BRIEF HISTORY

The New York,New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company was formed in 1872 by the merger of the New York and New Haven Railroad with the New Haven and Hartford Railroad, thus forming the New York,New Haven and Hartford Railroad, better known as the New Haven Railroad or The New Haven.  Many of the small railroads shown above under the New Haven's components list were merged into the railroad,thus developing it into  the 1500 mile system that served southern New England. One of the last components to be merged into the New Haven Railroad was the Central New England Railway, whose principal route extended from Hartford through Waterbury,Poughkeepsie to Maybrook,NY  across the famed Poughkeepsie Bridge over the Hudson River. This railway was merged into the New Haven in 1926 and formed a major part of the New Haven Railroad's Lines West, which covered all New Haven Railroad system lines west of New Haven,Connecticut. Lines East  were those lines east of New Haven and  these two groups of  lines later became the New Haven and Boston divisions as shown in system   employee timetables, particularly of the railroad's final years before being merged into Penn Central on January 1, 1969. Due to the populous nature of   the territory it  served, the New Haven Railroad was largely  a passenger oriented railroad and that fact was one of the major weaknesses that precluded long term solvency for the New Haven. Among the things the New Haven Railroad   is best remembered for are those unique EMD FL9 diesel electric locomotives that could also operate off of third rail  as straight electrics. No other railroad operated such locomotives in  passenger or  any other  service. In addition, Much of the diesel fleet is noted for the use of  Hancock air whistles rather than conventional air horns on the FL9s, the GP9s, and certain other diesel and electric locomotives. However the Alco FAs,PAs, C425s, GE  U25Bs all came with conventional air horns. Another thing that sets the New Haven Railroad apart is the paint scheme applied to the FL9s as designed by the flamboyant Patrick McGinnis, who  certainly was a colorful character as far as railroad executives go. Unfortunately it was Mr. McGinnis's kind of color the railroad could have done without. This was counterbalanced by the influence that Frederick C. "Buck" Dumaine,Sr. and George Alpert had on the railroad and their efforts to maintain good service and viability of the railroad. The logo used by the New Haven Railroad in its final years was of the same style designed by Patrick McGinnis  for the Boston and Maine Railroad, with which the New Haven once had  strong    ties. When the Penn Central merger controversy brewed, it was suggested that the New Haven, the Boston and Albany, the Boston and Maine, and Maine Central railroads all be merged together to create an all New England rail system. This idea is said to have had its origins with New York Central's Alfred E. Perlman. Whether any of  these railroads discussed this idea among themselves is a moot point. By  that time, the Boston and Albany was functioning essentially as an operating division of the New York Central, while the other  two railroads continued operating independently  as before. However, of these railroads, the New Haven was the first one into  bankruptcy, making such filing for the final   time in 1961. This would help sink the Penn Central, which later took it over,but was not the final factor. In addition to extensive and intensive passenger   service, another major weakness of the New  Haven was the short haul nature of  its freight  service. This was aggravated by a shrinking traffic base and subsidized competition from highway and air   transportation. While much of the New Haven   is still  in operation, it has been parceled up among several railroads such as Amtrak, the Housatonic Railroad, Bay Colony RR, the MBTA, Metro North, and a few short line railroads. A few of the dual powered FL9  locomotives continue to run. However, the washboard sided MU cars and Budd Rail Diesel Cars, are but a memory, having been replaced by the modern equipment of Amtrak and Metro North Railroad.Be  that as it may, the spirit of the New Haven Railroad lives on  in  the lines remaining in operation, even the Providence and Worcester Railroad, which has grown from a short line into a regional carrier covering much of the New Haven's territory, though largely  via trackage rights.

 

PASSENGER OPERATIONS

These operations, as conducted by the New Haven Railroad, consisted of through line service between New York and Boston, New York and Springfield, and through service between Boston,New York, Philadelphia, Washington and points south,of which the latter used Pennsylvania Station in New York, while all other New Haven trains in and out of New York used Grand Central Terminal. Passenger routes consisted of the following:

1.New York-New Haven-Providence-Boston via the Shore Line.

2.New Haven-Springfield (also as part of an inland route to and from Boston as well as to and from Montreal).

3.Norwalk-Danbury,CT (suburban)

4.Devon-Waterbury(Suburban)

5.Stamford-New Canaan (Suburban)

6.New York-New Haven local(suburban)_

7.Boston-Needham

8.Boston-Readville

9.Boston-Franklin

10.Boston-Stoughton-Providence local.

Noted passenger trains on the New Haven included The Federal, The Yankee Clipper, The Colonial, The Senator, The Merchant,The State of Maine, The Montrealer, The Washingtonian, and The Gilt Edge, to name a few.

A number of these trains used coaches of what are referred to as "American Flyer' cars, which were similar to those used on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, one of the New Haven's passenger connections at New York until 1961, when that railroad quit the business. New Haven's passenger trains were powered by a unique dual mode locomotive built exclusively for that railroad and only now are being  retired from passenger service: the EMD FL9, diesel electric-electric locomotive, of which the New Haven bought 60 in  two groups. The first group were rated at 1750 hp each and the second group came at 1800 hp per unit. Usually used in pairs, the locomotives operated off of third rail into and out of Grand Central terminal as straight electric then changed to diesel power once beyond third rail territory. However, there were times when the locomotives had to operate into Grand Central Terminal on diesel power dual to teething troubles with the third rail pick up shoes attached to the trucks. These locomotives were delivered in the loud red,white and black paint scheme that became the standard under the Patrick McGinnis regime. Even the General Electric Genesis Locomotives built to replace the FL9s are being delivered with some units in this scheme. Another commuter operation in Connecticut keeping the spirit of the New Haven alive is the Shore Fast Line, operating between New Haven and New London. Its locomotives, too, are painted in the New Haven livery. Even though the railroad has been gone since 1969, its spirit lives on in the MTA commuter trains and Amtrak expresses now plying its main lines.