Mineral Spring Ave.
Providence and Worcester Railroad's Valley Falls based local PR-3 heads up the Moshassuck Running Track with a single load of rebar for Nucor/Harris Rebar seen here in this going away shot looking north just over the Mineral Spring Avenue crossing at MP 0.4. To facilitate the move the gondola is sandwiched between their two units, and they dropped the rest of their big train back on the mainline up by old Lawn Tower. After running north to the ejd of the line at Higginson Ave. in Lincoln they'll spot the car then MU their two units and return light back thru here off the 1.2 mile long branch.
Looking like the proud independent regional I grew up with, PR-3's two units still wear the classic red and brown scheme some eight years after Genesee and Wyoming orange took over. GP38-2s 2006 and 2008 are original to the road having been built new for the then only 7 year independent company by EMD in Feb. and Dec. 1980 respectively), and have spent their entire careers working the rails in and out of the Ocean State.
Colloquially known to railroaders as 'The Mud' this branch had been out of service for a couple years, but in a pleasant turnabout it recently returned to life when the railroad cleared all the enchroaching brush and put the signals back in service. In fact I believe this might be the first car since it returned to service.
Looking at this line as an outsider you wouldn't think much of it as it seems to be no more than any other old urban spur, but digging a bit deeper this line is so much more. This was once the mainline of one of the nation's shortest of shortlines and the tiniest of three such roads that maintained their independence through the late 19th and nearly all of the 20th centuries when the mighty New Haven was buying, leasing, merging, or crushing every other independent railroad in southern New England.
With credit to Edward Ozog's wonderful Rhode Island Railroads web site and Ronald Dale Karr's invaluable reference book "The Rail Lines of Southern New England" here is a bit of history.
Chartered in 1874 the two mile long Moshassuck Valley Railroad Company commenced operations in 1877 and ran from a main line interchange in Woodlawn, Pawtucket to Saylesville in the town Lincoln. It was built to serve the textile finishing mills of the Sayles brothers, but it was also a common carrier with a profitable freight business and for many years frequent passenger service. In fact until 1921 it ran up to 10 passenger trains a day with four stops on the 2 mile route.
The Sayles mills were the reason for building the MVRR and its major customer for most of its existence. Textiles to and from the Sayles Bleacheries, Lorraine Manufacturing Co. and Glenlyon Dye Works were a major source of traffic but there was also large amounts of coal for the mills and a variety of related products.
The textile industry in Rhode Island declined in the 1920's and 30's due to lower costs in the south and in 1960 Sayles operations ended. After 90 years being run by the Sayles family, the little road was sold to Standard Transportation in December 1967 and traffic remained relatively good as various light industries replaced the textile mills.
After 105 years of independent operations it was finally sold to its connecting carrier which by 1982 was the reborn Providence and Worcester. Nine years later the P&W abandoned the northern 3/4 of a mile of track north of the Higginson Avenue crossing where the MVRR's small yard and shop were located. Those shops still exist in fact and for decades the modern day P&W used the remodeled MVRR enginehouse to maintain MofW vehicles though when I drove by recently it appears to have been sold or leased for non railroad use.
To learn more and see some fabulous images of the MVRR in its earliest days and right up to the end in the late 70s click this link:
sites.google.com/site/moshassuckvalleyrailroad/Home
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Wednesday November 20, 2024
Mineral Spring Ave.
Providence and Worcester Railroad's Valley Falls based local PR-3 heads up the Moshassuck Running Track with a single load of rebar for Nucor/Harris Rebar seen here in this going away shot looking north just over the Mineral Spring Avenue crossing at MP 0.4. To facilitate the move the gondola is sandwiched between their two units, and they dropped the rest of their big train back on the mainline up by old Lawn Tower. After running north to the ejd of the line at Higginson Ave. in Lincoln they'll spot the car then MU their two units and return light back thru here off the 1.2 mile long branch.
Looking like the proud independent regional I grew up with, PR-3's two units still wear the classic red and brown scheme some eight years after Genesee and Wyoming orange took over. GP38-2s 2006 and 2008 are original to the road having been built new for the then only 7 year independent company by EMD in Feb. and Dec. 1980 respectively), and have spent their entire careers working the rails in and out of the Ocean State.
Colloquially known to railroaders as 'The Mud' this branch had been out of service for a couple years, but in a pleasant turnabout it recently returned to life when the railroad cleared all the enchroaching brush and put the signals back in service. In fact I believe this might be the first car since it returned to service.
Looking at this line as an outsider you wouldn't think much of it as it seems to be no more than any other old urban spur, but digging a bit deeper this line is so much more. This was once the mainline of one of the nation's shortest of shortlines and the tiniest of three such roads that maintained their independence through the late 19th and nearly all of the 20th centuries when the mighty New Haven was buying, leasing, merging, or crushing every other independent railroad in southern New England.
With credit to Edward Ozog's wonderful Rhode Island Railroads web site and Ronald Dale Karr's invaluable reference book "The Rail Lines of Southern New England" here is a bit of history.
Chartered in 1874 the two mile long Moshassuck Valley Railroad Company commenced operations in 1877 and ran from a main line interchange in Woodlawn, Pawtucket to Saylesville in the town Lincoln. It was built to serve the textile finishing mills of the Sayles brothers, but it was also a common carrier with a profitable freight business and for many years frequent passenger service. In fact until 1921 it ran up to 10 passenger trains a day with four stops on the 2 mile route.
The Sayles mills were the reason for building the MVRR and its major customer for most of its existence. Textiles to and from the Sayles Bleacheries, Lorraine Manufacturing Co. and Glenlyon Dye Works were a major source of traffic but there was also large amounts of coal for the mills and a variety of related products.
The textile industry in Rhode Island declined in the 1920's and 30's due to lower costs in the south and in 1960 Sayles operations ended. After 90 years being run by the Sayles family, the little road was sold to Standard Transportation in December 1967 and traffic remained relatively good as various light industries replaced the textile mills.
After 105 years of independent operations it was finally sold to its connecting carrier which by 1982 was the reborn Providence and Worcester. Nine years later the P&W abandoned the northern 3/4 of a mile of track north of the Higginson Avenue crossing where the MVRR's small yard and shop were located. Those shops still exist in fact and for decades the modern day P&W used the remodeled MVRR enginehouse to maintain MofW vehicles though when I drove by recently it appears to have been sold or leased for non railroad use.
To learn more and see some fabulous images of the MVRR in its earliest days and right up to the end in the late 70s click this link:
sites.google.com/site/moshassuckvalleyrailroad/Home
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Wednesday November 20, 2024