New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad

System map, 1918 (not including its temporary acquisition of theNY&OW)
A New Haven Railroad train in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1962
Overview
Headquarters	New Haven, Connecticut
Reporting mark	NH
Locale	Connecticut Massachusetts New York Rhode Island
Dates of operation	1872–1968
Successor	Penn Central Transportation Company
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Length	2,133 miles (3,433 kilometers)

TheNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (reporting markNH), commonly known asThe Consolidated, or simply as theNew Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in theNew England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of theNew York and New Haven andHartford and New Haven railroads, the company had near-total dominance of railroad traffic in Southern New England for the first half of the 20th century.

Beginning in the 1890s and accelerating in 1903, New York bankerJ. P. Morgan sought to monopolize New England transportation by arranging the NH's acquisition of 50 companies, including other railroads and steamship lines, and building a network of electrified trolley lines that provided interurban transportation for all of southern New England. By 1912, the New Haven operated more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of track, with 120,000 employees, and practically monopolized traffic in a wide swath from Boston to New York City.

This quest for monopoly angeredProgressive Era reformers, alienated public opinion, raised the cost of acquiring other companies and increased the railroad's construction costs. The company's debt soared from $14 million in 1903 to $242 million in 1913, while the advent of automobiles, trucks and buses reduced its profits.^[1] Also in 1914, the federal government filed an antitrust lawsuit that forced the NH to divest its trolley systems, however, in practice this did not ultimately occur.^[2][3]

The line became bankrupt in 1935. It emerged from bankruptcy, albeit reduced in scope, in 1947, only to go bankrupt again in 1961. In 1969, its rail assets were merged with thePenn Central system,^[4] formed a year earlier by the merger of theNew York Central Railroad andPennsylvania Railroad. Already a poorly conceived merger, Penn Centralwent bankrupt in 1970, becoming the largest U.S. bankruptcy until theEnron Corporation superseded it in 2001. The remnants of the system now compriseMetro-North Railroad'sNew Haven Line, much of the northern leg ofAmtrak'sNortheast Corridor,Connecticut'sShore Line East andHartford Line, parts of theMBTA, and numerous freight operators such asCSX and theProvidence and Worcester Railroad. The majority of the surviving system is now owned publicly by the states ofConnecticut,Rhode Island, andMassachusetts, with other surviving segments owned by freight railroads; many abandoned lines have been converted intorail trails.

The New Haven system was formed by the merger of two railroads that intersected inNew Haven, Connecticut: theHartford and New Haven Railroad, which began service between New Haven andHartford in 1839 and reachedSpringfield, Massachusetts, in 1844, and theNew York and New Haven Railroad, which opened in 1848 between its namesake cities.^[5] The two companies had a history of cooperation; for a time, they jointly leased theNew Haven and Northampton Railroad and coordinated their steamship services with each other.^[5][6]

An initial merger attempt between the two in 1870 was rejected by theConnecticut General Assembly, largely over fears that the merged railroad would form a monopoly.^[7] But the legislature approved a second attempt just two years later, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was formed on July 24, 1872.^[8][9] The newly combined railroad owned a main line fromNew York City to Springfield via New Haven and Hartford, and also reachedNew London, Connecticut via a lease of theShore Line Railway (leased in 1870 by the New York and New Haven Railroad).^[10]

The company later leased more lines and systems, eventually forming a virtualmonopoly inNew England south of theBoston and Albany Railroad.^[10] In 1882, the railroad leased the Boston, New York and Airline Railroad, the last railroad in New Haven not controlled by the NYNH&H. This new acquisition gave the New Haven Railroad a connection toWillimantic, Connecticut.^[11] Two more companies, theNaugatuck Railroad and theConnecticut Valley Railroad, were leased by the New Haven in 1887.^[12] With these two leases, the New Haven was in control of 10 of the 22 railroads in Connecticut at the time.^[12]

Around the beginning of the 20th century, New York investors led byJ. P. Morgan gained control, and in 1903 installedCharles S. Mellen as President.^[13]Charles Francis Murphy's New York Contracting and Trucking company was awarded a $6 million contract in 1904 (equal to $209,977,778 today) to build rail lines in the Bronx for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. An executive at the railroad said the contract was awarded to avoid friction with New York City’sTammany Hall political machine. In response to this contract, theNew York State Legislature amended the city's charter so that franchise-awarding power was removed from the city council and given to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which only became defunct in 1989.^[14] Morgan and Mellen achieved a complete monopoly of transportation in southern New England, purchasing other railroads 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, includingelectrification between New York and New Haven. Morgan and Mellen went further and attempted to acquire or neutralize competition from other railroads in New England, including theNew York Central's Boston and Albany Railroad, theRutland Railroad, theMaine Central Railroad, and theBoston and Maine Railroad. But the Morgan-Mellen expansion left the company overextended and financially weak.

