Newburyport-Plum Island Street Railway History

8/14/2019 Newburyport-Plum Island Street Railway History

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MASS. NORTHEASTERN ST. RY.: , qj NEWBURYPORT nlVISION

O.W. CUMMINGS


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Opmrations batmen Nmuhrrypnrt andCsnter bagsn s r l y i n ths aftarnoon o f 18 Ju ly 1897.wi t h Supt. C F r r d D n n i s aerving as motonnan o f thmf i r s t ca r and E l n c t r i c i s n A. G. Dicksraon a c t i n g asconductor. The f i r s t ~ m r u l s r ar l eP t market Squarea t 2120 and a r r i v e d at :mtar 20 minutesle ter . The i n i t i a l scheduls ca1le.a roc hour ly ssrv icei n the morning and s 20 minuta heahmy i n the af ter --oon, the f a r 0 from New.hryport t o :enter

being f i v e cents. As i n tho f o l rorsel days,service was provided during the summer months only,the l e s t cars running a t the end of September.

W t about the same time the nevl e l e c t r i c l i n e wasb u i l t , ths Haverh i l l k Amssbury rmaved the remaininghorsecar t racks on Water Street, from lnarlboro St reetues t e r l y t o F a i r Street, and on F a i r and L ibe r t yStreets. The only p a r t of "- o l d !:-- eta ined was sshort spur from ll iarkst Squi i n t o a r t y Street.

Un 0 A p r i l 1090, t h s l e c t r i c S t ree tRailway was granted l s g i s l a t i , rm isdon t o purchasethe steam dummy l i n e fron anter t o -IL--. m , a ~ ~ i n ga v e r h i l l b Rmesburyproperty d a ) This t ransact ion was soonef fectad and the l i n s was r e b u i l t and e lec t r i f i ed .During the surnmex o f 1098, through cars were runbatwean rfiarket Squars dnU therunning t ime being W Bi..nutB+ ,,.. a 10 cen. ...oughFara bei.13 charged. h @ &nwe ha.adulay was main-tained.

A s o f 30 Septeaber t898, W 9-t r i c S t ree t Railway owned ..s% mr .GpW&&:ad:another .807 m i l e under treokcee d m %,'& sG.2m i l e o f s id ings and turnouts, fep a :** j-kequivalent o f 5.263 miles. EquipBlmtW#B~-&~BLItha e ight Newburyport 10 bench opeoe .and WB WiBbta?t i on steam dummy Engine and pa-senger i thg"Jet ty" , the l a t t e r having bsen among 6hk p,,@eispurchased Fmm the H a v e r h i l l k Rmesbury.

The oparat ion o f a - i g h t car betatsen Ntnuhlfy-p o r t and I vrss inaugurated on 5 Ju ly1049, one round t r i p dai ly, leav ing Nemburyport a t9Y45 a. n., being provided. (Tha f r e i g h t ca r mas afour wheel f l a t t r a i l e r , hauled by one of the pasam-gs r cars.)

Ths adver t i sed ra t as on Oha car u s r e lmarket Basket . . . . . . . . . 5 c m t sl l i i l k Can . . .. . . . . . . . 5 c a t sHalf Cake I c e . . . . . . . . 5 centsWhole Cake l c s . . .. . . . . . 10 centsTrunk . . . . .... . . . .. 25 c m t s 'Use o f En t i re Er . . . ... 92.00

I t mould a p p n r t h a t t h i a car ran only on.enson as i t Wan no t li8t.d on the 1900 t lnatabla.

A l t h o u g e empacats corporate ent i t y , t h f lUas, f o r a l l p r a c t i c a l purpose*, a

canoh of 1 w b u r y p ~ r t Ameebury, the two com-paniea having many clamon o f f i c i a l s and sharing thesane of f i caa on thn aecand Flr r a t 32 l a c k a t Square,Nwburyport. Th cravs on the l l i n e werej o i n t mploymss of the two roads, wags@bsingdivided on a mileage basie. T h e m oompanymas a p r o f ~ t a b l s ne, although never earning moughto pay any dividands on i t s S40,000 c a p i t a l stock.

An unsxplained shrinkage i n the length o f themain l i n e owned o c w r r e d & r i n g 1900. As o f j ep t muer30, t h r s was 4.152 ml les i n length, compared w i t h4.239 mi les tha previous year. The decreasa o f .337m i l s mey have been C . - &- -& - - lonment o f a h o r ts t r e t c h o f t rack a t Po in t o r dua to anenginesring cemeaulrement. A t the same time, thelength of s id ings and turnouts increassd from .222m i l e t o .353, an increase o f .131 mile.

T H E C I T I Z E N S ' E L E C T R I CS T R E E T R A I L h A Y

Statistics shou t ha t the NawWryport t R%esburf,a f t e r i t s e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n , mas na t a partici:La;Lkp r o f i t a b l e road. As rnd ica ted i n the acconpn~>ylngf i n a n c i a l table, from 1891 through 311 bept-bar -> ' ;3 ,t h s road earned p m f i t a l n only four yaars. 163i,1892. 1095 and 1696, and wound up w i t h d s f i c ~ t s nthe o t he r four. These d e f i c i t s l a r g e l y wepe &e t o&-iterast charges, i n c l u d i n g $17,500 annual ly on a$350,000 i ssue of 5 per cent f l r ~ c artgaje Lion,,F b a t e d as o f 1 march 1892, The (;apl ta l stock [email protected], o w e d by 30 shareholders.

Because o f the f i n a n c i a l cond i t ion of the mad.m~ nance was neglected and t h e c o n d l t ~ o n of t h s

5 y e ~ c a l property gradual ly deteriorated. Sacviceweme unra l i ab l e and the Nwburypoct b Ameshury was

forced to close i t s Ameshury-Merc~mac l i n e i n 1898because i t was unssfs to operate - and there weren'tfunds ava i l ab le t o make thn necessary repairs.

Th is branch, ~tmight be noted, laas the o c c a bi o n a l v i c t i m o f h igh mstar an the Merrimack River.the straam overl loming i t s banks snd mashing out o rundmnnining the s t ree t rai lmay tracks. Such under-min ing i e bn l ieved t o hava been responeible for ara t he r spectacular d o r a i h s n t on 5 February 1892 ahenCar 32 l a f t thn r a i l s i n Pleasant Val ley and plungedover the r i v o r nbankment, coming to r e s t wi th one


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nm ed the "Jmtty". mas purchased f m m the & 1 6n b c o r o t i v e Works of Philsdmlphia. Thia me8 op-

d bstwaan Plum Is la nd C n t e r and P l m Is la ndand haulad o p n horsecars as t ra i le r s . A loco-

tiv e shed and a carhouse mere ers ota d near the endthe turnpik e a t Plum Ial an d Center and cars and

als o ar e bel iev ed to have been houasd a tme rc ia1 Uiharf, Neuburyport.

The Plum Is la nd Street Railway uae s t r i c t l y aoperat ion, cars running during th e wmmer

I t mas a fa i r l y p ro f i tab le mad, payingper cent d iv idends on i t s 140,000 ca pi ta l s tock i n

oth 1888 and 1889. th e sscond payment. however. re-t ing i n a de f ic l t o f 92,304.60 on 30 September of

On 19 Bay 1809, th e Black Rocks & Salisbury Beacheet Railway, co nt ro ll ed by the Sham in te res ts,

had b u i l t from Salisbury Beach t o Salis buryre and the Sa li sb ur y Depot oP th e Boeton 4 Naine

ear, opened i t s new l i n e f m m Sal isburyuare to tha in te rs ec tio n o f Bridge Road and Merr i -

ac Street. Neuburyport, and i n the fo ll ow in g year.t extmded i t s t racks a long merrimac Str eet to Mark-t Square. Af te r tak ing over the ex ls t i ng trackage

tha Newburyport & Amssbury Prom market Squarei t

ed co nt ro l o f tha Plum Is la nd Stree t Rai luayd absorbed th e l a t t e r on 5 may.

