Providence and Worcester Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad
Class II railroad
A Class II railroad in the United States is a mid-sized freight-hauling railroad, in terms of its operating revenue. , a railroad with revenues greater than $20.5 million but less than $277.7 million for at least three consecutive years is considered a Class II railroad...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The railroad connects from Gardner
Gardner, Massachusetts
Gardner, Massachusetts is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,228 as of the 2010 census. Gardner is home to Dunn State Park, Gardner Heritage State Park, Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mount Wachusett Community College.-History:Named in honor of...

 in central Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, south through its namesake cities of Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

 and Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, and west from Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 through Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 and into New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The railroad's connection between New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

 and New York City and onto Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 is via trackage rights
Trackage rights
Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....

 over the Hell Gate Bridge
Hell Gate Bridge
The Hell Gate Bridge or Hell's Gate Bridge is a steel through arch railroad bridge between Astoria in the borough of Queens and Randall's and Wards Islands in New York City, over a portion of the East River known...

.

Current lines

In addition to the original main line between Providence and Worcester, and the East Providence Branch, the P&W owns or provides freight service on the following lines, identified by their original companies:
  • Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad, Worcester to Gardner
  • Woonsocket and Pascoag Railroad, Woonsocket to Slatersville
    Slatersville, Rhode Island
    Slatersville is a village on the Branch River in the town of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the Slatersville Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places....

  • Old Colony Railroad
    Old Colony Railroad
    The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

     Newport line, Massachusetts/Rhode Island state line to Newport (bridge out at the Sakonnet River
    Sakonnet River
    The Sakonnet River is a tidal strait, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 23 km between Mount Hope Bay and Rhode Island Sound...

    )
  • trackage rights
    Trackage rights
    Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....

     over Amtrak
    Amtrak
    The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

    's Northeast Corridor
    Northeast Corridor
    The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...

    , Central Falls to New Haven
  • East Junction Branch
    East Junction Branch
    The East Junction Branch is a railroad line owned and operated by the Providence and Worcester Railroad in the U.S. state of Rhode Island and by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Massachusetts...

     - branch of Boston and Providence Railroad, East Providence to Rhode Island/Massachusetts state line
  • Norwich and Worcester Railroad, Worcester to Groton
  • Southbridge Running Track - Southbridge and Blackstone Railroad, Webster to Southbridge
  • Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad, Plainfield to Willimantic
  • New York and Boston Air Line Railroad, Middletown to New Haven
  • Connecticut Valley Railroad, Hartford to Middletown
  • Naugatuck Railroad
    Naugatuck Railroad
    The Naugatuck Railroad was a railroad that ran through south central Connecticut from 1849 to 1887. In the latter year the line was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and was wholly owned by the New Haven by 1906. At its greatest extent the Naugatuck ran from Bridgeport north...

    , Devon to Derby (trackage rights over Metro-North Railroad)
  • Danbury and Norwalk Railroad
    Danbury and Norwalk Railroad
    The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad was an independent American railroad that operated between its namesake cities in Connecticut from 1852 until its absorption by the Housatonic Railroad in 1887...

    , Norwalk to Danbury


P&W operates over the following lines with overhead trackage rights, meaning it cannot serve on-line customers:
  • Metro-North's New Haven Line, New Haven (CT) to New Rochelle (NY), Amtrak
    Amtrak
    The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

    's Northeast Corridor
    Northeast Corridor
    The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...

    , New Rochelle (NY) to Pelham Bay (NY), and CSX running tracks, Pelham Bay to Fresh Pond Jct., NY (CSX has trackage rights
    Trackage rights
    Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....

     to serve customers on Metro-North and Amtrak, if any)
  • Housatonic Railroad
    Housatonic Railroad
    The Housatonic Railroad is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, and has since expanded north and south, as well as west into New York State.The...

     and branches, Danbury to Derby
  • MBTA and CSX - Boston and Providence Railroad (East Providence Branch and main line), Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad
    Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad
    The Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was formed in 1876 as a consolidation of the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad with the New Bedford Railroad....

     and Old Colony Railroad
    Old Colony Railroad
    The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

     Newport line, Rhode Island/Massachusetts state line to Massachusetts/Rhode Island state line
  • Pan Am Railways
    Pan Am Railways
    Pan Am Railways, Inc. , known as Guilford Rail System before March 2006, is a holding company that owns and operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine to Rotterdam Junction, New York...

    , coal unit trains to FirstLight Power Mt. Tom
    Mount Tom, Massachusetts
    Mount Tom is a village in the city of Easthampton, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located in a narrow strip of land between Mount Tom to the south, the Connecticut River to the east, and The Oxbow, an old channel of the Connecticut River, to the north. Interstate 91, U.S...

