User:Pi.1415926535/Connecticut Company lines in Eastern Connecticut

System

The Connecticut Company lines in eastern Connecticut were primarily oriented north-south, serving the population centers of New London, Norwich, Putnam, and Willimantic. As with the rest of the Connecticut Company system, the lines varied from local lines running on city streets to rural lines with some interurban characteristics, including sections of dedicated right-of-way. The lines were divided into three operating divisions. The New London Division included four local lines in New London plus a longer rural route to Norwich. The Norwich Division included three local lines in Norwich, three rural lines, and a short rural branch line. The Putnam Division included a long rural line plus a short rural branch line that was operated as part of a Rhode Island Company through route. The eastern Connecticut lines were geographically separate from the rest of the Connecticut Company system, which was concentrated in central and southwestern Connecticut.

Corporate history

Line details and histories

New London local lines

Four local lines operated within New London. The Parade, a portion of State Street in front of New London Union Station, was the center of the New London Division. Two routes ran between The Parade and a pair of cemeteries (Cedar Grove and St. Mary's) to the west on Jefferson Avenue. One route ran directly via State Street, Broad Street, and Jefferson Avenue; the other had a longer routing over State Street, Washington Street, Coit Street, Truman Street, Blackhall Street, Williams Street, Broad Street, and Jefferson Avenue. The Jefferson Avenue loop followed the longer cemetery line as far as Broad Street; it then turned south on Connecticut Avenue and returned to The Parade via Lincoln Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, and Bank Street.^[1]: 105

The fourth line, which ran between Post Hill and Ocean Beach, was the longest and busiest of the New London local lines. Its north terminal was at Bullards Corner – the intersection of Williams Street and Main Street – on the north slope of Post Hill. Between there and The Parade, it used a one-way loop: southbound on Williams Street, Broad Street, and State Street; northbound on State Street and Main Street. It ran south on Bank Street, Montauk Avenue, Lower Boulevard, Pequot Avenue, and Neptune Avenue to a loop at Ocean Beach.^{[1]: 105 [4]} Much of the trackage on Main Street, State Street, The Parade, Bank Street, and Montauk Avenue was double track; the rest of the local lines were single track.^[5]: 22

The New London Horse Railroad was formed in 1886 and chartered in 1888, but construction did not begin until August 1892 under the auspices of its successor New London Street Railway.^[6][5]: 6 The initial system included the Post Hill–Ocean Beach line plus the Washington Street loop, which was comprised of the inner portions of what would become the two cemetery lines.^[6][4][7] The Post Hill loop opened on November 22, 1892; the Washington Street loop followed in December, and the Ocean Beach extension opened in 1893.^[8][6] The Montville Street Railway's New London–Norwich line began using the tracks on Main Street and State Street between Bullards Corner and The Parade in May 1900.^[9] An extension on Broad Street to the cemeteries opened around 1904.^[10]

The New London and East Lyme Street Railway (NL&EL) began operating between Niantic and New London on October 5, 1905, connecting with New London Street Railway tracks at the intersection of Bank Street and Montauk Street at Town Hill.^[1]: 41 New London-bound cars used Bank Street between Town Hill and the Parade; Niantic-bound cars used part of the Washington Street line, then continued on Truman Street to Bank Street.^[1]: 97 New London–Old Saybrook service on the NL&EL, introduced in late 1913, also used this routing.^[1]: 93 The Jefferson Avenue loop was planned as part of the original system, but construction was abandoned due to a dispute about the company's right to use Lincoln Avenue, and did not resume until 1912.^[11] The line opened in November 1912, though it did not run as a loop until permission was secured to use the NL&EL track on Bank Street for the short distance between Jefferson Avenue and Montauk Avenue.^[12]

By 1913, the cemetery lines and the Jefferson Avenue loop ran on 30-minute headways. The Post Hill–Ocean Beach line ran on 15-minute headways, with extra cars on weekends and evenings from late May to early September to accommodate heavy summer traffic to Ocean Beach.^[1]: 105 NL&EL service to Old Saybrook ended with the July 1919 strike, but Niantic service continued.^[1]: 76 The SLERy receiver arranged for the Connecticut Company to operate the Niantic line beginning on April 1, 1920.^[1]: 77 The Groton and Stonington Traction Company (G&S) took over operations of that line on December 31, 1922, though the Connecticut Company continued to provide power.^[1]: 83 Service to East Lyme (cut back from Niantic) began using Bank Street in both directions on January 1, 1923, and was discontinued entirely on July 23.^{[1]: 85, 97}

