STATEMENT OF FACTS 
 
 RESPECTING THE 
 
 NEW YORK AND BOSTON 
 
 Air Xm Railroad 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 CONNECTIONS. 
 
 AUGUST, 1864. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PRESS OF GEO. C. RAND & AYERY, 3 CORNHILL. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF 
 ILLINOIS LIBRARY 
 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 oak Street 
 
 j 
 
 
 / 
 
STATEMENT OF FACTS 
 
 RESPECTING THE 
 
 NEW YORK AND BOSTON 
 
 Air Ike JUtlroatl 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 CONNECTIONS. 
 
 -A. TT Gr TT S T , 1864. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PRESS OF GEO. C. RAND & AVERY, 3 CORNTIILL. 
 
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 4 
 

 STATEMENT OF FACTS 
 
 
 RESPECTING THE 
 
 Dxfo fork artb Boston or ^ir fine Jinilroak. 
 
 The origination of the idea of building a direct railroad 
 between New York and Boston cannot be claimed by any one 
 person, as it cannot now be proved who was the ^irst who 
 talked of a direct road between the two places. The pro- 
 jectors of the first railroads in New England did not dare 
 propose an enterprise of such magnitude ; it was enough for 
 them to establish such lines as the Boston and Worcester, the 
 Boston and Providence, the Boston and Lowell, and the East- 
 ern Railroads. The North, the South, the East, and the 
 West were thus to be accommodated. But even before these 
 projects were half completed it was talked of that a direct 
 line from Boston towards New York city would be an enter- 
 prise of more commercial value than either of them. Much 
 prejudice, however, was excited against this direct line as 
 tending to concentrate all business in New York city. Indeed, 
 some prejudice was made even against constructing the Bos- 
 ton and Providence Railroad, as having the same tendency, 
 the progress made in steamboat transportation being such 
 as to lead many to believe that all the New England trade 
 would find its market in New York city. However, about 
 the years 1846 and 1847, the fever , if such it can be called, 
 reached a crisis, and petitions were sent into the Legislatures 
 of Massachusetts and Connecticut for charters for a through 
 line. In Connecticut the charter was granted, but in the 
 
 j 
 
4 
 
 States of Rhode Island and Massachusetts much opposition 
 was excited, and in Massachusetts other lines were projected, 
 thus endeavoring to supplant the true line, petitioned for by 
 Otis Pettee and others. Although charters were granted in 
 Connecticut in 1846 and in 1849, and in Rhode Island in 1850, 
 it was not till 1855 that the Massachusetts Legislature com- 
 pleted the legislation, and authorized the union of the whole 
 line as first projected. This union was completed in the fall 
 of 1855, and the whole line from Boston to New Haven be- 
 came united under one board of directors. The New York 
 and New Haven road having at this time been constructed 
 by a separate corporation. 
 
 The route of the road from New Haven towards Boston has 
 been laid out and selected with direct reference to securing the 
 largest amount of the local business that may exist within such 
 limits as loill not sacrifice directness to accommodate it. The 
 city of Middletown, the centre of a large manufacturing in- 
 terest and trade, is very near a true straight line between 
 New Haven and Boston, and will afford a large amount of 
 business both ways to this- line. Willimantic, a large manu- 
 facturing place, is almost on an air line drawn between New 
 York and Boston ; it concentrates the business of two lines 
 of railroad already constructed, the New London and 
 Palmer and the Hartford and Providence roads, both of 
 which must be considered as branches to the New York and 
 Boston road. In locating the route, as we approach the 
 valley of the Quinebaug River and the Norwich and Wor- 
 cester Railroad, we have in view two objects : First, to ap- 
 proach as near as possible to the manufacturing population, 
 and also to cut the Norwich and Worcester road as far south 
 as practicable (not to increase distance) so as to secure as 
 much business as possible, at the same time to not lose the 
 business that may come do wii the Norwich and Worcester 
 Railroad from Worcester and all the country north, even to 
 the northern part of New Hampshire. A connection with the 
 Norwich road at or fieair Daysville is of very great impor- 
 tance, as by it we shorteii the : distance to Boston for their 
 steamboat train, and indeed for all the local travel from Nor- 
 wich and New London und other places towards Boston about 
 
5 
 
 fifteen miles. Also, for all travel from the North which 
 may wish to go to New York by rail, we shorten the distance 
 between^nine or ten miles, thus restoring more to the npper 
 part of the Norwich and Worcester road than we send off 
 towards Boston from the lower part. The Five Mile River 
 Factories are accommodated directly. Also, the best manu- 
 facturing region in Rhode Island, the Pascoag Yalley and 
 Woonsocket Factories. Woonsocket is a perfect nest of fac- 
 tories, the largest, lately built by Edward Harris, Esq., is close 
 t'o the line of railroad, and will give a large amount of busi- 
 ness. Lastly, the location, after much investigation and pa- 
 tient thought, has been decided to pass on the west side of 
 Boston (approaching as near as possible to Brighton Market), 
 to connect with the stations of the railroads which radiate 
 towards the north side of the city proper. These connections 
 cannot be overestimated as securing all the travel to this line 
 which may be furnished by the immense manufacturing 
 towns of Lowell, Lawrence, Dover, Great Falls, Salem, Lynn, 
 and all the large towns in the vicinity of the railroads in 
 question. In projecting long lines $f communication, it is de- 
 sirable always to so locate the line as to connect with lines in 
 continuation beyond the terminus, and large sums of money 
 have been expended to accomplish connections when such 
 have not been affected in the original location. Time and ex- 
 pense have been saved, and travel increased, in making con- 
 nections through and through. Connected lines have a vast 
 advantage over any competing line which has no such con- 
 nections. In locating a New York and Boston railroad, as 
 the last improved line of communication, a fatal error would 
 be committed were these Eastern and Northern connections 
 overlooked or neglected. The importance of a location to the 
 northerly side of Boston is further illustrated from the fact 
 that the Fitchburg Railroad, which, with its connections, will 
 ultimately form one of the t^riricipal lines to and from the 
 West, has its station in the immediate vicinity. Thus the West, 
 Northwest, North, Northeast, and, '“with the New York and Bos- 
 ton Railroad the Southwestern travel will all be accommodated 
 at nearly the same station, and thus a locality will be formed 
 where parties from all parts of the country can concentrate 
 
