The P&W in Rhode Island.

Another one of my favorite locations is George Bennett Highway in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The tracks of the Providence and Worcester (formerly New Haven) run right alongside the ``highway'' for its entire length through Pawtucket. An old timer told me this is because the road was originally built to allow trucks to reach the industrial buildings that were already served by rail. In the intervening years, the area along the road has been built up with smaller commercial outlets like McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and strip malls.

If you get there around 9-ish most mornings (Monday through Friday), you can catch a P&W local coming down from the yard in Valley Falls to work the remaining industrial areas along the road. The George Bennett is crossed by a dozen or so side streets, which requires the crew to flag the locomotive across most intersections. And if you leave your car in McDonalds' parking lot you can walk along and get plenty of photos of the local in action.

The P&W puts locomotives at either end of its smaller trains. It saves on having to run the locomotive around and allows the trains to work turnouts in both directions. It also gives the average photographer a chance to get photos of the train coming and going. It takes the train about three hours to get to the end of the line in East Providence and back, so you will have a lot of opportunities to take your photos and be finished for lunch. Some of the areas it passes through aren't the best neighborhoods and road traffic is always busy, so use your head if you go out here.

Personally, I am a fan of the P&W. There is a lot to like about this railroad. It was reborn in the 1970s when shareholders decided the Penn Central wasn't treating their property with due respect. The P&W leased itself to the New Haven but the railroad never went out of existence. According to its lease it had the right to reassert itself if the property wasn't being kept up to standards that satisfied the shareholders. In the 1970s, after a court battle, the P&W was allowed to reemerge as an independent railroad and has been expanding and thriving (more or less) ever since. I also think they have one of the handsomest, conservative paint schemes around.

So, if you should every get the chance to get out there and take some photos, by all means do so. And if it is a Monday holiday, take a look around because you just might see me out there too.