WWPCM00920
deck "
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railway"  (USA)
1. WWPCM00920/01: unknown edition, c.1925:

d00920sA2 d00920r02 d00920r03

2. WWPCM00920/02: by "USPCC", 1938

d00920j02 d00920sA3 d00920a01 d00920a02
d00920r04 d00920r04b box

3. WWPCM00920/03: by "Brown&Bigelow", 1939

d00920j01 d00920a03 d00920sA d00920r01 d00920r02
with standard joker d04271r1327 d04271r064 d04271r1339 d04271r065 r065box

4. WWPCM00920/04: by "USPCC", 1955

d04334r388a d04334r388b r388box

 
brand "Congress"
d04334j02-2: 216 79
sA: U2615

 

5. WWPCM00920/05: unknown

d00920r05a d00920r05b

HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN AND HARTFORD RAILROAD

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (AAR reporting mark NH) was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States. Commonly referred to as the New Haven, the railroad served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Its primary connections included Boston and New York.
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was formed July 24, 1872 as a consolidation of the New York and New Haven Railroad and Hartford and New Haven Railroad. This included not only the main line from New York City to Springfield, Massachusetts via New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, but also leases of lines including the Shore Line Railway to New London. The New Haven went on to lease more lines and systems, eventually forming a virtual monopoly in New England south of the Boston and Albany Railroad.

The first line of the original system to open was the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, opened from New Haven to Hartford in 1839 and beyond to Springfield in 1844. The New York and New Haven came later, as it ran parallel to the Long Island Sound coast and required many bridges over rivers. It opened in 1848, using trackage rights over the New York and Harlem Railroad (later part of the New York Central Railroad system) from Williamsbridge south to Grand Central Terminal, which served as the New Haven's New York City terminal.

Around the turn of the century, New York investors, led by J.P. Morgan gained control and in 1903, installed Charles Mellen as President. Morgan and Mellen sought a complete monopoly of transportation in New England, puchasing other railroad and steamship and trolley lines. More than 100 independent railroads eventually became part of the system before and during these years, reaching 2,131 miles at its 1929 peak. Substantial improvements to the system were made during the Mellen years, including electrification between New York, and New Haven. But Morgan's expansion left the company overextended and financially weak. It never truly recovered.

Under the stress of the Great Depression, in 1935 the New Haven slipped into bankruptcy, remaining in trusteeship until 1947. Common stock was voided and creditors assumed control.

After 1951 both freight and passenger service lost money. New Haven's earlier expansion had left it with a network of light density branch lines that could not support their maintenance and operating costs. The New Haven't freight business was short-haul, requring a lot of switching costs that could not be recovered in short-distance rates. The New Haven had major commuter train services in New York and Boston (as well as New Haven, Hartford and Providence), but these always lost money, unable to recover their investment providing service just twice a day during rush hour. The death of the New Haven may have been sealed by the building of the Connecticut Turnpike and other interstates. With decades of inadequite investment, the New Haven could not compete against the automobile of the trucker.

In 1954 the flashy Patrick McGinnis led a proxy fight against incumbant president Buck Dumain, vowing to return more of the company's profit to shareholders. McGinnis accomplished this by deferring maintenance. McGinnis also spent money on a flashy new image for the company - dull green and gold trim was replaced by loud black, orange and white. When he departed, 22 months later, he left the company financially wrecked. It once again went into bankruptcy on July 2, 1961.

1970 map, just after the merger into Penn CentralAt the insistence of the ICC, the New Haven was merged with Penn Central on January 1, 1969. Following the bankruptcy of Penn Central, in 1976 a substantial portion of the former New Haven main line between New York and Boston was transferred to Amtrak, and now forms a major portion of the electrified Northeast Corridor, hosting high speed Acela Express and commuter rail service.