New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co. - 1920-40's dated Railway Stock Certificate

Railroad Stock printed by American Bank Note Company. Vignette of train passing under power lines. Available in Brown, Yellow, Blue, Orange or Olive. Please specify color. Measures 11 1/2" x 7 1/2".

The New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, commonly known as the New Haven, operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. During the first half of the 20th century, it dominated the region’s rail traffic. In the 1890s and 1903, New York banker J. P. Morgan aimed to monopolize New England transportation. To achieve this, Morgan orchestrated the New Haven’s acquisition of 50 companies, including other railroads and steamship lines. Additionally, they built a network of electrified trolley lines that provided interurban transportation for all of southern New England.

By 1912, the New Haven had over 2,000 miles of track, employed 120,000 people, and practically monopolized traffic in a vast area from Boston to New York City. However, this quest for monopoly angered Progressive Era reformers, alienated public opinion, led to high acquisition prices, and increased construction costs. As a result, the railroad’s debt soared from $14 million in 1903 to $242 million in 1913. Furthermore, the advent of automobiles, trucks, and buses reduced railroad profits.

In 1913, the federal government filed an antitrust lawsuit against the New Haven, forcing them to divest their trolley systems. The line, which had become bankrupt in 1935, emerged from bankruptcy in 1947, albeit with a reduced scope. However, it faced bankruptcy again in 1961. In 1969, its rail assets were merged with the Penn Central system, which had been formed a year earlier through the merger of the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad. Despite being a poorly conceived merger, Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, becoming the largest bankruptcy in the U.S. until the Enron Corporation surpassed it in 2001. The remnants of the system now comprise Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line, much of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, Connecticut’s Shore Line East and Hartford Line, parts of the MBTA, and numerous freight operators such as CSX and the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The majority of the system is now publicly owned by the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

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