The Shore Line Railway was a part of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

system, running east from

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, to

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

along the north shore of

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. It is currently used for commuter service on

ConnDOT The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...

Shore Line East Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and i ...

and regional/express service on

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's high-speed

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

History

Former Shore Line Railway ROW near Pine Orchard, December 2015

The New Haven and New London Railroad was chartered May 1848 to build a line from

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, the east end of the

New York and New Haven Railroad The New York and New Haven Railroad (NY&NH) was a railroad connecting New York City to New Haven, Connecticut, along the shore of Long Island Sound. It opened in 1849, and in 1872 it merged with the Hartford & New Haven Railroad to form the New ...

, east to

on the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and the south end of the

New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad The New London Northern Railroad was a part of the Central Vermont Railway from New London, Connecticut, north to Brattleboro, Vermont. After a long period with the Canadian National Railway, it is now operated by the New England Central Railroad ...

. Construction began in 1850 and the line opened from New Haven to the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

Old Saybrook Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybro ...

on July 1, 1852. Later that month the rest of the line opened, from the other side of the river in

Old Lyme Old Lyme is a coastal town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The main street of the town, Lyme Street, is a historic district with several homes once owned by sea captains. Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is located in Old Lyme and ther ...

east to New London; a

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...

took trains across the river. The New London and Stonington Railroad was chartered May 1852 to continue east from New London to Stonington, the west end of the existing

New York, Providence and Boston Railroad 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-sp ...

. On March 6, 1857 the New Haven and New London merged with the New London and Stonington to form the New Haven, New London and Stonington Railroad. The line west from Stonington opened December 30, 1858, ending at Groton, with another car ferry across the Thames River to New London. This completed the "Shore Line" route between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

; through passenger service began December 12, 1859, with night trains first running August 19, 1861 and

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. ...

s November 11. On November 1, 1859 the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad leased the NHNL&S, giving it a line from

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, to New Haven. In 1864 the NYP&B bought the part east of New London, and the rest was reorganized as the Shore Line Railway. The New York and New Haven Railroad (which became part of the

in 1872) leased it on November 1, 1870. (The NYNH&H acquired the NYP&B in 1892.) Soon after, a bridge was built over the Connecticut River, and in 1889 a bridge opened over the Thames River, directly connecting the end in New London with the NYP&B in Groton. In the early 1890s the line was double-tracked, and some areas had new straighter alignments built. Most prominent was in eastern New Haven and East Haven, where the old alignment took it across many streets

at-grade At-grade may refer to: * At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level * Road junction *Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level * Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross * At-grade railwa ...

. The new line ran further east, requiring a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

to pass under the hills to merge with the NYNH&H main line at Air Line Junction, also the junction with the

Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad The Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad (commonly known simply as The Air Line, known as the New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad before 1875) was a railroad in Connecticut. Envisioned as a direct route between New Haven and Boston, i ...

. Other realignments include a section in Branford, where the old alignment is still partially in use to access the Branford Steam Railroad, as well as smaller sections in

and just east of

Rocky Neck State Park Rocky Neck State Park is a public recreation area on Long Island Sound in the town of East Lyme, Connecticut, United States. The state park's include a tidal river, a broad salt marsh, white sand beaches, rocky shores, and a large stone pavili ...

Niantic Niantic may refer to: * Niantic people, tribe of American Indians * Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'' Ships * ''Niantic'' (whaling vessel), relic of San Francisco Gold Rush *USS ''Ni ...

. The Shore Line Railway was merged into the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad on March 17, 1897, becoming its Shore Line Division. In 1969 the New Haven merged into

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

, and then at the latest the Shore Line was extended along the whole New York City-Boston route. In 1976, Penn Central merged into

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

, and

bought much of the Shore Line, now known as the

, including the former Shore Line Railway. Shore Line East now provides

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

service between New Haven and New London, connecting at New Haven to

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut D ...

New Haven Line The Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line is a commuter rail line running from New Haven, Connecticut to New York City. It joins the Harlem Line at Mount Vernon, New York and continues south to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The New Haven ...

for continuing service to New York City.

References

Railroad History Database
*Philip C. Blakeslee
A Brief History Lines West Of The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co.
(1953)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shore Line Railway Connecticut Predecessors of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Defunct Connecticut railroads Railway companies established in 1864 Railway companies disestablished in 1897 1852 establishments in Connecticut American companies established in 1864 1897 mergers and acquisitions

History

See also

References