6 
 
 mutually to the advantage of business or pleasure travel, and 
 also for the benefit of the railroads which concentrate there. 
 The advantages to the connecting roads at the terminus of 
 so important a line cannot be easily estimated, but all * who are 
 at all acquainted with the annoyances of a break in a long line 
 will appreciate the statement that through travel and trans- 
 portation will always take those lines which are in connection 
 with each other. 
 
 The New York and Boston Railroad is to be viewed as not 
 only a connection between the two cities, but as forming a 
 link in a grand chain of railroads extending far beyond their 
 limits. Whatever improvement can be made in the passage 
 between New York and Boston becomes of great interest to 
 the roads immediately eastward and northward of Boston, and 
 westward and southward of New York. Thus, incidentally, 
 it becomes of importance to all other links in the chain, to 
 favor the construction of this railroad. The roads near 
 Boston most directly interested are the Boston and Maine, 
 the Lowell, and the Eastern Railroads, with others which may 
 be in extension of them ; near New York we have the New 
 York and New Haven, and the Erie Railroads, with which we 
 shall form one of the most important lines between Boston 
 and the Lakes ; also, the New Jersey railroads, forming lines 
 to Philadelphia and the interior of Pennsylvania. The aggre- 
 gate cost of the roads thus immediately connected with the 
 interests of the “Air Line 77 improvement is upwards of sixty 
 millions of dollars. The holders of this large amount of 
 investments will undoubtedly advocate the early completion 
 of the New York and Boston Railroad as tending to increase 
 the whole amount of travel, and thereby to add to the value 
 of their property. 
 
 The line by way of Worcester, Springfield, and Hartford to 
 New Haven is known to accommodate a very large amount of 
 local business; but, large as it is, it is in some particulars 
 exceeded in amount by the business to be accommodated by 
 the “Air Line 77 or New York and Boston Railroad. It is sup- 
 posed that through railroad lines, like those in question, will 
 secure between their termini the business within five miles 
 at least of their lines. In order to compare these two, the 
 
7 
 
 census tables of 1850 were carefully examined and the statis- 
 tics of towns within five miles of either line were summed up 
 with the following result : — 
 
 Springfield Line. N. Y. and B. Line. 
 
 Length in miles 
 
 . . . 160 
 
 135 
 
 Whole population 
 
 . . 395,629 
 
 349,915 
 
 Population per mile 
 
 . . 2,473 
 
 2,592 
 
 Capital in business 
 
 . $28,629,783 
 
 $27,429,703 
 
 Capital per mile 
 
 $178,936 
 
 $203,183 
 
 Raw material consumed per annum 
 
 . $39,273,769 
 
 $33,793,638 
 
 Raw material consumed per mile per 
 
 an. $245,461 
 
 $250,323 
 
 Manufactures per annum . . . 
 
 . $66,097,524 
 
 $55,100,171 
 
 Manufactures per mile per annum . 
 
 $413,109 
 
 $408,149 
 
 Real and personal estate .... 
 
 . $326,489,502 
 
 $303,644,611 
 
 Real and personal estate per mile . 
 
 $2,040,559 
 
 $2,249,219 
 
 In this table the valuations for Boston and New Haven are 
 included in both of the columns. The results show conclu- 
 sively that the density of population and business is greatest 
 upon the New York and Boston or “Air Line” route. 
 
 At the present time (1864) the New York and Boston Rail- 
 road stands with a complete charter from the stations on the 
 north side of Boston to the city of New Haven (to connect 
 with the New York and New Haven Railroad), a line of about 
 135 miles in length. It is in operation betwen Boston and 
 Woonsocket about 37i miles, 3| of which are over the Bos- 
 ton and Worcester Railroad to the station house of that 
 company. The part of the line to the terminus on Causeway 
 Street, near the Boston and Maine and Eastern Railroads, will 
 be soon worked, and thus the road be rendered independent 
 of tribute to the Boston and Worcester Railroad. About 
 eight miles of road west of Woonsocket, in the State of 
 Rhode Island, were worked in 1853-4, for which, with engi- 
 neering expenses, land damages, etc., about $200,000 were 
 expended. At the same time, also, ' and for similar items, 
 about $260,000 Were expended in Connecticut on the part of 
 the road extending nine miles west 'of Middletown. These 
 items, with the expenditure* in Massachusetts of about 
 $1,100,(500, make a total amount of $1,560,000 expended upon 
 the whole line. 
 
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 in 2017 with funding from 
 
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