Hometown Heritage
Thanks to a heads up from a friend and the fact that I had no prior commitments I headed west after work to a favorite location that I hadn't been to in a while. And this was the reason...the first visit of CSXT's Conrail heritage unit to 'home rails' of CR's old Boston Line. This was also the first one of these new heritage units I've seen in person as I missed the other two that have made it into New England thus far. We all have our opinions about these things (and most aren't positive!) but at least they are something different. Obviously the design is rather pointless to shoot head on or in a tight wedge and the best way to show it off is with a broadside composition, and frankly there is better spot than this around here.
Here is daily Selkirk to Worcester manifest train M436 crossing the Quaboag River at about MP 75.5 on CSXT's Boston Subdivision. Leading the way is CSXT 1976 a GE ES44AC-H orignally blt. May 2012 as CSXT 3069 and repainted in 2023 and given this number to commemorate the year Conrail was created from the ashes of six bankrupt Northeastern roads. Trailing is CSXT 6222 an EMD GP40-2 blt. Feb. 1979 as BO 4323 in Chessie Sytem paint.
The ancient twin stone arch bridge dates from the line's construction in 1839 as the Western Railroad, that when completed in 1842 formed the longest and most expensive railroad constructed in the United States up to that point. The Western merged with two other predecessors to form the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1870. Thirty years later the B&A was leased by the New York Central Railroad, and then 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.
Warren, Massachusetts
Wednesday September 13, 2023
Hometown Heritage
Thanks to a heads up from a friend and the fact that I had no prior commitments I headed west after work to a favorite location that I hadn't been to in a while. And this was the reason...the first visit of CSXT's Conrail heritage unit to 'home rails' of CR's old Boston Line. This was also the first one of these new heritage units I've seen in person as I missed the other two that have made it into New England thus far. We all have our opinions about these things (and most aren't positive!) but at least they are something different. Obviously the design is rather pointless to shoot head on or in a tight wedge and the best way to show it off is with a broadside composition, and frankly there is better spot than this around here.
Here is daily Selkirk to Worcester manifest train M436 crossing the Quaboag River at about MP 75.5 on CSXT's Boston Subdivision. Leading the way is CSXT 1976 a GE ES44AC-H orignally blt. May 2012 as CSXT 3069 and repainted in 2023 and given this number to commemorate the year Conrail was created from the ashes of six bankrupt Northeastern roads. Trailing is CSXT 6222 an EMD GP40-2 blt. Feb. 1979 as BO 4323 in Chessie Sytem paint.
The ancient twin stone arch bridge dates from the line's construction in 1839 as the Western Railroad, that when completed in 1842 formed the longest and most expensive railroad constructed in the United States up to that point. The Western merged with two other predecessors to form the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1870. Thirty years later the B&A was leased by the New York Central Railroad, and then 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.
Warren, Massachusetts
Wednesday September 13, 2023