     Power plant, Holyoke (MA)

History

The P&W was incorporated in Massachusetts as the Providence and Worcester Railway on March 12, 1844, and as the Providence and Worcester Railroad in Rhode Island in May 1844. The two companies were merged November 25, 1845 as the Providence and Worcester Railroad. The company bought the Blackstone Canal
Blackstone Canal
The Blackstone Canal was a waterway linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island through the Blackstone Valley via a series of locks and canals during the early 19th century.-History:...

, also running between Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

 and Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

, and began construction, partly on its banks, in 1845. The line opened in two sections, the part south of Millville on September 27, 1847, and the rest on October 20. The line from Providence to Central Falls
Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 19,376 at the 2010 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the thirty-second most densely populated incorporated place in the United...

 was shared with the Boston and Providence Railroad, which at the same time built a connection from its old line (ending in East Providence
East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,037 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state.-Geography:East Providence is located at ....

) over to the P&W.
On July 1, 1892, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...

 leased the P&W for 99 years. The New Haven merged into Penn Central on January 1, 1969. On April 6, 1970 the P&W announced its intention to separate from the merger. After a legal battle, the Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...

 approved the request on August 25, 1972, and on November 2, Penn Central signed the agreement effective December 30. The P&W cancelled the lease on February 3, 1973. Since then, the P&W has taken over many other lines from the former Penn Central and Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...

.

Engine Roster








































The Providence & Worcester Railroad currently rosters the following locomotives
Road NumberMakeModelBuilt
PW 150GE25 TonnerNovember 1945
PW 2006EMDGP38-2
EMD GP38-2
An EMD GP38-2 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier GP38...

February 1980
PW 2007EMDGP38-2November 1980
PW 2008EMDGP38-2December 1980
PW 2009EMDGP38-2September 1982
PW 2010EMDGP38
EMD GP38
An EMD GP38 is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine which generated ....

October 1969
PW 2011EMDGP38October 1969
PW 2201GEB23-7
GE B23-7
The GE B23-7 is a diesel locomotive model that was offered first by GE in 1977, featuring a 12 cylinder engine. It is 61 ft 2 in long. It competed with the EMD GP38-2. General Electric also produced a variant, the BQ23-7, for the Seaboard Coast Line.Ten Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México...

February 1978
PW 2215GEB23-S7R (Rebuilt B23)June 1972
PW 2216GEB23-S7R (Rebuilt B23)June 1972
PW 3001EMDGP40
EMD GP40
The EMD GP40 is a 4-axle diesel-electric road switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between November 1965 and December 1971...

1971
PW 3002EMDGP40May 1966
PW 3003EMDGP40December 1969
PW 3004GEB30-7A (Cabless)June 1982
PW 3005GEB30-7A (Cabless)June 1982
PW 3006GEB30-7A (Cabless)July 1982
PW 3007GEB30-7A (Cabless)July 1982
PW 3008GEB30-7A (Cabless)August 1982
PW 3901GEB39-8EApril 1988
PW 3902GEB39-8EOctober 1987
PW 3903GEB39-8EApril 1988
PW 3904GEB39-8EMarch 1988
PW 3905GEB39-8ENovember 1987
PW 3906GEB39-8EOctober 1987
PW 3907GEB39-8EOctober 1987
PW 3908GEB39-8EOctober 1987
PW 3909GEB39-8EOctober 1987
PW 4001GEB40-8June 1988
PW 4002GEB40-81988
PW 4003GEB40-81988
PW 4004GEB40-81988
PW 4005GEB40-8W1992
PW 4006GEB40-8W1992
PW 4007GEB40-8W1992



Branches

The East Providence Branch Railroad was the only branch built by the P&W. Chartered in 1874 and opened in 1875, it split from the main line at Valley Falls and ran southeast and south, clipping the corner of Attleboro, Massachusetts
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States and is immediately north of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers, Attleboro had a population of 42,068 at the 2000 census, and a population of 43,645 as of...

 and running through Pawtucket, ending in East Providence at the Boston and Providence Railroad and the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad
Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad
The Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad was a railroad in Rhode Island connecting the city of Providence with Bristol, Rhode Island. It formed in 1854 by a consolidation of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad Companies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island...

.

The East Providence Branch was also the P&W's only branch when it was leased to the NYNH&H, but previously it had leased several other railroads.

The Milford and Woonsocket Railroad was incorporated in 1855 and opened in 1868 from Milford to Bellingham. Soon after, the P&W leased it, despite it not being connected directly to the P&W. The Hopkinton Railway was leased in 1870 and opened in 1872, continuing the M&W north from Milford to Ashland. It too was leased to the P&W, on completion. Both leases expired in 1883 and were not renewed. The M&W bought the Hopkinton in 1884, and in 1897 the New England Railroad leased them, with a direct connection at Milford.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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