Dur ing 1889, th e Black Rocks & Salisbury Beacho b u i l t from the Salisbury Depot to Market SquareAmesbury, i t s track ts m rn at in g on the southeast-

ly s ide of the square i n f ro nt OF what i s now

The Black Rocks & Sa li sb ur y Beach. mhich elec-f i e d i t s l i n e fmm Sa lis bu ry Beach t o Amesbury i n

91, was taken over by t he H ave r h i ll 4 Amesburyeet Railway i n 1892 and el ec tr ic car s began opera-

n g between Sal isb ury Square and marke t Square,yport, i n l a t e 1893. No atte mp t mas made to

ct riP y t he Plum Ia la nd line , howmvsr, and hors-rice bmtre m Navburyport and Plum Is la nd Center

s cont inued thro ugh thm 1894 summar s a w n , aban-nment tak in g place i n 1895. Operation of th e atsamm y l i n e betmmm the Plun Ia la nd Hote l and Plumla nd Poi nt i s bsl imved t o have bmen continumd by

& Ammsbury through thm 1897 enson.

PEarly 889-1900rolleyDaysDu ri ng mid-1889, t he n a n a g a n t o f the N n b u r p

p o r t & Ameabury Horse Railroad, v i w i n g wi th in ta re athe adopt ion of e l ec tr ic i t y as a mot ive pouer bysevera l st re et rai lmays i n Naeeachusmtta, decided t oo l e o t r i fy one oP i t s mut ea ee an experiment. TheAmesbury - RImrrimac l i n s was chosm fo r the te st andth e cn nt ra ct fo r the work mae awarded to th a Thommn-Houston E l . e t r i c Company o f Lynn, a predecmswr oPth e General E l s c t r i c Company. a 550 vo l t d i rec t w r-r an t gener ator was i n s t a l l ed i n t ho s ta m p lan t o fthe Rmaebury Electric Light Cmpany on Oak Stramt,Amssbury; overhead wi ra s msra str ung from WqrkeSqvare &wn main St ree t t o Nerrimack Stremt andt h a c e to Nerrimacport and Nerrimaci the l i g h t r a i l swere bonded, and two s ing le tr uc k cl osed cars, Nos.32 and 54, were purchased fm. t he E l l i s Car h p a n yo f Amesbury. b c h mas equipped w it h two Thommn-Houston 15 hp motors and woodm t m l l e y poles.

Short l y before midnight on the n ig ht o f 14 Octo-ber 1889, Car 32 s ta r ted ou t on t he f i r s t t r i p FromAmeabury t o Nerrimac. Leaving Market Square, i t masdelayed br ie f : ) because of a shor t c i r c u i t i n one ofthe motors but th is mas rac t ip i ed qu ick ly and a tl2:30 on the morning o f the nex t day, th e car reachedmerrimac Squarm. The re tu r n t r i p ta Amesbury was mad.without mishap.

Tha next fsu days mere dswoted to running addi t -i on s1 t d a l t r i p s over t he l i ns , regular aerv ice notbeginning u n t i l 18 October, fo l lowing thm del iveryand t e s t in g o f th e aecond car, No.34. The f i r s t ache*111s c a l l e d f o r a c ar t o l a v e a c h t e r mi n al o vary 90minutes, th e running tim e f o r the 6.2 m il ea batmmnmarke t Sware . Ameabury, and Ner rimac Squarm ba ing 45minutes. Appare ntly onl y one ca r mas uaed ra gu la rly .th e second b d n g he ld am a aparm. I t a r a l a te d t h a ton. ca r o r the othe r . o m u u a l l y undmrgoing repa i rsas the a r l y e l ec t r i c a l equ ipnmt mas none too r m l l -ablm. a

Rmporting on th e op min g of the Ammabury-lllmrrimaoline, the of January 1890 n i di n per t:

"The tra ck N n s fo ur milem along tha BmrrimacRiumr and thmrm i s ha r d l y a s t r a igh t nil o r lwm lpimce o f m a d on thm mholm Iln8 . Ab thm oar gomm in t oI e r r i r o . i t ha. Lo cl imb l tmap gn dm mhich. bmingon 8 wrvm, r k m a i t d w b l y d i f f i c u l t , b d n p ovmr mixmi lee rmm the gm m n ti ng mtdtion.but the car aacmdmi t without eny difficulty."

Thm d m ~ r i b a d tl n c h g m elonp I e i nStreet. Ameebuny. f m a I e r r i m d %Stremt to i e r * a t


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The steam dmmy "Jetty" w d a t r a i l e r on the Plum Is l a n d l i n e & r i n g the 1 8 9 0 1 ~-Prom the h 8 i r s of Moses Pe t t i nge l l , who had purchdsedv i t u a l l y a l l o f the n o r th e r l y p a r t of the is land,which l i e s i n Nwhuryport. Nwbury. Romley andIp w i c h , frm the Commoners o f Nwbury i n 1828.

Later i n the year. Sham organized t h e Plum I s l a n dS t ree t Rai luey (incorporated under t h e general lamson 4 Decenber 1806) which, i n the apdng o f 1881.b u i l t about four m i l e s o f t rack from the f o o t o fF a i r Street, Nwburyport, along Uater S t ree t to OceanAvenue and along the Plum I s l a n d Turnpike and acrossthe Plum Is la nd R i ver br idge t o Plum Ia b n d Center.The new company took over the l i n e f m m Plum ts l a n dCsnter to Plum Is l a n d P o i n t and as o f 50 Septwbsr1887. i t owned 5.2 m u t e mi l es and .4 mi les o f s i d i ngsf o r a to ta l o f 5.6 m i l e s o f track. There was a gradecross ing of t h e Nsvburyport C i t y R a i l ma d on Uater

Straet, a shor t distance east o f Bromfiald Street.Service betmeen Nwburypor t and Plum Is l a n d C

t e r began 25 June 1887 and, according to the f itimetabla, cars l e f t Market Square, Nwburyport,t h e i s l a n d a t 5145. 7r50, 9. 10 and 11 am 12 noand a t 1. 2, 2830 and h a l f hourly u n t i l 6 p.m.,end7. E and 9 The running t ime mas 30 minutes betwMarket Square and Plum I s l a n d Center, cars operaover th e Nwburyport h Amesbury Horse Ra i l road traage between the a w a re and Water S t ree t v i a L i band F a i r Streets.