On October 18, 1922, the G&S opened a short extension across the Thames River highway bridge to New London, using trackage rights over the Post Hill line on Main Street to reach The Parade.^[1]: 82 This lasted until July 29, 1928, when the G&S replaced all service with buses.^[1]: 133 The four New London local lines themselves were replaced by buses on April 11, 1932.^{[5]: 11 [2]: 59} A 12-by-16-foot (3.7 m × 4.9 m) wooden shelter, built in 1893 and later moved to Cedar Grove Cemetery, is still extant. It was moved to downtown New London in 1995 and refurbished for use as a visitor's center.^[13][14]

New London–Norwich

The New London–Norwich line followed the Post Hill trackage north on Main Street to Post Hill, then ran on Williams Street as far as Crystal Avenue.^[5]: 22 From there it ran on a private right-of-way to Quaker Hill, crossing Smith Cove on a wooden trestle.^{[15]: 30 [16]} It then followed the Norwich Turnpike through Uncasville to the Norwich border, then Thames Street though Thamesville. The line joined the West Side line at West Main Street and used its tracks on West Main Street and Main Street to reach Franklin Square. Except for some portions shared with the New London and Norwich local lines, the line was single track with three passing sidings.^[5]: 22

The original charter of the Montville Horse Railroad called for it to build an east-west horsecar line between Montville and Palmertown, perpendicular to the Central Vermont Railway.^[17] (The Central Vermont's Palmertown Branch between the two villages was not built until 1899.^[18]: 112) In 1896, the reorganized Montville Street Railway attempted to instead build a line between New London and Norwich paralleling the Central Vermont.^[17] This was stopped in court on the grounds that the new company was not properly organized, and the state legislature declined in 1897 to authorize a modification to the charter to allow a north-south line.^[17][19][20] Not until March 1899 did the legislature approve the charter modification and allow construction to begin.^[21][22]

Service on the line began in May 1900.^[9] It opened up the Quaker Hill area for suburban development; several new subdivisions were built. A trolley park was located at Richard's Grove south of Quaker Hill on the shore of Smith Cove. Freight carried on the line included stone for the first buildings of the Connecticut College for Women, as well as trap rock for paving the turnpike.^[16] Some passenger trips also carried mail between Norwich and New London.^[1]: 100 Service was through-routed with the Willimantic line by 1909.^[23][24]

By 1913, service on the line consisted of hourly New London–Willimantic cars plus hourly New London–Taftville cars, providing service every 30 minutes between New London and Norwich.^[1]: 99 Scheduled running time for the 13.14 miles (21.15 km) between New London and Norwich was one hour. Service began declining around 1919, when the number of Taftville trips was reduced.^[1]: 100 The final day of streetcar service on the line was March 17, 1934, with replacement bus service beginning the next day.^{[5]: 16 [3]: 92} The former private right-of-way between New London and Quaker Hill was paved in 1939–1940 as the Mohegan Avenue Parkway (now part of Route 32).^[16][25][26] New London–Quaker Hill bus service began using this roadway in February 1941.^[2]: 60

Norwich local lines

Norwich local lines

Three local lines operated within New London. Franklin Square, the intersection of Main Street and Franklin Street in downtown Norwich, was the center of the Norwich Division. The Yantic line ran north from Franklin Square on Franklin Street, then west on McKinley Avenue, Rockwell Street, and Crescent Street to Chelsea Parade, then on Sachem Street to Yantic Falls. From there it continued north on Lafayette Street and Washington Street and west on Town Street to Norwichtown, continuing west on Town Street through Bean Hill to Yantic. The Boswell Avenue–Laurel Hill line ran southwest on Boswell Avenue from Pratt Street to Franklin Street, then shared tracks with the Yantic Line to Franklin Square. It continued west on Main Street and Shetucket Avenue (now Courthouse Square), then south on Water Street over the Shetucket River, and followed Laurel Hill Avenue south to near Garfield Avenue in the Laurel Hill neighborhood. The West Side–Greeneville line ran east on West Main Street from the fairgrounds to downtown Norwich, crossing over the Yantic River then on Main Street through Franklin Square. It turned north, running through Greeneville on North Main Street, Central Avenue, North Main Street, and Boswell Avenue to the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's cemeteries.^[1]: 105

