New Haven Observation Train

I came across this photo of a New Haven observation train. I know what an observation car is, but I haven’t the foggiest what this train is for – the Yale Harvard Game or impromptu trackside parades?

it had something to do with Boat races along the river at Essex

Boat races, but on the Thames River between New London (Groton) and Norwich. Usually for the Harvard/Yale sculling team races. Built on underframes of old wood boxcars and fitted w/bleachers at East Hartford Car Shops.

It's quite amazing to consider that at one point the NH had that fleet of specialized cars that were used just one day a year. Up until the end of the railroad, the New Haven ran special trains for boat race fans that paced the annual Yale/Harvard regatta on the Thames River each June. The track runs right along the riverbank for a good view. By the 1960s those bleacher cars were long gone, but they still ran the regatta train up through the 1968 race with standard coaches. Penn Central discontinued the tradition, but I believe that the Providence & Worcester, which now owns the line, has runs regatta specials more recently using its own excursion equipment.

The Brits would have been amazed to see a special train for viewing a regatta. This is a unique piece of rail history. It would be great to see photo of the train with crowds cheering on the respective clubs. The Harvard-Yale Regatta dates from 1852, so it would be interesting to find out when the first train excursion was started. This history would make a good article for “Classic Trains”. Thanks all.

In the book "Connecticut's Railroads - An Illustrated History," by Greg M. Turner, there's a great picture of the boat train loading passengers at New London Union Station on race day in (I think) 1912. According to the same book, the Central Vermont operated a similar train on race day; the NH was favored by those in the know when the race was heading downriver, though, as the engineer would speed up just enough at the end of the race to bring the train onto the Thames River bridge, for a head-on view of the finish line.

Ridgefielder wrote:In the book "Connecticut's Railroads - An Illustrated History," by Greg M. Turner, there's a great picture of the boat train loading passengers at New London Union Station on race day in (I think) 1912. According to the same book, the Central Vermont operated a similar train on race day; the NH was favored by those in the know when the race was heading downriver, though, as the engineer would speed up just enough at the end of the race to bring the train onto the Thames River bridge, for a head-on view of the finish line.

In my firing days on the New Haven Railroad I worked that train one year, would have to check my old timebooks for more
on this.
I would not swear to this but I think it depended on the tides whether the races were run on the east side of the river or the
west side of the river and that determined which side of the river the special trains operated on. I think the trains were a
New Haven operation no matter what side of the river they ran on.
Noel Weaver

Here are some links to New York Times Archive articles on the race and train. One article mentions the Central Vermont as a competing service during the event. The train service was very popular in the first half of the Twentieth Century and a rare example of train service almost becoming part the sporting event as opposed to simply being transportation charted for the occasion.


1916
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-fr ... 946796D6CF


1918
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-fr ... 946996D6CF

2003
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/25/nyreg ... gatta.html

Although I never rode, I did have occasion circa 1954 to observe the Observation Train.

While I should properly defer to Mr. Weaver, whose records reflect exactly which locomotive he fired on the train, I do recall that there were a pair of 04XX FA's on both ends of the train. The consist was 8600 Coaches; if on-board Food and Beverage (especially the latter) were offered I know not (lest we forget, the New Haven actually had an honest to goodness PROFIT form F&B until quite late in the game).

Here is a Google search query that provides a good selection of material regarding the Observation train.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=n ... tion+train

On June 19, 1965 while assigned to the fireman's spare board at Oak Point which covered all extra work and vacancies out of Oak Point, Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, Bay Ridge and Harlem River I was called to deadhead to New Haven on train no. 12 to report New Haven Motor Storage for a passenger extra to New London and the Norwich Branch and return for one day. This was the Harvard Yale Boat Train and I reported New Haven at 11:55 AM for this job. We had engines 1205 and 1203 (two GP-9's) for the day. There were another two GP-9's on the other end of the train and it turned out that the other two 1200's pulled the train east while we followed them light. I don't recall just where we tied on to the west end of the train in New London but we did somewhere there, maybe even at Waterford on track 6. They had a telephone line through the train with "crank and cuss" phones on both lead engines as well as the command desk or whatever they called it on the train. Between the brake test, hooking up the telephones and the rest of the work, it took us a while to make the train complete. The east two units made three trips up the Norwich Branch from Groton to a point 2 miles north, 3 miles north and finally 4 miles north and upon arrival at the starting point for each race control was passed from the east units to us on the two west units. When it was off to the races we paced the boats downstream as best we could until we were quite close to Groton when we took off as fast as possible and got in to position in the middle of the Groton - New London drawbridge for the finish of that particular race. I know we had some specially prepared 8600 classs coaches which were spotless and not one broken window which was an accomplishment for the New Haven Railroad in 1965. I think they might have had a parlor/lounge/combo for drinks and maybe the command post was in that car. There were very high officials on this train calling the shots and they wanted perfection, I don't recall any complaints after we finished the last race. After the last race we proceeded to New London station where most of the passengers got off but we carried some back to New Haven for connections west and north. It was one of the most unique jobs that I ever worked and to think that I caught it off the Oak Point spare board (apparently the Cedar Hill spare board was exhausted of firemen rested for this job at calling time) made it even more unusual. OH, when I finished on this job at New Haven I still had to deadhead back to my home terminal New York so it was a very long day but I was well paid for 1965 for this one.
I had a few other rather unusual jobs during my firing years on the New Haven including camp specials to Worcester via Providence out of New Haven and a camp specal to Torrington out of Bridgeport. When you were a fireman on the spare board for the New Haven Railroad you never knew where you were going to go when the telephone rang, never a dull moment.
Noel Weaver

Yes, what I saw of the Observation train it certainly appeared to be a "spit and polish" operation. I can even recall in the Program that was circulated amongst Yalie yachtsmen, i.e. my Father, the New Haven had an ad: "Your Freight Goes Green Light on the New Haven".

It may interest you to know that a few of these boat race train observation cars lasted up through at least 1955. A couple of them were used as part of a special train to take VIPs to view a track gang putting down a segment of continuously welded rail at Branford, Connecticut during June 1955. This may have been the last time that these cars were used.

Noel
Thanks for that bit of history. I’m sure the engineers of the early days of the boat race train excursions had similar experiences. It would have been interesting to see them manage steam locos at the same time as pacing a boat race.