. The earliest solutions were simple, long, narrow buildings resembling small barns, with their long axis parallel to the railroad Early in the history of the railroad it became evident that buildings positioned at strategic and populated locations were needed to shelter agents, passengers, and freight, hence the development of the railroad station, or “depot,” as it was often called in small

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 40 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 40 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 43 STATIONS , includes PAL WJP WJP freight 1936 The interior of The Mystic, 1936 The Old Saybrook , generally follows the far left: a ticket office, visible at the right, at the apex of the angled waiting room. the Old Saybrook Station, remodeled in bottom right: Robert Brewster, Robert Brewster, Robert Brewster, top right: Connecticut Station, built in 1905 turn-of-the- New Haven’s century standard passenger station plan, however, details including paneled doors with transoms, elab- orate window glazing, and large Palladian windows give it a distinctive appear- ance of its own. Station was built according to standard New Haven wood-frame station designs first used in the New Haven- section of the New York line. The house, visible at the right, was attached to the station rather than made a physically separate building. , Leroy UCONNASC ough of Fenwick, Old Saybrook about 1900 with Roberts Collection, Box 6 above: Courtesy became a railroad junction became a railroad when the Connecticut which Railroad, Valley between served the area and Long Island Hartford Sound, was completed in 1872. its The line reached junction with the New in Haven at Old Saybrook 1871 and was extended south over a series of causeways to Saybrook Point and ultimately to the bor an exclusive shoreline area.resort The current Old Station was Saybrook built an unusual bent plan to accommodate passengers on both the main and Fenwick lines. angled The portion of the station that served the Fenwick line, which was abandoned in 1922, is visible at the left in this historic view. , , . , are , and 1880) 1890) (1882) (1875) circa (1905) circa ( ( , stations are in good condition, and East Greenwich, Rhode Island (1870) but no longer used by the railroad. Others, due to their age or location, were replaced or discontinued by the New Haven. Examples of these stations that were sold to private owners and altered and/or moved for adaptive reuse include stations in Clinton and Connecticut Westbrook, Rhode Island and Warwick, Kingston, Rhode Island still in use as Amtrak passenger stations. The Noank, Connecticut These buildings vary widely in condition and use. The stations at Old Saybrook and Mystic, Connecticut s. is an example of a New 1890 1900) There are several surviving examples circa Haven standardized wood-frame station design. It was built according to a design used by the railroad in the segment between New Haven and New York after the of small, late-nineteenth-century, wood- of small, late-nineteenth-century, frame depots on the New Haven to Boston section of the Northeast Corridor. Toward the end of the nineteenth century Toward many railroads began to standardize their passenger station designs in the hopes that a consistent appearance would promote a sense of confidence in the railroad as a cohesive“system.”The Connecticut station Old Saybrook, (

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 42 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 42 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 45 STATIONS Snopek HCJ, J.R. The Canton Junction Station, shown here in Station, shown here 1928, was built in 1893 at the junction of the New Haven to Boston main line and the Stoughton Branch Railroad. After the Civil War, Canton Junction became station the busiest freight between Boston and due to the con- Providence centration of industries, Copper such as the Revere in the surround- Company, ing area. The station’s Lee designer was Bradford Gilbert (1853–1911), a City New York prominent best known for his architect of old Grand remodeling Central Station in New York City. Gilbert also designed several other stations on the New Haven system, including sta- the Old Colony Railroad tions at North Abington and Bridgewater, Massachusetts. This station shows strong Romanesque Richardsonian stylistic influences, notably the use of rough-faced trim. granite and brownstone Courtesy above: Photo Collection , Drawing and platform views of the HCJ This plan-view and telegraph This modern view Courtesy Collection of A. Lawrence top right: into the womens’ lounge at Canton Junction Station shows the elaborate wood- work and excellent state of preservation of this station. WJPRobert Brewster, bottom left: drawing of the Canton Junction Station shows the additional amenities pro- vided for passengers in suburban commuter stations, including separate smoking and womens’ private rooms. The ticket office provides waiting rooms area. 1908, . The to handle VGMJ . In 1905 1936 1906 Courtesy Courtesy SPL Sharon Station was The twin Attleboro, top left: increasing commuter demands in Sharon and surrounding towns that essentially became suburbs of Boston during the early twentieth century. center: constructed in one-story northbound station was built as a simple passen- ger station in increasing volume of freight associated with Attleboro’s burgeoning jewelry industry prompted the New Haven two-story to build a larger, station for southbound traffic. The southbound station included baggage, express, telegraph facilities, and a freight elevator. Both buildings were designed by New Haven Railroad staff, and are Romanesque in style, with red terra cotta tile roofs and long platform canopies. Massachusetts, stations are components of a massive downtown Attleboro grade crossing elimination project that began in ” LCL . 1880 Examples include freight houses one large room and often had large doors and raised platforms to facilitate movement of freight. They were designed to handle less-than-carload, or “ freight. This included large parcels, hardware, perishables, milk, newspapers, and all manner of household items that could be purchased from mail order cat- alogs. Mystic, Connecticut, in Guilford and West both dating from about Some small communities had enough freight traffic to require a separate freight house to handle goods. Freight houses were sometimes incorporated into the station building itself, such as at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. More commonly, they were separate buildings however, located adjacent to the passenger station. Most resembled country passenger stations in their size, materials, and features. Freight houses usually contained

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 44 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 44 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 47 STATIONS outlying towns. The stations at are examples of stations that , and Sharon, Massachusetts , Canton Junction, Massachusetts The development in the late nine- planting schemes to help blend them into their surroundings. teenth century of “railroad suburbs” in train ride communities within an hour’s of major cities gave rise to stations designed primarily for commuter traffic. This was especially evident in the greater Boston area where numerous business- men chose to leave the increasingly crowded and dirty city and move their families to new residential neighbor- hoods in Pawtucket—Central Falls, Rhode Island (1916) (1885) (1936) were constructed in response to the high commuter volumes in the Boston area. s the New 1930 s and 1880 Between the Haven replaced a number of passenger stations in response to changing demo- graphic and social factors, including the growth of commuter suburbs, urban areas, and seaside resort communities. In most cases, the new stations repre- sented a substantial upgrade over the to be symbols Intended previous facility. of permanence and confidence, these stations were more substantial in size and were typically built of stone or brick. The larger stations offered increased amenities including dining facilities, shoeshine parlors, and newsstands. Separate waiting rooms and lounges for men and women were common. The station grounds were landscaped with curved driveways and naturalistic 140 SHRL to construct. The Beaux Arts- Courtesy crossing elimination The Pawtucket- 250,000 , during a period when $ Central Falls Railroad Station was completed in 1916 these two Rhode Island cities were at their peak of their industrial and popula- tion growth. The station, which straddles the tracks on the Pawtucket-Central Falls line, was part of a grade project. style building was designed by New Haven Railroad Mellor and architect F.W. cost After it opened, the station was hailed as the finest railroad facility on the line between Boston and New York. It handled some trains a day and seventy thousand departures a month. right: Falls SHRL , James 1 staircases. Caen stone Courtesy The interior of This detail UCONNASC shop, men’s and shop, men’s included a restaurant, view of the New London Union Station shows H.H. use of decora- Richardson’s tive brickwork and bold geometric forms. Broad Romanesque arches like this were repeated in many of designs. the architect’s Courtesy Station was dominated by the expansive, open waiting room. Materials included slate floor tile, walls, and marble Decorations included painted scenes of railroad motifs and skylights bearing the official seals of the two cities and the state. The station barber telephone lounges, women’s and telegraph, and a news- paper booth. the Pawtucket-Central Klar Collection, Box right center: left center: hipped Courtesy massive propor- , Roberts Leroy New London Union Station was completed in 1887 by the New London & Northern which Railroad, subsequently became part of the New Haven system. It was designed by Henry (1838– Hobson Richardson 1886), one of the most in the influential architects history of the United States. The “Richardsonian” style, based on a mixture and Spanish of French Romanesque precedents and the innovative use of native building materials, is the first uniquely considered American architectural style. New London Station is typical of Richardson’s work in its tions, prominent roof, Romanesque broad geometric and spare arches, lines. This historic postcard view shows the original New London Union Station no passenger canopy, longer extant. above: UCONNASC Collection, Box 6

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 46 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 46 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 49 STATIONS any place ork and WJP freight and pas- Hartford road dling rooms Courtesy Amtrak When Westerly The interior of the , the local newspaper right: Westerly Station is relatively Westerly unchanged and features its original ticket booth, visible at the left in this view. Robert Brewster, center: Station was completed in 1913 reported that the “town can now boast of having the finest layout for the handling of senger traffic of on the Shore Line division of the New York, New Haven and between New Y Boston.” This original plan view drawing of the station clearly shows the efficient design, with baggage and freight han separated at the east and west ends of the building, and the central ticket office opening onto the large, open waiting room and providing a view of the tracks. MLAW oject to return the Courtesy because they did not up to the town’s measure vision for the station. The to a parties finally agreed design that incorporated elements of the Mission style, which was then gaining the popularity throughout United States in part because it was applied to numerous train stations in California and states in the Southwest. Elements of the Mission on the station style present include a low-pitched hip terra cotta with red roof tiles, stucco walls, and an arch elaborate, broken parapet over the entrance. In 1999 Amtrak undertook a multi-million dollar restora- tion pr station to its initial glory. Westerly (Rhode Island) Westerly left: Station was a product Station was a product of intense negotiations and between local officials the New Haven Railroad. Negotiations with the rail- road for a new station to its 1873 wood-frame replace depot began in 1899. lobbied for a officials Town station that would enhance position as an the town’s important southern New England industrial center and gateway to Rhode seaside resorts. Island’s The station also had to fit harmoniously with a number of other important civic being buildings that were constructed as part of a major local civic improve- ment campaign. Several by designs proposed rejected were the railroad historic stations along 17 Ten of the Ten the line remain in active service as Amtrak intercity and/or local commuter rail stops. The others are in communities no longer served by the railroad and have been converted for commercial or other uses. Their preservation, often undertaken at great cost, is a testament to the enduring romantic affinity that Americans still feel for railroading and the landmark status that the buildings have attained within their communities. efficiently move hundreds of trains and thousands of people and their baggage on the New Union stations every day. Haven to Boston section of the Northeast Corridor are located in New Haven, Providence, and Boston. The term “union station” was applied to stations that serviced more than one major railroad. These large buildings were the ultimate evolutionary step in the development of highly efficient rail- road terminals. As the most visible and impressive symbols of the railroad, no expense was spared to project the corporate image through a powerful architectural statement. Commissions for their designs were usually given to architects of national or regional promi- nence. Almost like small, self-contained cities, union stations housed offices for the railroad, restaurants, dry cleaners, cobbler shops, newsstands, and a host of other services. The latest equipment and technology were employed to

