Down Low By The River
Having decided to take a vacation day Wed and having free time till noon with no need to go right home to sleep I did the only logical thing...head out on the B&A! A quick check revealed that there were three trains all moving east (Q436, Q264, and I022 in that order) out toward the mountains and they should all be through the Palmer area between 10 and 11. That timing was even better since it was absolutely miserable with low clouds, dark gloom, and rain at 'sunrise,' but that all blew out replaced with sparkling clear blue skies by later in the morning come train time.
I shot Q436 (Selkirk to Worcester manifest) arriving in Palmer to start their work setting out in the yard and then headed to this favorite spot out at the Warren line. I kept an eye on things and as it turned out hotshot long pool intermodal I022 ran around Q264 at CP92 in Wilbraham and Q436 in Palmer which made them the first to show.
In the next 30 minutes two more trains showed up spaced 15 min apart so I relocated for a wide angle broadside shot I've been wanting to try that features the ancient doouble stone arch bridge dating from the line's construction in 1839. Having wrapped up their work in Palmer Q436 is on their last 30 miles to their destination in Worcester with a big train running 2x1 DPU. A nearly 20 yr old AC400CW still wearing the ever more scarce YN2 'bright future' scheme is trailing over the Quabog River here at about MP 75.5 on modern day CSXT's Boston Subdivision.
When the Western Railroad was completed in 1842 formed the longest and most expensive railroad constructed in the United States up to that point.
The three predecessors merged to form the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1870. Thirty years later the B&A was leased by the New York Central Railroad and the line would pass successively to the Penn Central in 1968, Conrail in 1976 and CSXT in 1999. To this day it remains as the preeminent freight route and the only Class 1 trunk line still serving New England...truly a testament to the forethought of those who laid out and built the line over 180 years ago.
Check back soon for a view of train number three here!
Warren, Massachusetts
Wednesday November 10, 2021
Down Low By The River
Having decided to take a vacation day Wed and having free time till noon with no need to go right home to sleep I did the only logical thing...head out on the B&A! A quick check revealed that there were three trains all moving east (Q436, Q264, and I022 in that order) out toward the mountains and they should all be through the Palmer area between 10 and 11. That timing was even better since it was absolutely miserable with low clouds, dark gloom, and rain at 'sunrise,' but that all blew out replaced with sparkling clear blue skies by later in the morning come train time.
I shot Q436 (Selkirk to Worcester manifest) arriving in Palmer to start their work setting out in the yard and then headed to this favorite spot out at the Warren line. I kept an eye on things and as it turned out hotshot long pool intermodal I022 ran around Q264 at CP92 in Wilbraham and Q436 in Palmer which made them the first to show.
In the next 30 minutes two more trains showed up spaced 15 min apart so I relocated for a wide angle broadside shot I've been wanting to try that features the ancient doouble stone arch bridge dating from the line's construction in 1839. Having wrapped up their work in Palmer Q436 is on their last 30 miles to their destination in Worcester with a big train running 2x1 DPU. A nearly 20 yr old AC400CW still wearing the ever more scarce YN2 'bright future' scheme is trailing over the Quabog River here at about MP 75.5 on modern day CSXT's Boston Subdivision.
When the Western Railroad was completed in 1842 formed the longest and most expensive railroad constructed in the United States up to that point.
The three predecessors merged to form the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1870. Thirty years later the B&A was leased by the New York Central Railroad and the line would pass successively to the Penn Central in 1968, Conrail in 1976 and CSXT in 1999. To this day it remains as the preeminent freight route and the only Class 1 trunk line still serving New England...truly a testament to the forethought of those who laid out and built the line over 180 years ago.
Check back soon for a view of train number three here!
Warren, Massachusetts
Wednesday November 10, 2021