Cos Cob Power Station

	Cos Cob Power Station
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
	Cos Cob Power Station in 1977
	Show map of ConnecticutShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	Roughly bounded by Metro North RR tracks, the Mianus R. and Sound Shore Dr., Cos Cob, Greenwich, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°1′46″N 73°35′50″W / 41.02944°N 73.59722°WCoordinates: 41°1′46″N 73°35′50″W / 41.02944°N 73.59722°W
Area	6 acres (2.4 ha)
Built	1907
Architect	Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co.
Architectural style	Mission/Spanish Revival
NRHP reference No.	90001096
Added to NRHP	August 2, 1990

Cos Cob Power Station was a historic power station near the Metro-North Railroad tracks, the Mianus River and Sound Shore Drive in the Cos Cob area of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Cos Cob Power Station

The Spanish Revival style station building of 1907 was significant as part of the first mainline railroad electrification in the United States, using alternating current (AC) electrification. The New York City subway systems and a Hudson River railroad line used lower voltage direct current (DC) electrification, but for longer distances that would mean high transmission losses or frequent and closely spaced substations.^[2]^: 11

A 1903 New York State law prohibited the use of steam locomotives in New York City. The New Haven line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad ran commuter trains into the city, and electrification all the way to New Haven would avoid massive congestion and delays to commuter trains if locomotives were changed at the New York City limits or at Stamford, CT.

The "New Haven" chose AC electrification as proposed by Baldwin-Westinghouse, with locomotives which could operate on the third-rail DC system within city limits, and the AC system on the main line.

The plant was built by Westinghouse in 1907 in Mission Style, and was located where the Mianus River empties into the Cos Cob Harbor of Long Island Sound. The plant used coal-fired steam turbines, and the three-phase alternators supplied single-phase power at 11 kV 25 Hz directly to the catenary. They also supplied power to the New York Central's Port Morris generating station to compensate the NYC for power consumed by New Haven trains on the NYC's third-rail supplied line to the Grand Central Terminal within the city limits.

The station was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1982 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.^[3]

The power station was decommissioned in 1986-87.^[2]

The plant was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990,^[1] but despite the listing and local and national debate, the plant was demolished in 2001.^{[citation needed]} Part of the site is now a public park, and a plaque commemorating the plant is located at the nearby Cos Cob Railroad Station.^[3]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Matthew Roth and Bruce Clouette (November 27, 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Cos Cob Power Station". National Park Service. and Accompanying 14 photos, exterior and interior, from 1989
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "#76 AC Electrification NY, New Haven & Hartford". American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved 2012-02-06.

External links[]

Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CT-142-A, "New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Cos Cob Power Plant"
- HAER No. CT-142-B, "New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Mianus River Pumping Station"
- HAER No. CT-142-C, "New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Bridge-Type Circuit Breakers"

[nris-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[nrhpinv3_CosCobPower-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Matthew Roth and Bruce Clouette (November 27, 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Cos Cob Power Station". National Park Service. and Accompanying 14 photos, exterior and interior, from 1989

[asme-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b "#76 AC Electrification NY, New Haven & Hartford". American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved 2012-02-06.

[1]

[2]

[3]

show v t Greenwich, Connecticut
History
History	Murder of Martha Moxley Gulliver's nightclub fire Mianus River Bridge collapse
Geography
Areas and neighborhoods	Byram Cos Cob Fourth Ward Historic District Glenville Glenville Historic District Greenwich Avenue Historic District Mianus Old Greenwich Putnam Hill Historic District Round Hill Historic District Riverside Strickland Road Historic District
Islands	Calf Island Great Captain Island
Education
Primary and secondary schools	Greenwich Public Schools Greenwich High School International School at Dundee Brunswick School Carmel Academy Convent of the Sacred Heart Eagle Hill School Greenwich Academy Greenwich Country Day School Japanese School of New York Stanwich School Whitby School
Other
NRHP listings	Bush–Holley House Byram School Cos Cob station Cos Cob Power Station Samuel Ferris House Glenville School Great Captain Island Light Greenwich Town Hall Greenwich Y.M.C.A. Indian Harbor Yacht Club building Thomas Lyon House Mianus River Railroad Bridge The Nathaniel Witherell Methodist Episcopal Church New Mill and Depot Building, Hawthorne Woolen Mill Old Greenwich station Phebe Seaman House Putnam Cottage (Knapp Tavern) Riverside Avenue Bridge Rosemary Hall Sylvanus Selleck Gristmill United States Post Office Greenwich Main William E. Ward House Josiah Wilcox House
Transportation	Cos Cob station Old Greenwich station Riverside station (Metro-North)
Culture	Greenwich International Film Festival
Healthcare	Greenwich Hospital
This list is incomplete. Some areas with "Greenwich, Connecticut" postal addresses are in Banksville, New York. These areas are not in this template.

show v t U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

Cos Cob Power Station

Contents

See also[]

References[]

Further reading[]

External links[]