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 48 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 48 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 51 STATIONS Court, Police major com- State Prison, Building. Union Station is Union Railroad PPL car tracks that origi- Y.M.C.A. County Court House, Public Library,Central Station and District Rhode Island and Courtesy Providence significant as a ponent of a comprehensive design scheme for central Providence that included construction of grade crossing elimination infra- structure, a new Federal building and public square in front of the station, and the choice of Smith Hill for the site of the Rhode Island State House. This view shows the network of street nally served the station. a restaurant, baggage and freight areas, and offices. The centerpiece of the complex was the single open passenger concourse inside the central building. Pedestrian subways once linked the station concourse with the outside tracks. A large, three acre, steel and glass train shed, now demolished, sheltered the tracks, which have been relocated to their present location closer to the Rhode Island State House. The building now contains commercial office space.The Providence Union Station was designed by Stone, and Willson,Carpenter, the leading architectural firm in Providence during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Other prominent buildings designed by the firm in Providence included the ft 870 housed PAL . The station 1898 and The Providence Union building commissions in Minnesota, Arkansas, and West Virginia. New Haven Union Station was the central station and home office for the New Haven Railroad. It provided an elegant gateway to the city and symbolized the New Haven Railroad’s importance to its namesake city and to transportation in New England. right: Station was built between 1896 is comprised of an long, linear complex of five yellow brick buildings with granite foundations and brownstone trim. The central passenger station building includes a short clock tower,reflection a of the importance of the railroad as the standard timekeeper of the day.The flanking buildings, ), 1934 – s view 1858 1940 New Haven A PPL to replace a previous -story Woolworth . The monumental 66 1920 left center: Courtesy right center: Union Station was completed in station which burned in 1918 brick building is four-story an example of the Italian Renaissance style, featuring the use of tall, three-story arches that illuminate the open passenger concourse within. It was designed by Cass Gilbert ( of the busy interior of Providence Union Station. who came out of the renowned firm of McKim, Mead and White to estab- lish himself as one of the foremost architects country’s for major public buildings. Gilbert is best known for his Building, an important sky- City early New York and state capitol scraper, 1916 million per year facility in busiest rail- station was commissions for and universities BPL Courtesy as well as as well as colleges such as Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Vassar, and the University of Chicago. South Station was the first, and now the only remaining, monumental Neoclassical- style public building in Boston. It influenced the design of other large stations constructed in the country during the early including twentieth century, Pennsylvania New York’s and Grand Central stations and Union Station in Chicago. When it opened in 1899 the the largest and passenger road the United States. By it was handling 16 passengers more than Grand Central Station. Boston’s South Station, Boston’s a five-story Neoclassical-style building with pink granite walls, was built between 1897 and 1899. The station began in 1896 with project the incorporation of the Boston Terminal Company, which was composed of a consortium of host railroads, including the Boston & Albany and the New Haven. It was designed by the firm of Shepley, architectural Rutan, and Coolidge, the principals of which had served as H.H. Richardson’s chief draftsmen. After died in 1886, Richardson the partners took over his and quickly estab- office lished their own reputation as one of the leading archi- tectural firms in the United States. Their commissions included office, public, and hospital buildings in major cities, most notably Chicago, left:

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 50 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 50 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 53 MAINTENANCE 74 turntables. 109 water stations, 180 s, the railroad inherited a the New Haven system had 1890 roundhouses, 1909, When the original constituent railroads that made up the New Haven to Boston section of the Northeast Corridor were consolidated into the New Haven system in the multitude of redundant service facilities. In 42 coaling stations, and As locomotives became larger and more efficient they required less frequent replenishment, allowing the railroad to abandon some of those facilities in centralized complexes favor of larger, or “shops.” PAL In the 1890s the New Haven consolidated itspassenger and freight car facilities on the north end of the line at Readville, in the Hyde Park section of Boston. Billed as “the largest and most practical” shop in New England, the Readville Car Shops 70-acre employed 1,000 people and could service 180 passenger and 1,000 freight cars per month after it opened in 1902. The shops notable for their were and employed efficiency, early use of electricity and innovative materials han- dling equipment. This view shows the largest of several surviving buildings at Readville. above: oads AND SERVICE FACILITIES AND SERVICE

RAILROAD MAINTENANCE RAILROAD Railroad equipment required frequent service and maintenance, forcing railr service and maintenance, forcing frequent equipment required Railroad stock supplied and operating safely. to develop facilities to keep their rolling and replenished Early steam locomotives needed to be inspected, lubricated, stations had with fuel and water after each run. Most junctions and important water tank. The steam engine service facilities, including a coal tower and pulled up next to these facilities, and the coal and water locomotives were Sand, which refilled. compartments in the tender behind the locomotive were conditions, was was sprayed on the driving wheels for traction in slippery and running boiler, added to the sand domes on the top of the locomotive’s included a gear was inspected and lubricated. Many of these facilities cars of locomotives. Passenger and freight turntable the direction for reversing and lubrication of their wheel bearings. Some inspection, repairs, also required locations included a small building for conducting light repairs. PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 52 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL SIGNALS SWITCHES AND The need for effective warningThe need for effective or signaling systems became a paramount safety on than one train at a time concern to operate more began as soon as railroads have no “steering wheels” and can only operate forward the same track. Trains along their track. Unlike earlier transportation systems, trains or backward that the driver moved so fast that they could not stop within the distance to develop systems to control forced were the railroads could see. As a result, crossed opposite directions, trains met from movement in situations where most lines had In the early days of railroading, paths, or passed one another. movement was Train short, and trips quite frequent. a single track, trains were timetables that gave specific times for trains to meet each other by regulated for following the responsible and station agents were crews at stations. Train a dangerous system, creating timetables. Delayed trains slowed down the entire was the result frequently situation for other trains operating on schedule. Too collision. a catastrophic Courtesy brick Water 4 PAL , Leroy Roberts s view shows 1875 This massive rein- 1920 An extremely rare example of a nineteenth- century steam locomotive service facility survives at Guilford, Connecticut. This the circa and Locomotive Tank Repair Building. forced concrete steam locomotive coaling tower stands west of the Northeast Corridor at the throat of Cedar the New Haven’s Hill Shops in North Haven, Connecticut. left: UCONNASC Collection, Box right: -era introduction of 11 The World War The World the diesel locomotive dramatically altered railroad service and maintenance patterns. Diesel locomotives required far less frequent service and repair compared to their steam predecessors, and the need for coaling and watering facilities disappeared. Most of the small service facilities at junctions and stations were closed, as were many minor maintenance locations. A few were converted to diesel fueling facilities.

