Proper Polar Weather
This year the Providence and Worcester Railroad continued to provide their passenger train and crew for the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's extremely popular Polar Express trains with trains running and 3:30 and 6:30 PM Fri-Sun for a total of 42 sold out trips in 2024.
The train consist is deadheading south from Worcester to begin the final weekend of performances with B39-8E 3910 (GE blt. Dec. 1987 as LMX 8534) amidst a winter wonderland scene of the first significant snow of the year. They crossing in Blackstone River near MP 17.9 on the historic original Providence and Worcester mainline just north of the Rhode Island state line. This is the 10th of 14 crossings of the Blackstone along the 43 mile line when traveling south from Worcester to Providence.
As I've told you before in previous posts the P&W is my hometown road and it is inextricably linked to the river it follows both historically and physically. 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 at 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 175 years after its opening here it is still serving the purpose for which it was built.
Blackstone, Massachusetts
Friday December 20, 2024
Proper Polar Weather
This year the Providence and Worcester Railroad continued to provide their passenger train and crew for the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's extremely popular Polar Express trains with trains running and 3:30 and 6:30 PM Fri-Sun for a total of 42 sold out trips in 2024.
The train consist is deadheading south from Worcester to begin the final weekend of performances with B39-8E 3910 (GE blt. Dec. 1987 as LMX 8534) amidst a winter wonderland scene of the first significant snow of the year. They crossing in Blackstone River near MP 17.9 on the historic original Providence and Worcester mainline just north of the Rhode Island state line. This is the 10th of 14 crossings of the Blackstone along the 43 mile line when traveling south from Worcester to Providence.
As I've told you before in previous posts the P&W is my hometown road and it is inextricably linked to the river it follows both historically and physically. 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 at 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 175 years after its opening here it is still serving the purpose for which it was built.
Blackstone, Massachusetts
Friday December 20, 2024