New Haven in Woods Hole Mass.

Does anyone have any pictures of of the former NH line that ran down to Woods Hole ferry terminal? I know ther was a good picture of it on the cover of one of the Streamliner magazines, vol. 21 issue 3 of 1990 to be specific. Just looking to find some similar ones, and possible a track plan of the area at the time. Thanks, -Pat

Wardmaps.com is great.
Track layout http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=804

Thanks, Triker for the link to the map. I was surprised at the number of tracks on that pier. What did that represent ? Are those holding/light maintenance tracks for coaches, etc., or was that heavy duty freight coming in or out ?

At least from WW-II on, Woods Hole was not a major freight terminal or operation. A local freight would visit there 5 days
a week and later on less than 5 days a week. Woods Hole was a major passenger operation with the connections to the
islands.
I will try to do some research on Woods Hole as it pertained to freight operations in the past when I have more time to do it.
Noel Weaver

Given that it's a 1910 map, besides coach storage and servicing, at least some of the stubs were probably for Woods Hole freight service as well as freight transload for ferries to the islands.

[quote="masscoastal"I know ther was a good picture of it on the cover of one of the Streamliner magazines, vol. 21 issue 3 of 1990 to be specific.[/quote]

Did you mean "Shoreliner" magazine, the journal from NHRHTA?

-otto-

The current SSA terminal is the former New Haven freighthouse.

Otto,

Yeah I ment shoreliner... Was a long day! Good catch, -Pat

When the New Haven owned the boat line to the Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, it routed most of the freight via New Bedford which was equipped to handle all types of cargo. The New Haven disposed of this operation, the last of its once extensive fleet of coastal steamboat lines, at the end of 1945 to Massachusetts Steamship Lines. The New Haven wanted out as its New England Steamship Lines, the Island line operator, was a money loser. Mass. Steamship found out the New Haven was telling the truth quite quickly and stated it planned to cut losses by reducing the frequency of sailings during the off-season (September-May). This caused a near panic on the Islands and the Steamship Authority was created and bought out Mass. Steamship within a short time. One innovation that Mass. Steamship introduced was the end loader that permitted rapid roll on/roll off loading/unloading. They bought a former PRR ferry and a war surplus Navy patrol boat that never saw wartime use because it was completed near the end of World War II. This allowed vehicles, including trucks, to drive right on board; no unloading of cargo from rail cars or trucks was required. The Island line fleet that New England Steamship had upgraded in the 1920s had loaded from the side and this was a time consuming process. The Steamship Authority's new construction since it was created have featured end loaders. New Bedford gradually withered as the freight port to the Islands and the Steamship Authority pulled out of there about 1960. Up until about 1954 on or two of the Boston-New Bedford conventional passenger trains terminated or originated at New Bedford Wharf.

Some great photos of Woods Hole in 1965 have recently been posted at http://www.godfatherrails.com/photos/pb ... =3/19/2010

masscoastal wrote:Does anyone have any pictures of of the former NH line that ran down to Woods Hole ferry terminal? I know ther was a good picture of it on the cover of one of the Streamliner magazines, vol. 21 issue 3 of 1990 to be specific. Just looking to find some similar ones, and possible a track plan of the area at the time. Thanks, -Pat

Get two books New Haven Railroad: The Final Decades, and New Haven Color Pictorial Volume 3: The East End. You can order both of these from the NHRHTA at http://www.nhrhta.org. Both have good photos of Woods Hole in service.

masscoastal wrote:Does anyone have any pictures of of the former NH line that ran down to Woods Hole ferry terminal? I know ther was a good picture of it on the cover of one of the Streamliner magazines, vol. 21 issue 3 of 1990 to be specific. Just looking to find some similar ones, and possible a track plan of the area at the time. Thanks, -Pat

See my response to this over on the New england forum

-Tom