In 1914, 21 directors and ex-directors of the railroad were indicted for "conspiracy to monopolize interstate commerce by acquiring the control of practically all the transportation facilities of New England."^[15]

In 1925, the railroad created theNew England Transportation Company as a subsidiary to operate buses and trucks on routes where rail service was no longer profitable.^[16]

Under the stress of theGreat Depression the company became bankrupt in 1935, remaining in trusteeship until 1947. Common stock was voided and creditors assumed control. During the88 stations case, the railroad closed 88 stations inMassachusetts and 5 in Rhode Island in 1938, and unsuccessfully attempted to abandon the Boston-area portion of the Old Colony Division. The twelve-year reorganization resulted in "eightSupreme Court decisions, fourteencircuit court decisions, fivedistrict court decisions, and elevenICC reports."^[18]: 862 During the reorganization, over $300 million (equivalent to $4,200,000,000 in 2024) was invested in capital improvement, including locomotives and other rolling stock, tracks, bridges, and railroad facilities.^[19] The railroad emerged in September 1947 under a reorganization plan approved in federal court, without the vast majority of its previous non-railroad interests, and with a number of unprofitable passenger operations on marginal branches replaced with bus service.^[20][21]

In 1948, the company operated 644 locomotives, 1,602 passenger cars and 8,796 freight cars on 1,581 miles of track.^[22] After 1951, both freight and passenger service lost money. The earlier expansion had left NH with a network of low-density branch lines that could not pay their own maintenance and operating costs. The freight business was short-haul, requiring switching costs that could not be recovered in short-distance rates. They operated major commuter train services in New York and Boston (as well as New Haven, Hartford and Providence), but these had always lost money; though heavily patronized, these services operated only during the morning and eveningrush hours, and were unable to recover their infrastructure costs. The demise of the New Haven was likely hastened by the 1958 opening of theConnecticut Turnpike, largely paralleling the railroad’s mainline across the state, and the subsequent construction of other interstate highways. With decades of inadequate investment, the New Haven could not compete against automobiles or trucks.

In 1954,Patrick B. McGinnis led aproxy fight against incumbent presidentFrederic C. "Buck" Dumaine Jr., vowing to return more of the company's profit to shareholders. McGinnis won control of the railroad and appointed Arthur V. McGowan, a longtime acquaintance, Vice President. McGinnis attempted to accomplish many of his financial goals by deferring all but the most essential maintenance.^[23] Under McGinnis,Knoll Associates was retained to design a new visual identity for the company. Green and gold trim on rolling stock was replaced by black, red-orange and white, accompanied by a stylized "NH" emblem. Knoll employed architectMarcel Breuer to design the interiors and exterior styling of the three experimental trainsets – theDan'l Webster,John Quincy Adams, andRoger Williams – that were ordered in 1955. Breuer also designed new station buildings forRye andNew London, neither of which were built, as well as the interior of a never-built design for articulated commuter coaches.^[24] McGinnis himself could be found touring the railroad on hishirail equipped Cadillac and encouraging thrift on the part of employees even as his own compensation skyrocketed.^[25] When McGinnis departed in 1956, ejected from leadership by furious stockholders, he left the company financially wrecked, a situation exacerbated by severe damage from the1955 Connecticut floods. McGinnis proceeded to similarly damage the Boston and Maine Railroad before ending up in federal prison.^[25]

In 1959, the New Haven discontinued passenger service on theOld Colony Railroad network in southeastern Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]} That year, the company reported close to $11 million in losses. Asked by the Connecticut Public Utilities Commission in February 1960 if the company's survival was in imminent danger, the New Haven's comptroller replied, "Yes, even with the best of management".^[26] Continuing financial problems forced the New Haven into bankruptcy on July 7, 1961, and federal court judgeRobert P. Anderson assumedtrusteeship.^[27] The railroad reported it would have only $9,262,000 in funds to cover expenses of $33,480,000 at the year's end. Company president George Alpert blamed "government subsidies direct and indirect to our competitors, and inequitable taxes" for the railroad's deficits, pointing to billions of dollars in federal funding for highways and airports.^[27]

