Can anyone tell me when the bridge went down in Blackstone?

Hello,

Can anyone tell me when the bridge went down in Blackstone, Ma.? This is the bridge which went over the Blackstone River on the old NYNE air line. I am told that it was sometime around 1968. Also does anyone know if the line was abandoned by New Haven or the Penn Central?

Steve

stvigi wrote:Hello,

Can anyone tell me when the bridge went down in Blackstone, Ma.? This is the bridge which went over the Blackstone River on the old NYNE air line. I am told that it was sometime around 1968. Also does anyone know if the line was abandoned by New Haven or the Penn Central?

Steve

I can't answer you regarding the bridge incident but in so far as the date
of abandonment, the line between Franklin and Putnam appeared in the
first Penn Central timetable for the New Haven territory in 1969 so this
line had to be officially abandoned by Penn Central.
I will try to do some more research on this later on but the Penn Central
timetables are not as easy for me to access as the New Haven ones are.
Noel Weaver

Noel Weaver wrote:

stvigi wrote:Hello,

Can anyone tell me when the bridge went down in Blackstone, Ma.? This is the bridge which went over the Blackstone River on the old NYNE air line. I am told that it was sometime around 1968. Also does anyone know if the line was abandoned by New Haven or the Penn Central?

Steve

I can't answer you regarding the bridge incident but in so far as the date
of abandonment, the line between Franklin and Putnam appeared in the
first Penn Central timetable for the New Haven territory in 1969 so this
line had to be officially abandoned by Penn Central.
I will try to do some more research on this later on but the Penn Central
timetables are not as easy for me to access as the New Haven ones are.
Noel Weaver

According to Lost Railroads of New England the Franklin-Putnam line was abandoned by PC in 1969.

dcm74 wrote:

Noel Weaver wrote:

stvigi wrote:Hello,

Can anyone tell me when the bridge went down in Blackstone, Ma.? This is the bridge which went over the Blackstone River on the old NYNE air line. I am told that it was sometime around 1968. Also does anyone know if the line was abandoned by New Haven or the Penn Central?

Steve

I can't answer you regarding the bridge incident but in so far as the date
of abandonment, the line between Franklin and Putnam appeared in the
first Penn Central timetable for the New Haven territory in 1969 so this
line had to be officially abandoned by Penn Central.
I will try to do some more research on this later on but the Penn Central
timetables are not as easy for me to access as the New Haven ones are.
Noel Weaver

According to Lost Railroads of New England the Franklin-Putnam line was abandoned by PC in 1969.

General Order no. 109 effective October 26, 1969 took the portion of this
line between a point 0.7 mile west of Franklin Jct. and a point 1.0 mile
east of East Douglas out of service.
The rest of this line was probably taken out of service after 1969, I will
have to dig up the next timetable and search through the General Orders
for this one, not today.
Noel Weaver

Noel, dcm74,

Thankyou for the information.

I have talked w/ some of the locals who remember that before the loss of the bridge that New Haven was only using the line for oversized freight since the line now used by the P&W could not handle it.

It may also be why the PC discontinued use of the line since the cost of replacing the bridge and upkeep was just not cost effective.

Steve

stvigi wrote:I have talked w/ some of the locals who remember that before the loss of the bridge that New Haven was only using the line for oversized freight since the line now used by the P&W could not handle it.

True, except the clearance problem was on the Shore Line rather than the P&W. In the 1960s, the New Haven periodically ran a high-and-wide extra from the Maybrook gateway to Boston (I believe Readville, actually) via Derby Junction, Waterbury, Hartford, Willimantic, Plainfield, Putnam, and Blackstone. This train, usually powered by a single road switcher, carried loaded auto racks and anything else that was too large to fit on the Shore Line, which carried all other NH freight from points west of New Haven. Once Penn Central took over the auto racks starting moving to the Boston area over the B&A and the roundabout NH route was no longer necessary.

I am a Blackstone local. In March 1968, high water washed out the center pier and the bridge gave way.
I can remember as a child seeing the passenger trains on that section...I had to head for home when the 4:15 went by...
The passenger service was terminated in April 1966. The station was demolished in 1969...what a shame!
Commuter service could have thrived through there, judging by the Franklin traffic...PM