A Tale Of River And Rail - Take 3
As a counterpoint to photos of this year's Blackstone Valley Polar Express trains let's look back to another gray day three years ago that at least ran with 'proper' power in the form of GP38-2s 2006 and 2008 (blt. new for the railroad Feb. and Dec. 1980 respectively).
Copied below is the caption I wrote on the time when originally shared on FB long before I had my photography page or Flickr.
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As I've told you before in previous posts the Providence & Worcester is my hometown road. It is inextricably linked to the river it follows.
The Blackstone River courses 48 miles from its headwaters near Worcester (at the confluence of the Middle River and Mill Brook) to where it flows into the Seekonk River and the headwaters of Narragansett Bay. The river drains a watershed of 640 square miles and more importantly drops 450 feet in the 48 miles. It is that drop, that made this river a pivotal point in American History.
From ririvers.org: "A series of steep drops along the length of the Blackstone River provided ideal conditions for the development of water powered industry. Samuel Slater arrived in America in 1790, with managerial experience and technical knowledge of textile manufacturing in England. With the assistance of local merchants and artisans, he helped establish the first successful water-powered textile mill in America. Slater Mill was established on the Blackstone River, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. This achievement is credited with spawning the birth of America's industrial revolution. Development of the Slater textile mill catalyzed the development of water-driven technology throughout the length of the Blackstone River. By 1914 water-powered mills occupied all of the readily available dam sites in the Valley."
As the birthplace of industrial America, the need for transportation quickly arose in the valley, and between 1825 and 1828 the Blackstone Canal was constructed. The canal lasted only 20 years having been rendered obsolete by the opening of the Providence and Worcester Railroad in 1847. The railroad has proven to be a more durable method of transportation and 171 years after its opening I was out photographing the modern incarnation of the P&W on it's home rails.
Just as the railroad's history is tied forever with the Blackstone River, so is it's physical route. In its 43 rail miles between its namesake points it crosses the river 14 times (counting one crossing of the Middle River). In this series of photos I have a shot of four of those crossings that are found along the route of my chase between Woonsocket, RI and Uxbridge, MA.
The northbound train is again seen crossing the river in the woods at about MP 23.2 on the mainline near Skull Rock Landing. The thru truss span clearly shows evidence that the route was once double tracked during the era of New Haven control.
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Sunday November 18, 2018
A Tale Of River And Rail - Take 3
As a counterpoint to photos of this year's Blackstone Valley Polar Express trains let's look back to another gray day three years ago that at least ran with 'proper' power in the form of GP38-2s 2006 and 2008 (blt. new for the railroad Feb. and Dec. 1980 respectively).
Copied below is the caption I wrote on the time when originally shared on FB long before I had my photography page or Flickr.
‐‐-------------------------------------------------------------
As I've told you before in previous posts the Providence & Worcester is my hometown road. It is inextricably linked to the river it follows.
The Blackstone River courses 48 miles from its headwaters near Worcester (at the confluence of the Middle River and Mill Brook) to where it flows into the Seekonk River and the headwaters of Narragansett Bay. The river drains a watershed of 640 square miles and more importantly drops 450 feet in the 48 miles. It is that drop, that made this river a pivotal point in American History.
From ririvers.org: "A series of steep drops along the length of the Blackstone River provided ideal conditions for the development of water powered industry. Samuel Slater arrived in America in 1790, with managerial experience and technical knowledge of textile manufacturing in England. With the assistance of local merchants and artisans, he helped establish the first successful water-powered textile mill in America. Slater Mill was established on the Blackstone River, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. This achievement is credited with spawning the birth of America's industrial revolution. Development of the Slater textile mill catalyzed the development of water-driven technology throughout the length of the Blackstone River. By 1914 water-powered mills occupied all of the readily available dam sites in the Valley."
As the birthplace of industrial America, the need for transportation quickly arose in the valley, and between 1825 and 1828 the Blackstone Canal was constructed. The canal lasted only 20 years having been rendered obsolete by the opening of the Providence and Worcester Railroad in 1847. The railroad has proven to be a more durable method of transportation and 171 years after its opening I was out photographing the modern incarnation of the P&W on it's home rails.
Just as the railroad's history is tied forever with the Blackstone River, so is it's physical route. In its 43 rail miles between its namesake points it crosses the river 14 times (counting one crossing of the Middle River). In this series of photos I have a shot of four of those crossings that are found along the route of my chase between Woonsocket, RI and Uxbridge, MA.
The northbound train is again seen crossing the river in the woods at about MP 23.2 on the mainline near Skull Rock Landing. The thru truss span clearly shows evidence that the route was once double tracked during the era of New Haven control.
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Sunday November 18, 2018