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 54 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 54 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 56 57 SIGNALS ANDSWITCHES

The first major advance toward solving this problem was the electrical tele- graph, developed by American artist and inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, for whom morse code is named. In 1844, the first telegraph wire system in the United States was strung along the right-of-way of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore and Washington. Telegraph operators communicated by tapping a series of new technology led to the development dots and dashes corresponding to the of the manual block system, where letters of the alphabet that was sent “blocks,” sections of track between over the wires to a telegraph sounder at junctions and other busy points, were another station. This system enabled governed by a human operator who above: Interlockings could right: Manual interlocking station agents to confirm train arrivals controlled the switches and signals that be as simple as a junction levers, some of which and departures, permitting locomotive gave trains permission to proceed. between two lines, or as controlled switches hundreds engineers to safely proceed between Manual block systems became popular complex as the trackage of feet from the tower, were stations. The B & O Railroad quickly on heavily-traveled eastern roads, at the “throat” of a major nicknamed “armstrong” developed the train order, a telegraph including the New Haven, and by the terminal, such as at Boston’s levers, as they required South Station shown here. great strength (and knowl- message changing the posted timetable turn of the century, manual block signal Courtesy BPL edge of their idiosyncrasies) meeting point between two trains to systems, with their mysterious colored facilitate more efficient train movement. lights and moving semaphore indicators, below: Saybrook Tower, to operate, particularly Old Saybrook,Connecticut, in extremely hot or cold This system caught on, and by 1860 were installed all along the line. as it appeared in the 1940s. weather. Courtesy BPL American railroad communication was Manual block signaling resulted in a Courtesy JSW linked by 23,000 miles of telegraph lines. new architectural form–the interlocking The combination of timetable, tele- tower. The word “interlocking” was also graph, and train order led to the cre- a new part of the railroad vocabulary. ation of standardized rules governing It referred to the complex arrangement train movement. This increased safety, of tracks, switches, and signals found but was still time-consuming, as it at railroad junctions, and to the machine required direct human communication in the tower that controlled them. and limited train speeds. By the 1880s Interlocking towers were typically railroads began to develop systems of small, two-story buildings placed close mechanical and electrical signal systems to the tracks. Second-story windows and to increase safety and efficiency. This an overhanging roof gave the tower operator a clear, glare-free view of the tracks. The first floor of the tower contained the interlocking machine, an intricate assembly of sliding bars and 59 SIGNALS AND SWITCHES PAL Boston (x3) 9130 Courtesy i 1885 RH The semaphore-type , Neg. Cover of left: RIHS above: signal blades visible above this steam locomotive are part of an “order board,” an early type of manual signal attached to train stations that used a combi- nation of a colored light and positioned blade signals to warn locomotive engineers to stop and pick up written instructions. & Providence Railroad noting Employee Timetable, changes in train times and meeting places. PAL to the Thames River Bridge Thames to the between the and the junction Corridor andNortheast the &Providence Worcester New London— Railroad’s Worcester, Massachusetts freight line. Groton, PAL 1920 Westerly Tower, Westerly The circa far left: left: Westerly, Rhode Island. walls include The concrete moldings cast decorative and milepost signs. Connecticut, Interlocking the approach controls Tower , New 1 . 1940 , have brick walls , and Tower A at the , and Tower , were wood-framed, 1920 1930 1900 New Haven interlocking towers were built in several types. The earliest towers, built about with hip roofs, clapboard siding, and wood trim. A surviving example of a wood tower is located in Attleboro, War Massachusetts. By World Mellor Haven Railroad architect F.W. introduced a more distinctive design influenced by the popular Mediterranean Revival style. The interlocking towers from this period show this influence, particularly in their flared hip roofs with terra cotta tile surfaces. The Groton, and the Boston Switch Connecticut Tower, at Central Falls, Rhode Island, Tower both built about and concrete trim. More refined exam- ples of this style include the Westerly built in Tower, Northrup freight yard in Providence, Rhode Island, built in s, some components 1920 levers. This machine was connected to mechanical rods that fanned out from the tower to move switches and sig- A bank nals in the immediate vicinity. of mechanical levers rose from the machine and dominated the floor space in the second story of the tower. The tower operator could manually set the switches and signals by moving the levers. The mechanisms in the interlocking machine below prevented the operator from directing trains onto collision courses, and gave them correct signals. By the of mechanical interlocking equipment were replaced by electrical relays. These early electro-mechanical devices can be considered early forms of computers. operators were responsible for Tower controlling the interlocking, and keep- ing meticulous records of train activity in the area under their control.

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 58 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 58 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL GRADE CROSSING ELIMINATIONS During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, railroads and the cities and During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, railroads always friendly, towns they served coexisted in mutually beneficial, although not in speed and volume, and cities became increased As rail traffic relationships. densely developed, serious safety and quality-of-life issues emerged. The more congestion traffic caused street in urban areas multitude of at-grade crossings In many instances accidents increased. when trains passed, and grade crossing by raising, lowering, safety was to eliminate the crossings the only way to insure the track bed. Legal battles between municipalities and the rail- or relocating common. These were safety measures for preventive over responsibility roads than More for their day. major civil works projects were costly improvements large-scale such as bridges or stations, they are individual resources, discrete, in ways that still impact shaped our environment evidence of how the railroad how we move around. BPL Courtesy The difficulty of above: operating interlocking levers was increased significantly during periods of extreme heat or cold. Here a crew at South Station in Boston use heating devices to melt snow and ice from the switches. use. ,” which allows a central dis- CTC Technological advances in the mid- Technological twentieth century made many of the interlocking towers on the line obsolete, and most are now no longer in Automatic block signals eliminated the need for manned interlockings. Signal systems now provide signals in the locomotive cab, and the trains now have automatic emergency stopping cable, Computers, fiber-optic capability. and microwave radio systems have made possible centralized traffic control, or “ patcher to change signals and throw switches all along the line. Where train movement on the line was formerly governed by solitary operators sta- tioned at many lonely outposts, it is now controlled by a handful of people in a central location.

