Product Details
CompanyConsolidated Railway Company Certificate TypeGold Debenture Bond Date IssuedUnissued, circa early 1900'sCanceledNoPrinterAmerican Bank Note CompanySignaturesNAApproximate Size13 1/2" (w) by 9 1/4" (h)ImagesRepresentative of the piece you will receiveGuaranteed AuthenticYesAdditional DetailsNAReference
Historical Context
The Consolidated Railway Company was formed in Connecticut on May 18, 1904 to take over all of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad owned or leased street railways. The company - which was basically a shell company of the New Haven - served the city of New Haven and surrounding areas, including intercity lines, in conjunction with the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company, to Bridgeport (connecting at Woodmont) and Derby, the latter completed in late 1903.
During the next few years, the New Haven, through the Consolidated Railway, acquired control of and later the property of many electric railways throughout the state. In order, these acquisitions were:
- Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway (Worcester to Sturbridge, Massachusetts): control May 25, 1904
- New London Street Railway (New London local lines), Norwich Street Railway (Norwich local lines), and Montville Street Railway (connection between the two): control July 30, 1904; property September 29, 1904
- Worcester and Blackstone Valley Street Railway (Worcester to Northbridge, Massachusetts): control September 22, 1904
- Middletown Street Railway (Middletown local lines and the charter of the Middletown and Meriden Traction Company to Meriden): control October 25, 1904; property November 28, 1904
- Greenwich Tramway and New York and Stamford Railway (extending the Stamford Street Railroad through Greenwich into New Rochelle, New York): control December 29, 1904; property (of the former only) September 19, 1905
- Berkshire Street Railway (long rural line in western Massachusetts): control January 18, 1905
- Springfield Street Railway (Springfield, Massachusetts local and suburban lines): control April 11, 1905
- Hartford Street Railway (Hartford local lines, including lines to Rainbow Park in Windsor, Newington, Wethersfield, East Windsor Hill, the East Hartford and Glastonbury Street Railway to South Glastonbury, and the Farmington Street Railway to Unionville): control April 3, 1905; property (except the Farmington Street Railway) September 19, 1905
- Suffield Street Railway (Suffield to Massachusetts state line, connecting with the Springfield Street Railway): control April 1905; property September 19, 1905
- Branford Lighting and Water Company (East Haven to Branford): control June 29, 1905; property September 19, 1905
- Willimantic Traction Company (Baltic, near Norwich, to Willimantic): control October 7, 1905; property December 6, 1905
- Worcester Consolidated Street Railway (Worcester, Massachusetts local and suburban lines): control in or after December 1905
- Hartford, Manchester and Rockville Tramway and Stafford Springs Street Railway (East Hartford to Stafford Springs via Rockville): control January 25, 1906; property (of the former only) March 26, 1906
- Hartford and Worcester Street Railway (franchise only): January 25, 1906
- Hartford and Middletown Street Railway (franchise only): March 13, 1906
The property of the Stamford Street Railroad, control of which had been acquired in 1895, was conveyed to the Consolidated on September 26, 1905.
The effect of these transactions was to give the New Haven control of a large system of electric railways in Connecticut and Massachusetts, many of them connecting with each other. In the meantime, the United Gas Improvement Company of Philadelphia had put together its own system, including most of the mileage in Rhode Island and over one-quarter of the mileage in Connecticut, through subsidiaries Rhode Island Company and Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company. The latter owned the lines in the coastal towns between Stamford and West Haven, connecting with New Haven properties at both ends, as well as a rural line extending through the Naugatuck Valley from Stratford north to Seymour with local lines in Derby and vicinity. To the north, it controlled local and suburban lines in New Britain and Waterbury, connecting with the New Haven's lines at Newington and Mount Carmel. The Meriden, Southington and Compounce Tramway, also controlled by the United Gas Improvement Company, extended from the New Haven's local lines in Meriden to Lake Compounce, intersecting the ends of Waterbury and New Britain lines at Milldale and Southington. A continuous route between Stratford and Waterbury via Derby and Seymour was completed in 1907 by lessor Naugatuck Valley Electric Railway. The New Haven came to an agreement with the United Gas Improvement Company on December 19, 1906, whereby the Consolidated Railway leased the property of the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company, and acquired the stock of the Meriden, Southington and Compounce Tramway, Rhode Island Company, and various power companies operating in Connecticut.
Expansion continued with the acquisition by the Consolidated Railway of control of the Waterbury and Pomperaug Valley Street Railway (Waterbury-Woodbury) on April 20, 1907 and the Thomaston Tramway (Waterbury-Thomaston) on May 29, 1907. Two days later, on May 31, the Consolidated was merged into the New Haven, and the Thomaston Tramway was renamed Connecticut Company, becoming the operator of all of the New Haven's electric railway properties formerly operated by the Consolidated.
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