The Norwich Horse Railroad, incorporated in 1864, opened a horsecar line between Bean Hill and Greeneville on September 12, 1870. A steam dummy was briefly used in 1873 before complaints led to the town council revoking permission.^[27] The company went bankrupt, and the Norwich Street Railway purchased its assets in 1882. The line was electrified in 1892 using power from the Ponemah Mill.^{[28][5]: 23} Expansion of the system soon followed: by 1895, new lines to Laurel Hill, Thamesville, and the West Side were in operation, as were extensions from Bean Hill to Yantic and Greeneville to Taftville.^[29]

In the 1900s, several suburban through services began to use the tracks of the local lines to reach Franklin Square: the New London–Norwich line in 1900, the Norwich–Willimantic line in 1904, the Norwich and Westerly Railway (N&W) in 1906, and the Norwich–Central Village line in 1907.^{[30][9][31][1]: 28} All except the N&W were eventually part of the Norwich Division; the New London line eventually provided most Thamesville service, and the Taftville line north of the Greeneville cemeteries became part of the Willimantic line.^{[5]: 23 [1]: 105}

Construction of the long-planned Boswell Avenue line began in November 1913.^[32] It opened on December 23, 1913, and was immediately through-routed with the Laurel Hill line.^[33] A 1,600-foot (490 m) extension of the West Side line from Backus Corners (the intersection with the Norwich–New London Turnpike) to the fairgrounds was built in August 1914.^[34][35] It opened for the town fair in September 1914.^[36] All three lines operated on half-hour headways during the 1910s. The Willimantic and Central Village lines provided additional service between Franklin Square and Greeneville.^[1]: 105 Greeneville to downtown Norwich was double track; the rest of the local lines were single track, with two passing sidings on the Yantic line.^[5]: 76

The suburban lines were gradually replaced by buses – the N&W in 1924, Central Village in 1925, and New London in 1934 – leaving the Willimantic line and the Norwich local lines as the only remaining streetcar lines in eastern Connecticut.^{[3]: 93 [1]: 85} The bankrupt Connecticut Company was given permission in May 1936 to spend $283,000 (equivalent to $6.2 million in 2023) to purchase buses for the Norwich Division.^[5]: 23 All lines were replaced with buses later that year: Boswell Avenue–Laurel Hill on November 29, Willimantic on December 1, Greeneville–West Side on December 6, and Yantic on December 13.^[3]: 93

Norwich–Willimantic

The line to Willimantic continued from the end of the Greeneville line, primarily following what is now Route 97 north and west through Taftville and Occum to Baltic. From Baltic, it followed West Main Street west for a short distance before turning onto private right-of-way, which ran northwest to South Windham. A truss bridge carried the line over Windham Road and the New London Northern Railroad (later Central Vermont Railway) mainline at Williams Crossing, south of South Windham. The private right-of-way ended near the Willimantic Camp Meeting Ground, and the line followed South Main Street (now called Windham Road) into downtown Willimantic. It crossed under the New London Northern tracks and over the Willimantic River on South Main Street, then turned west on Main Street for a short distance. The end of the line was just west of South Street, adjacent to the Midland Division grade crossing. The line was single track north of the junction with the Central Village line, with four turnouts along its length.^[5]: 76

The Norwich Street Railway extended its Greeneville line to Taftville around the time of the 1892 electrification.^[37][38][39] Several unsuccessful companies were chartered in the 1890s to build street railways in Willimantic.^[15]: 28 One reached an agreement with the Norwich Street Railway in February 1900: the Norwich company would extend its Taftville line to Baltic, where it would meet the new line from Willimantic.^[40] The extension from Taftville to Baltic opened on December 27, 1900, but the line from Willimantic did not materialize.^[41] A new company, the Willimantic Traction Company, was chartered on July 1, 1901.^{[42][43]: 44} Construction of its Baltic–Willimantic line began on July 11, 1902.^{[43]: 44 [44]} The line opened between Willimantic and South Windham on August 16, 1903, and to Baltic on August 19.^{[43]: 44 [45]} The two companies began running Norwich–Willimantic through service in August 1904, eliminating the need for passengers to change cars in Baltic.^[30][46]