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 60 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 60 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 63 GRADE CROSSING 1905 RISCJRC PAL Southbound in Attleboro, Courtesy Original drawing 1908 million grade crossing two-story passenger station and Mill Street Bridge, two elements of a massive $1 elimination project con- structed between and Massachusetts. of the Pawtucket—Central Falls (Rhode Island) Passenger Station, showing the boundary between the two communities splitting the building. Flanked by street overpasses spanning the new lowered track bed, the plan incorporated land- scaping to beautify the new station. above right: below: PAL The southern approach to Boston was approach placed in a deep cut the densely popu- through lated neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and the South End. This view shows the cut in Roxbury, to Boston. on the approach The Oliver Ditson Brewery can be seen in the back- ground. When Boston’s industry was beer brewing in its heyday, the Roxbury neighborhood hosted more than operating breweries Milwaukee, Wisconsin. above: , 2 UCONNASC PAL A wide, gently- Courtesy . The New Haven’s right-of-way cut a wide swath through urban areas such as Providence, Rhode Island, shown here about 1940 far left: left: James Wall Collection, Box James Wall banked section of the New Haven Cut, looking northeast from Grand Avenue. 179 , trains 1 , this gran- 1893 passenger , the new station , when a terminal 155 1898 1888 ft wide. It is the longest . The largest component 30 . Further east, in the neighboring (1890) In Providence, efforts to improve 1901 ite-faced, brick-lined structure is of the project was the New Haven Completed in Tunnel. including the stone arch Clifton Street Bridge ft long and masonry tunnel in Connecticut. impact on the downtown the railroad’s area began in facilities commission recommended the demolition of the previous station, which stood southeast of the present one. Completed in was part of a grander urban planning scheme. Although not all aspects of the plan were realized, the new station location did allow construction of a public park at Exchange Place, and also influenced the location of the Rhode Island State House, which was completed in cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls, through which involved new bridges in 1907) – 13 (1905 , just east of New Haven, 1893) – Several examples of such projects can be seen on the section of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Boston. New Haven was the scene of two massive turn-of-the-century grade crossing elimination projects. The New Haven Cut the elimination of grade crossings, straightening of the route alignment, and construction of the area immediately east of New Haven Station, where the Shoreline, Hartford Line, and Air Line con- verged. This area was a bottleneck to efficient train movement and often flooded as the tracks were almost at sea level. The Fair Haven Cutoff (1887 involved rerouting several miles of the Shoreline to the east to avoid multiple at-grade street crossings in the densely- developed residential and industrial Fair Haven area. The project required the construction of several new bridges,

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 62 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 62 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL BRIDGES Construction of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Boston Construction of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven the numerous a significant amount of bridge construction to cross required These obstacles along the route. rivers, inlets, tidal marshes, and roadways delaying the completion of sometimes posed serious engineering problems, constructed. the line until 1889, when the first Thames River Bridge was engineers employed a variety of history of the line, railroad the Throughout of many methods and materials in the construction of bridges. Examples development survive along the all periods of the railroad’s bridge types from New Haven to Boston route. Irish laborers grade crossings; 200 13 , when . million project involved -foot long, 1 75 $ PAL 1905 . 1908 Attleboro, Massachusetts peti- 1910 until A number of foot- 1891 In tioned the New Haven to eliminate a number of dangerous crossings in the downtown area by elevating the tracks there. Construction was delayed, how- ever, the elimination of construction of four attractive granite arch bridges to carry the four-track main line over Park, Peck, Mill, and South Main streets; and construction of new junction trackage and inter- locking equipment. The New Haven also built opposing northbound and southbound passenger stations, com- pleted in descended on Attleboro to begin work. This bridges were constructed over the cut, or approach to Boston, to connect the bisected areas. In Forest Hills, the tracks are crossed by the Mount Hope Footbridge, a left: steel-truss structure built about . The paid by million, 5 . 1912 2 $ percent 65 percent paid by the cities of Pawtucket small, but fiercely independent city of Central Falls, refused to be outdone by its larger neighbor and demanded its own railroad station. The New Haven did not want to build two stations so close The three parties ultimately together. compromised, building the station on a site straddling the city line between the two communities. The project involved moving and lowering the track bed and the construction of eight new road bridges and one footbridge. The entire project including the station cost passed daily, competition between the competition passed daily, two communities delayed a much-needed grade lowering project until the railroad. 35 and Central Falls and

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 64 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 64 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 67 BRIDGES , James , Trains 1 UCONNASC Many of the earliest 2 above: Wall Collection, Box Wall Folder Courtesy bridges on the line were timber trestles supported by multiple wood piles driven into tidal mud. These wood structures were subject to rot and required frequent maintenance to keep them safe. Many were subse- quently replaced by steel or concrete structures, but timber bridges continued to be used at some locations. , James UCONNASC A streamlined New A streamlined Wall Collection,Wall Box 1, Trains Folder 1 left: Courtesy Haven I-5 locomotive type whisks a passenger train over Canton Viaduct sometime in the early 1940s. When completed in 1835 it was hailed as “the most elegant and of massive structure masonry in the United States,” and is now a National Civil registered Engineering Landmark. , and 36) Ohio – 1837) & and are 1829 (1835 circa ( 1915 s and the New Haven ele- 1880 1905 , respectively. , respectively. Numerous smaller examples of Numerous smaller examples Railroad’s Carrolton and Thomas Railroad’s viaducts, constructed in 1835 stone railroad bridges in the United stone railroad the Baltimore States, along with vated the tracks through downtown Attleboro, Massachusetts and built several attractive granite arch over- passes to carry the tracks over four downtown streets. and the Ocean Point Road Bridge in and the Ocean Point Road Bridge Rhode Island Warwick, are notable as some of the earliest on the surviving masonry structures line. Dozens of other masonry arch bridges were constructed in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island between the associated with the addition of extra tracks. Due to the short distances they were required to span and the avail- ability of local granite, these bridges were cheaper and easier to build with stone rather than iron or steel, which had by then become common materials for railroad bridges. Masonry was also chosen where appearance was a concern. In granite bridges also exist. The two- granite bridges also exist. The East span King Street overpass in Greenwich, Rhode Island 70 feet in 22 , the viaduct is a 1835 , Providence Railroad and 28 feet in length, & 615 Stone was used for the higher or wider higher for the was used Stone of the initial construction spans during bridge is an The stone arch the line. developed by structural type ancient to carry roads and Roman engineers river valleys. These aqueducts across individual, carefully structures rely on in semicircular trimmed stones arranged gravitational forces arches to carry central keystone and outward from a A downward to supporting piers. sur- handful of original stone bridges line. vive from the earliest days of the several Granite was readily available at be locations along the route and could easily transported along the railroad’s sites. own right-of-way to construction on The most impressive stone structure in the line is the Canton Viaduct by Canton, Massachusetts. Completed the Boston opened June multiple-arch, granite structure mea- suring width, and rising approximately feet above the East Branch of the It was designed Neponset River. by noted nineteenth-century railroad Gibbs construction engineers William McNeill and George Washington the father of American artist Whistler, The viaduct is James McNeill Whistler. one of the oldest surviving multiple-arch

