Wednesday will mark 37 years since the Providence & Worcester Railroad resumed independent operations. Being from central Massachusetts, I have come to know the railroad quite well. For those of you not familiar with its background, the railroad was chartered in 1844 to run between its namesake cities, and was later leased by the New Haven. For many years, the railroad remained only on paper while the New Haven, and later the Penn Central, paid rent to the company and its stockholders. When the PC wanted to abandon the line due to what it considered insufficient traffic, the company and its stockholders responded by petitioning the I.C.C. to resume independent operations. The PC took them to court, but they ruled in favor of the P&W, and on February 3, 1973 the railroad resumed independent operations. Since then it has grown into a successful regional railroad, operating over 545 miles of track in the Northeast. Here are some videos to give you a sense of today's P&W.
*Note, none of these videos were taken by me.
A rare daylight move of a southbound coal extra passes through the Rockdale section of Northbridge, MA, a few miles south of Worcester. This train is heading for the Port of Providence to be reloaded with imported coal.
A southbound unit ethanol train from CSX passes through the yard at Woonsocket, RI. The power is seen ducking under the Slatersville branch, known to railfans as "The Slate" as it heads out of frame.
The annual Polar Express excursion is seen crossing Martin Street in Berkeley, RI. Freshly repainted GP38-2 2008 brings up the rear.
Valley Falls is the hub of operations in the Providence area. Local freight PR-2 does some switching at the north end of the yard.
South of Valley Falls, PR-2 passes Chace's Lane in Central Falls, RI as it heads for the connection to the Northeast Corridor at Boston Switch.
Local PR-3 runs along the Northeast Corridor on the newly constructed track 7 as it heads south with traffic for the Seaview Railroad in Davisville, RI.
Enjoy,
Josh
