When the Railroad Almost Reached Chincoteague Island
In April 1876, the Worcester Railroad finished laying rails to a terminus at Franklin City, next to Greenbackville. The side-paddle steamboat "Chincoteague" ran passengers and freight from the railroad to, and from, Chincoteague. The ship was 100 feet long and 21 feet wide, and docked at the Railroad dock, which was directly across from the Church and Main Street junction. The "Chincoteague" was in use from 1876 until 1909, getting an annual overhaul, new paint, updates and repairs in Wilmington, Delaware. She was known as "Old Faithful" by island patrons, as she made her run once a day, even breaking through ice when necessary. The advent of smaller, privately owned and operated excursion passenger boats doomed her. The railroad company decided a tugboat, drawing "monitors" (barges) could do her job at half the cost, since there were fewer passengers to be had. When she was replaced by the steam tugboat "Broadwater" in 1909, sh...