I n i t i a l q i p a n t o f tha road i n 1887 wna iao f 10 horsecars - one closed and n ine open - endhorses comprised the motive power. One open carso ld & r i n g 1888 bu t s i x more horses mere acquand a combination steam &mmy engine and passe


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According t o th e annual repor t o f the Newburyport C o i n c i d m t w i t h e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n o f the NewbuAmesbury t o t h e r a i l r o a d commisslonars, equipment p o r t and Amesbury Horse Rai l road, ino identa l ly , t

on 30 Septanbar 1891 inc luded 12 closed and 18passenger cars, o f which e igh t c losed and threecars were equipped w i t h e l e c t r i c motors. A yaar

on 33 Septwbsr 1892. there were 13 closed andopen e l e c t r i c cars and by 1896, the number of

e l e c t r i c cars had been increased t o 14. There50 e l e t r i c motors and f i v e snow plows,including

o f the horse-drawn type.The closed care were o f th e 16 f o o t type, w i t hplat forms an d f i v e o r s i x drop-sash windows onside, and acwmcdated 22 passengers on two lcng-

seats. The open cars were most ly o f t h e 8type, seat ing 40 passengers.

N w r o l l i n g stock acquirad between 1891 an d 1893purchased from the U l i s Car Company b u t i n 1894.

t s t a r t e d buying equipment from the Newburyport CarCompany, which had been organized by Er

Shaw i n 1867 t o succeed t h e f i r m o f Evans & Patpi-estab l ished a year o r so ear l ier . The majorfo r the. change was the dest ruct ion o f t h e

p l a n t by f i r e on 28 A p r i l 1894 end the aban-o f s t r e e t car const ruct ion by th e company

i t re located an d resumed business. Thereafter,t b u i l t on lv car r iaoes and waoons.

Company changed i t s operating t i t l e t o the Newbup o r t & Amesbury S t rae t Railway and used t h i s ndesigoat lon on i t s cars, txmetables, t i c k e t s and av e r t i s ~ n g . Tha o f f i c i a l corporate name, however, rmained the same.0fficials o f th e road on 30 Septmb1591 included Charles Odell, president iHenry C. Pagsuperintendent, and John H Crandel l of Newburypotreasurer end olark. Supt. Page ~ B s i g n e d n l a t e 18o r earLy I182 2nd was succeeded by C Fred Dennis.

M r . Paga, a f t a ~eaving th e Neulburyport & Rmbury, became assDaiated w i t h severa l l a r g e r s t r era i lways ahd mas eventual ly named super intendentt h e Berkshi-xw S t m a t Railway i n western NassachueetS t i l l law, he b w m a generaJ manager o f both tSprXrqf i89d S'tnaat %%lmay and th e Uloffieeter ConsodsPed S t r e a t Railqay and o t h e ~oads i n Massachusecbn tB lLwd by tha. NwY Ymk, New Haven and Har t foRailmad.G D N N E C T I N C L I N E S

A% t he t ime o f the Nwburypor t & iimeabury's elet r i f i c a t i o n , th e o n l y s t r e e t ra i lway wi th whichconnected was th e Bleck Rocks & Sal isbury Beech -Market Square. Amesbury. end i n Nauturyport. Th


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Sept . Pas senger s

908 2,197,598

June1910 1,429,693

June

Elec.Passenger

Revenue

St.T o t a l

Revenue

Ry.- REVENUESNet P m f i t o r

Income Loss Di vi dand!-14.522 $12,779

19 11 2,275,157 104 ,651 108,902 34,432 15,205 12,0001912 2,378,210 108,509 111 ,744 45,420 4,241191 3* 1,760,785 82.109 84,197 32,856 19,431* 9 months ending 31 Blarch 1913

th e Bos ton & l o r c e s t s r S t r e e t R ai lw ay , w hic h w ashea ded by James F. Shaw f o r a number o f y ea rs.

A s o f t h e d a t e o f t h e m er ge r o f t h e C i t i z en s 'E l e c t r i c w i t h t h e Ma s sa c h us e tt s N o rt h e as t e rn , o f f i c i -a l s of t h e f or me r i n c l u d e d Da vi d A. Belden ,pres iden t ;Samuel P. R u ss e ll , t r e a s u r e r a nd a u d i t o r j F r a n k l i nUioodman, ge ne ra l manager, an d He cto r UI. McKay, super-in ten dent . Di r ec t or s inc lu ded th e mess rs . Belden andR u s s e l l , F r a n k l i n Woohan, Ui. Uial te r Woodman, Geo rgeA. Butman and Greenleaf K B a r t l e t t .

S up t. F i l e s h ad r e s i g ne d i n O c t o be r l 9 1 2 t oc c e p t a p o s i t i o n i n Nw Lrleans , La. H i s succes sor ,

NIcKay, was al so sup er i nte nde nt of th e Eas tern N.H. and Eas te rn Mass. Div i s io ns o f th e N ew HampshireELe ctr ic Railways , l a t e r t h e Amesbury and Merr imacD i v i s i o n s o f t h e N o r t h e a st e r n , w i t h h e a d q u a r t e r s i n

esbury. Newburypor t Div is io n hea dqu ar t ers a t 32r k e t Square , Newburyport , were superv i s ed bys s i s t a n t S up t. P a t r i c k F. Greeley.

The p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n o f t h e C i t i z e n s ' E l e c t r i cas on ly f a i r when t he p roper t y was conveyed to t h e

ew Hampshire U e c t r i c Railways and i t was necessaryo r t h e l a t t e r t o spend more than 194,000 f o r t h ee h a b i l i t a t i o n o f t h e t r a c k , o ve rh ea d a n d t o l l i n g

T H E C I T I L L N S ' L I N E S

A t t h i s p o in t, i t m ig h t be w e l l t o t a k a a c l o sl oo k a t t h e C i t i z e ns ' E l e c t r i c s ys te m as i t e x i s t eb et we en t h e t im e o f a ba nd on me nt o f t h e ~ l e a s a n t ' v al e y l i n e a nd t h e d a t e o f i t s c o n s o l id a t i o n w i t h t hMassaohuse t t s Nor theaste rn .

The main l i n e of th e road extended from Newburypo r t to Amesbury a s before , ca r s runn ing over thdou ble ir on from Market Squar e, Newburyport, throught h e c e n t e r o f M er ri ma c S t r e e t t o Ba l c h' s C or ne r, aBr idge Road. Hera t h e s i ng le t r ac k began, runnina l o n g t h e n o r t h s i d e o f M ar ri ma c S t r e e t t o a poinln e a r t h e p r e s e n t C ha sa - Shawrnut fa ct or y, where thl i n e c ur ve d t o t h e so u th s i d e o f t h e s t r e e t a n d ex-t e n de d o n t o W ar ne r' s C or ne r, a t t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n oMerr imac S t r e e t wi t h moseley Avenue and SpoffordS t r e e t .

R un ni ng a l o n g t h e v e s t s i d e of S p oP fo r d S t r e e t as h o r t d i s t a n ce . Th e t s a c k s moved t o t h e e a s t s i dbef ore cr os s i ng th e Chain and Essex-merr imack br id geov er th e Merrimack Rive= i n t o Amesbury. Between' t h

stock. two b r i d g e s, t h e r a i l w a y c r o s s e d Deer I s l a n d .


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Laaving th e Essex - i llerr imack bridge, the l i n efo l lowed the east s ide o f main Street. thmugh Amss-bu ry' s Po in t Shore area, as far as th e Union Congre-gat ion al Church, swinging t o the opposite side j u s tbefore cr os si ng th e Powow Riv er bridge. a f te r c ross-rng the span, th e l i n e o on ti nu ed along tha west s ideo f Main Stre et a l l the way t o HuntingtDn Square andthe junc t ion w i th the Haverh i l l & Amesbury, l a t e r th elnerr imao Di vi si on o f the Northeastern. Fro. Hunting-ton Square, cars ra n down the i i ai n St re et cbuble i r o nt o inarkat Square.

