The Wood River Branch Railroad was a shortline railroad in Rhode Island. Chartered in 1872 and opened on July 1, 1874, the 5.6-mile (9.0 km) freight and passenger line connected the village of Hope Valley to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad (NYP&B;) mainline at Wood River Junction. While it was nominally independent, finances were tough from the start; it heavily relied on support from the NYP&B; and its successor, the New Haven Railroad. Ralph C. Watrous became its president in 1904, and remained involved for the next 33 years. A major flood in November 1927 severed the line and the company considered abandonment, but local citizens and the New Haven agreed to rebuild the line for freight only under New Haven control, using a gasoline locomotive. The New Haven sold the line in 1937 for $301 to local grain mill owner Roy Rawlings. He ran the company until 1947 when a fire destroyed his mill and other local industries. The railroad was abandoned in August 1947, and little remains of it.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_River_Branch_Railroad

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1868:

A major earthquake near Arica, Peru (now in Chile), caused an estimated 25,000 casualties; the subsequent tsunami caused considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1868_Arica_earthquake

1876:

The Bayreuth Festival, now known for showcasing the stage works of Richard Wagner, was inaugurated under his and his wife Cosima's direction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosima_Wagner

1906:

Members of the U.S. Army's all-black 25th Infantry Regiment were accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer in Brownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownsville_affair

2010:

After being boarded by Canadian authorities, MV Sun Sea docked in British Columbia and the 492 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee claimants on board were placed into detention. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Sun_Sea_incident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

captivate: 1. (obsolete) 2. To make (a person, an animal, etc.) a captive; to take prisoner; to capture, to subdue. 3. (figuratively) To capture or control (the mind, etc.); to subdue, to subjugate. 4. (figuratively) To attract and hold (someone's) attention and interest; to charm, to entrance, to fascinate. 5. (also figuratively, obsolete) Made captive; taken prisoner; captured, subdued. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/captivate

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There may be, and there ought to be, progress in the moral sphere. The moral truths which we have inherited from the past need to be expanded and restated.   --Felix Adler https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler