Today in 1961, A. C. “A. Co.” Gilbert, the man whose hands-on-learning toys were the foundation of the American toy industry during the first half of the twentieth century, died at age 76. A gifted athlete and pole-vaulting gold medalist at the 1908 London Olympics, Gilbert was also a talented illusionist who financed his…
Tag: newyorkandnewhavenrailroad
September 8: “Old Nan” Comes to the End of the Line
When Amtrak’s Northeast Regional train 67 crossed the Niantic River on its nighttime run from Boston to New York at 11:39 p.m. on September 7, 2012, it was the last train ever to travel on “Old Nan,” the 105 year old railroad drawbridge between East Lyme and Waterford, a historic “choke point” on the nation’s busiest rail line. At…