Rhode Island Railroading and Railfanning In "The Ocean State"
Rhode Island railroading was once the domain of commuter railroad New Haven although today it is home to no Class I systems. Our country’s smallest state also is home to the fewest rail miles, at least in the Continental U.S. (Hawaii ranks last with no active freight or passenger rail miles), most of which are handled by Regional Providence & Worcester with passenger operations the domain of Amtrak and the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), which serves Providence.
The New Haven served virtually all major Rhode Island cities and its main line connecting Boston and New York ran directly through the capital of Providence (of which, is still used today by Amtrak as part of its Northeast Corridor that connects Boston). The New Haven’s predominant predecessors were the Hartford & New Haven Railroad and the New York & New Haven. The H&NH had its beginnings in 1833 and connected New Haven, Connecticut with Springfield, Connecticut (via Hartford). The NY&NH was built to connect its two namesake cities. Naturally operating so close to one another these two lines became rivals although ironically they would merge in 1872 to form the historic New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad. From this point the New Haven Railroad would continue to expand its system purchasing other smaller lines, eventually stretching out across most of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and southern Massachusetts (along with serving NYC, of course, it reached cities such as Poughkeepsie, Pittsfield, Waterbury, Worcester, New Bedford, and the southeastern coastline of Massachusetts along Nantucket Sound). The New Haven’s strength was in its ability to haul thousands of passengers and commuters along its high speed main line between New York and Boston (which continues to this day), and points in between. While the railroad did have a strong presence hauling freight, especially during the early 20th century, it also had a very strong passenger/commuter market because of the fact that it offered the only direct Boston-New York rail connection (and it naturally marketed this quite heavily). However, following the 1948 takeover of the company by Frederic Dumaine and Patrick McGinnis, the New Haven Railroad had little hope of ever remaining profitable again. Under their “pencil pusher” leadership they slashed costs wherever possible (taking this to extremes whereby it hurt the company more than it helped), cut down the work force laying off even the most veteran workers, and began deferring maintenance to save costs. Such tactics typically only work for a short period of time and it did not take the deferred maintenance and other “cost savings” ideas long to begin to affect the railroad in a negative way.
This was essentially the end for the New Haven. Seeing no future means of profitability the directors of the New Haven felt merger was the only option and began looking at such an idea. With the Penn Central merger itself looming just ahead between the Pennsylvania and New York Central the ICC decided that it would be best for the NH to be included into the merger as well. After only two years of operation and financial assistance completely gone, the destitute Penn Central officially declared bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. The result of this was a ripple effect throughout the entire Northeast, as other railroads, which depended on the PC to ferry traffic, no longer had a means to move their freight. It became so bad that the Penn Central was facing total shutdown if financial assistance, any means of help at all, were not located. Realizing the severity of the situation the federal government stepped and setup the Consolidated Rail Corporation, which comprised the skeletons of several bankrupt Northeastern carriers, and began operations on April 1, 1976. With federal backing Conrail began to slowly pull out of the red ink (it took many years) and by the late 1980s was a profitable railroad after thousands of miles of access trackage was abandoned and/or upgraded. Today the New Haven Railroad main line continues to be an important link to both freight and passengers between Boston and New York, especially Amtrak where the line is part of the carrier’s Northeast Corridor (or NEC for short). On an even brighter note the old “McGinnis” New Haven livery (perhaps the best thing to come from his leadership) has reemerged under the Connecticut Department of Transportation local commuter service operations. Certainly something worth seeing if you are in the area! Today, while the shortline, Seaview Railroad, serves a former Navy yard in North Kingston (which consists of a yard and port it is owned by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation), virtually all of Rhode Island’s freight rail service is the domain of Providence & Worcester. For a look at the state’s rail mileage over the years please take a look at the chart below.
While The Ocean State’s railroading may seem too tiny to even be home to any museums or tourist lines it actually has both! Take a ride on the Newport Dinner Train (located in Newport), which takes you on a 22-mile trip along the Narragansett Bay or visit the Rhode Island Railroad Museum at historic Kingston Station to learn more about the state’s railroading history.
In total, passenger and freight rail service combined doesn’t even equal 100 miles today. While this may seem incredibly small Rhode Island railroading, in its heyday, only saw mileage peak at just over 200 miles. In all, while Rhode Island railroading doesn’t offer the kind of diversity and action-packed scenes one would find elsewhere like in Pennsylvania or California it does have a unique charm all its own. So, if you tire of watching Acela Express trains zip up and down the NEC or P&W freight trains doing their thing, stop by the Newport Dinner Train for a relaxing train ride or catch up on some Rhode Island history at the Rhode Island Railroad Museum!
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