Fall River Line

The Fall River Line was a combination steamboat and railroad connection between New York City and Boston that operated between 1847 and 1937.

[4] The Montgomery & Howard shipyard in Chelsea, Massachusetts, built passenger steamboats, pilot boats, and ferryboats.

The first modern liner of the fleet, she featured a double-hull for increased safety, was 370 feet long, and had sleeping quarters for 1,200 passengers.

In 1894, the Fall River Line launched the Priscilla, which at the time was the largest side-wheeler afloat, capable of accommodating 1,500 passengers.

She provided 425 staterooms for passengers and boasted a grand staircase, a dining saloon, barber shop, writing room, and a dance floor.

During its history, the Fall River Line was travelled by several U.S. presidents including Grant, Harrison, Cleveland and both Roosevelts, as well as dignitaries such as the Vanderbilts, Astors, Belmonts and Rockefellers.

In 1889, the Thames River railroad drawbridge opened at New London, Connecticut, enabling direct, through rail service between Boston and New York City for the first time, marking the first serious threat to the existence of the Line.

The affordability of the railroad and the onset of the mainstream automobile, as well as the creation of the Cape Cod Canal were also factors that the Fall River Line could not grow to withstand.

After its employees went on strike in the middle of 1937, the company chose, in the face of ongoing losses due to land transportation, to liquidate rather than negotiate with the union.

The freighter Taunton was simply scuttled on the southeastern coast of Somerset, Massachusetts, in full view of its former pier.