The was the final name for a
Railroad system connecting
New York State with
Providence, Rhode Island ,
Boston, Massachusetts and other parts of
New England before its
1898 lease by the
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad . Earlier names included the '''New York and New England Railroad''' and '''Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad'''.
The corridor from
Providence, Rhode Island west into
New York was originally chartered as three companies. The , chartered in June
1846 , would run from Providence to the
Rhode Island /
Connecticut state line. The '''Hartford and Providence Railroad''', incorporated in May
1847 , would continue west to
Hartford, Connecticut , and the '''New York and Hartford Railroad''', chartered and incorporated in May
1845 , would continue to the
New York And Harlem Railroad at
Brewster, New York . In
1849 , the two Connecticut companies merged to form the '''Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad''', with a modified charter to continue past Brewster to
Fishkill, New York on the
Hudson River , and in
1851 the Rhode Island company was merged into it. Later that year the first section opened, from Hartford east to
Willimantic . Extensions opened east to Providence in
1854 and west to
Waterbury in
1855 . The HP&F went
Bankrupt on
January 1 ,
1858 , and was run by the
Trustee s until
1863 , when it was leased by the newly-formed Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad.
At the
Boston end, the earliest predecessor was the , chartered
April 24 ,
1847 . The line from the
Boston And Providence Railroad 's branch at
Dedham, Massachusetts southwest to
Walpole opened on
April 23 ,
1849 , and an extension to the
Providence And Worcester Railroad in
Blackstone opened
May 16 . The company went
Bankrupt soon after. The short
Medway Branch Railroad was leased in
1851 , opening
December 29 ,
1852 .
On
May 1 ,
1849 the was incorporated to extend the line west from Blackstone to
Southbridge . The '''Midland Railroad''' was incorporated
May 2 ,
1850 to build a new entrance to Boston, merging with the existing one south of Dedham. The two companies were consolidated with the Norfolk County Railroad on
December 12 ,
1853 to form the '''Boston and New York Central Railroad''', which had the intent of continuing southwest through
Connecticut all the way to
New York City . The first section of this extension was incorporated in May
1853 as the '''East Thompson Railroad''', forming the Connecticut portion of the Southbridge and Blackstone.
The extension from Blackstone southwest to
Mechanicsville, Connecticut on the
Norwich And Worcester Railroad was completed in
1853 . In January
1855 the new main line to Boston was opened, but was closed six months later until December
1856 because of an
Injunction due to the danger of the numerous
Grade Crossing s. The new line ran to a terminal at the foot of
Summer Street in downtown
Boston via
South Boston . The full line was first operated as one on
June 1 ,
1855 , but again failed quickly. On
August 6 operations were restarted on only the original Dedham-Blackstone line, operated by the
Boston And Providence Railroad as a branch. On
March 2 ,
1857 the
Trustee s took
Repossession , ending the operation by the B&P. The East Thompson Railroad leased the line, reopening it again in full for about a year before another failure. At that time, all but the original Dedham-Blackstone line and Medway Branch were closed until
1867 . The closed lines were sold in November
1858 to the Midland Railroad, but were not operated due to bad condition. The tried again in
1862 , changing its name to the '''Southern Midland Railroad''' in
1863 without success.
In May
1863 , the was chartered to take over operations of the failed lines and continue the line west to
Fishkill, New York , with a
Car Float from there to the
Erie Railroad at
Newburgh . It quickly leased the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad from its
Trustee s, giving it a line from
Providence west to
Waterbury . In September of that year it acquired the former Boston and New York Central Railroad, but did not operate it yet; the old Norfolk County Railroad continued operations by its
Trustee s.
In the meantime, the
New York And Boston Railroad had built a line from
Brookline, Massachusetts (outside
Boston ) southwest to
Woonsocket, Rhode Island , crossing the Norfolk County Railroad in
Blackstone . On
January 4 ,
1865 the BH&E absorbed that company, making its Woonsocket Division. On
December 13 of the same year, various
Erie Railway men were elected to the BH&E board, placing it under partial control of the Erie.
On
February 11 ,
1867 the BH&E leased the Norfolk County Railroad, finally reopening the full line from
Mechanicsville to
Boston . That same year, the branch to
Southbridge (part of the original Southbridge and Blackstone charter) opened. The
Norwich And Worcester Railroad was leased in
1869 , finally giving it a route to Boston, using the N&W from the Providence line at
Plainfield north to the old Norfolk County Railroad at Mechanicsville. In August
1872 a direct connection from
Willimantic on the line to Providence northeast to Mechanicsville opened, completing the direct line to Boston.
