South Manchester Railroad Company Stock Certificate (Family Owned, Connecticut)

Description

South Manchester Railroad Company Stock Certificate
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The South Manchester Railroad Company was incorporated on May 30, 1866, and three years later, the Cheney brothers (known at the time for their success in the silk industry) finished construction. When finished, the two-mile long railroad was the only line in the United States to be owned by a family rather than a company. It was used as a method to send silk products from their mill in Manchester to the other mill, based in Hartford. Some of the workers also used the rail as a way to get to the mills for a low fare, but most lived in houses located on the property.
In 1914 an innovative collision prevention device was successfully tested on the South Manchester Railroad after president Mollen had offered a prize to the inventor of a device that would automatically stop trains who approached each other on the same track. The rail track was wired, and a system of batteries was attached to the locomotive, which threw over the throttle, applied the air brakes and thus stopped the train, when the axles of another train produced an electrical short cut between the rails.
The railway provided its services not only to Cheney's employees. For instance, it was used by students from the South End to travel to Hartford Public High School, before Manchester High School was built in 1904. It transported theatergoers to Cheney Hall, and businessmen to the silk shows there. The train also ran on Sundays taking people to the Catholic church at the north end and the schedule was irregular, depending on the time the priest set for masses. On special occasions, up to 3,500 passengers per day, paid ten cents a trip. The railway also transported coal to paper mills in the south end of town, as well as farm produce and supplies from south to north.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the Cheney brothers began to sell most of their assets. The railroad was part of their liquidation. The final passenger trip occurred in 1933, while freight was delivered through the years until the 1980s.
The line was also known as the Cheney Railroad or Cheney's Goat.
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