Page:Shore Line Electric Railway Predecessor Companies 1961.pdf/6

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6
TRANSPORTATION
Vol. 13, Page 26.

Groton & Stonington Street Railway Co.
Roster of Equipment
Car Number Type of car Builder Year built Trucks Motors Control
16 29-ft. 4in. closed Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
18 29-ft. 4in. closed Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
20 29-ft. 4in. closed Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
24 29-ft. 4in. closed Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
26 29-ft. 4in. closed Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
28 29-ft. 4in. closed Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
15 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
17 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
19 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
21 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
23 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
25 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
27 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
29 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
31 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
33 13-bench open Jewett 1904 Peckham 18CX 4-WH68C K6
1 Box epress Marquardt bros. . . . .
2 Box epress Marquardt bros. . . . .
- Double Track snow plow Taunton 1904 . . .
. Work car . . . . .

No 22 lost in Thamesville carhouse fire, October 12, 1914.


from this point, the line ran up Thames street and out Poquonnock Road, crossing the Poquonock River and then turning south and running mostly over private right-of-way to Groton Long Point and Noank. From Noank, the railway followed the coast of Fisher's Island sound all the way to Stonington before heading inland to Wequetequock and Clarksville. From Clarksville, the line ran up Mechanic street, along the west bank or the Pawcatuck River, to West Broad street in Pawcatuck and the Pawcatuck River bridge.

The route was a tortuous one, with many curves and grades, numerous short trestles and four crossings of the New York, New Haven at Hartford Railroad, none of which was at grade. There were 5 miles at private right-of-way, the longest stretch of which extended from Wequetequock to Clarksville, but most of the route paralleled the highway (U. S. Route 1) with street running in Mystic and Stonington.

To quote from a description of the Groton & Stonington street Railway in the October 6, 1906 issue of street Railway Journal:

The line is single track except for five turnouts. seventy bound "T" rails are used throughout, laid on gravel ballast on standard wood ties and double handed with "Protected" hands. The overhead construction is principally of the side-span type, with wooden poles spiced 125 rt. apart. The trolley wire is No. 00. The poles carry a telephone wire and 500,000 circular mil feeder cables, two running each way from the power house.

The carhouse and power station were both located at Mystic, about midway between Groton and Westerly. The former, constructed of brick, had 6 tracks and a capacity of 18 cars. For general inspection. two of the outer tracks were furniahed with pits, and one corner of the building was walled off to make a room for repair work.

The power station. located on the bank of the Mystic river adjacent to the carhouse, was also built of brick, its walls resting-on a natural rock foundation, and included a boiler room and an engine room.

Equipment of the power station included three handstoked Stirling boilers, each of 200 h.p., two Coooer Corliss 485 - h. p, cross-compound engines and two Westinghouse 325-Kw. generators wound for 600 volts D.C. at 100 r.p.m. The engines and generators were set on concrete piers resting on bed rock. The chimney had a diameter of 11 ft. 8 in. at the base and was 125 ft. high.

Coal was delivered by barges directly to the station.

GROTON TERMINUS for Groton & Stonigton Street Railway cars was at School and Thames Streets from 1905 to 1923 when a highway bridge displaced the ferry to New London. After that the cars operated into downtown New London.