A First – NARCOA on the P&W

The saying goes, there’s a first for everything.  It can be the first time you use a piece of equipment, in my case the first time I used a new camera body, or the first time photographing a piece of railroad equipment, or even the first time something ran on a decades-long dormant branch line.  On August 6, 2016 another first occurred – a private rail motorcar group held a sanctioned group run on the Providence & Worcester Railroad between Worcester, Mass. and Versailles, Conn.

The group that organized the event, and arranged the run with the railroad, was the North American Railcar Operators Association – also known as NARCOA.  The two-day ride was scheduled to traverse the Providence & Worcester’s Norwich and Willimantic Branches in Massachusetts and Connecticut on Saturday, and Sunday would feature a ride down the Main Line from Massachusetts into Rhode Island.  I was only able to cover the southbound trip from Worcester to Versailles on the first day.

Railcar operators from around the country gathered at the P&W’s headquarters in Worcester, Mass. Friday evening where they set their cars onto the rails for the following day’s runs.  About 30 motocars were in the group, and varied in styles from open two-person putt-putts to hyrail equipped pickup trucks.

The group left the P&W base around 8:30am on Saturday, and started making their way south on the Norwich Branch.  A quick restroom stop was made at the railroad’s May Street signal maintenance facility in Putnam, Connecticut.  With the call of nature answered, the group proceeded south towards the P&W’s Plainfield terminal, where they would switch over to the Willimantic Branch, and head towards Versailles.

Of course, as everything on the railroad goes, plans can go awry.  Right over the switch from the Norwich Branch to the Willimantic Branch, a rather large tree decided to fall onto the tracks, completely blocking the cars’ path.  But the P&W employee escort, along with one of the riders, had chainsaws with them.  About 45 minutes of cutting with everyone pitching in to move the cut debris, and the route was again clear for movement onto the Willimantic Branch.

The group continued down the line, and eventually stopped at Paper Mill Road in the Versailles section of Sprague, where they turned their motorcars for the trip back to Worcester.

Below is the entire set of photos – 145 in all – and you can click on each to see a larger version.  Clicking the link will also bring you to where you can purchase prints by clicking on the red “Buy Prints Now” button.  Also, if you order prints before September 1, 2016, you can get 10% off your entire order – just use the coupon code SPEEDER10 at checkout!

As always, feel free to leave comments or ask any questions either here in the comments section, or drop me a line privately.

Thanks for checking it out!
Tom