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 66 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 66 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 69 BRIDGES . foot- (1907) foot-long 585 , 1 158 Courtesy Amtrak mathematical calculations mathematical to determine required were and most the safest arrangements economical material and quantities of needed. All are flanked by multiple, fixed approach spans. They are either Scherzer-or- Strauss-type bridges, named for their inventors, and represent the state-of- the-art in moveable bridge technology at the time of their construction. The longest river crossing is the long, ten-span Connecticut River Bridge at Old Saybrook, Connecticut The bascule lift span is a Warren truss located over the naviga- Warren tion channel at the center of the river. Like the other moveable bridges, it is manned by a bridge operator housed in building mounted to a small operator’s the bridge next to the moveable span. This engineering This is an below: below: drawing of the West of the West drawing Bridge illustrates Street engineering how bridge during the late nineteenth an century evolved from art into a science, as (1906) . The Pawtuxet River Bridge (1913) Where steel truss bridges crossed example of a Warren-type truss. example of a Warren-type navigable waterways, provision had to be made for the passage of marine vessels, hence the development of the moveable- span bridge. In this type of bridge, the approach spans are fixed, and a central span located over the shipping channel Three is swung or lifted out of the way. examples of this type of bridge are located in Connecticut. All are of the bascule type, where the movable span, driven by electrical motors and balanced by counterweights, pivots up at one end. Island in Cranston, Rhode Island bridge loads, settled on several variations of the simple Pratt and Warren steel longer, truss types, with stronger, members, all-riveted connections, and web patterns reduced to vertical posts and single diagonals. The line between New Haven and Boston includes more than a dozen significant truss bridges. An example of a Pratt-type truss is the Rhode Street Bridge in Westerly, West angle sections joined by pins and rivets were used as braces. Numerous designs, most named for their inventors, were patented during the mid-nineteenth century, By the early twentieth century. bridge engineers, challenged by ever- increasing and steel later, steel later, WJP material to build and could parts, these bridges required less West Street Bridge, Street West A detail of the A detail of members replaced wood. Iron Another type of early bridge construction, the truss, was largely an outgrowth of American railroad development. The earliest truss bridges were made of wood timbers. But as the speed and weight of trains increased, iron, and were fireproof and strong in compression elastic and had but were also like masonry, superior capacity to withstand tension and torsion. Compared to their masonry counter volume of span longer distances between supporting members. Individual bridge components were built up from metal plates, and below: below: Robert Brewster, right: a Pratt type truss. West Street Bridge shows West Westerly, Island. Rhode

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 68 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 68 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 71 BRIDGES shows can be Connecticut, PAL The moveable : above usually kept bridges are in the open position, and closed for approaching are trains. Constructed in the early twentieth century, earlier these bridges replaced at moveable spans erected their sites.Depending on the the bridge opera- weather, isolated post tor’s an idyllic—or frightening— place to be.This view the Connecticut River Bridge at Saybrook, opened for a passing sailboat. WJP view. ), which 1965 1934 -built structure foot-long Rocky s by the Works CSP WPA Robert Brewster, Robert Brewster, Bridges were also 356 Pawtuxet River 1930 in Connecticut, is visible at right in this Courtesy left: center: Bridge, Cranston, Rhode Island. constructed to carry people over the railroad tracks. Few examples of historic footbridges survive. A par- ticularly decorative example is the Rocky Neck Park BridgeTrail ( carries a foot trail over the railroad in Rocky Neck Park in East Lyme, Connecticut. Rocky Neck Park was constructed in the Progress Administration. The Neck Park Pavilion, the largest by the Erie 1848 s of artificial Portland cement, a Railroad. After the development in the 1870 to denser composition better-suited underwater applications, concrete was increasingly used in bridges for piers, footings, and small arches. During the first decade of the twentieth century bridge engineers began to experiment construc- highly versatile with a new, tion method using concrete reinforced with steel. The addition of steel rods and bars cast into the concrete allowed the material to be used for horizontal bridge members, such as decks. Concrete, which was generally cheaper than other materials, could now be used to construct the entire bridge. Concrete was also used for railroad bridges on the line. When cured prop- stone concrete, like conventional erly, masonry is capable of withstanding great compressive loads. The first use of concrete in America was for the built footings of the Starrucca Viaduct, in Pennsylvania in (1919) foot-long structure consist- has a similar configuration, but in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the 394 , foot-long Blackstone River Bridge 1 Another type of steel bridge, the ing truss bascule of a central Warren span flanked by pairs of Pratt truss approach spans. The Niantic River Bridge at East Connecticut Lyme, (1907) employs deck girder spans. deck girder type, was developed just before the turn of the twentieth century to carry increasingly heavy loads over relatively short spans. This type of deep girders bridge consisted of heavy, built up using rivets and wide-flange structural steel members. The track was laid on top of these large beams, which could be installed individually or in a long series. They were used to replace many aging spans along the line. A notably long example is the 376 (1897) longest deck bridge in the state. is a The Thames River Bridge joining Groton and New London, Connecticut

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 70 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 70 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL FREIGHT AND INDUSTRIES Unlike many American railroads that made most of their money hauling freight, Unlike many American railroads and commuter intercity from the New Haven derived a large portion of its revenues carrier, Even so, the New Haven was an important freight passenger traffic. industrial concernscarrying fuel and raw materials to the numerous that lined to markets or transhipment points. and transporting finished products its route, s , and 1920 PAL WJP (1930) , Hunt River (1930) Greenwood Bridge, Greenwood Haven Cut grade crossing Cut grade Haven project. elimination right: Robert Brewster, Warwick, Rhode Island. Bridge in South Kingstown s, made use of steel beams steel and concrete structures and 138 . These three bridges carried public 1890 the entirely encased in concrete. Three Greenwood examples are Rhode Island’s Bridge in Warwick Bridge in North Kingstown developed new bridge types using less and less material, especially steel, which then took the form of the special reinforc- ing rods, or “re-bar” familiar to us now. bridge engineers had analyzed the prop- erties of (1936) roads over the railroad. By the Route Grand 1907 The Avenue Bridge in New Haven Bridge Avenue as an early is significant of a reinforced example and is concrete arch bridge New a component of the left: foot-long structure 116 The use of crude scrap metal , is a , is a three-span structure notable shape were typical features of 1906 1907 Two of the earliest examples of concrete Two bridges on the railroad are located in New Haven. The Mill River Bridge, built in notable for its two elliptical reinforced Bridge, built arches. The Grand Avenue in for the use of scrap metal rails for rein- forcement. reinforcement and reliance on the arch more early concrete bridges. Another, advanced type of early concrete and steel bridge construction, developed in

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 72 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 72 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 75 FREIGHT AND INDUSTRIES PAL . Pond’s 1935 11 and Cheseborough’s 1929 1959 By World War War By World was the world’s largest was the world’s of face creams. producer war Pond’s After the merged with Cheseborough to form Cheseborough-Ponds. By Vaseline line was also man- Vaseline ufactured in Clinton. The by rail. plant is still served The concrete-frame buildings in this view were built between .At 1888 Cheseborough- the product line and moved to Clinton, and moved 1906, below right: below Pond was originally founded Pond was in New York in Rome, 1846 Connecticut in was expanded to include cold cream and Pond’s vanishing cream, both of which became interna- tionally-known products. that time their principal product was Extract,” “Pond’s a popular witch hazel extract cure-all medicine. In & Neg. These RIHS New England Detail of the Detail of & Albany railroad PPL Courtesy 32) 64 & An early freight train freight An early i (x on New Haven rails. on New Haven left: Courtesy below left: RH Browne & Sharpe machine Browne & Sharpe factory. the expansionist New Haven , was funded by Philadelphia 1904, , when the Central New England In 1892 Western Railroad built an immense Western system. This situation changed in 1888 Central—Boston & New England “Poughkeepsie Bridge Route.” This addition allowed the City, New Haven to bypass New York and gave them connections with several railroads at junctions at Campbell Hall and Maybrook, New York. railroad bridge across the Hudson at The Central Poughkeepsie, New York. New England, which became the Philadelphia, Reading in interests seeking a direct route to market Pennsylvania coal to the homes and factories of New England. acquired the Philadelphia, Reading s. Most 1850 the only rail- 1888, miles north at Albany, New York, New miles north at Albany, road bridge across the Hudson was 150 where heavy New England-bound traffic was carried by the New York Freight-hauling equipment was not purchased by any of the predecessor railroads of what became the New Haven system until the long-haul freight between the Midwest and New England had to be carried across the Hudson River between New City and railroad docks in New York carfloat inter- These railroad Jersey. change operations, primarily done in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Railroad, were time-consuming and inefficient. Until

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 74 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 74 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 77 FREIGHT AND INDUSTRIES LCL percent of 19 , ” freight. With 11 LCL s caused a serious decline technology, which allowed technology, 1930 ) TOFC for the placement of truck trailers on top of specially-designed flat cars. and short-haul traffic away from the railroad, especially in rural areas. In response to this challenge, the New Haven developed Trailer-On-Flat-Car ( the advent of gasoline-powered deliv- the advent of gasoline-powered ery trucks, motor transport took The New Haven experienced varying The New Haven hauler during the success as a freight The Great Depression twentieth century. of the in regional industrial production, with in regional industrial production, a corresponding loss of freight revenue. textile industry all New England’s of but abandoned the region in favor operations in the South. low labor-cost War Prior to World freight traffic was less- New Haven’s than-carload, or “ & Western, and Western, New England, & & Western, which gave which Western, & the Erie, which connected New York the Erie, which connected New New with Buffalo and Chicago. The New Haven soon gained control of the Ontario York, railroads included the New York— railroads included railroads Lehigh Pennsylvania regional Lehigh Hudson River, New York, Ontario Ontario New York, them a line to Lake Ontario, and more them a line to Lake Ontario, and direct connections with importantly, belt at the northern anthracite coal Carbondale and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Maybrook,” This new line, dubbed “The became the principal route for freight from the west and made the railroad a major player in New England railroad freight traffic, which was brought to the sprawling Cedar Hill freight yard complex in East Haven, and reclassified for distribution all over southern New England. ” PAL , choosing 1903 PAL N.Y., N.H & H. “ produce cocoa and chocolate. The company moved to Mansfield in below: this site because of its ready access to the railroad. It is a typical multi-story brick New England mill building, with a long, rectangular plan. Although it has been modernized, the plant has been operated continuously as a cocoa processing facility by owners including the Rexall drug store chain, Nabisco, and now Archer Daniels Midland. The manufacturing process, aided by gravity starts with raw flow, materials on the top floor and finished product on the bottom. logo on side of flatcar. logo on side of flatcar. to WJP 1883 The Walter M. Lowney Chocolate Company was founded in Boston in The foods were transloaded for processing, packaging, and distribution throughout the cities and their environs. The Providence Fruit and Company Warehouse Building, pictured here, was main processing the city’s and transhipment center for fresh fruits and vegetables arriving by rail. It was part of a larger area known as the Provisions Warehouse District. A number of the buildings in the district, were recently however, torn down to make way for highway ramps designed to provide access to the new Providence Place Mall. Robert Brewster, Robert Brewster, far right: PAL The C.W. Campbell The New Haven was , is an unusual indus- the primary route for the delivery of foodstuffs into southern New England. Priority “hotshot” freight trains with special refriger- ated “reefer” cars delivered fruit, meat, vegetables, and other perishable items to special train-to-truck transfer terminals in New Haven, Providence, and Boston. above: right: Grain Mill in Stonington, Connecticut, built in 1905 trial building type for Connecticut. It was designed for the gathering, storing, grinding, packaging, and distribution of agricul- tural grain products for farms in the Stonington- region. Westerly

NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON 76 PAL Final 5/26/04 11:21 Page 76 Page 11:21 5/26/04 Final PAL 79 FREIGHT AND INDUSTRIES PAL , and RIHS 1916 to 32) 64 example of example of industrial building industrial i(x The Atlantic Coal Courtesy 1876 RH Company Storage Elevators in Providence, Rhode Island were built early in the twentieth century for the storage and distribution of Pennsylvania anthracite home heating fuel. Coal was unloaded from railroad hopper cars, and stored in the bins. Chutes at the bottom were used for loading delivery trucks. from from Neg. below: was renowned as an out- was renowned standing efficient construction and arrangement. portion of it has a Today as office been rehabilitated space. , 1883 Founded in PAL Central and Boston & and Boston Central delivered Maine railroads, to sidings at freight cars a dense network night on of tracks. bottom left: Providence in Browne & Sharpe began Browne & Sharpe of as a manufacturer tools, precision machine and also produced a line of sewing machines. Browne & Sharpe was responsible for some of the most significant machine tool inventions, including the micrometer caliper, screw and gear making machines, and the Universal line of milling and grinding machines. This factory was constructed over a period PPL Courtesy In Boston, In this early twen- In this , shown here, was 12 perishables were unloaded and distributed at the Boston New Haven’s freight Market Terminal house complex in South Boston. Freight House No. one of four similar structures that once stood on this site. The Union Freight Railroad, jointly operated by the New Haven, New York top left: top left: center left: tieth-century view, the view, tieth-century State House Rhode Island an extensive looms over that freight yard complex fringe was located on the of downtown Providence. since The freight yard has been removed. . s, 1969 1960 Worcester Railroad. Worcester & a fire on the Poughkeepsie Bridge 1974, of traffic to trucks. During the In ended through service on the Maybrook the New Haven to Boston line. Today section of the Northeast Corridor hosts limited freight traffic operated by the Providence traffic continued to decline as the regional economy shifted from manufacturing to high-technology and service-oriented businesses. Freight service on the line suffered after the New Haven was merged into the Penn Central system in . Oil, 1945 , but the resulting profits dried 11 Freight tonnage on the New Haven This so-called “piggyback’ service combined the flexibility of highway trucks with the economy and speed of the railroad. line more than doubled during World War up when the war ended in delivered by pipeline, replaced anthracite coal as the main home heating fuel, traffic base. eroding the New Haven’s Construction of the parallel Connecticut siphoned off heavy volumes Turnpike

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BPL Boston Public Library Print Department RECOMMENDED READING CHS Canton Historical Society, Canton, ARMSTRONG, JOHN H. 1993 The Railroad: Massachusetts What it Is, What it Does. Simmons-Boardman, CSP Connecticut State Parks Omaha, NB. EGPS East Greenwich Preservation Society, BAKER, GEORGE PIERCE 1937 The Formation East Greenwich, Rhode Island of the New England Railway Systems: HCJ History of Canton Junction A Study of Railroad Combination in the E.D. Galvin Nineteenth Century. Harvard University Press, JWS J.W. Swanberg Collection Cambridge, MA. MLAW Memorial and Library Association DRURY, GEORGE H. 1985 The Historical of Westerly, Rhode Island Guide to North American Railroads. Kalmbach MCA Middlesex Canal Association Publishing Company, Milwaukee, WI. PPL Providence Public Library HARLOW, ALVIN FAY 1946 Steelways of RIHS Rhode Island Historical Society New England. Creative Age Press, NY. RISCJRC Rhode Island Supreme Court KARR, RONALD DALE 1995 The Rail Lines Judicial Records Center, Pawtucket, of Southern New England: A Handbook Rhode Island of Railroad History. Branch Line Press, WJP Robert Brewster, Warren Jagger Pepperell, MA. Photography KIRKLAND, EDWARD CHASE 1948 Men, SPL Sharon Public Library, Sharon, Cities, and Transportation: A Study in New Massachusetts—Packard Postcard Collection England History, 1820-1900. Harvard SHRL Spaulding House Research Library, University Press, Cambridge, MA. 2 vols. Pawtucket, Rhode Island RAILROAD AND VIDEO PRODUCTIONS TR Titanic Railroad: The Southern New 1985 N.Y.N.H.& H. Shore Line: Part One: England—The Story of New England’s New Haven-Providence, Part Two: Last Great Railroad War. Larry Lowenthal Providence-Boston. Video produced by UCONNASC University of Connecticut, Railroad Video Productions, 83 Princeton Archives and Special Collections Avenue, Hopewell, NJ. VGMJ Voltera, Goldberg, Mangiaratti & Jacobs Law Firm, Attleboro, Massachusetts STILGOE, JOHN R. 1983 Metropolitan Corridor: Railroads and the American Scene. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. TURNER, GREGG M. AND MELANCTHON W. JACOBUS 1989 Connecticut Railroads… An Illustrated History. Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT. WELLER, JOHN L. 1969 The New Haven

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