Railroads

February 27, 1874

Martha’s Vineyard Railroad Company

Vineyard Gazette
At a preliminary meeting of those interested in the proposed railroad, held at Samuel Osborn’s office, in Edgartown, on Tuesday evening last, the necessary officers were chosen to effect an organiz
Railroads
Martha's Vineyard Railroad
March 6, 1874

Martha’s Vineyard Railroad Company

Vineyard Gazette
At a meeting of the associate subscribers to stock to form a corporation, to be called the Martha’s Vineyard Railroad Company, Feb.
Railroads
Martha's Vineyard Railroad
April 24, 1874

Town Meeting

Vineyard Gazette
“To be or not to be” - stock or no stock - railroad or no railroad - was the principal question before the community last Saturday, and the town and its “dependencies” (?) turned out en masse to me
Railroads
Martha's Vineyard Railroad
Edgartown annual town meeting
Oak Bluffs annual town meeting
Town meetings

2013

April 11, 2013

Oak Bluffs Town Column: April 12

Skip Finley
Mattakeset Lodge
Railroads

A remarkable picture of Beach Road (circa 1900) placed on Facebook by Martha’s Vineyard Antique Photos sparked a discussion among Shelley Christiansen, Tom Dunlop, Sam Low and others about erosion at End of the Wall beach in Oak Bluffs. The loss is even more deceptive given the absence of surf on Nantucket Sound and startling because even average northeasters close the road at the culvert we used to call first bridge, once a crabbing spot.

2009

September 3, 2009
martha's vineyard train

Martha’s Vineyard Railroad Had a Very Short Ride

Tom Dunlop
Book reviews
Railroads
Martha's Vineyard Railroad
For 21 years — from the late summers of 1874 through 1895 — a passenger train chuffed along a route that looks inconceivably imposing to us today: from what’s now the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority wharf, over the very sands of State Beach, through the fairways and greens of the Edgartown Golf Club, perpendicularly across Upper Main street, along the border of not one but two cemeteries and into what are now the subdivisions and farmlands of Katama before terminating at two dead ends: the dunes of South Beach and a hotel at Mattakessett whose ugliness was rivaled only by its windswept isolation and self-evident vulnerability to fire.

1921

January 27, 1921

When the Island Echoed to the Locomotive’s Whistle

Vineyard Gazette
Railroads
Martha's Vineyard Railroad
Edgartown

These were the last survivors of the Vineyard’s most ambitious project. Of course the right of way is an intangible thing at best to any but the owners. And it was sold. As for the streak of rust. Well, a spirit of economy which never characterized the scheme in its heyday finally removed the rails of the first and last railroad on the island.

1896

July 16, 1896

The Vineyard Railroad

Vineyard Gazette
Railroads
Martha's Vineyard Railroad
In its issue of Saturday evening last the New Bedford Standard published the following as a special dispatch from Boston:
 
Boston, July 11. - As a preliminary measure in the proceedings against the Martha’s Vineyard Railroad company for opening its road without the Boards approval, the Railroad Commissioners have under consideration the issuing of a public notice to the effect that the condition of the road has not been approved by the Board, and that it is unsafe for public travel.
 

1895

April 18, 1895

Change of Hands in the Cottage City Railroad

Vineyard Gazette
Camp Meeting History
Cottage City Railway
Railroads
Eastville
A railroad deal which bids to play an important part in the high life of Cottage City has just been consummated. The Cottage City street railway has been sold to gentlemen interested in the Boston & Quincy Railroad company, and Josiah Quincy is president of the syndicate. Land near Norton’s store at Eastville has been purchased for the location of a power house, 40 by 70 feet, and work will be immediately begun for a first class electrical equipment. E. G.

1890

June 27, 1890

Old Colony Assumes Control: The Martha’s Vineyard Railroad Taken Possession Of

Vineyard Gazette
Railroads
Martha's Vineyard Railroad

Mr. J. R. Kendrick, General Manager of the Old Colony Railroad, and other officials of that road, visited the Island last Monday, and he is now general manager of the Vineyard road, having taken possession of the property in behalf of the trustees, Messrs. Chas. F. Choate and Frederick L. Ames.

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