Railroads of Cape Cod and the Islands


Book Description

In 1848, the railroad extended to Cape Cod to serve the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company. By 1887, fourteen of the fifteen towns on Cape Cod were connected by the railroad. For a short time, even the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard had railroad lines. As the highways expanded in the years following World War II, the automobile became the primary mode of transportation. By 1959, year-round Cape Cod passenger service had been discontinued. Today, many miles of track have been removed to accommodate recreational bike paths.Using hundreds of historic images, Railroads of Cape Cod and the Islands illustrates the rich heritage of passenger and freight rail transportation on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. Mainland connections once involved transfer between ship and rail at wharves in Provincetown, Hyannis, and Woods Hole. Since 1935, trains have crossed the Cape Cod Canal on the world's second longest vertical-lift bridge.




Cape Cod Railroads


Book Description

This is a loving look at a special place and its railroads that carried people from small town to town, and sometimes to Boston. And from there on the Dude Train. The islands has railroads and they are here with the island steamers, the ferries. People came to New England on the famous night boats of the Fall River Line and on direct trains from New York. The Cape Codders and the Neptune. Hundreds of anectodes help the story. This heavily illustrated volume includes trains, locomotives, stations, bridges, wrecks, snow and storm damage, maps, railroad workers, broadsides and steamboats. A major book on trains that was thirteen years of research and writing,. Three paintings reproduced in color by Ted Rose America's finest railroad artist. Cape Cod Historical Publications Address: Winter: November-May, 3200 Binnacle Drive, C-1, Naples, Fl. 34103. Phone: 239-403-8224. Summer: May-November: P.O. Box 281, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675. Phone: 508-362-4761. Pay by check or money order. No credit cards accepted. Please add $4.75 for shipping/handling.







The Story of the Old Colony Railroad


Book Description







Cape Cod Canal


Book Description

Cape Cod was known as a ship's graveyard but the Cape Cod Canal, proposed in 1776 and built in 1914 became a vital shipping link and a marvel of engineering. For centuries, the shoals and high winds around Cape Cod turned its waters into a ships' graveyard. In 1623, Miles Standish proposed a shorter, safer passage by building a canal linking Cape Cod Bay with Buzzards Bay, and in 1776, George Washington ordered the first of many surveys. All attempts failed until 1914, when the Cape Cod Canal opened as a private toll canal. The widest sea-level canal in the world, the Cape Cod Canal continues to be an engineering marvel, a vital shipping link, and a summer destination. These rare images from the Nina Heald Webber Collection at Historic New England survey the canal's development from unsuccessful building efforts in the 1800s, through its 1909-1914 construction, and subsequent improvements in the 1930s.




The Story of the Old Colony Railroad


Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 edition. Excerpt: ... old colony railroad cape cod division. summer arrangement. On and after monday, Sept. 1,1873, Copy of Old Colony timetable showing the through service to Provincetown. the Agricultural Branch became the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg R. R., a road almost as long as its name as it just had twenty-eight miles of track. The company was ambitious, however, and on July 1st, 1869, it took over the Fitchburg & Worcester R. R., a road which extended from Fitchburg to Sterling Junction, a distance of eighteen miles. The Fitchburg & Worcester R. R. was incorporated as far back as 1840, and though" small in size, is of importance as it possessed certain valuable rights. Its charter granted in 1840 authorized this road to build its lines from Fitchburg to connect with the Worcester & Nashua R. R. in Sterling, and if charter of latter railroad became void for failure to locate, then to Worcester; also authorized purchase or union with Worcester Branch R. R. and authorized for the merger with the Worcester & Nashua R. R. This road possessed valuable trackage rights at Fitchburg and thus this connecting link formed a valuable addition to the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg R. R. The road was opened for traffic on Feb. 11, 1850. On June 1, 1875, the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg R. R. took over the Mansfield & Framingham R. R. This road was originally named the Foxborough R. R., incorporated in 1862 to build a railroad from the town of Mansfield, through the town of Foxborough to Walpole. The granting of the right of this road to build through the towns of Medfield and Sherborn to Framingham caused, in 1867, the road to change its name to the Mansfield and Framingham, R. R. Strictly speaking, this road was a "paper" road. The Foxborough Branch, so far as I hav




Quaint Cape Cod and Its Summer Delights


Book Description

This charming guide to Cape Cod offers a nostalgic look back at the region's golden age, when the railroads played a key role in promoting tourism and bringing visitors to this idyllic coastal paradise. With helpful tips and information about local attractions, this book is a worthwhile read for anyone planning a trip to Cape Cod. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.




Becoming Cape Cod


Book Description

A richly-illustrated history of Cape Cod tourism from its bucolic origins to the present crisis of overdevelopment.