Northern Rhode Island Interurbans

Maps and Details on the Interurbans Systems in New England

Similar to the situation in Connecticut, most of the trolley systems in Rhode Island were run by the Rhode Island Company, actually owned and operated by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. In Connecticut, most of the trolley systems were owned and operated by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad under the name: the Connecticut Company.

In 1914, because of antitrust laws, the New Haven Railroad was ordered to divest itself of New England streetcar companies. The Rhode Island Company went into temporary receivership and in January 1919 all Rhode Island Company lines (except the Seaview line and the Providence & Danielson Railway co.) were consolidated under the United Electrical Railways Company. To avoid future "public inconvenience" because of the streetcars' financial affairs, the legislature placed the corporation under the full and exclusive control of the Public Utilities Commission.

Northern Rhode Island Area Map

Pan and zoom in and out on the map below for a detailed understanding of the various trolley companies in service in 1924.

Interurban Timelines - Predecessors/Mergers/End of Life

All Interurban timeline info sourced from the highly informative chicagorailfan.com site:
Interurban Railways in Rhode Island

Further Details

• Mass Transit in Rhode Island
  The first Rhode Island trolleys: Woonsocket and Newport.
• The Rhode Island Company
  Photos
• Records of the United Transit Company and the United Electric Railways

Source/Credits

The Electric Interurban Railways in America by George Woodman Hilton, ‎John Fitzgerald

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection - 1924 Rhode Island

 back to interactive Rhode Island State map