* s t * * +The Plum Is la nd l in e, leav ing O a * t Square,

Newburyport. v ia Sta te Street, almost immediatelycurved eas terly i n t o Rl iddle Street, extending alongthe no r t h s ide o f m idd le S t rs e t to Federa l Street ;through the center o f Federa l Street to School Street ;through narrow School and Lima St re et s to PurchaseStreet, and a long the south s ide o f ~u rc ha se t reetto b r l b o r o S tree t, c ro ss in g th e N w h l r yp o r t C i t yRai l road a t grade on Purchase St ree t near Harr isonStreet.

From Purchase Str eet, the tr ac ks ran down th eeas te r l y s ide o f hiar lboro Street to Uiater Street andalong the nor t her l y s ide o f Water Street t o a po i n tj u s t beyond Ocean Avenue. Here ths y curv ed t o th esout herly sl ds of the Plum Isla nd turnprke and con-t inued on to th e Plum Isl an d Riv er bridg e and PlumIs la nd Center, cros sing the boundary from Nwlburyporti n t o Nwbury near the present Plum Is la nd Airport.

Fmm Plum Is la nd Center, th e l i n e ran over a leasepr iv at e r i g ht o f way, fo l lowing the oourse of thpresent Northern Boulevard, t o Plum Is la nd Point.

A new 21 year lease o f t he pr iv at e r i g h t of wayfrom Plum Is la nd Center t o Plum Is la nd Po in t wasigned by the Ci t izens ' E le ct r i c on 1 November 1900the agreenent, which al so covered th e la nd on whicthe Plum Is la nd carhouse mas loactsd, c al l i n g fo r thpayment of an annual re nt al o f $300 u n t i l 1 June 190and a pa pe n t of $500 per annum ther eaf ter .

Du ring May 1905, the Essex County Commissionersb y l e g i s l a t i ve act, were dir ect ed to take over thPlum Island Turnpike k Br id ge Company, pa yi ng no morthan $6.000 i n damages. and to la y ou t the turn pikand brid ge as pu bl ic ways. The ac t als o aut horiz ethe C i t i zens ' E le c t r i c to cont inue to opera te i tl i n e a long the turnp ike and across the br idge iaccordance wl th the terms o f the contra ct signed bth e former Plum Is la nd El ec tr ic and turn pike companon 9 Novmb er 1897. Th is cont rac t. i t w i l l be reca l led, requ ired the callway t o main tain and to make anecessary r epa i r s to the ' p i ke and b r idge a t i t s owexpense. * * * t %

The Nwhlrypo rt-Parke r Rive r l in e, leav ing Narke t Square, ran up the canter of State Str ee t to HigStre et, where the connection u i t h th e GeorgetownRowley & Ipsw ich was effected, and t h m extended ease rl y and southeasterly along High St rse t and HigRoad to the Parker Riv er bridge. The t ra ck s ra


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through the os nte r of High Stremt from St st a St re etto th e h a d of hlsrlbom St ree t, near th e Nmsbury townline . Here High S t r e e t becams Hlgh Road s nd t h etracks extended along the nort herly si de of th e high-way (now Route 1-A) fwrn t h r s po in t t o th e end of t h eline.

t 1

The High St rs et l i n e i n Neeburyport, beginninga t St at e and Pleasant St reets , ran through tha cente rof narrow Pleasant St re et t o Titoomb St re et and.p r i o r t o l a t e 1912, continue d through Titcomb andWashington Str aet s to Yinter St re et and up @i nt erSt re et to High Street. Ths 1912 relo cati on involvedthe layxng of trac ks through Plaasant Stre et exten-s u n t~ iilinter St re et and up th e westerly side ofullnter Street to dashington Street.

From t he ca ms r of d l nte r and H~ gh t res te , t h etra cks can through the cen ts r of High St re et to ThreeRoads, where they curved t o t he sout herl y si da ofStorey &venue and con tln usd on to the connection withthe Boston Er Northern (Bay st at e) St rs et Railuay a tP la ins Junc t~on , near Lou Stcsst.R O L L I N G S T O C K

Excspt for a 1912 roste'e, th ere a r e no survivingrecords of the r o l l ~ n g tock of th e Ci t izens ' Elec-t r io i t r a e t Railway. As of 17 Decenber 1900, when thecompany executed th e fi r' st mortgage se cur ing i ts$230,000 bond iss ue, pass enge r equipmsnt of th e roadincludsd Pour closed horsecars, four Qpen tr ar ls rs .sauen 5 bench opens, l 2 ten bench opens, fo ur 1 3bench opens, s i x 16 foo t c losed ca r s w ~ t h pen plat-forms, f ive 16 foot c lased cars with ves t~ bu le s andf i v e 25 f o o t double truck vast ibuled olossd cars.There w e r e s ~ xnow plows and s e v s r a l four-wheel f l a tt r a i l e r s .

The five 25 foot n losed oars and the four 13bench opens, el so of th e double truck type, had a l lbeen b u i l t by the Newbuoyport Car Company i n 1899 and1900 and the cl oss d cars ar e belieuad to have bsennumbered 73 odd through E l . Builders of th e s ln gletruc k c ar s inc lude d Ellie . Newburypart and Jones.

The four ,horseca rs vsr e soon discarded a s als oWere th ree of t h e snow plolus and by 30 Septenber1902, t h e r o l l l n g stock aonszsted of 16 closed oars -f i v e double truck and 11 s i n g l e truck - end 27 opens.Znoluding seven with 8 benohee, 12 u l t h 10 benchsa,four with 1 3 benchsa en d four t r a i l e m . The t r a i l e r s

r e believsd t o have been of the 8 bench type. Alsoo we d were a box f r e i g h t car, klvo platform f r e i g h t.cars and th ree snow plow% The tnx f r e i g h t car , b el i m e d t o havs bsen m i l t by the Cit izens ' E l e c t d c&a 1901. was pmbably used on t h e Plum I s l a n d line.

The twenty Pive passenger oa ts des tm ys a i n maNewburyport carhouse f i r e of 1904 incl udad the f i v edsuble truck closed, the four 13 bench opens, e l l 12te n bench open s and Pour I-foot si ng le truc k closed.The only ca rs l e f t lvlth which to provida serv ioa wereseven s ing le t ru& do se d cars i n opmration a t th at ime of the f i r s - plus some opens i n storage a t thePlum Island and marrilnac carhouses.

Tha Fire i e sa id to have s t ar te d i n No. 73and i t Spread rapid ly. The ni gh t matchman, who dis-oovered t h e bl az s, mmvsd one oar, No. 67' a Bingletruck closed, o ut of the barn and then atte npte d tohaul th e blazing 73 from th e building. The t m l l s ymire melted from the in tens e hest and tha t vas i t 1Newspaper re po rt s of t he f i r e notrrd t h a t No. 73 wasconsidered -s *Jinx" car a s , p r io r to the b lazs , ithad been inirolved i n ea va ra l accrdenta. Ln ona ofwhich a mfarafan had h t is leg.

No 67, which had been moved onto t h e s t r e e t i nfron t of th e barn, caught f i r e severa l t lmas and masa, badly charred, i t was rendered useless . I t la t arwas r e b u i l t a t t h a Newburyport Car Company UIOrks andmes Eestorsd to service.

