RG 041:001, Board of Railroad Commissioners

Inventory of Records

Finding aid prepared by Robert Joseph Belletzkie.

Copyright © 2012 by the Connecticut State Library

Historical Note

During the first half of the nineteenth century, the General Assembly appointed individual commissioners to monitor Connecticut's early canals, turnpikes, and starting in 1832 its railroads.¹ Safety legislation passed after the Norwalk drawbridge disaster of May 6, 1853 called for three general railroad commissioners to monitor all the companies and oversee compliance across the state.² Each year in July or August, the Board would hold an organizational meeting to elect a chairman and secretary and, in the early years, to assign specific railroads to each commissioner for the reporting of accidents.³ In 1874 the commissioners became the Board of Railroad Commissioners now appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate.⁴ Legislation in 1877 further specified that one commissioner be a lawyer and one a civil engineer, both with ten years experience, and the third "a good practical business man."⁵

In 1884 the General Assembly established the Asylum Street Bridge Commission to plan and supervise the elimination of a dangerous grade crossing in Hartford. It's five members included the three railroad commissioners.⁶

The Board's mission was to protect the public interest in matters of safety, property rights, and accommodation. Street railways came fully under its jurisdiction by 1901, as electricity turned local horse railroads into an interurban transportation network that rivaled the steam railroads.⁷ Among its duties, the Board was charged with approving the locations of new lines and certifying them as safe to open; inspecting all the railroads periodically; investigating accidents that involved personal injury; holding hearings in response to petitions and complaints; researching newer safety technologies; and, reporting back to the legislature.

Individuals, municipalities, and railway companies could petition the Board for redress. On receipt of a petition, the commissioners would set a date; give legal notice to the parties concerned; take testimony, under oath if necessary; deliberate and announce their finding; and, hold additional hearings on appeal. Always limited by statute, the Board's powers to order improvements, rather than merely recommend them, evolved over time. Though it had to work through the courts itself and its determinations could be challenged there, the Board's rulings were usually upheld.

By the turn of the century, the increasing numbers of electric, gas, water, telegraph, and telephone companies brought the need for increased regulation and an agency with an expanded scope. On September 9, 1911 the Board of Railroad Commissioners became the new Public Utilities Commission.⁸

Two of the longest serving Commissioners were George M. Woodruff (1874-1897) and William O. Seymour (1887-1911), who died in office. For a complete list of Commissioners, see the 59th Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioners, 1911, p. 130. Long time clerks were George T. Utley (1874-1893), who died in office, and Henry F. Billings (1893-1930). The Commission maintained an office from August 1871 until November 1878 in Room 67 of the Charter Oak Life Insurance Building, and from November 1878 to September 1911 in Rooms 41 and 43 of the State Capitol.

See also the Department of Public Utility Control Agency History.

Endnotes

¹Resolves and Private Laws, 1832, title 33, section 7, Boston, Norwich and New London R.R. Co.
²Hartford Daily Courant, May 7, 1853, p.2; Public Acts, 1853, chapter 74.
³RG 041:001, series 1, volume 5, p. 1, 144.
⁴Public Acts, 1874, chapter 77, sections 1, 3.
⁵Public Acts, 1877, chapter 144, section 2.
⁶Special Acts and Resolutions, 1884, number 185.
⁷Public Acts, 1901, chapter 156.
⁸Public Acts, 1911, chapter 128.

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Scope and Content

Series 1. Record Books, 1854-1911, are largely transcriptions of documents and constitute the official record of the Board. Many, but not all, of the original documents can be found in Series 3 and 5.

Series 2. Correspondence, 1869-1911, bulk 1869-1894, consists of original letters to the commissioners, internal Board communications, and copies of outgoing correspondence. Though some correspondence was recorded in the early Series 1 volumes, the actual letters present here begin in 1869.

Series 3. Railroad Papers, circa 1848-1911, bulk 1860-1911 includes original applications for rights of way, notices of hearings, decisions, appeals and withdrawals thereof, examination reports, requests for special trains, reports of accidents and deaths, and some miscellaneous letters.

