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"
Everything there is to know about the
New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad."
Public domain film from the
Library of Congress Prelinger Archive, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and equalization.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_New_Haven_and_Hartford_Railroad
The New York,
New Haven and Hartford Railroad (commonly New Haven), (reporting mark NH) was a railroad that operated in the northeast
United States from 1872 to
1968 which served the states of
Connecticut,
New York,
Rhode Island, and
Massachusetts. Its primary connections included
Boston and New York.
Expansion and
Acquisition
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was formed 24 July 1872 through the consolidation of the
New York and New Haven Railroad and
Hartford and New Haven Railroad. It owned a main line from
New York City to
Springfield, Massachusetts via New Haven and
Hartford, Connecticut, and leased other lines, including the
Shore Line Railway to
New London.
The company went on to lease more lines and systems, eventually forming a virtual monopoly in
New England south of the
Boston and Albany Railroad.
The first line of the original system to open was the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, opened from Hartford to New Haven, with steamship connections to New York in 1839, and to
Springfield, with rail connections to
Worcester and Boston, in
1844. The New York and New Haven came later, as it ran parallel to the
Long Island Sound coast and required many bridges over rivers. It opened in
1848, using trackage rights over the
New York and Harlem Railroad (later part of the
New York Central Railroad system) from
Woodlawn south to New York. From 1912
Grand Central Terminal served as the New Haven's New York City terminal.
Into the
Twentieth Century
Around the turn of the century, New York investors led by
J. P. Morgan gained control, and in 1903 installed
Charles S. Mellen as
President.[1]
Morgan and Mellen achieved a complete monopoly of transportation in southern New England, purchasing other railroads and steamship and trolley lines. More than
100 independent railroads eventually became part of the system before and during these years, reaching 2,131 miles at its 1929 peak.
Substantial improvements to the system were made during the Mellen years, including electrification between New York and New Haven. Morgan and Mellen went further and attempted to acquire or neutralize competition from other railroads in New England, including the
New York Central's Boston and Albany Railroad, the
Rutland Railroad, the
Maine Central Railroad, and the
Boston and Maine Railroad. But the Morgan-Mellen expansion left the company overextended and financially weak.
In
1914, 21 directors and ex-directors of the railroad were indicted for "conspiracy to monopolize interstate commerce by acquiring the control of practically all the transportation facilities of New England."
Financial difficulties
Under the stress of the
Great Depression the company slipped into bankruptcy in 1935, remaining in trusteeship until
1947.
Common stock was voided and creditors assumed control
...
In
1959, the New Haven discontinued passenger service on the
Old Colony Railroad network in southeastern Massachusetts.
Despite this and other cutbacks, the New Haven once again went into bankruptcy on July 2,
1961...
Merger with
Penn Central (1969-1976)
At the insistence of the
Interstate Commerce Commission, the New Haven was merged into Penn Central on
December 31, 1968, ending rail operations by the corporation. Penn Central was bankrupt by
1970 and the New Haven corporate entity remained in existence throughout the
1970s as the Trustee of the
Estate pursued just payment from Penn Central for the New Haven's assets...
The Conrail Era and
Beyond (1976-Present)
Freight operations on former New Haven lines passed to Conrail with its government-overseen creation on April 1,
1976. During the subsequent 23 years, Conrail withdrew from much of that territory, abandoning some track and handing other lines over to the
Providence & Worcester,
Bay Colony,
Boston & Maine, Connecticut
Central,
Pioneer Valley, Housatonic, and Connecticut
Southern railroads. Those lines still operated by Conrail in
1999 became part of
CSX Transportation as the result of yet another merger...
- published: 05 Jan 2012
- views: 2170