To rep la ce th e desroyed equipment, ca rs wereaoquired from t h e Boston & borces te r S t r ee t Re~ luay ,othe rs uere purchased fmm th e Worcester Gn so l~ da ta dst re et Railway, and two pa r t ia l l y- bu ~l t cars a t t heNevbucypoct Car Canpany - one 25 Foot clos ed and one12 bench open - were rushed to completion. Four 14bench doubls tru* opens were orde red from th e J. G.Bri l l Cpmpany of P h~ la de lp hi a, Pa., and were ds ll ue r-sd i n e arly June.

As of 30 September 1904, equipment of the C T b -zens' El ec tr ic included 14 closed cars, 25 opens, onebox fr eig ht car, one platform fre ig ht car and thr eesno. plous. One of th e snow plovls Uas a double tru*a f f a ~ r , b u i l t by Smith & k l l a c s o f doburn. tdsss.,and aquipped with mmpressed a i r pist ons fo r ra isi ngand lotuerlng th e noses and wings. The ot he r two werefo ur urhael plolus, pmb ably aoqu ired sernnd hand.

The box freight oar was sonvaEted t o a l i n e c a rzn 1905, th re e no re opens being added duning t h a tyear. Two opaos were r e t i r e d &r ing l90 6 and ei gh topsn and two olosad ears were discarded i n 1907, a11being o f th e obsolete s ingle t rudt var iety . As of 30September of th e l a t t e r year, equipment of the C i b -zm s ' Elec tr i c included 12 clos ed and 18 open passen-ger cars, one platform fr ei gh t car, a l i n e cao andth r e e snow ploms. The Smith & Wallace plow purchasedi n 1904 Was replaced i n 1908 by a si mi la r plow bu il tby th e Ueson tnleeufacturing Cwpany of Sp rin gfi al d,mass. There i s no infometion as to t h e f a t e of t h eSmith & Wallace plow.


11/28


12/28


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hlerrima~kRiver betuear ~eurhrrpp~'~

acceptable t p a i l p a r t i e s concerned and M 77t h e lease to Craenough oas confinned arm p&-tp assign i t t o iiir. Shaw was granted. The tat'ksr-*hased t ha r o l l i n g stock owned by ilrr. IJort:tRr&d'd&afhvrsday afternoon, ?9 Ju ly , the hocse raiLr&d''$$$ - sv i c e was Eesurned.T H C S H R W P E R I O D . I, ..

. P. Shawes tenura a s e f f e c t i v e lee-ae of %"atNmburypoct & Amesbury was comparativeLy br i e f , tm6i n a t i n g 12 J u l y 7886, a f t e r his purchase 4P .Nawbu~y-fo;r W2,000. A year l a t e r , i n 1887, he w l d h i s z n -

3or t ' s 250 shares of stock in t h e company, repostedly ...t e r e s t t o Charles Odal l of Salw, pres ident OF t h aNaUmkeag S t r e e t Ra i lway i n t h e Witch Uty. -W

Much wae acwmplished during Shaw's regimq e s

...


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ca r NQ. j& buiit tq dJia Car taken i n P m n t om , e r c h a n t l s Roo i n hiBBbil&g. og&i a l t e r e d c o nsi&aLil y gri .appearanee-, d .: ;' ( A ?Rla>rket Sq!xbc-e t o t h a t P o i n t . Soon therP.af'+.St, 1


15/28

l a s to H G Johnson Jr., the ~U wo ur ya or tmayor'sB t the annual meeting o f tne company i n 1833

r. Shepard had been e le c te d company tr ea sur e r andr a c t o r and alessrs. Per ley, drckans, T i l t on and

nson a l l had been named dlr ac to rs , and l t wast e r t h i s meet ing t ha t t he s t ab les t ransac t i on t ook

The commissioners allegeo that l l iayor Wil l iam A.nson, pr es id en t oP th e company, was, i n ef fec t, a

e t par tner w i th Shew i n the lease o f the road.N othin g s t r i c t l y l l l e g a l uas tu rned up &r in g thed 's inq u i r y but the i ssue s ra i sed undoubted ly

ere a f ac t o r i n Neuburypo rt ls dec i s i on 60 s e l l i t ste re st i n the company to iur. Sham. Anothe r fac to r

as that c l t y mas r ec e lv ln g no r e k m M t s nves t -nt i n the rai l ro ad, the amount being -ved as

t ba n g ba re l y adequate t o cover the m x w r a t e

The s ta b le s on Commercial W h a r f app~ar CB havaeen us ed on l y o r ~ e f l y y t h e railq.layJrih. in 1B7,

er ec ted new sta ble s, 160 by 30 f e e t i n area, andnew carhouse, measur ing 140 by 36 fee*, bot h o f uoframa con stru ctlo n, on upper Merrimac Street, nethe foo t o f Oloul ton Street , an Newburyport's tVoEnd. The sta bl es wers damaged by f i r e i n 1888 brepar rs were made qu ic kl y and the bu i ld ln g res tort o use.

There wers al so two sta bl es i n Amssbury. One wlocated near the in t er se ct i on o f Main and le r r imaSt reets , i n the so - c a l l e d "F er ry " d i s t r i c t o f ttown, and the oth er was si tu at ed off main str ee t; Patten 's Hollow. These sta ble s housed ex tr a horswhich, guided by "tow boys", were used t o h au l tcars u? the steep grades nearby.

Officials o f th e road on 30 September 1887 ic luded Charles Odel l p f Salem, presi dent; Ul i l la rdFerguson of Salem, superintendent, and AugustusReynolds o f Nwbu rypor t, t re asu rer and clerk. Tc a p i t a l stock o f $60.000 was owned by 15 sto okb old eand tn s funded debt consisted o f SSO,DDO i n 6 p

his -rere *k Wea altstde th e Newturyport Awesburycarhw&. a t M : e . W f z i rt shortly before electdfica-:. - t i o n . . . . . -


16/28

&mor@s$e bonds. Thsre mere. 8.1% ,r.out,s.m,ZbesXfd d %zsom&Wq@d. , *:zm. tha d~.@v.&aaa. tragt Railwp. ' . ~m miie of-si>&ngs,am urnoutsr fps a si'wle Qrs~ l l s$:,;ng on &B in&%:&,& ,$l.ig f ro w N

zy aQd ' 5w iw . c i %wdhes us~*.m

end Wqce wegs 58 h o ~ s e s i.x T E . N @.I,@ N S, . ~.~.. ~~ ~

wars cotistruo

St;~e,& to THigh .g;t.=*t, *

Bq:s+eiby nu+npqt F-*P?Y k+ nd S t g ~ e y y.giuei Fs ~ w ~ ~trBSt9 to BZ.e$~fw&2Zi?SR 'WiWZ%iWE&:iri .Tbqse Ro~gw, t h e tracks continpad e h 9 , tpray i ( ueq of dbtie+t @ti*' th& WW t &Xi& q e t mC ~H&& A ,Ceh*" qgll,$d gesley St&) to a gepogFLa

-,&& .amdiis. and *a* W& ec&&e.d,o'ir &@ o l d bG cK ?chiolbouse, near the c 6 m . e ~ f L$Y~.Stkd

Plum Island Horse car at the

Plum Island Hotel


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The 12 cl os ed ca rs owned on 30 September 1897i n cl u de d s i x o f th e 25 fo o t double tr uc k type, Nos.63. 73. 75, 77. 79 and 81; one 20 f o o t s ing le t ruckclosed, No. 91, and f i v e 16 foot si ng le truc k closed,in c lu d in g Noe. 65, 67, 69 and 71, a l l b u i l t by New-buryport . The 18 opens included the four B r i l l 14bench cars, Nos. 52, 92, 94 and 96; four Nwburyport12 bench cats, Nos. 76. 78, 80 and 90; f i v e Newbury-p o r t 10 bench cars, Nos. 62, 64, 6 4 68 and 74, andf i v e w i t h seven benches, i n c lu d in g Nos. 70 and 72.

