Narragansett Pier Railroad
| Narragansett Pier Railroad | |
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 Steam locomotive No. 3
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 Route at the South Pier
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| Route length: | 13 km |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
The Narragansett Pier Railroad was a 13 km long railroad from West Kingston to Narragansett Pier in southern Rhode Island .
history
Foundation and start of operations
The Narragansett Pier Railroad was established in January 1868 and began operating on July 17, 1876 from Kingston Station to Narragansett Pier. It was built by the Hazard family of Rhode Island to connect their spinning and weaving mills in Peace Dale and Wakefield to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad and ocean liners at Narragansett Pier . From 1876 to 1952 there was passenger traffic
In 1890, the railway carried over 100,000 passengers and thousands of tons of freight and luggage. An express train took 13 minutes from Kingston to Narragansett. In the 1880s and 1890s, during the Gilded Age of Newport were private railroad cars of wealthy families from Philadelphia , New York brought and other cities of Kingston on the Narragansett Pier Railroad to the Narragansett Pier, from where passengers could switch to a steamship of the railway company to continue to their summer homes in Newport, Rhode Island. However, these tours ended with the sale of the steamship Manises at the end of the 1900 season.
A well-known anecdote about a hostile takeover attempt is about an exchange of telegrams when the President of the Pennsylvania Railroad wanted to buy Narragansett Pier Rail Road from President John N. Hazard. After receiving a telegram regarding the purchase price, the latter is said to have replied: “Mine will not be sold. What does yours cost? "( " Mine not for sale. How much for yours? " )
Dispute with the Sea View Line
From 1904 to 1907 electric trams of the Sea View Line were allowed to run on the stretch between Peace Dale and Narragansett Pier. Since the New Haven Railroad competed with the Narragansett Pier Railroad in passenger transport, it began secret negotiations with the Sea View Line in 1904 to attract more passengers from Providence to the pier. The negotiations and the subsequent contract were kept confidential, and the necessary construction work on the Hunt's River Bridge was carried out in secret on a Saturday so as not to attract attention: on June 25, 1904, two railway maintenance teams met at Hunt's on a Saturday morning River Bridge, which is on the border between North Kingstown and East Greenwich. New Haven Railroad workers built two wooden platforms along their double-track route, while those of the Sea View Electric Trolley Line laid a sloping junction from their line next to the newly built platforms.
From the first week of July 1904, day trippers could take one of four express trains from Providence to the Hunt's River Bridge on Saturdays or Sunday mornings, and then transfer to a waiting electric express tram to the pier. They returned home in the late afternoon or evening under the same arrangement. The round trip is just $ 1.00 compared to $ 1.25 for the Narragansett Pier Railway round-trip ticket. There was even an optional ticket upgrade for a beach dinner at the nearby Narragansett Pier Hotel. Since the Ouida stop of the Sea View Railway was right next to the pier, the trippers also saved themselves a 1 km walk from the Narragansett Pier Railway stop on Boon Street to the pier. Because of the falling passenger numbers, the Narragansett Pier Railway canceled its long-term contract with the Sea View Railway, which had allowed it to use the section in the direction of Wakefield and Peace Dale, as soon as possible.
In 1907, the Sea View Line struck back: with the support of the New Haven Railroad and Marsden Perry's United Electric Railway, it laid its own tram track from Sea View Junction along the south side of Tower Hill and on the median of Main Street in Wakefield, the but shortly before the Narragansett Pier ended abruptly because the Narragansett Pier Railroad strictly refused to allow a rail crossing.
End of rail operations
The regular passenger service of the Narragansett Pier Railway ended on December 31, 1952, after which, however, occasional excursions were offered until the 1970s. The main office was in Peace Dale, where a two-hour roundhouse still stands today.
In the 1970s there was still significant freight traffic for manure, wood and building materials. The southern terminus of the railway line was later moved back from Narragansett Pier to Wakefield, shortening the route to 10 km. Until 1981 the line was only operated on the 3 km between Kingston and Peace Dale. Operations were suspended in 1981 and the line has not been operational since.
William C. O'Neill Bike Path
About 5 miles of the route has been converted to the William C. O'Neill Bike Path , formerly known as the South County Bike Path. The first phase was completed in 2000 and the second phase in 2003. The third phase of the project to Mumford Rd opened in 2011.
Individual evidence
- ^ Everts and Richard's Atlas of Southern Rhode Island, 1895.
- ↑ a b Sallie W. Latimer: Narragansett By-the-Sea. Arcadia Publishing, July 1, 1997
- ^ A b c d e Edward A. Lewis: American Short Line Railway Guide . The Baggage Car, 1975, p. 87.
- ↑ James NJ Henwood: A Short Haul to the Bay. Stephen Greene Press, Brattleboro, VT, 1969.
- ^ A b c G. Timothy Cranston: The View From Swamptown: South County's great rail war. The Independent, September 18, 2014.
- ^ Edward A. Lewis: American Short Line Railway Guide . Kalmbach Books, 1986, p. 145.
- ↑ http://southcountybikepath.org/?page_id=8
Web links
- Edward J. Ozog: Narragansett Pier Railroad Company
Coordinates: 41 ° 25 '32.9 " N , 71 ° 27' 44.9" W.