At the insistence of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the New Haven was merged intoPenn Central on December 31, 1968, ending rail operations by the corporation. Penn Centralwas bankrupt by 1970 and the New Haven corporate entity remained in existence throughout the 1970s as the Trustee of the Estate pursued just payment from Penn Central for the New Haven's assets. Leased by the New Haven since before 1900, theProvidence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) successfully exited its lease under Penn Central and resumed operating its own line in 1973.^[28]

A substantial portion of the former New Haven main line between New York and Boston was transferred toAmtrak in 1976 and now forms the northern leg of theelectrifiedNortheast Corridor, hosting high-speedAcela Express andregional rail service. The main line betweenNew Rochelle and New Haven is jointly owned by the state ofConnecticut and theMetropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, and is served by theMetro-North Railroad’sNew Haven Line andShore Line East, providing commuter service from Manhattan’sGrand Central Terminal as far eastward as New London, Connecticut. The New Haven Line is coded red on Metro-North timetables and system maps, a nod to the red livery used by the New Haven for the last decade of its history.MBTA'sProvidence/Stoughton Line provides commuter service betweenProvidence andSouth Station in Boston.

Amtrak took over passenger service on theNew Haven–Springfield Line in 1976, and was joined by the state of Connecticut'sHartford Line in 2018.

On August 28, 1980,American Financial Enterprises, Inc., acquired the remaining assets of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company when the plan for reorganization was approved by the court and the company was reorganized. This brought to an end the 108-year corporate history of the storied railroad, and the end to the 19-year saga of its second bankruptcy reorganization. American Financial Enterprises would become the largest single stockholder of Penn Central Company shares by the mid-1990s, controlling 32% of the stock of the company.

Freight operations on former New Haven lines passed toConrail with its government-overseen creation on April 1, 1976. During the subsequent 23 years, Conrail withdrew from much of that territory, abandoning some track and handing other lines over to the Providence & Worcester, Bay Colony, Boston & Maine, Connecticut Central, Pioneer Valley, Housatonic and Connecticut Southern railroads. Those lines still operated by Conrail in 1999 became part ofCSX Transportation as the result of the breakup of the Conrail system. The state of Connecticut frequently alludes to the New Haven in its modern transportation projects; much of the state’s commuter equipment is painted in McGinnis-era livery, while the iconic "NH" logo appears on everything from rolling stock, station signage, to tourism materials for the city of New Haven itself.

TheConnecticut Department of Transportation has painted its diesel commuter rail locomotives used on the non-electrified Danbury and Waterbury Metro-North branches, as well as its Shore Line East operation, in the "McGinnis Scheme," composed of white, black, and orange-red stripes with the iconic NH logo.^[29] Although a new livery was introduced with the opening of theHartford Line commuter service in 2018, much of its equipment is shared withShore Line East, of which some continue to bear the McGinnis livery and the rest have been repainted into the new "CT Rail" livery.^[29] All of these lines were formerly owned by the New Haven.

TheValley Railroad, a preservation line based in Essex, Connecticut that runs both steam and diesel traction, has painted the authentic script-lettering insignia of the original "New York, New Haven and Hartford" railroad on the tenders of its resident steam locomotives, 2-8-0 Consolidation type Number 97 and 2-8-2 Mikado type number 40. There is a third steam locomotive in restoration to running order; a Chinese SY-class Mikado, formerly known as the 1658, it is being renumbered and painted as New Haven 3025, and is to be based on a Mikado-type engine that was typical to the New Haven.

The name of theHartford Yard Goats Minor League Baseball team reflects the old New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad history and the design of its logo is based on the original NYNHH logo. The team plays in downtown Hartford atDunkin' Donuts Park, which is adjacent toHartford Yard, originally built by NYNHH.

This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Passenger trains ran between Grand Central Terminal and Boston's South Station viaProvidence,Springfield orWillimantic.^[30]
• Several passenger trains a day, including the overnightFederal, ran betweenWashington, D.C. and New York (Penn Station) via PRR and on to Boston.
• Passenger service operated from Grand Central Terminal toHartford,Springfield and beyond.
• The premier New York–Boston passenger service was theMerchants Limited, leaving Grand Central and South Station simultaneously at 5 PM. Also prominent was theYankee Clipper,^[31] with 1 PM departures. For many years these trains carried no coaches, onlyparlor cars, dining andlounge cars.

