New York, Providence and Boston Railroad

New York, Providence and Boston Railroad
Former New York, Providence and Boston line (now Amtrak), Kingston, Rhode Island
Locale	New London, CT to Providence, RI
Dates of operation	1837–1893
Successor	New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Track gauge	Standard

The New York, Providence and Boston Railroad, 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.

History

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 New York and Stonington Railroad 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 docks connected to steamboats 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 and 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 trains and Regional service. The MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line has extended past Providence on the old NYP&B to a new station at T. F. Green Airport and there are plans to extend it further to Warwick, Rhode Island.

Branches

Groton

When the bridge over the Thames River to New London, Connecticut opened in 1889, the old line to the docks 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 and Steamboat Company 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 docks south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island was kept when the new alignment to downtown opened in 1848.

See also

• List of New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad precursors

References

• Railroad History Database
• PRR Chronology
• Edited by Richard M. Bayles, History of Providence County, Rhode Island (1891)