New York Connecting Railroad
New York Connecting Railroad Timeline
Incorporation
April 21, 1892
The New York Connecting Railroad was incorporated and was jointly owned by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Dedication
March 9, 1917
The line was dedicated by Pennsylvania Railroad President Samuel Rea and engineer Gustav Lindenthal as a connection between the New Haven's Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad and the PRR East River Tunnels to Penn Station and the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River.
Ceremonial First Train
March 25, 1917
A special train took the directors of the New Haven over the line and at that time it was turned over to the New Haven for operation, though the Southern Division (freight-only) was not yet complete.
Passenger Service Begins
April 1, 1917
Passenger service began with the return of the Federal Express and the rerouting of two local trains.
Electrification
1927
The New York Connecting Railroad was electrified around 1927 as an extension of the New Haven's system. The NYCR system encompassed 20 route miles of track, and was electrified, like the New Haven, using overhead catenary at 11 kV, 25 Hz. The system received power from the New Haven Cos Cob Power Station and Consolidated Edison 201st generating station via the West Farms substation. Additional power was supplied from a 5 MW, 7 kVA, 11 kV, three-phase to single-phase converter installed at East New York. This unit was also operated in synchronous condenser mode for reactive power support.
The Beginning of the Decline
1969-1970
The LIRR portion of the system (essentially everything to the south of Bowery Bay), along with the freight catenary from West Farms over Hell Gate to Bowery Bay, was removed.
Amtrak's Changes
1986
Amtrak, which had inherited the Connecting Railroad, changed the traction power system over to 60 Hz operation coincident with the Metro-North Railroad re-powering of the New Haven Line at 60 Hz and de-activation of the Cos Cob Power Station. The autotransformer architecture was retained, but the source of power changed from the Metro-North New Haven Line system to the Con Edison-supplied Van Nest Substation.