BEFORE THE UNION STATION
Providence was served by two stations separated by more than half a mile of the Providence harbor until 1848.
Prior to the railway, travelers between Boston and New York generally traveled by stage coach to Providence where a sailing ship or steamboat would carry them the rest of the way. To improve the overland portion of the journey the Boston & Providence Railroad was constructed. The line terminated at the unpopulated India Point a relatively long distance from the center of Providence. The B&P's objective was tidewater rather than the population of Providence which was only around twenty thousand.
A Boston & Providence stock certificate issued June 19, 1851 shows the depot at India Point. At this time the B&P had only about 1,000 feet of route in Rhode Island because the east side of the railroad bridge in the engraving was still Massachusetts. The ship on the left is probably a New York City steamboat. The bridge over the Seekonk River contained a retractable section which was one of the first movable railroad bridge spans in America.
Altough this drawing may not be entirely accurate, the Boston & Providences's early locomotives were all 2-2-0 types and its early passenger cars resembled stage coaches.
Regular train service on the Boston & Providence began in 1835. In the next year the railroad contracted with the Boston and New York Transportation Company, which operated three large steamships, to improve the New York boat connection. The contract called for running of Steam Boat Trains to meet all boats of the steamship company, to have cars sufficient for all passengers and baggage and to run the trains faster than ordinary trains.
BOSTON & PROVIDENCE FERRY STATION AT INDIA POINT - c.1845
Detail from a painting by Kinsley Gladding at the RIHS.
The view is of Tockwotten Hill from Fort Hill in East Providence -- The station is the white building on the wharf in the foreground.
NEW YORK, PROVIDENCE & BOSTON RAILROAD
In 1838 the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad began regular service to a depot on the Providence Harbor at Crary Street in South Providence which was then largely unsettled. The location was as close as the railroad could reach to the Boston & Providence terminal across the water. A ferry carried passengers between the two terminals a little more than half a mile apart. The NYP&B's southern terminal was at a steamboat dock in Stonington, Connecticut and the line offered travelers a way to avoid the rough passage around Point Judith.
Map of Providence in 1844. The B&P depot is on the right and the NYP&B depot is on the left connected by a ferry. The center of Providence is near the top of the map. The location of the future Union Station is indicated on the south edge of the Cove.
The original Boston & Providence depot was near the right edge of the early 20th century postcard while the New York, Providence & Boston depot was in the center of the postcard view on the distant shore hidden behind the large steamer docked at Fox Point.
The New York ,Providence & Boston's "Roger Williams" was built by the Locks & Canal Co. in Lowell in 1836 as "Pawcatuck" and was rebuilt in 1846 by the NYP&B's Master Mechanic William E. Rutter at the Providence Shops. The locomotive was originally a 2-2-0 type but Rutter added a four wheel leading truck, two trailing wheels and lengthened the boiler by three feet.
Converting the Boston - New York route to an all rail route along the Connecticut shore line took many years mainly because of the difficulty and expense of building drawbridges sufficienly large and high enough to permit satisfactory navigation on the two major rivers. The Connecticut was not bridged until 1870 and the Thames in 1889. The breaking of a rail journey by a water ferry was not an unusual event.
The c.1900 map shows the the locations of the ferry and original railroad depots which by this time had been replaced by an all rail route through the center of Providence. However, the docks actively served passenger and freight vessels and the tracks of the New Haven railroad reached most areas of the harbor.
The Boston & Providence entered Rhode Island over the Seekonk River Bridge. Until 1862 the river was the border with Massachusetts. The bridge in this postcard view was the last to be built; previous bridges were of wood. The depot was originally to the left.
The location of the original Boston & Providence depot was to the left of this view of the mouth of the Seekonk River. In the foreground is Bold Point. The coal "jimmies" of the Old Colony railroad stand on the roadbed of the Seekonk Branch Railroad which planned to offer boat trains to compete with the Boston & Providence. A legal battle was lost and the roadbed was acquired by the B&P.
As indicated by this 1915 advertisement from the Providence Magazine, passenger travel by water to New York was relatively popular. The Second World War ended coastal passenger service.