The , normally called the '''Stonington Line''', was a major part of the
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad between
New London, Connecticut and
Providence, Rhode Island . It is now part of
Amtrak 's
High-speed Northeast Corridor .
Prior to the building of the NYP&B, travelers between
New York City and
Boston had to pass around
Point Judith, Rhode Island and its rough waters to reach the
Boston And Providence Rail Road in
Providence . The was chartered in
Connecticut in May
1832 and the '''New York, Providence and Boston Railroad''' in
Rhode Island in June of that year to fix the problem. On
July 1 ,
1833 they consolidated to form a new New York, Providence and Boston Railroad.
Ground was broken at
Stonington, Connecticut on
August 14 ,
1833 . On
November 17 ,
1837 the line opened between Stonington and a pier at South Providence, about 1 mile downriver from the city center. At Stonington
Dock s connected to
Steamboat s to
New York City through
Long Island Sound , and later to the
Long Island Rail Road at
Greenport, New York , opened
July 29 ,
1844 . At Providence, a short
Car Float across the
Providence River led to the docks of the
Boston And Providence Rail Road at
India Point in Providence where travelers could continue on to
Boston .
On
May 1 ,
1848 the NYP&B opened an alignment to the new Union Station in Providence, where it connected directly to both the newly opened
Providence & Worcester Railroad and the new main line for the
Boston And Providence Rail Road . This provided direct connections from Stonington to both Boston and Worcester and locations in between. The B&P's old alignment was kept as a branch to transport passengers and freight to and from the pier at
India Point in Providence for transfer to and from the steam boats to
New York City and other points as far south as Galveston, TX. Trade in raw cotton moving north to New England textile mills, and finished goods moving south from New England factories remained strong until the Great Depression.
On
November 1 ,
1859 the NYP&B leased the
New Haven, New London And Stonington Railroad , less than a year after its completion, giving it a line from Providence to
New Haven, Connecticut , though with two ferries - across the
Thames River at
New London and across the
Connecticut River . The terminal for steamboats connecting to the
Long Island Rail Road was moved to
Groton , on the east shore of the Thames River.
In
1864 the NYP&B bought the NHNL&S east of Groton. The rest was leased to the
New York And New Haven Railroad in
1870 . In
1889 a bridge was built across the
Thames River , connecting the two lines and completing the all-rail Shore Line, and in
1892 the
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad acquired the NYP&B, merging it on
February 13 ,
1893 .
In
1969 Penn Central absorbed the NYNH&H. In
1976 Penn Central was merged into
Conrail , but the old NYP&B main line was sold to
Amtrak (in
Connecticut ) and the
State Of Rhode Island . It now hosts ''
Acela Express ''
High-speed Train s and ''
Regional '' service. There are current plans to extend the
MBTA Attleboro/Stoughton Line past
Providence on the old NYP&B to a new station at
T. F. Green Airport in
Warwick, Rhode Island .
;Groton
When the bridge over the
Thames River to
New London, Connecticut opened in
1889 , the old line to the
Dock s was kept as a branch.
;Westerly Granite Quarry
The
Westerly Granite Quarry Proprietor's Railroad , a short branch in
Westerly, Rhode Island , was operated by the NYP&B.
;Wood River
The
Wood River Branch Railroad , a branch from
Richmond Switch north to
Hope Valley , opened in
1874 and was operated by the NYP&B.
;Narragansett Pier
The
Narragansett Pier Railroad opened in
1876 as a branch from
Kingston east to
Narragansett Pier , and was operated by the NYP&B.
;Wickford
The
Newport And Wickford Railroad was a branch from
Wickford Junction east to
Wickford, Rhode Island , where a connecting
Steamship service crossed the
Narragansett Bay to
Newport . It opened in
1874 and was operated by the NYP&B.
;Pontiac/Hope
The
Pontiac Branch Railroad opened in the late
1870s and was leased by the NYP&B in
1880 and bought in
1885 . It provided a branch from
Auburn, Rhode Island southwest to
Pontiac . The
Pawtuxet Valley Railroad opened in
1874 as a leased branch of the
Hartford, Providence And Fishkill Railroad from
River Point northwest to
Hope . In
1884 the lease was transferred to the NYP&B and a connection was built between the Pontiac Branch at Pontiac and River Point.
;Warwick
The
Warwick Railroad opened in
1875 as a branch from
Auburn southeast into
Warwick . It became the
Rhode Island Central Railroad in
1879 , and later became part of a
Street Railway .
;South Providence
The old main line to the
Dock s south of downtown
Providence, Rhode Island was kept when the new alignment to downtown opened in
1848 .
