New York, Providence and Boston Railroad - 1880's dated Railway Stock Certificate

Railroad Stock. Measures 8.5" left to right x 5.75" top to bottom. Superb engraved vignette of steam train printed in brown. Engraved by American Bank Note Co, NY. Exceptional!!! The New York, Providence & Boston Railroad, commonly referred to as the Stonington Line, constituted a significant segment of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, linking New London, Connecticut, to Providence, Rhode Island. This line is currently integrated into Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor. Before the establishment of the NYP&B, passengers traveling between New York City and Boston were required to navigate around Point Judith, Rhode Island, and its turbulent waters to access the Boston & Providence Railroad in Providence. The B&P was completed in 1835 and commenced operations with the steamer Lexington, which connected Providence and New York, followed by the addition of the Massachusetts in 1836. To address this travel challenge, the New York & Stonington Railroad was chartered in Connecticut in May 1832, and the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad was chartered in Rhode Island in June of the same year.

On July 1, 1833, these two entities merged to create the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad. Construction was initiated by the subsidiary Providence & Stonington Railroad in Stonington, Connecticut, on August 14, 1833. The line was inaugurated on November 17, 1837, connecting Stonington to a pier at South Providence, located approximately one mile downstream from the city center. At the Stonington docks, connections were made to steamboats heading to New York City via Long Island Sound, and subsequently to the Long Island Rail Road at Greenport, New York, which opened on July 29, 1844. In Providence, a brief car float across the Providence River facilitated access to the docks of the Boston & Providence Railroad at India Point, allowing travelers to continue their journey to Boston.