Research Question- Newport RI

I'm doing research on a WW2 sailor who joined the Navy on Jan 15, 1942 in New York City and was shipped out that day to boot camp located at Newport RI. I would like to recreate as much of that day as possible. I assume that recruits were shipped out from Grand Central via railroad on the NH. (correct me if I'm wrong) Did the NH go directly to Newport, or were there ferries or a transfer involved? And can someone point me to a times table from that period. Thanks in advance.

By 1942 the only passenger trains that one would ever see or take to Newport would be a troop train and I do not know whether they ran many there if any. Transportation from New York to Newport in 1942 would have involved a New York - Boston train from New York to Providence and a bus probably by New England Transportation Company or The Short Line from Providence to Newport. In 1942 there was some passenger train service between Boston and Fall River via Taunton but only bus beyond Fall River. Even as late as 1955 there was hourly service in the daytime between Providence and Newport and I suspect in 1942 there was even more service available.
Noel Weaver

Thanks for your response. I wonder how they got the recruits there. According to my research on Jan 3 , 1942 118 recruits were sent from NYC to NTS Newport, and on Jan 16, 1942 105 was sent to Newport. It seems that the Navy was sending about 100 recruits a day, 7 days a week for the first few weeks of 1942 to Newport. that's a lot of buses if that's what was used, I would say the railroad to Providence would be a more likely route.
The hourly service you mention, is that the short line?

I would think 3 or 4 buses (depending on capacity) would be enough for 100 recruits a day, plus a truck for duffel bags or whatever. Maybe less than that, depending on trip time from Providence to Newport, and just let some of the recruits wait for a bus to return for a second trip. (Hurry up and wait ...)

ExCon90 wrote:I would think 3 or 4 buses (depending on capacity) would be enough for 100 recruits a day, plus a truck for duffel bags or whatever. Maybe less than that, depending on trip time from Providence to Newport, and just let some of the recruits wait for a bus to return for a second trip. (Hurry up and wait ...)

The USN may well have sent their own buses (or even trucks for that matter) to Providence to pick up the recruits, rather than both clog a civilian bus and run the risk of someone intentionally missing a troop movement. Given that the Jamestown bridge was opened in 1940, buses could also have met the train at Kingston and proceeded to Newport via the bridge and the Jamestown ferry.

Have you checked the archives of the Providence Journal-Bulletin? Jan. '42 was early in the war so the arrival of recruits at Providence Union Station on their way to Newport might be the sort of thing that would garner a photo and a paragraph in the paper.

Ridgefielder wrote:

ExCon90 wrote:I would think 3 or 4 buses (depending on capacity) would be enough for 100 recruits a day, plus a truck for duffel bags or whatever. Maybe less than that, depending on trip time from Providence to Newport, and just let some of the recruits wait for a bus to return for a second trip. (Hurry up and wait ...)

The USN may well have sent their own buses (or even trucks for that matter) to Providence to pick up the recruits, rather than both clog a civilian bus and run the risk of someone intentionally missing a troop movement. Given that the Jamestown bridge was opened in 1940, buses could also have met the train at Kingston and proceeded to Newport via the bridge and the Jamestown ferry.

Have you checked the archives of the Providence Journal-Bulletin? Jan. '42 was early in the war so the arrival of recruits at Providence Union Station on their way to Newport might be the sort of thing that would garner a photo and a paragraph in the paper.

Thanks for your reply. I found that the PoJo on line archives only go back to 1983. I did find a weekly Providence newspaper but can up empty. The more I research into this the more I'm convinced that the recruits were put on a train. That's how they got to other training facilities in the country. These were the first few weeks after Pearl Harbor and the Navy couldn't handle the crush of men joining up. Where before the attack they were dealing with one or two men a day, now they were dealing with 1,000's, and sending over a hundred a day to each training center just from the 3rd naval district (NYC). I'm looking for personal memoirs to help me verify this, but I'm convinced it was by regularly scheduled railroad. The navy just didn't have enough time to gather a fleet of buses with other pressing needs.

I don't think 100 to 150 recruits by train would have been making good use of rail facilities that during WW-II were facing incredible demands on their facilities and equipment. Even though many of the buses of those days would seat maybe 30 people, so 4 or 5 buses could have done the job. You asked a question, we gave you answers and now you are arguing with us over our answers. I don't think this makes any sense. Continue with your research but as far as I am concerned, I am done with this one.
Noel Weaver

Noel Weaver wrote:I don't think 100 to 150 recruits by train would have been making good use of rail facilities that during WW-II were facing incredible demands on their facilities and equipment. Even though many of the buses of those days would seat maybe 30 people, so 4 or 5 buses could have done the job. You asked a question, we gave you answers and now you are arguing with us over our answers. I don't think this makes any sense. Continue with your research but as far as I am concerned, I am done with this one.
Noel Weaver

Wow. Just wow. Let me answer this by saying thank you for your response, but may I state you did not give answers, you only gave an opinion. Forgive me if the research that I have done over the past few weeks suggest something other you than what you stated. I am not being argumentative with anyone, only reporting what I have learned. sorry if it offended you. I appreciate all the help given here as it leads me in the proper direction for my article.