New York and New England Railroad - Branches

Branches

In addition to the two main lines to Boston and Providence, splitting at Willimantic, numerous branches and auxiliary lines existed.

Dedham

The original Boston line ended at Dedham with a connection to the Boston and Providence Railroad. In 1883 what had become a branch to Dedham was abandoned. Prior to that, a new branch just to the east had been built in 1881, and was supplemented in 1890 by a connection to the south.

Medway

The Medway Branch Railroad from the main line at Norfolk west to Medway was incorporated in 1849 and opened in 1852, being immediately leased to the Norfolk County Railroad. It closed in 1864, two years after the New York and Boston Railroad reached Medway.

Valley Falls

The Rhode Island and Massachusetts Railroad was chartered in 1875 and opened in 1877, connecting the main Boston line at Franklin to the Providence and Worcester Railroad at Valley Falls. The New York and New England Railroad leased it in 1887.

Milford/Hopkinton/Ashland

The Milford and Woonsocket Railroad was incorporated in 1855 and opened a line from Milford to Bellingham in 1868. It was leased by the Providence and Worcester Railroad until 1883.

The Hopkinton Railway was organized in 1870 and opened in 1872, running from Milford north via Hopkinton to the Boston and Worcester Railroad at Ashland. The Providence and Worcester leased it until 1885. In 1884 the Milford and Woonsocket bought the Hopkinton, and the two ran as one.

The Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad was organized in 1868 and opened in 1883, extending the line southeast from Milford to Franklin.

On April 1, 1897 the New England Railroad leased all three companies.

Woonsocket/Pascoag

The line eventually running from Brookline, Massachusetts to Harrisville, Rhode Island was originally built as a competitor to the NY&NE's Boston line. The first section opened in 1852 as part of the Charles River Railroad. It reached Woonsocket, Rhode Island in 1863, and in 1891 the Woonsocket and Pascoag Railroad opened, continuing the line to the Providence and Springfield Railroad at Harrisville. In 1873 the NY&NE obtained the line to Woonsocket via a merger; on April 1, 1896 the New England Railroad leased the continuation past Woonsocket.

Providence and Springfield

The Providence and Springfield Railroad was chartered in 1853 and opened in 1873 from Providence, Rhode Island northwest to Pascoag. An extension to Douglas Junction on the NY&NE main line in Massachusetts opened in 1893, and the New England Railroad leased the line on July 1, 1896.

Southbridge

The Southbridge Branch from East Thomspon, Connecticut to Southbridge, Massachusetts was part of the original charter for the Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad, and opened in 1867, after it had been consolidated.

Pawtuxet Valley

The Pawtuxet Valley Railroad was organized in 1872 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in 1874, running from the main line at River Point to Hope. The New York, Providence and Boston Railroad leased it in 1884 as a continuation of their Pontiac Branch Railroad.

Norwich and Worcester

The Norwich and Worcester Railroad was an 1837 consolidation of the Boston, Norwich and New London Railroad Company of Connecticut and the Worcester and Norwich Railroad Company of Massachusetts when both state legislatures passed acts allowing the merger. Neither of these companies had built any railroad but the new one proceeded to build one from Norwich, Connecticut (later New London) north to Worcester, Massachusetts, including the Taft Tunnel at Lisbon, CT. The Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad leased it in 1869, and the lease continued through the reorganizations. Connections were provided with the Providence line at Plainfield and the Boston line between Putnam and Mechanicsville. In 1886 the New England Railroad company renewed the lease. that it acquired from the Boston, Hartford, and Erie.

New Haven

The New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad opened and was leased to the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad in 1873. The BH&E went bankrupt later that year, as did the NHM&W in 1875. The NHM&W became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1879.

Rockville

The Rockville Railroad was incorporated in 1857 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in 1863. It was a short branch from the main line at Vernon north and east to Rockville.

South Manchester

The South Manchester Railroad was chartered in 1866 and opened and leased to the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad in 1869. It was a short branch from the main line at Manchester south to South Manchester.

Springfield

The Connecticut Central Railroad was chartered in 1871, and its continuation in Massachusetts, the Springfield and New London Railroad, in 1874, to build a line from East Hartford to Springfield, with a branch to the Rockville Railroad at Westway. It opened in 1876 and was immediately leased by the Connecticut Valley Railroad, which gave up the lease to the New York and New England Railroad in 1880.

Connecticut River

The Meriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River Railroad was formed in 1888 as a consolidation of two smaller companies, opening in 1885 and 1888. The New York and New England Railroad leased it in 1892, as a branch from the main line in Waterbury east to Cromwell on the Connecticut River. The company went bankrupt and was reorganized in 1898 as the Middletown, Meriden and Waterbury Railroad, and was immediately leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.