Bristol County, Massachusetts - Chapter 6: The Steam Railroad Within the County, Public Utilities, Etc, 1924

The steam railroad story of Bristol county can be traced back by means of some of its ramifications almost a century, to the time when wood-burning engines were in use, and the first of the passenger cars were in shape and size like the stage coaches that themselves were slowly giving way to the iron rail and the more modern mode of travel. The history of the railroad companies here had beginnings in the early thirties, and has progressed to the present hour, but only through a most intricate network of changes, transfers and consolidations, wherein a score of old railroad institutions have altogether lost their former title, and become amalgamated with those successive companies that have eventually merged with the later corporations. No comparative figures are at hand, but it is doubtful if any other county in New England has a record at all similar to Bristol in this one regard.

In the following statistical narrative, no special effort has been made to recount the history in detail of any one railroad, nor that of any of the branches of the county railroads that have shared in the transportation record of the State outside these bounds - like the Granite and the Agricultural lines, for example. Such a narrative would be voluminous. Endeavor has been made to recall those lines, solely, that have operated within the county; and it is through the courtesy of Mr. A. P. Russell, Valuation Counsel of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and of Mr. H. E. Astley, superintendent of the Taunton Division of that road, that the following facts have been ascertained.

The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company is now the controlling corporation of the steam railroad institutions of this county; and the following, singly and in groups, are the smaller railroads that, after many changes in their own names and organizations, form, some of them, links in the chain, most of them separate chains, but all finally to be attached to the present central organization.

First, let the present-day statement of basic fact be made that the Old Colony Railroad Company, a title that will most frequently appear, is leased to and operated by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, that lease expiring in the year 1992, the date of the present incorporation being March 7, 1872, and of the organization, October 1, 1872. The present road was operated by the Old Colony Railroad Company until March, 1893, and from that time to the present by the company now in control.

The Old Colony Railroad Company that was chartered March 16, 1844, to build a railroad from Boston to Plymouth, was first opened for traffic, November 10, 1845. During a succession of years a number of roads were built by it outside this county; and eventually, on March 26, 1854, when the Fall River railroad became consolidated with it, the former name was changed to Old Colony & Fall River Railroad Company. Again, on March 27, 1872, the old name, Old Colony Railroad Company, was the one used for incorporating, when the Old Colony & Newport Railway Company and the Cape Cod Railway Company united and formed the one corporation. Previously, in 1838, an Old Colony Railroad Corporation had been formed, and its name had been changed in 1839 to the New Bedford & Taunton Railroad Company, and this road will be referred to later.

The Taunton Branch Railroad Company, one of the earliest, was incorporated in 1835, its road from Mansfield to Taunton, about ten miles, being operated in 1836, when joint use was obtained, with the New Bedford and the Fall River corporation, of the road from Mansfield to New Bedford. The road from Attleboro to Attleboro Junction was opened under this control August 1, 1871. The railroad of the Weir Branch Corporation (incorporated 1847) and its own properties consolidated in 1874 with the New Bedford Railroad Company (No. 1), as New Bedford Railroad Company (No. 2).

The New Bedford Railroad Company (No. 1), incorporated in 1873, was that year deeded to the New Bedford Railroad Corporation, that, incorporated in 1839, first opened its road from Taunton to New Bedford, July 2, 1840. In 1873 also, lease was given the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg Railroad Company, and the extension of the road was made in New Bedford to the steamboat wharf.

The New Bedford Railroad Company (No. 2) was also incorporated in 1873, and it was that year leased to the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg Railroad Company; and it was consolidated with it in 1876 as the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg & New Bedford Railroad. This road, January 31, 1879, leased its property to the Old Colony Railroad Company for 99 years from that date; and on March 6, 1883, it was united with the Old Colony Railroad Company under the name of the latter.

The Fall River Branch Railroad Company, incorporated March 4, 1844, opened its branch from Central street in Fall River to Myricks (about 10.8 miles), June 9, 1845, this road consolidating in 1846 with the Middleboro Corporation as the United Middleboro Corporation. Mean-. time the Fall River Railroad Company (No. 1) had opened its branch from South Braintree to Myricks, and from Central street, Fall River, to the steamboat wharf (about 30.5 miles) December 21, 1846.

The Fall River Railroad Company (No. 1), incorporated April 16, 1846, authorized the United Corporation of the Middleboro Railroad Corporation with the Fall River Branch Railroad Company and the Randolph & Bridgewater Railroad Corporation. These old Middleboro companies were the predecessors of the Middleboro and Taunton Railroad Corporation, incorporated in 1853, which owned and operated the road extending from Middleboro to Middleboro Junction, eight miles in length; it conveyed its property and franchise to the Old Colony Railroad Company in 1874.

By an Act of March 25, 1854, the Fall River Railroad company (No. 1) was authorized to unite with the Old Colony Corporation, under the name of the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad Company, and August 5, 1863, the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad Company and the Newport and Fall River Railroad Company (incorporated in 1846) united into one company under the name of the Old Colony and Newport Railway Company. Its road, extending from Central street, Fall River, to Newport (about 19 miles), was opened February 5, 1864. Three years later, the Fall River and Warren Railroad Company was incorporated, which authorized the construction of the road from the Rhode Island State line in Swansea, to Fall River. This road united with a road of reversed title, the Warren and Fall River Railroad Company, in 1862, as the Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad Company; the latter was deeded to the Old Colony Railroad Company in 1875.

The Dighton and Somerset Railroad Company, that was incorporated February, 1863, opened from Mayflower Park to Stoughton Junction, and from North Easton to Somerset Junction (about 32.8 miles) September 24, 1866. Operated by the Boston and Providence Corporation in 1855, it was deeded to the Old Colony and Newport Railway Company in 1879. A short road that had been deeded to it in 1872 was the Easton Branch Railroad from Stoughton to North Easton, that had been opened May 16, 1855.

The Fairhaven Branch Railroad Company, incorporated May 1, 1849, began to operate its road, Fairhaven to Tremont (about 15 miles), October 2, 1854; and the next year, the proprietors of the New Bedford and Fairhaven Ferry (incorporated 1832) opened their means of travel. The Fairhaven Branch was merged with the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad Corporation July 1, 1861.

The Attleboro Branch Railroad Company was incorporated March 19, 1870, and constructed a road from the Boston and Providence railroad to North Attleboro. The road was operated in January, 1871, and was leased to the Boston and Providence Railroad Corporation. This lease was transferred to the Old Colony Railroad Company in 1888, and it ceased to operate as a steam railroad in 1903. The Boston and Providence itself was leased to the Old Colony in 1888, and that lease was assumed by the present railroad corporation.

In brief, these are the main facts concerning other smaller lines that have been absorbed: The Mansfield and Framingham Railway Company Mansfield to South Framingham: (about 21 miles), was operated May 1, 1870; and the New Bedford Railroad Company, Wamsutta street to Steamboat wharf, was opened July 1, 1873. In 1881 the Old Colony Railroad Company constructed the branch from Whittenton Junction to Whittenton Mills, and in September, 1882, an extension was made from Whittenton Mills to Raynham. On April 1 of that year the Old Colony Railroad Company leased the railroad and property of the Fall River Railroad Company (No. 2), from Watuppa to Mount Pleasant, for 99 years; and on November 12, 1896, the latter company conveyed its property and franchises to the Old Colony Railroad Company - the branch from Matfield to Easton having been opened January 1, 1888. A branch was opened for travel by the Old Colony Railroad Company from Walpole Junction to North Attleboro, December 1, 1890.

One of the early connecting links of the seventies, and that much interested the county, was the following: In 1872 the Old Colony and Newport Railway Company, mention of which has been made, was authorized to construct a joint highway and railroad bridge across Taunton Great river, known as Slade's Ferry bridge, from Fall River to Somerset; and the Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad Company was also authorized to extend the railroad in Somerset to the west end of the bridge. Later, the bridge was constructed by the Old Colony Railroad Company, and opened December 6, 1875; and the railroad from the west end of the bridge to the Fall River, Warren and Providence railroad was also constructed by the Old Colony Railroad Company, and opened at the same time. The old ferry from Brayton Point to Fall River, operated by the Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad Company, was then discontinued. All the stocks and bonds of the latter railroad were purchased in 1873 by the Boston and Providence Railroad Corporation, and these were transferred to the Old Colony Railroad Company December 1, 1875, and the legal title was passed to the latter company in 1892.

As to the merging of the railroad with various steamboat interests: In 1874, the Old Colony Railroad Company was authorized to hold shares in the capital stock of the steamboat companies (in connection with its railroad) to the islands in Vineyard Sound, or to New York City. Therefore, in 1886, the Nantucket and Cape Cod Steamboat Company was consolidated with the New Bedford, Vineyard and Nantasket Steamboat Company, under the name of the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamboat Company. In 1893, upon the lease of the Old Colony Railroad Company to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, the former owned four hundred shares of the stock of the steamboat company. This stock was sold in 1910 to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, which then acquired the balance of the stock of the steamboat company, and it is now owned by the New England Navigation Company.

Again, in 1874, the Old Colony Railroad Company purchased 7500 shares, more than a majority of the capital stock of the Old Colony Steamboat company; and on March 1, 1893, at the time of the transfer of the interests of the old road to the new, the former secured 9673 shares of a total of 12,000 shares, and the balance of the stock being acquired by it, on November 13, 1903, it was sold to the New England Navigation Company.

Steamboat service between Fall River and New York was established in 1845 by Colonel Durfee and his brother, of Fall River, the title being the Bay State Steamboat Company. In 1863 the Bay State Steamboat Company transferred its interests to the Boston, Newport and New York Steamboat Company, the terminal of the new company being Newport - this being the year the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad Company completed its extension to Newport. After the Civil War, Fall River Was again made the terminus of the route, when the Boston, Newport and New York Steamboat Company and the Bristol Line consolidated. In 1874 the Old Colony Steamboat Company took control, and direction of the New Bedford line was secured in 1879. These, in their turn, were taken over by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad.