The Fall River Line Rail Line
and Steamship Travel
Between Boston and New York
from 1847 to 1937
“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 Narraganset 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.”
“In 1872 the Fall River Line was completely reorganized and became part of the Old Colony Railroad under the name Old Colony Steamboat Company.
In 1883, the Pilgrim was launched. The first modern liner of the fleet, she featured a double-hull for increased safety, was 370 feet long, and had sleeping quarters for 1,200 passengers. At the time of its launch it was the largest steamboat in the world. The Pilgrim could make the 176 mile trip between Fall River and New York in about 8.5 hours."
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The Puritan was added in 1889, and would serve the line until 1908.
Introduced in 1908, the Commonwealth was the largest of the fleet, at 455 feet in length. She provided 425 staterooms for passengers and boasted a grand staircase, a dining saloon, writing room, and a dance floor.
"In 1894, the Fall River Line launched the Priscilla, which at the time was the largest side-wheeler afloat, capable of accommodating 1,500 passengers.”
“The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It 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.
Old Colony Railroad Depot, Kneeland Street, Boston
“From 1845 to 1893, the OC network grew extensively largely through a series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, until it was itself acquired by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, under lease agreement on March 1, 1893 for its entire 617-mile network.
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, commonly known as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968. It served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusets its primary connections included Boston and New York”
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Bibliography
Gardner, J. Howland, The Development of Steam Navigation on Long Island Sound, originally published in 1945 by The Society of Navel Architects and Marine Engineers, reprinted 1994 by The Steamship Historical Society of America, Providence, Rhode Island.
McAdam, Roger Williams, The Old Fall River Line, New York, Stephen Daye Press, 1937, 1955
McAdam, Roger Williams, Priscilla of Fall River, New York, Stephen Daye Press, 1956
McAdam, Roger Williams, Salts of the Sound, New York, Stephen Daye Press, 1957
McAdam, Roger Williams, The Glory That Was: A Pictorial History of The World Famed Fall River Line, Fall River, Massachusetts, R.E. Smith Printing Company, 1967
McAdam, Roger Williams, Floating Palaces: New Engliand to New York on the Old Fall River Line, Rhode Island, Andrew Mowbray Publishing, 1972
Clegg, Charles and Beebe, Lucius, The Trains We Rode: Volume 1, Alton to New York Central, Berkeley, California, Howell-North Books, 1965
www.railroad.net, The Railroad Network
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