The pl at fo rm Fr ei gh t c ar owned i n 1907 was adouble t ruck af f a i r , en t i re ly open to the elements,and a photograph suggests i t may or iginal ly have bsena &uble tru ck closed car, probably one of thoseburned i n the Newburyport carhouse f i r e OF 1904. I t ssi ng le t r o l l s y pol e was mounted on a pi pe standard i nthe center o f the body. Thi s was replaced p r i o r to1912 by a somewhat more ela bor at e mot or f l a t car.Also r i d i n g on double trucks, th e new ca r had a 37 ft.8 in. body w i t h a l ar ge enclosed cab, an the to p ofwhich a t r o l l e y po le was mounted. a t each end. Sideboards were prov ide d so th e car coul d be used to h a u lsand o r sravel.

A f ter the C i t i zm s' E le ct r ic was taken ovsr the Nepf Hampshire El ec tr ic Railways i n 1911, thre e th e 8 bench opens and two 16 fo o t clo se d cars, in clding No. 65, were r e t i r e d and scrapped, as als o wth e l i n e car. The oth er thr ee 16 f o o t cars, Nos. 669 and dfgdfg were schbbeduled to be sorapped bu tf i r s t two inste ad were conver ted t o service equipmesand car C-No. 22 and l i n e ca r GNo. 24. No. 71 wplaced i n s torage a t the P lum Is la nd ~arho use nd wby th e Newburyport 'Di vi si on t rac k gang. Pressed i n t o mergency passengse rv ic e as a workmen's ex tr a i n 1917, i t was mnvered to a sand car th e fo llo win g yeer and was renumbed &No. 28.

Passenger car s rem nd it i one d and repainted fcont inued use included the si x 25 foot closed, whiwere renumbered 120 wen through 130; the 20 foclosed car, which became No. 10; th e four 12 benopens. which became 181 odd thm ugh 187; t h s f ou r bench opens. which were renumbered 189 odd thmu195, and th e f i v e 10 bench opens. which were renumbered I97 odd through 205. A l l were turn ed over th e Massachusetts Northea stern i n 1913.


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ere was a grade crossing of t h e Eastern Div is io n o f T H E P L U M I S L A N D I I E. ~.on Uiashington Street, During. the sp ring of 1886, at ou t a year af t e r hath e Nevlburyport depot of f W inter Stre et. purchased atock c o n t w l o f t h e Nesburyport h'AmesburyThe Other extension* begnnng at State and b r e e R ai lm ad , E P Shes undertook the conetruqtion

asant st re et s, continued State to H of a horseear U ~ B long p a r t of P&.m Igland , o lo ngre et and ran easte r ly on High to the N F b u r Y stret ch of =nd dunss e8tenfi ing a b n g th e At la nt is

l ine , a t the head of Marlboro Street, a,di stan cs b a s t fco . the @scclmack Rivar t o i p w i q h Bay. But16about three-quarters of a mile. This was extended ' ingf the sine, u h i e ex tended f rqn tho pre smt p lumm m f lar lbom S treet a long High Road i n the 9 ldto"n 1Is la nd Centen i n th e town of NevrbUry t o P1Y4 Is la nd .

O f Rlellibur~ to Lane in 1890 (opamb P a i n t in th e ~ i t y I N ~ U ~ ~ $ ~ ~ ~ O ; ~ ~ J B Sn d e r t a k e n f t e rn comencnQ about and luas further extended S b s pprqhased the s b k o f the Plvh Leland Turnpikeo the Lower Green and the Parker River E r i e s fn & Bridge h mp a~ y, th e ownas of a t e l l ma d acm98 t he

apletads lineee 3'99 "less marshes Pram Qpqsn &venue, Nwl?uoyport, t o the Plumm Marke t Squera, Nw bur ypo rt. Idend Rives and on the ip lan d Proca t he r i v e r t o a

s t Of ext4e * Mr)i a@"$ a ln i l e nor th of Smdy Bm~h, so-caIlW.linecmsa Parker RLvor and On to** @pn;geaf!y &so pLned a p i & q d,$asbriage aqma e theSSs eR$ e q a l l h o ts 1 a t Plum I sl a nd Center.As of 30 September 1891. the Naburypor t @.- ?%e@&@$(! o f the ho rwca r l i n s m$s t e w n r e y

u r y Horse Ra i l road orned 18.046 m u t e mi&iiS . - -8isn t h e hots), and th e etsambnat lend-mi lea of s id i ngs a n d turnouts, fo r a &%&? *, * *@ on the ,,i;lrrlmacknd19.729 miles. of U h i G A f)*BbO g+~- on 24 Juy. The

i les wore pave.d. &b@Wlqr mepaw g v s ~ :ivate p rope rt y. l ~ s aCombination passenger car and st* h y f@lg e e L B E s k n qSt ree t Railway and l a t e r owned by t he @Is& w@m#4tqa& andt he Havo rh i l l & Arnesbury St re et .RqiTunyqi


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An 8 bench opm a t Three Roads, the junction of High Stree t with S t o r EY AvenUesFerry Road snd Oloseley Rvsoue i n Nwbu~yport. Ca r i s on Storey Avenue.


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A r a i lway request f o r a l o c a t i o n of High Street. I s l a n d tu rnp ike t o the sea on th e eastern s ide oWinter S t r ee t eas te r ly t o S ta t s St ree t t o con- Plum Island.t he High S t r ee t and Parker R iver l i n e s i n 1897. H t about the same time. Ode l l and h i s associate

s withdrawn a f t e r st rong opposi t ion developed. purchased c o n t r o l o f the Plum I s l a n d Turnpikea wye wag i n s t a l l e d a t P leasant and State Bridge Company from E. P Shaw and under an agremenp e m i t t i n g c a r s en te r ing the i n t e r s e c t i o n signed 9 November 1897, the Plum I s l a n d E l e c t r i

Pleasant S t r ee t t o run e i t he r souther ly on Sta te St ree t Railway uas granted the perpe tus l r i g h t ttoward High S t r ee t o r no r the r l y on Sta te operate along the tu rnp ike and across the br idg

t o market Square. For a time, the High S t r ee t w i thou t payment o f t o l l s . The ra i lway, on i t s par tParker R iver l i n e s uere through-routed. agreed to make a l l necessary r e p a i r s and t o mainta i

I) I * t the 'p ika and br idge wit t iout expense t o the tu rnp ikThe abandonment of the Plum I s l a n d horseoar l i n e WmPanY-

n 1895 by th e H a v e r h i l l & Amestury S t r ee t Railway R ~ o n s t m c t i o n f the trackage between RlarlboroPollolusd i n mi61897 by the purchase o f p a r t of S t r ~ a t s Ntruburyport. and Plum I s l a n d Center haga

he discontinued trackage - f r o m the foot o f marlborn eUen befors the a r t i c l e s o f assoc ia t ion of t he P l mNewturyport, t o Plum I s l a n d Center - by a I s l a n d Electr ic S t r e e t Railway were f i l ed . The o l

headed by President Ods l l of the ~ e v b u r p horsecar t r acks were rmoved and replaced w i th new 4& Amesbury. A t the same time, the Plum I a h n d lb. r e i l s i po les were erected and ~ v e r h e a d i res wer

St ree t Railway was organized as a p r ov i s i ona l atrung. Eight 10 bench s i n g l e t ruck open care wari t s char te r being granted on 23 August. ordered from the Neuburyport Cer Company and '

Ths new company was author ized t o b u i l d from the t o r s were acquired f r o m t h s General E l e c t r i c Conof the Newburyport & Ameshry Horse Ra i lmad Arrangements were made t o purchase power

t marlborn en d Union Streets, i n N e u h r y p ~ r t * ~outh the NwburyporC & Amesbury as w e l l as t o run over mdown Marlborn S t r ee t t o Ulatec St ree t and along NhA's South End l i n e between Marlboro S t r ee t and Mar

he o l d horsecar r ou te on Water S t r ee t and the Plum k e t Squara. Nwburypoct.

