Providence and Worcester Railroad

Providence & Worcester RR as of 1999

Legend Routes from Bristol and New York City 0.0 Providence , RI East Providence, RI former connecting line Red Bridge, RI Route to East Junction 5.6 Lawn, RI (formerly Woodlawn) Route to Saylerville RI (ex MOV ) 7.2 Pawtucket, RI Route to Boston ( Boston Switch ) 8.1 Central Falls, RI 10.0 Valley Falls, RI 11.4 Lonsdale, RI 14.3 Berkeley, RI 15.3 Ashton, RI 18.0 Albion, RI 20.4 Manville, RI ? Hamlet, RI Stretch of Boston 26.4 Woonsocket, RI Route to Harrisville ? Waterford, RI Stretch of Boston 29.0 Blackstone, MA Route to Willimantic 32.7 Millville, MA 40.1 Uxbridge, MA 43.0 Whitins, MA Siding 49.9 Northbridge, MA 53.1 South Grafton, MA (formerly Farnumsville) 55.4 Saundersville, MA 56.5 Wilkinsonville, MA 60.7 Milbury, MA ? Quinsigamond, MA Connecting track to New London 68.7 South Worcester, MA Stretch of New London Route Boston - Albany (ex B & A ) Range from Albany 70.2 Worcester, MA Union Station Route to Gardner Route to Boston

The Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W, PW) is an American railroad company based in Rhode Island , Massachusetts , Connecticut and New York . It operates freight services on the northern Northeast Corridor route in New England between New York and Providence and on some of its own routes in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

history

The company was founded independently on March 12, 1844 in Massachusetts and in May of the same year in Rhode Island. The construction of the line between Providence and Worcester began in 1845 and on September 27, the first section from Providence to Millville was opened. The rest of the route followed a few weeks later on October 20, 1845. The companies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island finally merged on November 25, 1845. The approximately eight kilometer long section from Providence to the junction from the route to Boston ("Boston Switch") and the Providence train station were equally owned by the P&W and the Boston and Providence Railroad .

On June 2, 1868, P&W initially leased the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad , which operated a route from Bellingham Junction to Milford , for five years . With the opening of the Hopkinton Railway from Milford to Ashland in 1872, P&W also leased this railway. The leases were later extended to May 1, 1883, but then dissolved. In 1875 the P&W opened a branch line from East Providence to Valley Falls, which only served freight.

Providence and Worcester Railroad Company share dated August 12, 1909

In 1888 the company was leased to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad . This was established in 1892 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (New Haven). As a result, the Providence & Worcester was leased directly to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (New Haven) for 99 years from July 1, 1892. In 1968 the insolvent New Haven was integrated into the newly founded Penn Central . However, the contractual terms offered did not correspond to the ideas of Providence & Worcester. In order to achieve better conditions in the articles of association, the company was newly established in Delaware in the summer of 1968 . A federal court finally confirmed the end of the existing lease on December 31, 1968 (merger of New Haven into Penn Central). However, the Interstate Commerce Commission ordered the lines through Penn Central to continue operating until the necessary hearings were completed. In April 1970 P&W applied for independent operation. The pc contradicted this request as they saw a danger to their own business in this region. After an auditor from the ICC endorsed the independent operation in June 1971, the ICC finally decided in March 1972 in favor of Providence & Worcester. After the use of the train stations in Providence and Worcester had finally been clarified in November 1972, the company began operating independently on February 3, 1973.

With the division of the Conrail on Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX in 1999, the P&W took over the freight traffic on the northeast corridor route between New York and Providence and acquired some routes, including Groton -Worcester, Worcester- Gardner , New Haven - Middletown , Laurel - Hartford and some shorter branch lines, a large part of which are now closed.

On November 1, 2016, the shortline was taken over by Genesee and Wyoming .

passenger traffic

Transport in the greater Providence area was very heavy in the heyday of the railroad. The timetable of October 5, 1913 provided ten pairs of trains Providence-Worcester, 16 pairs of trains Providence-Blackstone and unscheduled service trains between Providence and Lonsdale on working days. On Sundays four trains went to Worcester and nine more to Blackstone.

This train density decreased enormously after the global economic crisis . According to the schedule of January 15, 1934, there were only two daily train pairs Providence – Worcester on the P & W's main line. Shortly afterwards, passenger traffic was completely stopped.

swell

1. ↑ Mike Walker: Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America. New England & Maritime Canada. SPV-Verlag, Dunkirk (GB), 1999.
2. ↑ Tom Nelligan: Unmerger day in New England . In: Trains . Kalmbach Publishing Co., April 1973, p. 16 .
3. ^ Genesee & Wyoming acquires Providence & Worcester Railroad , Railway Gazette , November 2, 2016
4. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued November 1913. NY, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Page 165.
5. ↑ Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Issued February 1934. NY, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Table 29. page 98.

literature

• Edward A. Lewis: American Shortline Railway Guide . 5th edition. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 1996, ISBN 0-89024-290-9 .

Web links

• Company website