History New York, Westchester and Boston Railway

1 history

1.1 precursors , origins
1.2 construction
1.3 operation
1.4 competition
1.5 liquidation

history
precursors , origins

tammany hall on east 14th street between third avenue , irving place



j.p. morgan

in 1871 southern westchester railroad incorporated run southern edge of westchester county (now bronx) @ harlem river westchester county seat, white plains, along same general route taken nyw&b. 1875, enterprise went foreclosure , liquidated in 1881. in 1872, new york, westchester , boston railway company (nyw&b) incorporated serve areas north of new york city, lines running harlem river throgs neck in bronx, , port chester white plains in westchester county. panic of 1873 denied venture financing construction. entered receivership on march 20, 1875, not emerging until 1904.

starting in 1874 portions of westchester county made part of new york city, process complete 1898, bronx in current configuration. put of nyw&b franchise under control of city of new york — meaning new york democratic organization, tammany hall. in 1901, while nyw&b still in receivership, harlem river & port chester railroad (hr&pc) incorporated build route harlem river port chester, parallel nyw&b route , new york, new haven & hartford railroad(nh) main line. meanwhile, nyw&b emerged receivership on january 14, 1904 , began acquiring additional real estate rights route. in 1906 bankers oakleigh thorne , marsden j. perry bought stock of nyw&b on behalf of millbrook company, holding entity. after panic of 1907, assets of millbrook company transferred on nh $11 million, becoming part of company s emerging consolidated monopoly on rail , water transportation in southern new england. lawsuit between ny&p , nyw&b settled ny&p franchise being acquired nyw&b in 1909 , ny&p being consolidated nyw&b following year. on january 18, 1910, reorganized entity consolidated under control of nh, inheriting business arrangements made while under direct control of financier j.p. morgan.

construction

construction of railroad began in 1909. construction standard nyw&b built exceptional 180th street white plains , through pelham. construction (excluding cost of nyw&b stock) , rolling stock cost more $1.2 million per mile, extraordinary amount in 1910. rails 90 lb/yd (45 kg/m). grades modest, exceeding 1% link nh line south of 180th street. curves gentle, exceeding 6 degrees express tracks @ 1 location in mount vernon, had 8-degree curve.

the stations attractive cast concrete marble interiors, , using high platforms faster passenger loading , unloading. no public roads crossed @ grade, resulted in construction of many costly bridges, tunnels, , viaducts. 180th street columbus avenue line 4 tracks, double track white plains , port chester. 2 stations on white plains line had 4 tracks, although express-train operation using four-track stations did not prove warranted traffic volume.

the extension new rochelle port chester built more economical standard, exemplified wooden platforms , more modest stations. line completed far larchmont in 1921, mamaroneck in 1926, harrison in 1927, rye in 1928, , port chester in december 1929. additional station constructed in white plains @ ridgeway in 1929 serve growing residential area in neighborhood. consisting of 2 side platforms, wooden construction mimicked port chester extension.

operation

nywb s rapid transit cars

passenger service began may 29, 1912. thought commuters trade direct ride gct lower fare more comfortable ride bronx, transfer 5 cent ride on third avenue el manhattan.

given choice between grand central , higher fare or bronx terminal , lower fare, passengers thousands expected switch westchester, stan fischler wrote in 1976 book uptown, downtown: trip through time on new york s subways., nyw&b s all-electric coaches , carpet-smooth track beds failed convince sufficient number of commuters adopt train plus third avenue el transfer route.

franchises required nyw&b operate trains @ minimum frequency of 2 per hour, , ran 3 times frequency during rush hours. trains 1 6 cars in length. traffic grew 2.9 million passengers per year in 1913 14.1 million in 1928. completion of port chester branch in 1929 allowed new haven terminate passenger service on harlem river branch in 1930. freight traffic on line limited. cost savings of not paying high costs of using gct offset lower fares nyw&b charged. in no year of operation able cover interest on bonds, had been guaranteed nh.

competition

with death of j. p. morgan in 1913 competition between nh , nyc became less restrained. nyw&b s white plains line ran 2 miles (3 km) east of harlem division of nyc. harlem division served settled towns , villages along bronx river , commuter trains enjoyed advantage of running directly manhattan. port chester line adjacent nh rails more half of length , 2 miles west of nh s harlem river branch balance. although nh s harlem branch trains terminated @ harlem river terminal, regular nh commuter trains ran grand central. when nh s bankruptcy led separation of ownership of nyw&b new haven, nh s trustee able terminate nyw&b s lease of right of way new rochelle portchester.

the rise of automobile denied railroads revenue benefits growth of suburbs growth had contributed. rapid transit connections available @ harlem river , east 180th street inconvenient compared direct service offered nyc , nh gct. great postwar construction boom , explosion of suburbs came late benefit nyw&b.

liquidation

the nh had been making shortfall in ability of nyw&b meet debt obligations. thus, when nh entered bankruptcy in 1935, nyw&b did well. former new haven general manager clinton l. bardo appointed trustee try turn around fortunes of ailing westchester. trustees of nh bankruptcy , trustees of nyw&b bankruptcy responsible different groups of creditors. liquidation brought them conflict. nyw&b forced cease operating on port chester line enhance revenues of nh parallel service. loss of revenue not offset lower costs. if nyw&b had been left intact, have required new haven pay off bond issue due in 1946. total liquidation answer. bardo died of heart attack in august 1937, before full effect of policies realized. nyw&b ceased operations on december 31, 1937.

there legislative , legal efforts restore service on route in ensuing years. bill create new bronx-westchester railroad authority purchase , operate westchester public benefit made way new york state governor herbert h. lehman s office before pressured new york city mayor laguardia veto bill. successful effort purchase city of new york of track, stations, , right-of-way between 180th street , dyre avenue. after installation of third-rail began operations shuttle service. construction of connecting trackage @ 180th street, commenced operations current irt dyre avenue line.

the rails, steel bridges, , electrical distribution system dismantled provide steel , copper war effort in 1942. sale of other assets, principally real estate, complete 1946, bringing final end corporate entity.

during world war ii, original stilwell mu cars acquired war effort , shipped texas. pantographs removed , cars hauled steam locomotive bring workers city of houston shipyards in pasadena build liberty ships. train locally called shuttle train , operated until end of war.