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AN ALBUM ILLUSTRATING RHODE ISLAND'S RAILROADS
IN YEARS PAST
A NEW HAVEN RR I-5 CLASS HUDSON BLASTS THROUGH A
SNOW STORM AT HILLS GROVE
The Ten 4-6-4 Type Locomotives Built By Baldwin In 1937 Were The Last
Steam Locomotives Purchased By The New Haven
This album is part of a series of websites I created to illustrate the history of railroads in Rhode Island. The other five sites, with links listed below, provide a detailed look at the rail facilities around Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls. This site, although it contains over four hundred and fifty illustrations, provides only a glimpse at the remainder of Rhode Island and does not contain the historic details of the other sites. It is mainly a showcase for my Rhode Island collection. Nevertheless, I think it presents a good cross section of Rhode Island's railroads during their golden age.
THE OCEAN STATE
A NEW HAVEN RAILROAD 4-4-0 PULLS A PASSENGER TRAIN ACROSS THE NARROWS AT TIVERTON ON ITS
WAY TO NEWPORT. RHODE ISLAND HAS A 419 MILE SHORELINE.
TIMETABLE MAP - NUMBERS REFER TO TABLES IN THE TIMETABLE
NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN & HARTFORD TRACK CHART AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1921
NAVIGATING THIS SITE - PLEASE READ - USE THE SIDEBAR
The website is organized by rail lines shown on the map. The first page starts in East Providence and succeeding pages cover the rail lines to the north, then the central area, ending with lines to Westerly and Newport. Pages also cover the suburban electric lines, city trolleys, the Rhode Island Locomotive Works and memorabilia.
CLICKING THE PAGES IN THE SIDEBAR (LEFT MARGIN) BRINGS UP THE PAGE
If the sidebar is not visible click the top left three parallel bars
Click the arrows next to a page in the sidebar to show additional pages.
Be sure to scroll to the last page which is Miscelaneous 2
THE FIREMAN OF A NEW HAVEN ALCO PA-1 DIESEL LOOKS BACK FOR THE SIGNAL TO DEPART
KINGSTON WITH AN EXPRESS FOR NEW YORK DURING THE LATE 1940's
For much of the period covered by this website, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad was the only major railroad in Rhode Island. However, there were shortlines and in the nineteenth century there were several notable railroads which became part of the New Haven. For the most part, I have referred to the various rail lines in Rhode Island by the name of the company that opened the route, e.g., I might write Boston & Providence to identify a route even if the illustration is not of that railroad's time period.
The Warren Depot on the Providence, Warren & Bristol Line c.1908
STATIONS
The R.I. Railroad Commisioner reported in 1911 that there were 106 regular stopping places for trains in Rhode Island and 39 flag stops. Station buildings or shelters were reported to number 128. This website contains pictures of over 100. The precise number of Rhode Island station buildings is difficult to determine. The Commissioner's reports do not include the buildings used by the trolley lines. The Buttonwood's line was a steam road that became a trolley line and had many substantial station buildings but they are not listed by the Commissioner. Moreover, name changes or station eliminations are a difficulty. For example, Auburn became Cranston and Cranston became Print Works. Niantic became Bradford. One of the two Natick depots became East Natick. Richmond Switch became Wood River Junction. Some places such as Woonsocket had two stations with the same name. A station such as Gaspee Street in Providence had a short life. Separate stations at Pawtucket and Central Falls became one. Many old station buildings were replaced with new structures, sometimes more than once.
LINKS TO MY OTHER WEBSITES
HISTORY OF THE STATIONS IN PROVIDENCE - http://sites.google.com/site/rrstationsofprovidence
THE ROUNDHOUSES IN PROVIDENCE - http://sites.google.com/site/roundhousesinprovidenceri
NORTHUP AVENUE YARD - http://sites.google.com/site/humpyardprovidence
THE PAWTUCKET-CENTRAL FALLS STATION - http://sites.google.com/site/pawtucketcentralfalls
MOSHASSUCK VALLEY RAILROAD - http://sites.google.com/site/moshassuckvalleyrailroad
NEW HAVEN RR STEAM LOCOMOTIVES - http://sites.google.com/site/nynhhsteam
RHODE ISLAND LOCOMOTIVE WORKS - http://sites.google.com/site/rhodeislandlocomotiveworks
SITE CONSTRUCTED BY EDWARD J. OZOG