Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | North Kingstown, Rhode Island |
Locale | Newport County, Rhode Island, USA |
Dates of operation | 1979 (Old Colony and Newport Scenic Railway) 1997 (Newport Dinner Train) 2014 (as Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad)–present |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Other | |
Website | trainsri |
The Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates on Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. It was formed in 2014-15 from the merger of the for-profit Newport Dinner Train and the nonprofit Old Colony and Newport Scenic Railway.
Scheduled passenger service between Fall River, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island on the Newport Secondary ended in 1938, and the New Haven Railroad and its successors never made large profits from freight service on the line. Penn Central attempted to abandon the line in 1973; three years later, Conrail took over the line and sold the southern section to the state. The state in turned leased its section to the nonprofit, volunteer-run Old Colony and Newport Scenic Railway. [1]
The railroad operated with two GE 45-ton switchers (#84 and #4764) and a volunteer-owned Porter-built 50-ton centercab switcher (#7349). Passenger stock included an ex-Boston and Maine Railroad coach (#74) built in 1904 by the Laconia Car Company and an 1884 (?) parlor car (#73) built as an office car for the Intercolonial Railway in the Maritimes of Canada. An ex-Pennsylvania Railroad N5B caboose and an ex-Southern Railway flatcar were used for work equipment.[ citation needed ]
The Sakonnet River rail bridge was damaged in 1988 and removed in 2007, isolating the line from the national rail network. Despite this, the for-profit Newport Dinner Train began sharing the line in 1997, offering dinner trains and other tourist-based operations. The relationship between the two operators, which had to share the primarily single-track line, was at times rocky. [1]
The Newport Dinner Train began using ex-Branford Steam Railroad GE 44-ton switcher #6 for motive power in 2006; it was brought to the island by a barge. The railroad also owned two dining cars (one ex-Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, the other ex-Pennsylvania Railroad) and an ex-Long Island Railroad parlor car. [2] In October 2006, the railroad purchased two former Wilton Scenic Railroad Budd RDCs. [3]
By early 2013, the dinner train operation was offered for sale.[ citation needed ] It was sold in November 2014 and rebranded as the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad Company. The Old Colony and Newport ceased operations in early 2015 and eventually merged into the Newport and Narragansett Bay. [1]
Number | Builder | Type | Build date | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | General Electric | GE 44-ton switcher | 1951 | Operational | Originally built as General Electric #43 in 1951, it began operating for the Hampton and Branchville Railroad as a freight switcher. [2] The engine was later purchased by the Branford Steam Railroad in North Branford, Connecticut where it worked hauling trap rocks. [2] In 2006, the railroad purchased the engine and it arrived on property on a barge. [2] It was put into service that same year and was renumbered to Newport Dinner Train's #6. [2] |
13/30 | Budd Company | Budd RDC | 1956/1957 | Operational | Both units were purchased from the Wilton Scenic Railroad in Wilton, New Hampshire in 2006, they were brought to the island on a barge and began operating for the railroad that same year. [2] [3] |
Aquidneck Island, officially known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is 37.8 sq mi (98 km2), which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. The state of Rhode Island is named after the island; the United States Board on Geographic Names recognizes Rhode Island as the name for the island, although it is widely referred to as Aquidneck Island in the state and by the island's residents.
A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or observation. Beginning in 1945, dome cars were primarily used in the United States and Canada, though a small number were constructed in Europe for Trans Europ Express service.
The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod. For many years the Old Colony Railroad Company also operated steamboat and ferry lines, including those of the Fall River Line with express train service from Boston to its wharf in Fall River where passengers boarded luxury liners to New York City. The company also briefly operated a railroad line on Martha's Vineyard, as well as the freight-only Union Freight Railroad in Boston. The OC was named after the "Old Colony", the nickname for the Plymouth Colony.
The Sakonnet River is a tidal strait in the state of Rhode Island which flows approximately 14 miles (23 km) between Mount Hope Bay and Rhode Island Sound. It separates Aquidneck Island from the eastern portion of Newport County.
The GE 44-ton switcher is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956. It was designed for industrial and light switching duties, often replacing steam locomotives that had previously been assigned these chores.
The New York, Providence and Boston Railroad, normally called the Stonington Line, was a major part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between New London, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island. It is now part of Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor.
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The GE 80-ton switcher is a diesel-electric locomotive model built by GE Transportation Systems. It is classified as a B-B type locomotive. It was designed for industrial and light switching duties around railheads and ports.
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The Branson Scenic Railway is a heritage railroad in Branson, Missouri. The Ozark Zephyr, Branson Scenic Railway's historic zephyr train, departs from an old depot in downtown Branson and operates in the scenic Ozark Mountains for an approximate 40-mile (64 km) round trip.
The GE 45-ton switcher is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956.
The Fall River Line was a combination steamboat and railroad connection between New York City and Boston that operated between 1847 and 1937. It consisted of a railroad journey between Boston and Fall River, Massachusetts, where passengers would then board steamboats for the journey through Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound to the line's own Hudson River dock in Manhattan. For many years, it was the preferred route to take for travel between the two major cities. The line was extremely popular, and its steamboats were some of the most advanced and luxurious of their day.
The Sakonnet River rail bridge was a swing bridge that spanned the Sakonnet River between Portsmouth and Tiverton, Rhode Island, and provided the only rail link between Aquidneck Island and the mainland. It was closed in 1988 and removed in 2006–07
The Narragansett Pier Railroad was a railroad in southern Rhode Island, running 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from West Kingston to Narragansett Pier. It was built by the Hazard family of Rhode Island to connect their textile mills in Peace Dale to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad at Kingston Station, as well as to ocean-going steamboats at Narragansett Pier. Upon opening in 1876, the railroad also proved crucial in the growth of Narragansett Pier into a major resort. Initially operated at a loss absorbed by the Hazards, by the 1890s the railroad became consistently profitable and handled a brisk passenger business along with freight and mail shipments. The Hazards also operated a connecting steamboat service to Newport.
Charlotte Southern Rail Road is a short line railroad operating in Michigan. It connects Charlotte, Michigan, with the CN rail system. It is a freight system, but its main customer has not received rail traffic since the early 2000s. It is operated by the Adrian and Blissfield Rail Road Company.
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The Yancey Railroad was an American Class III shortline railroad that operated for freight service from a connection with the Clinchfield Railroad at Kona, North Carolina, through Micaville, to Burnsville, 10.6 miles (17.1 km). A short branch ran from Micaville to Bowditch, North Carolina, 2.11 miles (3.40 km). Total mileage was 12.83 miles (20.65 km). Rail was 60–65 pounds and the maximum load limit was 75 tons. Traffic was feldspar, mica, fertilizer, building materials, livestock feed and steel spring wire.
The Warwick Railway was a railroad in Rhode Island, United States. It was originally chartered in 1873 under the name Warwick Railroad, with a route connecting Cranston to Oakland Beach, eight miles (13 km) away. Opened in 1875, the company survived until 1879 when it declared bankruptcy and shut down; it was resurrected in 1880 as the Rhode Island Central Railroad under New York, Providence and Boston Railroad (NYP&B) ownership and extended by two miles (3.2 km) in length. Following the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad's purchase of the NYP&B in 1892, operations continued with steam power until the Rhode Island Central Railroad's 1899 consolidation with the Rhode Island Suburban Railway, at which point the line was electrified and trolleys replaced steam locomotives. Control subsequently passed to the United Electric Railways in 1921. Passenger trolley service was discontinued in 1935, but freight service continued; the following year, the line was cut back from its 10 mile maximum length to just two miles (3.2 km).