THE NINETEENTH CENTURY YARD

For most of the nineteenth century Providence was served by several independent railroads until all were consolidated by the New York, New Haven & Hartford which had gained control of all by 1895. Until that time each of the railroads had freight facilities in the center of Providence close to the Union Station on the Cove The various yards there were mainly for loading and unloading of cars and for many years there was little need for many tracks to classify the cars and make-up or break down trains. As Providence grew the facilities in the center of the city became inadequate to the extent that more cars arrived and needed to be unloaded or loaded than could be handled on the relatively few tracks that each railroad had avaiable. Consequently the railroads began to seek land outside the city center for storage and switching yards.

The two railroads that entered Providence from the north were the Providence & Worcester and the Boston & Providence. The B&P was the first to reach Providence but its terminal was at a remote location at India Point. When the P&W reached the center of Providence by building through Central Falls and Pawtucket, the B&P built a connection from its mainline near Attleboro to Central Falls where a junction was made with the P&W at Boston Switch. From there to Providence the B&P used the tracks of the P&W under a joint ownership agreement. The B&P was leased by the Old Colony in 1888 and the P&W was leased by the New York, Providence & Boston in 1889. The NYP&B was leased by the New Haven in 1892 and the Old Colony was leased by the New Haven in 1893.

The P&W's first move to build a yard outside the city center occurred in 1879 when it purchased several acres of land near Branch Avenue to increased the size of a lot it already owned there. A relatively small yard was built after the land was leveled. The road's annual report for 1879 said, "Owing to our large and increasing freight business, that department has been compelled to use every available foot of side track and turn-outs on the whole line of the road, for the storage of loaded cars prepatory to available facilities for unloading, thus adding largely to the expense of handling this branch of our business...."

The yard in 1882. The street crossing on the left is Branch Avenue. The underpass on the right is Northup Avenue, the name given to the yard in the future. The double-tracked railroad line was jointly owned by the Providence & Worcester and the Boston & Providence. The yard will grow to fill the area up to Silver Spring Street.

STOCK YARDS - In 1873 the P&W built cattle pens on the north border of Providence where Smithfield Avenue was crossed. The railroad said it did so to relieve the city of Providence of numerous cattle trains which were "long a source of annoyance", probably an understatement.

The pens and slaughter houses would remain there for several decades. The hump of the Northup Avenue yard would be built adjoning their location on the Providence-Pawtucket border.

The Stock Yards in 1882. The hump would be built opposite the slaughter houses. The diagonal street crossing the tracks is Cemetery Street which would be replaced by the Smithfield Avenue viaduct in the 1920's.

THE MAIN LINE. The joint P&W - B&P line was a double-track line which became a four-track line south of the Pawtucket depot during the mid 1880's. Until 1895 trains operated on the left contrary to practice in most of the U.S. P&W rules applied to all train movements. Early in the 1880's electric signals were installed to protect trains. The Union Electric Switch and Signal Co.'s system was used. The P&W was the first railroad in the country to be thoroughly equipped with an automatic, electric block system. The electric track circuit through the rails was similar to modern systems and used distant and home signals to safeguard trains.

ACCIDENTS. Although few fatal railroad wrecks occurred in Rhode Island, two serious wrecks occurred near Branch Avenue. The first was on the night of November 30, 1889 when a southbound Old Colony passenger train ran through a stop signal and struck a northbound switcher which was pushing a transfer movement from Providence across the mainline into the yard. The engineer of the Old Colony train was known as a most careful runner but inexplicably did not obey block signal 8 near Smithfield Avenue about a thousand feet before the point of collision. He set the brakes when he saw the headlight of 4-4-0 No. 26 on the switching movement and he and the fireman jumped but the engineer fell under the train and was killed. The fireman on the switcher was also killed but possibly because the switcher was moving in reverse and brakes were set on the passenger engine, there were no other fatalities or serious injuries to passengers. The conductor of the switching move was found at fault for violating rules by moving across the mainline knowing a passenger train was due. He said he was anxious to move into the yard because a way freight was behind him and that he thought the Old Colony train was late, he was protected by signals and flags, and would at worse slow the express if it arrived before he was in the clear. He testified, "If we were to keep out of the way of these passenger trains, we would never get our work done".

The second serious accident was on the night of October 29, 1890 and illustrated the danger of operating freight trains with weak couplers and individual hand brakes controlled by brakemen on the car tops. A Boston to Providence Old Colony freight train moving at about fifteen or twenty miles per hour with twenty-five cars broke in two near the stock yards possiby due to a pin working loose from the link and pin coupler or a link breaking. The engineer, on noticing that the last ten cars had separated, blew three long whistle blasts which signaled that the train had parted and should have alerted the men in the caboose (also referred to as the buggy in the accident report) or the men riding the top to set the handbrakes. Since he could not see clearly in the dark he thought the parted section had stopped. He whistled for brakes before Branch Avenue and the front end of the train came to a stop. When he finaly saw the marker lights on the caboose he realized the rear of the train was still moving and tried to restart his section but the rear ten cars smashed into the train with considerable force.

Two flat cars were near the end of the train, one loaded with an eight ton boiler and one with bundles of iron pipes and eight iron I-beams. The loads were secured in the normal way but the collision caused them to shift and project into the northbound mainline. At the time of the collision a NYP&B passenger train was passing and the iron girders struck the three car train at window height with fatal results for two passengers. Several passengers were injured but recovered. Fortunately most of the passengers were in the third coach which was not pierced by the beams. The conductor of the freight train was found at fault for not being more attentive to the train particularly since it was approaching an active yard area. The conductor and a brakeman were in the caboose and two brakeman were posted on the cars. The top man on the rear section did not hear the whistle signal and in the dark was not aware of the parting until very late and seems to have set brakes on no more than one or two of the heavily loaded cars.

Combination Baggage-Smoker No.118 of the NYP&B. Two men in this car were struck by a girder. One died but the second regained consciousness after several days and left R.I. Hospital in improved condition a month after the accident.

The result of the Old Colony train breaking in two. The two flat cars were in the rear section which collided with the first section at Branch Avenue. The first flat car carried pipe and girders which pierced the side of a passing NYP&B train killing two passengers.

THE NEW CHARLES STREET OVERPASS IN DECEMBER 1892

The Northup Avenue Classification Yard would begin around the curve in this view to the north. The two tracks on the right are the southbound main tracks while the next two are the northbound tracks. Trains on the four-tracked joint NYP&B - OC line ran on the left, a practice at odds with normal practice. The track on the far left is a siding adjoining the Charles Street roundhouse which is behind the fence. The electric block signal system was installed by the Union Switch and Signal Co. early in 1882. The white disc shows the block ahead is clear. A train entering the block moves the disc 90 degrees to display a red target. Lanterns display the same signal colors at night. Home and distant signals were used.

The Corliss Works of the International Power Company was located south of Branch Avenue where the Northup Avenue classification yard would begin. The New Haven 2-8-0 No.1009 is leaving the plant c.1899 with eight cars of parts for four Greene-Wheelock engines under construction for the Atlanta Power Co. in Georgia. The locomotive was built by Hinkley for the New York & New England in 1882 and was scrapped in 1914.