By
1869 the BH&E leased the
Dutchess And Columbia Railroad , which was building a line roughly southwest-northeast in
Dutchess County, New York . The BH&E planned to build west to the D&C at the future
Hopewell Junction , but was not able to complete the line and lost the lease in
1870 .
On
September 9 ,
1872 the
Long Island Rail Road 's ''
Boston Express '' began operations, using the BH&E from
Norwich (at the south end of the N&W) to Boston. This was later replaced around
1891 with the ''
Long Island And Eastern States Express '', using the
Danbury And Norwalk Railroad from
Wilson Point to the BH&E (then the NY&NE) at
Hawleyville (east of
Danbury ).
The
New Haven, Middletown And Willimantic Railroad was leased in
1873 , giving a line to
New Haven . Later that year, the BH&E went bankrupt and was reorganized
April 17 as the ; the N&W lease was kept but the NHM&W lease was forfeited (prior to its opening
August 12 ), becoming part of the
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad system in
1879 .
In
1881 the extension from
Waterbury west to
Hopewell Junction on the
Newburg, Dutchess And Connecticut Railroad opened. Along with
Trackage Rights over the ND&C southwest to
Beacon , and a short line built by the NY&NE to the
Hudson River at Beacon, this completed the main lines from Boston and Providence to the Hudson River, where a
Train Ferry took cars to the
New York, Lake Erie And Western Railroad 's
Newburg Branch at
Newburgh . Part of the line in New York was built along the never-used grade from the failed
Putnam And Dutchess Railroad .
Also in
1881 the
New York, Westchester And Putnam Railroad was completed, running north and east from
New York City to the NY&NE at
Brewster . This company had been previously involved with the BH&E in building a through line between New York and Boston, even being called the
New York And Boston Railroad at first, and with its opening such a through line was formed. For some time such a traffic arrangement was made, lasting through the NYW&P's absorption into the
New York Central Railroad in
1894 .
The
Poughkeepsie Bridge opened in
1888 , providing a fixed crossing of the
Hudson River at
Poughkeepsie , north of the NY&NE car float at Beacon. The
Central New England And Western Railroad , which owned the bridge, chartered the
Dutchess County Railroad in
1890 and completed it in
1892 , providing a branch from the bridge to the NY&NE at
Hopewell Junction .
The final bankruptcy of the NY&NE happened on
January 1 ,
1884 , and the company was reorganized on
August 26 ,
1895 as the . The
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad leased the company for 99 years from
July 1 ,
1898 .
As time passed and sections were abandoned, the former NY&NE main lines became minor branches.
In addition to the two main lines to
Boston and
Providence , splitting at
Willimantic , numerous branches and auxiliary lines existed.
;Dedham
The original Boston line ended at
Dedham with a connection to the
Boston And Providence Railroad . In
1883 what had become a branch to Dedham was abandoned. Prior to that, a new branch just to the east had been built in
1881 , and was supplemented in
1890 by a connection to the south.
;Medway
The
Medway Branch Railroad from the main line at
Norfolk west to
Medway was incorporated in
1849 and opened in
1852 , being immediately leased to the Norfolk County Railroad. It closed in
1864 , two years after the
New York And Boston Railroad reached Medway.
;Valley Falls
The
Rhode Island And Massachusetts Railroad was chartered in
1875 and opened in
1877 , connecting the main Boston line at
Franklin to the
Providence And Worcester Railroad at
Valley Falls . The New York and New England Railroad leased it in
1887 .
;Milford/Hopkinton/Ashland
The
Milford And Woonsocket Railroad was incorporated in
1855 and opened a line from
Milford to
Bellingham in
1868 . It was leased by the
Providence And Worcester Railroad until
1883 .
The
Hopkinton Railway was organized in
1870 and opened in
1872 , running from Milford north via
Hopkinton to the
Boston And Worcester Railroad at
Ashland . The Providence and Worcester leased it until
1885 . In
1884 the Milford and Woonsocket bought the Hopkinton, and the two ran as one.
The
Milford, Franklin And Providence Railroad was organized in
1868 and opened in
1883 , extending the line southeast from Milford to
Franklin .
On
April 1 ,
1897 the New England Railroad leased all three companies.
;Woonsocket/Pascoag
The line eventually running from
Brookline, Massachusetts to
Harrisville, Rhode Island was originally built as a competitor to the NY&NE's Boston line. The first section opened in
1852 as part of the
Charles River Railroad . It reached
Woonsocket, Rhode Island in
1863 , and in
1891 the
Woonsocket And Pascoag Railroad opened, continuing the line to the
Providence And Springfield Railroad at
Harrisville . In
1873 the NY&NE obtained the line to Woonsocket via a merger; on
April 1 ,
1896 the New England Railroad leased the continuation past Woonsocket.
;Providence and Springfield
The
Providence And Springfield Railroad was chartered in
1853 and opened in
1873 from
Providence, Rhode Island northwest to
Pascoag . An extension to
Douglas Junction on the NY&NE main line in
Massachusetts opened in
1893 , and the New England Railroad leased the line on
July 1 ,
1896 .
;Southbridge
The
Southbridge Branch from
East Thomspon, Connecticut to
Southbridge, Massachusetts was part of the original charter for the
Southbridge And Blackstone Railroad , and opened in
1867 , after it had been consolidated.
;Pawtuxet Valley
The
Pawtuxet Valley Railroad was organized in
1872 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in
1874 , running from the main line at
River Point to
Hope . The
New York, Providence And Boston Railroad leased it in
1884 as a continuation of their
Pontiac Branch Railroad .
;Norwich and Worcester
The
Norwich And Worcester Railroad was an
1837 consolidation of several other companies, running from
Norwich, Connecticut (later
New London ) north to
Worcester, Massachusetts . The Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad leased it in
1869 , and the lease continued through the reorganizations. Connections were provided with the Providence line at
Plainfield and the Boston line between
Putnam and
Mechanicsville .
;New Haven
The
New Haven, Middletown And Willimantic Railroad opened and was leased to the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad in
1873 . The BH&E went bankrupt later that year, as did the NHM&W in
1875 . The NHM&W became part of the
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad in
1879 .
;Rockville
The
Rockville Railroad was incorporated in
1857 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in
1863 . It was a short branch from the main line at
Vernon north and east to
Rockville .
;South Manchester
The
South Manchester Railroad was chartered in
1866 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in
1869 . It was a short branch from the main line at
Manchester south to
South Manchester .
;Springfield
The
Connecticut Central Railroad was chartered in
1871 , and its continuation in
Massachusetts , the
Springfield And New London Railroad , in
1874 , to build a line from
East Hartford to
Springfield , with a branch to the
Rockville Railroad at
Westway . It opened in
1876 and was immediately leased by the
Connecticut Valley Railroad , which gave up the lease to the New York and New England Railroad in
1880 .
;Connecticut River
The
Meriden, Waterbury And Connecticut River Railroad was formed in
1888 as a consolidation of two smaller companies, opening in
1885 and
1888 . The New York and New England Railroad leased it in
1892 , as a branch from the main line in
Waterbury east to
Cromwell on the
Connecticut River . The company went bankrupt and was reorganized in
1898 as the
Middletown, Meriden And Waterbury Railroad , and was immediately leased by the
New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad .
For the line from Boston to
Readville , see
Fairmount Line . For the line from Readville to
Franklin , see
Franklin Line .
Within the last 10 years, funds have been set aside for a
Rails To Trails converstion. As of 12-03-05 most parts of the train right of way has been converted
Cranston (Washington Secondary/ Cranston Greenway)
Paved from Garfield ave (Northern Termius of West Bay Greenway/Bikepath, as this right of way merges on
Amtrak right of way not far up the path)to Ponatic Ave (Warwick Town line)
Warwick (Warwick Greenway)
Paved from Ponatic Ave (Cranston City line) to West Warwick town line(
RI 33 -Tollgate Road/Providence Street)
West Warwick (west warwick greenway)
Paved from Warwick town line to Coventry Town line. Intersects with riverpoint park and walk, plus a real caboose
Coventry (Coventry Greenway)
Unpaved from WW town line to Station street (appox 2 miles)
Paved from Station to Coventry Center (Suburban Propane, Appox 5 miles, Southern Termuis of West Bay Greenway/ Bikepath)
Coventry (Tresle trail)
Unpaved trail from Coventry Center to CT. State line, currently being planned by
RIDOT
The Best train of the New York & New England Railroad was the New England Limited of 1891. A crack Boston - New York passenger train. In 1891 the Pullman Palace Car Company refitted train with luxurious new cars decorated in white and gold, inspiring the advertising department to call it the White Train and folks along the line to call it the Ghost Train as it sped through their towns after dark. Famed author Rudyyard Kipling memorialized the train in a popular verse: Without a jar, or roll, or antic,Without a stop to Willmantic,The New England Limited takes its way At three o'clock each day,Maids and Matrons,daintily dimited,Ride everyday on the NEW ENGLAND LIMITED;Rain nor snow ne'er stops its flight,It makes New York at nine each night,One half the glories have not been told Of that wonderful train of white and gold Which leaves each day for New York at three Over the New York and New England.