No. 46, an 8 bench open on t h e Essexderrimaok b r i dga en rou te to Ameshry.r


23/28

, , . ,. .An ear ly Netuburyport + Anasbucy. % . Q a . ~ , @ @ c ; e ~ s . ~a l n arid99 boung f o r i4gwburyport. .

Ulhilp th e i e h a b i l i t a t r o n of the.Ug-E g@+ By 1902, the road was i n the, bebt of conditk ~ i cwas under way, Shaw and h i e as+c&atgb. , ,, .%*d aobording t o the U. S , Street,h. U e o t r i c ~ a ~c ~ n t r o lof the Plum Is land E l e c t r i c , S w w m . c@;@s o f t h a t year, of th e ~ i t i z b s ' , leCtc ic 23.from Char le ,~ de l l and on 8 Oc@bar 1900, @ge+ .f track, 8,99',miles were: within and-,Iary au tho r i t y having been grqkced by ' ,. . were outs ide c i t y l im i tg . Thme 'rnee?: ..

. ~ ?Commissioners on th e tarns day, th e ~ :bjri;dges tckal l in ; 10D_Peet n leng th ,$a s h o ~ treStand M e Plum I s l a n d E l a d t r i c uenb me?p .& + OW& Plun Bush Cre& and the: br idge 'over the P$r , . t .s ing le operat ing mpany,. th e f o m e r : i n c ~ ~g+ R~ uery and one grade' &osrrlng o f a st.+c a p i t a l stock t o $240.000. Later i n th e ' %imad - on Purchase Street, Newburyport. Overhcmpany issued 9230.000 i n 20 year 5 peB CZ , , - w s t ~ l t ~ t i o n ns is ted of 4.18 mi les o f span w i r e a.,mortgage bonds. These were dated 1 DdceolW& W 6 8 m i l e s of s i d e bracket suspension, There w e rthe Beacon Trust Company o f Boston was named 'pales par m i l e and 73;m i h s of f e e d e ~ines.O f the t o t s l , $20.DW was t o be he ld i n t h e #mu eng iks , b o i l e r s and gepeestors had bIf o r f u t u r e improvemants t o th e power p %tw,t@lled i n the power s ta t ion i n 1699 and 19001111,000 was t o be used fo r the purchase of e ~ . b.&ng 1902, a sutmarjiqe cable was l a i d undgr

With t h a absorption o f the Plum I s l a n d mad. '%&- f @ ~ t i a r a c iver f r ~ m p ~ i n t gar the'end of BridC i t i t s n s t E l8okr ic owned. 21.662 m u t e m i l a s + &~ES RD& N w b r y p o r t , to Ring's Island. Salisbury,3.216 m i l e ,of axdings and turnouts. fo r a tot& qf .rrrd&% provide power to th e HaverhiZl & Amssbu23.078 t rack miles* S s r w t e mileage cons.isfe6 @ 2 ik s i n and around Salisbury.the following: L l u d m 1907, th e Cit izens ' E l e c t r i c made arran

Nmburyport - Amesbury 5.22 m i l e s . mmte to. purchase power from th e Rockingham CpaNwburyport - Plum I s l a n d 5.08 If@%Power Company of Portmouth, N.H.. a subaNewburypoct - Parker River 3.89 " a ry o f the Neu Hampshire E lec t r i c Railways* and mNmbrypo r t : High Stree t l i n e 2.57 . " s t w t e d a w b s t a t i a n on Ring's laland, This was aAmeshury - rilerrinac & . a " ft. by 39 ft. b r ick building, wi th a rdo f and f l

TOTAL 21.85 mi les oP w n c r e t e on exposod steel, and i t s ~quipmen


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tun General E leo t r i c 300 K w . ro ta ry converterss i x General E l e c t r i c 13.200/370 v o l t air-cooled

This s ta t ion was w p p l i e d by a 13,20025 cyc le three - phase transmission l i n e from

NHA f t e r the new substation, which also served the

dr Ameebury, mas placed i n operation, thegenerating s ta t ion was closed. although

t s equipment mas retained f o r several years f o r~mergencyuse. r, t he boi lers, engines

generators mere r e . . nd the b u i l m n g waarazed.

An unscheduled improvment mas made i n 1904 a s

on the n i g h t o f 28 March. The blaze bmkau t about 9115 and by the time the f i rmm arriued.he bu i ld ing was a mass o f flames. By t h e mrnirq of

Parch, a l l t ha t rmnained mere p i l e s o f b r i c k an dhe tw is ted and charred r m a i n e oP 25 passmger cars

d th ree snow ploms.A f t e r a l l t he r u b l l e had been cleared away, the

o f a neu carhouse mas begun, the morkcompleted by the end of the year. The new

bu i ld ing was 80 fee t wide and 164 feet deep end hadb r i c k mal ls 12 in . thi&. Exposed steel t russes sup-ported th e s lag covered plank and timber roof. Thereusre seven tracks, p i t s being provided a t the threetracks on the east side o f the bui lding. A t the f ron tof the bui lding, a t each track, there mas an i r o nr o l l e r door. On the northwest corner o f the bu i ld ingwas a 20 by 75 ft . e l l . containing an o f f i c e andlobby, a stock room and a lamp room, and i n the base-ment a t th e rear of the carhouse was a smal l repa i rshop.

The n w carhouse was the operat ing center of theCi t izens ' Electr ic, w i th the o l d Werrimac barn endt h e Plum Isrend carhouse of th e former Plum I s l a n dU e c t r i c Street Railway being used p r i n c i p a l l y f o rstorage purposes. The l a t t e r , a good frame bui lding.mas locatad on t h e south s ide o f the Plum I a l a n dtuxnpike, opposite the Plum Is land Hote l a t the cen-ter, and mas a tmo-story stmcture. 40 f ee t v i d e and125 fee t deep-There mere three t racks f o r car storageon the ground f l o o r and a h a l l , sometimes used f o rdances, on the second.

The car house of th e Newburyport & Amesbury b u i l t i n 1891.


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Car No Bu, acqulced from the 8oston acid WoN:mtm ssCond Wad. Walter L r m g d d i.sbeltevsd&o b8 We mobtinan. Fredetick Baur, norU raLiIred supQsiflf,eftm8df mail .at 4t h e hlewburyport post ofPio8 stands on @-w running ho5i.d %Wac& the f ront of the mr.?ha tW rmnamihg 8 bench opens, Nos. 70 a& 72,by &ma and tip la& ooP those purchased by thgMecobwryport 4 Amasbury fmw the s a e t End&Elmy Of Bosbn i n 1891, were slated ba

267 end 299 but nevsr were, exceptBoth were placed i n dend sborege a t t h e P h

mkhome, mbace they runained un t i l 1920.Ai3.M We Citizens' Electr ic cars, bncidmtst lype&nted gwen and white, mMJl sems %o&atfa~ h d mtlard m lo r s fo r roads controlled by bth*inWe&e. Abst bP thosa w h i n e d ?#r oo%Snuod

.hgr t h e hiew Bdmplpshire Electric W l w y e weroallow or chrome yellom and em'te ,

a*:.%I*pw$. 811.&&*a .. . .m e r&or +,%a&, an beowe ~G - NO.' 80 ah


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O P E R A T I O N ST H E m 4 I N L I N E

During th e heyday of th e Citizen s' S l e o t r l eSt re et Railway and th e Newburyport Jiu is io n O? theMassachusetts Northeastern, a 30 minute h e a d a y WEBmainta ined hhroughout t h e year on the main LinB BE-tween Nwb ury por t and Amesbury. During th e nummmmontha, main l i n e ca r s ran through from ilrarkee SWBPOIAmesbury, t o Plum Is la nd Point, end i n ttls f a i l ,win te r an d sp ri ng , the y ran between RmesbuDy andOcean Avenue i n Netuburyport's South End. or , to US8t h e local tam, i n th e Joppa dect ion of th e city.

The di st an ce between (TiaEket Squar e, Amsrbucy,end Plum Island Point was 10.29 miles and the r u M i n pt ime was one hour, fo ur 'ca rs being required t o pLG-vi de t h e bas e sche& le. Between Ocean Avenue, M8W-bur ypo rt, and Market Square, Amesbury, th e &atan00was 6.69 miles. ui th a running time of 45 ainutae,and t h r e e c a r s were r eq ui re d t o f i l l t h e l in e.

OC~asLonally during the win ter months, Whens t o m s O r snow and i c e wn di t io ns d i s iup t ed NWbUPY-port-Amesbury se rvi ce , thmugh oa rs were dpsWtsdbetwean t h e two Market S qua res only, s Bsparata 81rbeing assigned t 6 the %6uth End run i n hlevbllrypast.

Tho d t~ b a n e s betwoan 11Tarkat S~ ua rs , Amorbury, anda~rarkatSquaral I~WUBU+~POEL,BB 5.12 m i f @ ~m d thenoriaal runninp tima wan 30 minuter.

luri%3uks ketwaon Nwbu ry go rt and RffiOlbuPY i nIS12 warn iocetad an irlarrimsu Strash, noar th a fa o tOF Ueodland Btseat, i n Rlawburyport4 an Deer fal en d)Datiwaln th 6 ChnLn and Cslex- if lorcimaok b r i d ~ o ~ ,nd onPo tn t Shame, Rmepktry, n m Rooky H i l t Raad. m y 1914,th s Rsaky H i l l Road and 0 0 ~r h n d tuenou l8 had boonrmou ad and had born rop1n.und ky an5 16orLsd a t th eHaskrurood a st a to on lo a a r Main Btraeb, Amoaktry. Bo.twean Navtiu~y@mb a d F h 0Zlrnrl Po in t, t h a n v a nku rnou ts on hlarlbDcn %bsebr on thm P lum l s l l nd Urn-pika, n m r th e Nmmbuaypoet - Newbury bundacy (LongE id inp), a t P l m Bunh Down8 m d a t BIum f atand Contsr

Sa9lrulng da &s ly -p ep ul to d arcla8 o f Newhucyparand ~maobury, %hamain l l n a d td e t h r i u i n ~o o ebus insan end o8Sz&od h a v y t h ~ ~ u p hr a f ~ o . many su-tea earn umm oparated BoMem the two f lankat Swaronbocsuaa nu marno rasidP nta of thm 'Port mn kod i nAmo&ryta OIPS~SQ~ and aut rnn~b i fsBody p h n t s and,oon usra rly, many Amasbury saaid antrr v a r r nmployed i nN w L U r y ~ o r b t a shes and othor fs t itor lee. th ar r vaaa l e h oavy l o o a l c i d i n p an t h e S auth mel U n a i n Nsw-busyport m d i n noplmer, ths re uora many exbc-ao to


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A snow plow and tm p u a l j ~ E i ; . ! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ @ ~ ~ utreet, ~ & t: ,P l w Ialand, part tcularly cn dance ni.&w@$&$iEb,J + M ~ avilion or when aw e &&ai : d . a a .rh l h n as .ms t o n or , an aitplane fiIf@t&. = ; P ~ : &. .u l a ed t a ebnd.. . Circusas pets a w w ~i-!&

8 : i- ..LZttlets Field ofiF thm Plum Ielend turnpiku$r"1 . , , , ~ , ,praesl t ~ p . ~ , t + . m ~ ~ s9dge, and .every avrii ,_;,oqs

ks plaped i n servIoe to handle the thlwl%&?. . 'EadIy Ln t h e wr ing of 1903 (on 25 f@&h.'i&,~ t k a i i e ~c t e c was ~ ~ . n = r dy a*::r.. , ~

. .A!' . - ..~.,l aykre ttr a c t as ci mmon ost-rl:Sr df 0@3$ P O-mduw, provleions. ,ioe, bsggage and W,@&&+&?f!je$%.

-

~ a i swe* i ts traijcs i n t@ eity r# Netii@j&&gigshe tourn. OF [email protected], ShoPtly.~ t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ @ i $ , ,$?$$*,?:%ea-r.y panniesi* l p v l nn been g@n,t+j~kj? .@Q @.%I-ni t ies, the ~ i . ~ i a e n s fl e i r l t ~ ~ r i !.pe&qwg aPseight c&r at&& Na*e+ 5qt&en ~l.(idbrfg)!$Q& .ZiodPim leland Point Por Ghu .hrch.iapr:t6,f :Bp.Z@gBr~*br@-aper6ted daL1y eRcept: Swi&rf, $he: e:2ag depen&ng f r o m~ewbuP~port -n the mfd-fo,r8n00n aeaer ksving been. on ,Stet8 Street Mra s t ttse .aqcrpre wtth mar-&w,se stdewd br t e i e ~ h n e&rby n e a s e n a . AS i n

he case o r tne psesun@er sewice, t h i s aooomodatiwas oFPeMd &rlng th.wmmer months only and i t ucontinumi a f t e r the CiCizenet Uec t r i o mas mergin* the Northeastem.

There was no turnout between Plun Iuland cantand Plum I s b n d Point and the express oar had t o Pol o w g r precede the rogular pa&mger car, uith ra r l t ing ~ ~ ( p l i c a t i o n en making deliveries. Along thUne usre platfonas on both sides oP the track aProm them p l a ~ f o a e , plank walks radiated to thmore distant mtZogewr

Servioa betrveen Nemturyport and Plum IslaPoint me re&oed &ring the summer oP 1918, tS&day achadule calling for an hourly heedway froma.m. to 4 p.m. and half-hourly un t i l 10 p.m. Sunds e r v b e was eeeentially the same axcept that thf i r s t ca r d i d no t leave Wwburypnrt u n t i l 8 a.m.

Trouble wih the draw span ak the Plum IslanRiver b&dge daveloped &ring the etimmer of 1919 anfor aevassl weak, passengers to and fmm the islanhad to walk somas the bridge - af t e r which the mpcar would omas. Thm, on 19 September, because of


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Documents

Newburyport-Plum Island Street Railway History