Series 4. Hearings, 1875-1883, undated, includes books of notes and testimony taken in regard to specific accidents, such as the Tariffville bridge collapse of January 15, 1878. Includes two photographs of the Hartford tunnel that relate to the Hartford

Series 5. Street Railway Papers, 1892-1912, includes original applications for rights of way, notices of hearings, decisions, appeals, withdrawals of appeals and petitions, materials on vestibules and fenders to improve safety.

Series 6. Asylum Street Bridge Commission, 1884-1892, includes minutes of meetings, correspondence, and hearings records.

Series 7. Miscellaneous Records, 1871-1909, undated, contains two inspection notebooks, 1878-1881 and 1909; a Board of Railroad Commissioners leather pouch; a name and address book, undated; and an unidentified index, undated.

Series 8. Scrapbooks, 1879-1909, contain articles clipped out of newspapers and periodicals, mostly from Connecticut.

Series 9. Accident Reports, 1893-1911, contain reports, either in the form of correspondence or on official forms provided by the Board, by railway companies to the Board. These are not investigation reports.

Series 10. Docket maps, 1870-1912, are of projected rights of way and changes to established lines, grade-crossing elimination plans, blueprints for stations and bridges, both for railroads and street railways.

Series 11. Card File Indexes, are indexes of Board actions recorded in record books volumes 1-41 (Series 1), accidents recorded in record books volumes 1-41 (Series 1), and plans submitted to the Board for review (Series 10).

Series 12. Maps, 1881, 1888-1890, 1893-1905 are maps that accompanied the published reports of the Railroad Commissioners.

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Arrangement

Arranged in 12 series as follows:

Series 1, Record books, 1854-1911, are arranged by volume number. Volumes 12, 14-41 are arranged alphabetically by railroad name. Volumes 42-44 for street railways are arranged chronologically.

Series 2, Correspondence, 1869-1911, bulk 1869-1894, is arranged chronologically

Series 3, Railroad Papers, circa 1848-1911, bulk 1860-1911, are arranged alphabetically by railroad and then chronologically therein. The reverse of each document is noted with the volume in Series 1 in which the document was recorded.

Series 4. Hearings, 1875-1883, is arranged chronologically.

Series 5. Street Railway Papers, 1892-1912, are arranged alphabetically by railway name and then chronologically therein. The reverse of each document is noted with the volume in Series 1 in which the document was recorded.

Series 6. Asylum Street Bridge Commission, 1884-1892, documents are arranged chronologically.

Series 7. Miscellaneous Records, 1871-1909, undated

Series 8. Scrapbooks, 1879-1909, are arranged chronologically.

Series 9. Accident Reports, 1893-1911, are arranged by railroad and division and then chronologically therein.

Series 10. Docket Maps, 1870-1912, are are arranged numerically.

Series 11. Card File Indexes

Series 12. Maps, 1881, 1888-1890, 1893-1905, are arranged chronologically.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Series 10, Docket maps, are stored at an off-site facility and therefore may not be available on a same-day basis. Access to some of these plans may be restricted due to condition or size. Any restrictions are noted on the listing at the History and Genealogy Reference desk. Some restricted items may be made available to researchers after review by State Archives staff.

Series 12, Maps are stored at an off-site facility and therefore may not be available on a same-day basis.

See the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections policy.

Restrictions on Use

See the Reproduction and Publications of State Library Collections policy.

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Related Material

RG 002:004, General Assembly Papers, 1821-1870, Connecticut State Library.
Contains charters, petitions, and reports dealing with railroads.

RG 006, Office of the Secretary of the State Records, Connecticut State Library. Railroad mortgage deeds, 1849-1980, articles of incorporation, 1837-1945, and railroad maps, circa 1874-1910. Some maps were placed into the manuscript map collection. Researchers should check the map card catalog in the History & Genealogy reading room.
Note: Connecticut General Statutes require that the Secretary of the State of Connecticut records all railroad company incorporations and all railroad company transactions with regard to the issuance of bonds secured by a mortgage deed, leasing of railroad company property, the acquisition, consolidation, or merger of railroad companies, and liens on railroad company property. Contact the Office of the Secretary of the State for further information on records that might be held there.

RG 041:002, Public Utilities Commission Records, Connecticut State Library.
This is the successor agency to the Board of Railroad Commissioners.

RG 089, Department of Transportation Records, Connecticut State Library.

RG 089:024, Connecticut Transportation Authority Records, Connecticut State Library.

RG 089:031, Connecticut Public Transportation Commission Records, Connecticut State Library.

Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, Storrs, Connecticut
This is the single largest repository of historical railroad materials in Connecticut.
Included here are scrapbooks that cover some of the gaps in Series 8: 1880 October 20 - 1881 April 11; 1881 April 13 - 1883 December 9; 1887 May 19 - 1887 September 14; 1888 February 15 - 1888 December 14.

Connecticut Historical Society Research Center, Hartford, Connecticut

New Haven Museum, New Haven, Connecticut

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Index Terms

Organizations:

Subjects:

Places:

Document Types:

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Series 1, Record book, 1854-1864, unnumbered volume, was donated to the Connecticut State Library by the Connecticut Historical Society on April 27, 2011. (Accession 2011-125)

Series 1, Record books, 1857-1911, volumes 1-44, and separate indexes for volume 1-6, were transferred to the Connecticut State Library in January 1972. It appears that these record books were transferred by the Office of the Attorney General, which may have had custody. (Accession 1972-003)

Most of Series 2, Correspondence, 1869-1911; Series 3, Railroad papers, circa 1848-1911, bulk 1860-1911; and Series 5, Street railway papers, 1889-1911, were brought to the Connecticut State LIbrary in 1932 from a gentleman only identified as Mr. Thompson. Part of this material was received on May 16, 1932. (Accession 1932-074). Two boxes of Railroad Commissioner papers were donated to the Connecticut State Library by the Connecticut Historical Society on December 2, 1983. Upon receipt these 2 boxes were assigned accession 1983-019. They have been combined with accession 1932-074 during processing that began in 2008.

Series 4, Hearings, 1875-1883; Series 6, Asylum St. Bridge Commission, 1884-1892; and Series 7, Miscellaneous Records, 1871-1909, were received with the records books in January 1972. These series were placed into accession 1932-074 during processing that began in 2008.

It is unclear when Series 8, Scrapbooks, 1879-1909, and Series 9, Accident Reports, 1893-1911, came to the Connecticut State Library, although it is likely through Mr. Thompson. These series were placed into accession 1932-074 during processing that began in 2008.

Series 10, Docket maps, 1870-1912, were transferred to the Connecticut State Library from the Dept. of Transportation on July 28, 1986. (Accession 1986-025)

Series 11, Card file indexes were transferred to the Connecticut State Library with the docket maps in 1986. They were included in accession 1932-074 during processing that began in 2008.

Series 12, Maps, 1881, 1888-1890, 1893-1905, were placed in the State Archives on July 28, 1983.

Processing Information

These records were processed by volunteer Robert Joseph Belletzkie from 2008-2011.

Series 10, Docket Maps, was previously part of RG 089, Dept. of Transportation as Series 18, Rail Regulatory Docket Maps.

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Bibliography

State Publications

Board of Railroad Commissioners. Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioners of the State of Connecticut Hartford: Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1875-[1911].[CSL call number StLib Conn Doc P962r]
These reports included the highlights of the year, the reportable accidents, the condition of each company, and a copy of its 'returns' form. Mandated by the legislature in 1853, the latter were sent annually to each railroad and asked more than 150 questions about finances and operations. The elaborate statistical charts based on this information, the proliferation of companies monitored, and the railway laws appended would see these reports become 700-page volumes by 1900.
Some of these reports are online in the Internet Archive.
These reports had state railroad maps inserted into the front cover sleeve, 1876-1912, and street railway maps in end sleeve, 1902-1913. Maps for the years 1881, 1888-1890, and 1893-1905, are found in Series 12. Maps for the years 1894 and 1895 are also in Special Collections [CSL call number StLib Spec Coll Maps G3781.P3 1894 .M3] and [CSL call number StLib Spec Coll Maps G3781.P3 1895 .M3]. The map for 1906 is in the History & Genealogy reading room [CSL call number StLib History Ref Map Case G3781.P3 1906 .M3]

Books

Baker, George Pierce. The Formation of the New England Railway Systems: A Study of Railroad Combination in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1937.[CSL call number StLib Stacks HE2771.A11 B3 1937]

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