The line deviated onto on Front Street (now 2nd Avenue) between North B Street and South B Street in Taftville. In 1909, the Connecticut Company planned to bypass this section with a new track on Main Street (now Norwich Avenue).^[47] Some construction work was started midyear, but it was abandoned because the company objected to a town order to pay for relocating telephone poles and to run hourly short turn trips terminating on the old Front Street trackage.^{[48][49] [50]} In 1918–19, the company again sought permission to build the new track.^[51][52] Other improvements were made to the line, including replacement of original timber bridges with concrete.^[53] The approach trestles to the Williams Crossing bridge were replaced by concrete viaducts in March and April 1910.^{[54][55][53][15]: 33}

Service was through-routed with the New London line by 1909.^[23][24] By 1913, service on the line consisted of hourly New London–Willimantic cars plus hourly New London–Taftville cars.^[1]: 99 Scheduled running time for the 18.65 miles (30.01 km) between Norwich and Willimantic was 1 hour 20 minutes. Some trips also carried mail between Willimantic, Baltic, Norwich, and New London. Service began declining around 1919, when the number of Taftville trips was reduced.^[1]: 100 The Norwich–New London section was replaced with buses in 1934, but Norwich–Willimantic streetcar service continued until December 1, 1936.^[43]: 52 The portion of the bus service between Baltic and Willimantic was discontinued on December 14, 1951.^[2]: 61 Some portions of the former private right-of-way were later reused for Connecticut Route 32.^[5]: 97 A former waiting station, built in 1921 by the Ponemah Company, remains in Memorial Park in Taftville.^[56][57]

Willimantic–South Coventry

The east end of the Willimantic–South Coventry line was on Main Street in Willimantic, across the tracks from the end of the Norwich–Willimantic line. An 1895 state law prohibited street railways from crossing mainline railroads at grade, forcing the line to be separate.^[43]: 52 The line ran west on Main Street to the Willimantic Cemetery, then northwest following what are now Route 32 and Route 31 to South Coventry. Midway along the route, it crossed the Central Vermont tracks on a bridge near Perkins Corner in Mansfield. The western terminus of the lake was at a pavilion on the eastern shore of Wangumbaug Lake.^[43]: 48

Along with its Baltic–Willimantic line, the Willimantic Traction Company also built the line as far as the cemetery, about 1.1 miles (1.8 km). It opened later in 1903 than the Baltic–Willimantic line. The line was operated with a single streetcar; a crew arriving from Baltic would walk across the tracks to the waiting car and operate it to the cemetery.^[43]: 46 An extension of the line to South Coventry was planned even before construction of the original line began.^[58] Not until June 12, 1908, however, did the New Haven petition the state for permission to build the extension. Permission was granted on July 17, and construction began on August 10.^[59] The extension opened on August 19, 1909, with hourly service between Willimantic and South Coventry.^[43]: 48

The line was single track without passing sidings, and only a single car was used for regular service.^{[43]: 51 [1]: 100} After operating at a financial loss for several years, the line was replaced by buses on November 22, 1926.^{[43]: 50 [2]: 61}

Norwich–Central Village

Unlike the other lines in eastern Connecticut, the Norwich–Central Village line operated primarily on mainline railroad tracks. It split from the Norwich–Willimantic line at Tafts Junction, between Greeneville and Taftville, and followed a short private right-of-way to a junction with the New Haven Railroad's Norwich Branch. The Norwich Branch crossed the Shetucket River and passed through the Taft Tunnel; it then ran east and north along the Quinebaug River to Jewett City, then north through Plainfield to Central Village. The streetcar line terminated just north of School Street in Central Village, while the Norwich Branch continued north to Worcester, Massachusetts. Along with the railroad stations at Jewett City and Plainfield, streetcars had intermediate flag stops at Round Hill in Lisbon and Bishops in Plainfield.^[60]: 30

15.95 miles (25.67 km) of the 18.96-mile (30.51 km) route were on the shared Norwich Branch trackage.^[1]: 100 Operating over a steam railroad required several modifications to normal streetcar operations. A New Haven "pilot" rode between Tafts and Central Village to direct the motorman. Streetcars used on the line had "compromise" wheels, which could run on the different rail profiles of the steam railroad and the street trackage. Several other steam railroad requirements were also enforced, including lanterns or flags on the rear of the car as well as carrying emergency tools on board.^[60]: 26 One-way running time was scheduled as 58 minutes. The shared trackage was covered in 40 minutes with an average speed of 24.1 miles per hour (38.8 km/h) – significantly higher than other lines on the system.^[1]: 101

By 1903, Norwich to Central Village was the only gap in streetcar service between New London and Worcester. Several companies were chartered to fill the gap, but none managed to construct a line through the hilly terrain.^[15]: 31 The New Haven experimented with electrification of branch lines in the early 20th century, including several lines in Connecticut that used streetcars powered by overhead lines.^[61] The section of the Norwich Branch between Tafts and Central Village was electrified in 1907, with Norwich–Central Village streetcar service beginning on June 17, 1907.^[31]

The Norwich and West Thompson lines originally used a pair of sidings on the west side of the main track at Central Village station. One siding was later used for a portable substation, with Norwich cars laying over on the main track.^[60]: 32 The line had hourly service, with about 17 daily round trips, for its first decade. Sharing the line were four to six passenger and freight trains in each direction.^[1]: 101 Frequency was reduced to every two hours around 1919.^[1]: 100 Service ended on November 30, 1925, with replacement bus service beginning the next day.^[62][63] The New Haven continued to operate steam trains on the Norwich Branch; it is now used for freight by the Providence and Worcester Railroad.^[18]

Central Village–Moosup

At just 1.68 miles (2.70 km), the Central Village–Moosup line was the shortest service operated on the Shore Line and its leased lines.^[1]: 66 Its west end was next to the tracks in Central Village, across from the terminal of the Norwich and West Thompson lines. The line ran southeast on School Street and Main Street and a section of private right-of-way and terminated in downtown Moosup across from the railroad station.^[60]: 32 The line was single track with no sidings, operated with a single streetcar.^[1]: 104 It had no carbarn; when the car needed maintenance, a temporary track was constructed at Central Village to transfer it to the other lines.^[5]: 83

Construction took place by the W&EC in 1902 along with the extension from Danielson to Central Village. It was completed in December 1902, but did not immediately open due to a shortage of available streetcars.^[64][65] Service on the line began in January 1903, temporarily using an open car, which were normally used during warmer summer months. Passengers were supplied with blankets.^[66][67] By 1914, the car ran every half hour, taking just six to eight minutes to run the length of the line. Close connections were made at Central Village with the Norwich and West Thompson lines as well as steam trains.^[1]: 104

Ridership was never high; off-peak service was reduced to hourly by 1918.^[1]: 104 Even the use of a one-man streetcar failed to make the line profitable as competing jitney service drew away passengers.^[68] Service on the line ended on September 7, 1920.^[69][70] It resumed operation on July 15, 1921, after the operating license for the jitney company was revoked.^{[71][72][73][74]} The line was discontinued permanently on November 9, 1925, with no replacement bus service.^[1]: 104 The private right-of-way in Moosup was later reused as Ward Avenue, now eastbound Route 14.^[75]

Central Village–West Thompson

The Central Village–West Thompson line ran largely north–south, paralleling the Quinebaug River for much of its length. From Central Village, the line ran west on School Street before turning north onto a private right-of-way. It passed through Wauregan on village streets, then used another private right-of-way to reach Danielson. The line ran through Danielson on Dyer Street, Franklin Street, Water Street, Cottage Street (passing under the Norwich Branch), Franklin Street, and Main Street. It turned west on the Hartford Turnpike through Dayville, with a brief diversion onto High Street and Railroad Avenue to cross over the Norwich Branch on a bridge. From Dayville, the line ran north on a private right-of-way, with a trolley park called Wildwood Park along Alexander Lake. It snaked through Putnam on Park Street, Arch Street, South Main Street, King Street, Grove Street, South Main Street, Front Street, Main Street, Providence Street, and School Street, crossing under and over the Norwich Branch three times. The line followed Mechanics Street northward, crossing over the Midland Division at Mechanicsville, and terminated at West Thompson Road in West Thompson. Connecting service continued north to Webster, Massachusetts via Grosvenor Dale and North Grosvenordale, partially following |Riverside Drive and partially on private right-of-way.

Danielson–East Killingly

Rolling stock

Carbarns

References

External links