NH introduced ideas for passenger rail travel, including early use ofrestaurant andparlor cars in the steam era, and more during the transition to diesel. NH was a pioneer in many ways; in streamliners with theComet, in the use ofdiesel multiple units (DMUs) in the U.S. with both Budd's regularBudd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) and the all-RDCRoger Williams trainset, in the use of rail-adapted buses, in lightweight trains such as theTrain-X-equippedDan'l Webster, and in experimentation withTalgo-type (passive tilt) equipment on the trainJohn Quincy Adams.

An audacious experiment was theUAC TurboTrain, which withpassive tilt,turbine engines and light weight attempted to revolutionize medium—distance railway travel in the U.S. Sponsored by theU.S. Department of Transportation, the Turbo Train holds the U.S.railway speed record of 170 mph, set in 1968. The NH never operated the Turbo in revenue service, as the NH was purchased by PC, which operated the train.

Other passenger trains:^[32][33]

• Ambassador (New York-Montreal)
• Bankers (New York–Springfield)
• Bar Harbor Express (Washington, D.C.-Ellsworth, Maine)(overnight; all-Pullman)(summer only)
• Bay State (New York–Boston)
• Berkshire (New York–Danbury–Pittsfield)
• Bostonian (New York–Boston)
• Buttermilk Bay (Boston-Hyannis, and -Woods Hole)
• Colonial (Washington–Boston)
• Commander (New York–Boston)
• Connecticut Yankee (New York-Quebec City) viaBoston & Maine (B&M),Quebec Central Railway
• Cranberry (Boston-Hyannis, and -Woods Hole)
• Dan'l Webster (New York–Boston)
• Day Cape Codder (New York–Hyannis/Woods Hole)(summer only)
• Day White Mountains (New York–Berlin, New Hampshire via B&M)
• East Wind (Washington, D.C.–Portland, Maine, viaPRR and B&M)(summer only)^[34]
• Federal (Washington, D.C.–Boston)(overnight)
• Forty–Second Street (New York–Boston)
• Gilt Edge (New York–Boston)
• Hell Gate Express (New York (Penn Station)–Boston)
• Housatonic (New York–Danbury–Pittsfield)
• Litchfield (New York–Danbury–Pittsfield)
• Mayflower (New York–Boston)
• Merchants Limited (New York–Boston)
• Montrealer (Washington, D.C.–Montreal, via PRR,Canadian National (CN),Central Vermont Railway (CV), and B&M)(overnight)
• Murray Hill (New York–Boston)
• Narragansett (New York–Boston)(overnight)
• Nathan Hale (New York–White River Junction)(overnight)
• Naugatuck (New York–Winsted, Connecticut)
• Neptune (New York–Hyannis/Woods Hole)(summer only)
• New Yorker (New York–Boston)
• Night Cape Codder (New York–Hyannis/Woods Hole)(overnight, summer only)
• Night White Mountains (Washington, D.C.-Bretton Woods)(overnight, summer only)
• North Wind (New York-Bretton Woods)(summer only)
• Nutmeg (Boston-Franklin-Hartford-Waterbury)
• Owl (New York–Boston)(overnight)
• Patriot (Washington, D.C.–Boston)
• Pilgrim (Philadelphia–Boston)(overnight)
• Puritan (New York–Boston)
• Quaker (Philadelphia–Boston)(overnight)
• Sand Dune (Boston-Hyannis, and -Woods Hole)
• Senator (Washington, D.C.–Boston)
• Shoreliner (New York–Boston)
• State of Maine (New York–Portland/Bangor via B&M andMaine Central Railroad or MEC)^[34](overnight)
• Valley Express (New York-White River Junction)
• Washingtonian (Montreal–Washington, D.C., via PRR, CN, CV and B&M)(overnight)
• William Penn (Philadelphia–Boston)(overnight)
• Yankee Clipper (New York–Boston)

• Commuter service from New York ran throughNew Rochelle toStamford,New Canaan,Danbury (and on toPittsfield), and throughBridgeport toNew Haven andWaterbury (and on toHartford andWinsted).
• Commuter service from Boston went to destinations on the OC system ofGreenbush,Plymouth,Brockton/Campello,Middleboro,Hyannis/Woods Hole onCape Cod,Fall River,Newport,New Bedford andProvidence,Woonsocket, Needham Heights, West Medway andDedham.

