THE OTHER STATIONS

The Union Station allowed passengers arriving in Providence on trains of the Providence & Worcester, Boston & Providence, New York, Providence & Boston and the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill to make an easy connection to trains of each of the four railroads. However, there were two significant railroads in Providence which did not use the Union Station.

PROVIDENCE, WARREN & BRISTOL

The most important of these was the Providence, Warren & Bristol which entered Providence in 1855 using the Boston & Providence's bridge over the Seekonk River and its tracks down India Street to a terminal at Washington Park near Fox Point. The ridge of hills to the east of the Union Station prevented the PW&B from terminating with the other railroads. In 1865, the Fall River, Warren & Providence opened to provide a connection between Warren and Fall River which allowed passengers from Providence to connect with trains of the Old Colony Railroad to Newport. During 1900-01 the route from Providence to Bristol and Warren to Fall River was electrified while the roads were controlled by the New York, New Haven & Hartford. Attempts were made to use trolley tracks to take the electric trains to the center of Providence but the electric trains were found to be incompatible with the trolley tracks. The trains from Bristol and Fall River did not enter the main Providence station until a tunnel was opened under College Hill in 1908. A new station was built to replace the wooden depot at Washington Park in 1902 but the tunnel eliminated its need and it served mainly as a freight house.

The Providence Warren & Bristol train stands at the India Street station (left) in Fox Point. Washington Park is on the right. The locomotive is now New Haven 758 but had been Boston & Providence Number 5, "Providence" built by the Rhode Island Locomotive Company in 1871. The PW&B came under the control of the B&P which was later controled by the Old Colony and in 1893 by the NYNH&H.

The new brick station of the Providence, Warren & Bristol line is in the foreground with the old wooden station which it replaced in the background. The location is India Street in Fox Point in 1902.

PROVIDENCE & SPRINGFIELD

The other significant railroad which did not use the Union Station was the P&S which opened between Providence and Pascoag in 1873. Its track ended in Olneyville and it reached the Cove area over land owned by the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill. It later leased land at the Cove from the city but was required to build its own station. By 1880, when the P&S built its Gaspee Street station, the Union Station had become too small for the traffic it already served and the P&S could accomodate its relatively few passengers in a small building. At the time it operated only two daily trains each way which carried on average less than seventy passengers.

The Providence & Springfield's small station is seen on the middle left edge of the map, a relatively short distance from the Union Station.

LOCAL STATIONS

During the nineteenth century Providence had a number of small stations within the city limits which provided neighborhoods with local service to downtown, particularly before the coming of horse cars, trolley lines, and the automobile.

The station at Atwell Avenue is an example of the local stations in Providence. It was built in 1891 and was served by trains of the New York, Providence & Boston.

ATWELL AVENUE - 1.08 MILES FROM UNION STATION

WESTMINSTER STREET - 1.75 MILES FROM UNION STATION

DIKE STREET STATION AND THE WATERMAN-WEYBOSSET MILL - 1.79 MILES FROM UNION STATION

Dike Street was the start of the lines to Willimantic/Hartford and Pascoag/Southbridge. Only trains for those two lines stopped there.

Main line trains stopped at Westminster Street which was only a very short distance away on the other side of the tracks.

OLNEYVILLE - 2.25 MILES FROM UNION STATION ON THE PASCOAG BRANCH

ELMWOOD - 3.42 MILES FROM UNION STATION

ROGER WILLIAMS PARK DEPOT - 4.32 MILES FROM UNION STATION

The station was where the new NYP&B belt line to Union Station left the old line to the NYP&B ferry to the B&P at India Point.