James Kennedy
JAMES D. KENNEDY
TRANSPORTATION PIONEER
BUILT FIRST
ELECTRIC TROLLEY
IN NEW ENGLAND
IN DERBY
1888
James D. Kennedy is another
Derby Hall of Famer who contributed to the progress in transportation
not only in Derby, but throughout the country. Kennedy came to Derby in
1877 after leading the construction of the first electric trolley road
from Scranton to Dunmore, PA in 1885 and 1886. Besides the construction
of the line, Kennedy won fame for overcoming the difficulty of operating
the line when ice could be formed on the track. He outfitted the cars
with special sand boxes under the front seats that released sand onto
the tracks. It was said by some that the innovation spelled the doom of
horse drawn trolleys.
He was persuaded to
duplicate the Scranton line in Derby by Thomas Wallace of the Borough of
Ansonia. The line between Derby and Ansonia would become the first in
New England came to fruition at midnight on April 30,1888. A large crowd
witnessed that first trip from Ansonia to Derby and regular trolley
service began the next day. At the time, the horse-drawn Ansonia and
Derby Railway provided service between the two boroughs on both sides of
the Naugatuck River, while the new electric line only serviced the east
side of the river. However, the superiority of the electric services
replaced the Ansonia and Derby Railway.
Kennedy went on to build
electric lines in Lynn, MA and Bangor, ME before returning to Derby
serving as construction superintendent for the Derby Street Railway
Company and its successor, the Connecticut Company.
He was born in Syracuse,
New York on May 4, 1854, but his large family moved to Scranton and his
father and brothers worked on the railroads there. Kennedy went to work
with the Delaware and Hudson Railroad and developed his skills working
with his brother on other railroad construction projects.
Mr. Kennedy's son, Joseph
G. Kennedy, was born in Derby and at an early age entered the postal
service. He served as a clerk and substitute carrier and
assistant postmaster
and on July
1, 1935, was
commissioned acting
postmaster.
The Tercentenary
Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley by Leo Molloy is the
source of this information.
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