A Couple of Local Trips
August 22nd.
On August 22nd and August 29 I ventured out on to the CSX Boston Subdivision, or what I like to call the B&A for the old Boston & Albany. (Sorry BAR fans.) On the 22nd, I made it out to Palmer. I got a late start because I stayed up too late the night before. Anyway as I was driving west on the Mass Pike near Worcester, I heard the dispatcher talking to one train I missed. This was not because I was late, but it was because this train was about two hours earlier than I expected.
Anyway I made it to Palmer where I caught a westbound, and the local. I missed an earlier eastbound by just minutes. I met up with my friend Jack and we waited for a bit and then decided to look for better spots east. We found one where we caught an eastbound TOFC train coming through West Warren, Mass. We then decided to head off towards his house. While at his house, we heard the Mass Central local go by. We decided to give chase and caught him doing some switching and then caught him again heading back to Palmer.
August 29th.
I met up with another contributor to the Observation Car Group on Yahoo, Phil. I was late morning but, I decided that Charlton Hill would be a good spot to try, near the curve at mp56. No sooner had we pulled in when we heard the dynamic whine of a downgrade east bound. We got out our cameras and fired a few shots. Unfortunately nothing was fleeted on this single track stretch and we waited almost another 90 minutes before we caught another eastbound. It was Q168 loaded with lots of UPS trailers. Unfortunately, my buddy Phil had to catch a late afternoon flight back to northern California. So we packed up, I showed him a couple what used to be nice photo spots and then we left.
I will add this. I miss Conrail. I don’t ever recall these lines being so overgrown with brush and weeds as they are now with CSX. Some serious weed and brush control needs to be taken. If you have not visited this area in a few years, be advised that you may not get the same unobstructed view that you got in the past.
There are a couple of pictures of my August 22nd shots in the New England Trains page. I hope to be adding more in a couple of days.
