YARD ACTIVITY

The Northup Avenue hump was used for about thirty-six years and over that period there were changes in operation and some modifications in track assignments or locations. In general, there was a decrease in activity which accelerated in the 1950's as highway competition became overwhelming. The 1920's were active but the depression of the 1930's reduced traffic and some local service was replaced by the New Haven's highway affiliate. The war years saw a high level of activity and the immediate postwar years were good. The 1950's were difficult and the hump was closed in 1958.

The Y-3 Class 0-8-0 switcher is at the Northup Avenue yard office in October 1950 readying a train for departure. The view is to the north from the eastbound mainline along Smithfield Avenue. Photo by Stephen Payne

The hump yard classified cars for several types of movements. Most important were the symbol freights which ran under an arranged service that was detailed in printed schedules and not subject to change except by the superintendent of transportation. They were usually called symbol freights because they were identified by symbols indicating their place of origin and destination. Because they were scheduled they were also called time freights. Some symbol freights only stopped at Northup Avenue to leave or pick-up cars but in most years the majority of symbol freights at Northup Avenue originated or terminated there. Local freights were also listed in the "Arranged Freight Train Service" but they were not designated by symbols. When the amount of cars exceeed the capacity of the scheduled trains extra trains were run or the symbol train was run in sections. Symbol freights carried the most important loads such as fish, meat and other perishables, merchandise and other high class freight. Symbol trains were filled-out with less important "slow" freight when capacity allowed but "slow" freight often went in extra trains. Symbol trains were restricted to the tonnage the locomotive could haul at speeds fast enough to keep to the published schedule.

The Northup Avenue yard also made-up or broke-down trains that served local customers. There were large team yards and freight houses in the center of Providence as well as many in adjoining areas such as Pawtucket. Some symbol freights picked-up cars at the team yards in Providence, specifically Brayton Avenue, but much of the local freight was classified at Northup Avenue and handled by switchers in the terminal district. Switchers from Northup Avenue also moved cars to and from local industrial sites and the wharves in several places around the harbor.

A Y-4 0-8-0 switcher is moving back across the hump in this Ocober 1950 view looking north from near the Smithfield Avenue viaduct. Photo by Stephen Payne

The "Arranged Freight Train Service" schedule effective September 28, 1924 when the hump yard was new listed twenty symbol freight trains originating or terminating at Northup Avenue. They included P-H 1 (Harlem River), P-B 2, 4, and 6 (Boston), P-N 3 (New Haven), P-L 2 (Lowell), P-K 2 (Middlebro and South Braintree), P-W 6 (Worcester), and P-A 1 (Hartford). There was even P-R 2 (Readville) which used the Rhode Island & Massachusetts line through Diamond Hill and Abbott's Run. There were also seven through symbol freights which stopped at Northup Avenue with set-outs or for pick-ups such as the Boston-Harlem River train (B-H 1 was unofficially the "fish train"), Boston-New Haven and New Bedford-New Haven trains. There were seven scheduled local freights in and out of Northup Avenue. They left for Worcester, Midway, Readville via Wrentham, Pascoag, Washington, Hope and Willimantic. All left in the morning and returned to Northup Avenue the same day except the Willimantic local which left at 12:30 p.m. and arrived at Willimantic in the evening.

The J-1 class 2-8-2's such as No.3023 powered many of the time freights on secondary lines.

The "Arranged Service" schedule effective September 27, 1931 actually showed a slightly larger number of trains at Northup Avenue despite the onset of the depression two years before. The number of originating symbol freights dropped from twenty to eighteen but the number of through trains scheduled to stop rose from seven to fourteen. Scheduled locals rose from seven to eight round trips out of Northup Avenue. New through time freights included "The Speed Witch" NE-1 and 2 giving overnight service to Baltimore. There were also new Maybrook freights O-B 2 and 4 and B-O 1 and 7 and new Oak Point trains B-10 and B-11. Also stopping at Northup Avenue were the new Hell Gate bridge trains B-2 and B-3 which used the Bay Ridge-Greenville car floats, the Cedar Hill-Fall River F-N 1 and N-F 2, and the Harlem River-Boston H-B 1 and 4.

R-2-a 4-8-2 No 3506 was built by Schenectady in 1926 and powered some of the most important trains at Northup Avenue.

Photo by Lewis Walter

New trains in the 1931 schedule that originated or terminated at Northup Avenue included the Hyannis Z-1 and Z-2 and Framingham P-C 2 and C-P 1. The time freight through Abbott's Run and Diamond Hill was replaced by Wrentham branch P-B 4 and P-B 3. Worcester gained a time freight but the Hartford symbol freight and the Boston time freight via Taunton were dropped. The local to Washington was gone but Northup Avenue now originated locals to Mansfield and Bristol. Ominously, the 1931 schedule offered both rail and highway freight service to some destinations.

A freight for Worcester is passing through the receiving yard switches at the Woodlawn end of the Northup Avenue Yard. Woodlawn tower, located several hundred feet in front of the ALCO DL 109's, controlled the yard's northern exit and entrance..The receiving yard is in the distance and the Moshassuck Valley railroad interchange is reached from the switch on the right. The Woodlawn station stood on the stonewall on the left. There was also a water tank here. Photo by Edward J. Ozog

VIEW WEST FROM THE NORTH SIDE OF SMITHFIELD AVENUE VIADUCT

ALCO FA's 0427 and 0405 are eastbound proceeding to the receiving yard c.1949; they would be repainted green in the early 1950's. The hump is out of the picture to the right of the 0-8-0 on one of the classification tracks on the Providence-Pawtucket border. Steam switching ended in 1950-51. DeBlois Oil Co. is on Concord Street in the area of the old stockyards.

BRANCH AVENUE BRIDGE

View from an eastbound train c. 1930s. The light colored building in the center is the yard office with Smithfield Avenue bridge behind.

Photo by Johm W. Barriger, III

The public "Freight Train and Package Car Schedules" revised to September 28, 1947 showed that Northup Avenue remained as active for a few years after the war as it had been at the onset of the depression. Twenty-five trains originated or terminated there, not including switching runs to points in the terminal district. Thirteen of the trains were symbol freights and twelve were locals. In addition, thirteen through time freights were scheduled to set-out cars or make pick-ups. The through trains included "The Speed Witch", "The Cannonball" (Boston-Harlem River) and "The Roundup" (also Boston-Harlem River). FGB-2 and GB-8 left cars from the Hell Gate-Bay Ridge gateway. Maybrook gateway trains included OB- 2 and 4 and BO- 1. There was also the Fall River trains FN- 1 and NF- 2. Originating trains included PW- 4 and 6 to Worcester, PT- 2 to Taunton, PZ- 2 to Hyannis, PC- 2 to Framingham and PEW-2 to East Walpole. Scheduled locals ran to New London, Willimantic, Woonsocket, West Mansfield, Bristol and Pascoag. Reflecting the steady erosion of rail traffic, however, the schedule included sixteen truck routes out of Providence using affiliated New England Transportation Co.

View from Branch Avenue looking north. An FM road switcher is at work in early 1965.

A through freight pulled by new GP-9's passes the receiving yard in Woodlawn. The Moshassuck Valley railroad interchange is in the lower left corner. Photo by Edward J. Ozog

Moshassuck Valley RR Interchange. The MVRR was opened in 1877 from Woodlawn to Saylesville and interchanged at the joint P&W-B&P mainline which later became part of the New Haven's Northup Avenue Classification Yard. The MVRR had plans to either cross or build under the New Haven to reach the Pawtucket River but construction stopped in 1910 when a compromise was reached with the New Haven over freight rate divisions. For a full history of the line see:http://sites.google.com/site/moshassuckvalleyrailroad

Moshassuck Valley 0-6-0 No. 5 at the interchange track at the Northup Avenue yard in Woodlawn during the 1930's. No. 5 was built by Baldwin in 1912 for the John Marsch Construction Co. which was building the Grand Trunk's Southern New England Railway in Rhode Island. After construction was suspended on the last day of 1915, the MVRR acquired the almost new switcher and used it for about twenty-five years.

MVRR No.8 is nearing the interchange track alongside the Northup Avenue receiving yard.in June 1981. The Providence skyline is on the horizon and I-95 parallels the yard. Photo by Edward J. Ozog

MVRR No.8 is leaving the Wooodlawn interchange at Northup Avenue yard for the switching yard at Saylesville. The track forms part of a wye and was built in 1910 when the MVRR planned to reach the Pawtucket River with an electrified line which would have crossed under the New Haven at the far end of the interchange track. Photo by Edward J. Ozog

COMING AND GOING PHOTOS FROM DIX AVENUE - WINTER 1956

U.S. Army diesels are leaving the north end of the yard and are about to pass under Lonsdale Avenue in the Woodlawn section of Pawtucket. The Moshassuck Valley interchange is the track in the foreground. The Army locomotives were borrowed after flooding in August 1955. All were returned by June 1956.

Seabree Collection