P&W Willimantic Extra

On Friday March 30th, the Providence & Worcester Railroad ran an extra from Worcester, MA to Willimantic, CT to handle the interchange traffic to and from the New England Central Railroad.  It turned out to be a very nice day, weather-wise, and with summer hours upon us here at work, I decided to take advantage of the open afternoon and chase the train between Plainfield, CT and Willimantic, making many stops along the way – some familiar, and some more experimental.  Overall, I think they all worked rather well.

The chase started just after lunch when I made my way towards Plainfield, CT to intercept the train on the P&W’s Norwich Branch before they headed west over the Willimantic Branch.  I got to the junction of the two lines near the P&W’s Plainfield Terminal a few minutes before the extra’s arrival.  As it turned out, they had to make a pickup in Plainfield before heading west towards Willimantic, so I grabbed a few shots there before starting the chase west.

The westward trek included stops at familiar spots – like Packer’s Pond, Versailles, Baltic and Scotland Dam – along with a few new angles in Canterbury, Versailles and near the Scotland Dam.  Of course, the chase was wrapped up with a series of shots around Willimantic yard – including views of the former American Thread mills, and a few shots up by Bridge Street with the Windham Court House serving as a colorful backdrop.

Not much else to say – a pretty uneventful chase, so here’s the pictures.

Thanks for looking!
Tom