Beginning November 21, 1914, the railroad operated special trains to bring football fans to and from the newYale Bowl stadium in New Haven. Passengers rode extra trains from Springfield, Boston, and especially New York to the New Haven Union Station, where they transferred to trolleys for the 2-mile (3.2 km) ride to the Bowl.^[35] On November 21, 1922, for example, such trains carried more than 50,000 passengers.^[36] "There is nothing which can be compared with the New Haven's football movement except a record of one of the mass-movements incidental to the European war," one observer wrote in 1916.^[37]

• Major freight yards were atSouth Boston,Taunton,Fall River,New Bedford,Providence (Northup Avenue Yard),Worcester,Springfield,Hartford,Waterbury,New Haven (the majorCedar Hill humpclassification yard), Maybrook (another hump yard and interchange point for western connections), New YorkHarlem River and New YorkBay Ridge (where interchange was made with the PRR and other railroads inNew Jersey, via barge (car float)).
• Multiple through freight trains traveled at night betweenNew York orMaybrook and Cedar Hill yard and on toBoston. Other through freights served the yards above as well as intermediate points and also State Line (New York Central interchange),Brockton,Framingham andLowell (B&M interchange for traffic for Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River).

This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(November 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• EMD FL9 – a dual-power electro-diesel locomotive
• EP-5 electric locomotive
• FM P-12-42 – a streamlined locomotive
• Joy Steamship Company
• List of New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad precursors

• Turner, Gregg M.; Jacobus, Melancthon W. (1986). Jensen, Oliver (ed.).Connecticut Railroads: An Illustrated History. Hartford, Connecticut: Connecticut Historical Society.ISBN 0940748894.

• Appleton, Edward (1871).History of the Railways of Massachusetts.
• Blakeslee, Philip C. (1953).A Brief History Lines West Of The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co.
• Doughty, Geoffrey H. (2013). "What to do with the New Haven Railroad?".Railroad History. Vol. 20, no. 9. pp. 10–27. Covers the railroad's history from 1951 to 1995.
• Foster, George H. (1989).Splendor sailed the Sound: The New Haven Railroad and the Fall River Line. Potentials.ISBN 9780962467400. Details the company's passenger boats
• Karr, Ronald Dale (1989).Lost Railroads of New England.Branch Line Press.ISBN 0-942147-04-9.
• Kirkland, Edward Chase (1948).Men, Cities and Transportation, A Study of New England History 1820-1900. Vol. 2. pp. 72–110,288–306.
• Middleton, William D.; Smerk, George M.; Diehl, Roberta L. (2007).Encyclopedia of North American Railroads. pp. 742–45.
• Swanberg, J.W. (1988).New Haven Power 1838–1968: Steam, Diesel, Electric, Mu's, Trolleys, Motor Cars, Buses, & Boats. Medina: Alvin F. Staufer.ISBN 1-112-89975-8.
• Weller, John L. (1969).The New Haven Railroad: its rise and fall. New York, Hastings House.ISBN 9780803850170.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

• New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Association
• New York New Haven And Hartford Railroad Company Stations (complete listing by branch)
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation:
  • HAER No. CT-8, "New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Automatic Signalization System, Long Island Sound shoreline between Stamford & New Haven, Stamford, Fairfield County, CT", 45 photos, 30 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
  • HAER No. NY-299, "New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad, Shell Interlocking Tower, New Haven Milepost 16, approximately 100 feet east of New Rochelle Junction, New Rochelle, Westchester County, NY", 21 photos, 22 data pages, 4 photo caption pages
• Finding aid for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Records at theUniversity of Connecticut Archives and Special Collections
• New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company records at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.
• A Great Railroad at Work (1942 documentary on New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company)

• New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
• Defunct Connecticut railroads
• Defunct Massachusetts railroads
• Defunct New York (state) railroads
• Defunct Rhode Island railroads
• Former Class I railroads in the United States
• Predecessors of Conrail
• Railway companies established in 1872
• Railway companies disestablished in 1968
• Standard-gauge railways in the United States
• 1968 disestablishments in Connecticut
• 1872 establishments in Connecticut
• Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2022
• Use American English from August 2022
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from March 2023
• Articles needing additional references from March 2007
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles needing additional references from November 2021
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension