View allAll Photos Tagged Arguments
Before the season started, mother and I had a bit of argument over our raspberry plants. Mother thought I didn't pruned back the branches enough, and I thought she pruned too much. No matter, we still have a nice harvest this year from all the bushes, so much so that I'm starting to get sick of them!
"A Quiet Relaxed Meal .. ?" 2017
Walking on our first evening in Edinburgh I could see all was not well when I looked into the window of this restaurant. What was she saying .. with such apparent anger ? What had he done ?? He is placid so perhaps he's been caught out having a mistress !?! I grabbed a quick shot and hoped they wouldn't turn and come out & chase me! There again, it could have been about something less traumatic .. or interesting. Whatever, I think I caught a 'decisive moment' ( as Henri C-B said :-) )
"Un Repas Tranquille ... ?" 2017
Promenant lors de notre première soirée à Édimbourg, j'ai compris que tout n'allait pas bien lorsque j'ai regardé dans ce restaurant. Que disait-elle ... avec une telle colère apparente ? Qu'avait-il fait ? Il est placide, alors peut-être qu'il a été pris en flagrant délit d'avoir une maîtresse ! J'ai pris une photo rapide en espérant qu'ils ne se retourneraient pas pour me poursuivre ! Là encore, il aurait pu s'agir de quelque chose de moins traumatisant ... ou d'intéressant. Quoi qu'il en soit, je pense que j'ai attrapé un "moment décisif" ( comme l'a dit Henri Cartier Bresson :-) ).
Former quasi legal workshop.
The former guests left a message on the wall when they left.
They did not win the fight for keeping their hideaway workshop.
I suppose the dialogue was far from fruitful.
A bit like this argument perhaps:
la Sala di Giustizia è uno tra i più antichi ed importanti esempi di pittura di argomento civile del Medioevo occidentale, risalente alla fine del duecento.
1314-1316 - Master ofi Angera - Ottone Visconti (riding) retains his soldiers from committing violence on Napo della Torre, kneeling at his feet. Hall of Justice - Rocca Borromeo Angera
the hall of Justice is one of the oldest and most important examples of western medieval painting of civil argument, dating from the late late thirteenth century
And of course makeup, nylons, heels....and assorted unmentionables. 😘
You know, a femme and fashionable woman has so much to get right before even thinking of heading out the door. As my dear friend Linda points out, a man just has to toss on his pants and dash. Sure, the ones who take fashion more seriously may be compelled to shave and put on a tie, but please....don't try to tell us woman that's even the least bit comparable. (Unless you just enjoy being cut down to size, that is...)
Daisy for one, may have believed that nonsense once upon a time....but you can bet your last dime she wouldn't dream of making that argument now. There's just no substitute for first hand experience, is there? 😜
And yes, this is another new blouse. Daisy has plenty of dresses now, and I'm shifting my focus to separates. The skirt is mine, but my goodness it looks divine on Daisy. Let's let her have it shall we? 😁
"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?" C.S Lewis
These two got into an argument over fishing rights.
As you can see the darker one has a pretty good sized gash on its hip.
Something like that, would put a human in the hospital.
Bears just seem to shrug it off.
They are amazing animals.
Scanned from an archived slide.
I was shooting 50ASA Velvia.
Please view very large.
Ps - John Shaw told me just to meter off the spruce trees across the river and use the mid tones for my exposure.
That is what I did and it worked great.
John, gave me my first roll of Fuji Velvia.
Before that I was shooting Kodachrome 64ASA
and sometimes Kodachrome 25ASA.
Toralei: Andreaaa, can they pleaseee come out and play? They've been in that box for months now!
Me: No, Tora, Im sorry.
Toralei: But everyone else has friends!! Do you hate me?
Andrea: No. And HHB is in her box. So is scarah. I would LIKE to keep some of you in your boxes. We will not be speaking of this anymore.
Toralei: Oh come onnnnn! Deuce said you would. And he was your first MH. He must have some-
Andrea: No. No. Now go on. Im working.
---a few minutes later---
*rustle rustle*
Andrea: TORALEI STRIPE! I can hear you trying to open that box!
Toralei: Awh, monster...
Musée Cernuschi d'art asiatique
Cernuschi Museum of Asian Art
Paris
FR : Ce grand (4,4 mètres de haut) Bouddha japonais, en bronze, est le vestige d'un temple tokyoïte de l'époque Edo (dix-huitième siècle) détruit accidentellement par le feu…
Son grand Bouddha avait été abandonné dans les broussailles d’un jardin de Tokyo…
Statue monumentale sauvée de l’oubli par Henri Cernuschi, riche industriel, grand voyageur et amateur d’art asiatique, qui la rachète en 1871, la transporte en pièces détachées de Tokyo à Paris puis la réassemble et restaure, à l'intérieur de son hôtel particulier parisien, en bordure du Parc Monceau.
Lequel hôtel, incluant ses collections, a été légué à la ville de Paris et est devenu Musée Cernuschi d'Art Asiatique depuis 1898… Les collections d’origine ont été enrichies depuis les années 50 et le musée organise périodiquement d’intéressantes expositions temporaires.
Musée d’art asiatique moins prestigieux que le Musée Guimet mais digne d’intérêt pour tout fan de l’Asie dont je suis…
La position des mains (dharmacakra mudrā) de ce Bouddha Amitâbha (ou Amida, ou "de la lumière infinie") symbolise l'argumentation et la discussion sur la doctrine, deux facultés intellectuelles justement en rupture de stock en France depuis longtemps…
On devrait donc l’envoyer à l'Assemblée Nationale, pour raisonner et arbitrer nos excités de tous bords...
Un peu de sérénité “zen” nous ferait du bien par les temps qui courent !...
Nota technique : Le grain se manifeste un peu trop à 1600 ISO sur le vieux G15 mais, en ville et sans projet photo particulier, je me sépare du reflex pour “voyager” léger !
EN: This tall (4.4 meters high) bronze Japanese Buddha is the vestige of a Tokyoïte temple of the Edo period (eighteenth century) destroyed by fire then abandoned...
Bought in 1871 by Henri Cernuschi, transported in spare parts from Tokyo to Paris then reassembled inside his private Parisian mansion (today Cernuschi Museum)
Buddha Amitâbha (or Amida) whose hand position (dharmacakra mudrā) symbolizes argumentation and discussion
don't want to be. That was the right title for the challenge shot for us. It was not easy to explain Carrie that she is allowed to sit on the driver seat. The sausages on the wheele were no argument for her. So it is not quite the photo I had imagined but I think it's okay for the challenge.
Wish you a nice week!
Look carefully at this photo, and then read the words below. There are a lot of them, but give them a chance. When you finish if you like, make a comment, good or bad. I'll appreciate it and so will Vincent.
Inspired by events in 2016 and 1890.
I left the house Saturday morning at 5:45 and made my usual stop for coffee and donuts at the Krispy Kreme. Sunrise was going to be at 6:28, so with some nice pastel clouds forming in the east I headed to Earl P. Powers Park at Newnan’s Lake aka Pithalachocco. By 6:15 I had my tripod setup on the end of the fishing pier and my 20mm lens mounted on my camera. In aperture priority mode my base exposure was 1/30' @ f8 ISO 200. I took out of my vest pocket the filters that I use for long exposure sunrise shots (2-gradients and a 10 stop ND filter) and attached the filter holder to my 20mm lens. I then switched the camera to manual mode with the exposure preset to 30-seconds at f8 ISO 200. I framed the shot with the sky filling the top two-thirds of the frame and the bottom third was the water. I then inserted my ND filter. Here's where it got interesting.
Maybe interesting is not the right word. Let’s go with unusual. OK, how about weird! Anyway, I’m about to make my first 30 second exposure when a resonant voice with a strange accent announces his presence. “Exquisite light” he said as he stealthy made his way to the end of the pier where I was set up. “That is a fine instrument,” he noted as he eyed my camera. “Thanks” I replied as his remark put me on edge. I have met some interesting characters on this pier at dawn, but this guy was an unknown quantity. He looked pretty down and out, maybe homeless. Gainesville is a town of artists, poets and musicians. It is also home to many homeless people and most of them seem OK. But there are exceptions; about 10 years ago one homeless man stabbed another in an argument over a candy bar. The victim died on the street in the shadow of the courthouse. Some of them are quite mad. “What do you envision?” he asked as he gestured out to the lake with hat in hand. I briefly told him that I was going to use a long exposure to smooth out the water to capture the pastel sunrise in the sky and it’s reflection in the water. He scratched his ear, then stroked his scruffy beard and gave me a blank stare.
It was now sunrise and a boater had put in at the ramp behind us, started a small outboard motor and began to idle down the canal to enter the lake. When the boat got past the ‘No Wake’ zone he opened up the throttle and took off to my left and then carved an arc to the right of my camera position. So now this guy says to me “Well I’m no photographer, but I would wait for the waves that the motorized boat will create. Light, water and motion, that’s where the magic lives!” he proclaimed as if stating a law of physics. I looked down at the dark, dull, motionless water in front of me and to the left I could see the waves approaching almost in slow motion. “Yes!” I said to myself, “the nutter is right!” I quickly pulled off the ND filter, reframed the shot to include more water than sky. Switching back to aperture priority mode, I now had my 1/30’ @ f8 exposure setting that would stop the motion of the waves, but just barely. Shooting waves in a lake is not unlike shooting fish in a barrel. You wait for the one you want and then you just take it.
“Good idea” I said as I glanced over my shoulder, but the scraggly guy was already walking away. “Hey wait, what’s your name?” I asked. He turned and looked back at me and said, “You can call me Vinnie.” “Are you sure you’re not a photographer Vinnie?” I asked. He tilted his head down and carefully placed his old gray hat on his head and gave it a tilt to the right. He slowly looked up and the now risen sun shone brightly upon him revealing a well-traveled face that bore a line for every mile ventured. Through sad eyes he almost looked right through me and said, “There was a time… when I fancied myself a painter”. He then took an old pipe out of his coat pocket, put it in his mouth, lit it and took several short puffs and then one long smoky exhale. “But that… was long ago.” he said. He then turned and walked back off the pier the way he came and into the deep shadows of the large Cypress trees that surround the lake. I turned back to my camera and fired off a few more frames as the waves slowly melted back into the dark water. The sun was rising past its point of interest for me so I packed up my gear. I made a stop at La Chua trail where I took some pictures of my favorite Spanish Cracker horse’s there. I particularly liked the one of Diablo and Cinco sharing a moment of affection (see next photo). I had never seen a stallion show so much concern for his young colt, a fitting Fathers Day photo.
I got home, ate, showered and then opened my morning’s images in the Adobe Bridge Photo viewer. Sorry, I don’t use Light Room! When I got to the sunrise shots I focused on several of the wave images. Looking into those dark shadows I couldn’t help but feel that there was something familiar in them. Kind of like Richard Dreyfus in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where he pays way too much attention to his mashed potatoes at the dinner table. “This means something.“ OK it was probably more like de jevu than a close encounter. I settled on this one image and converted it from raw to jpeg and adjusted the color and contrast to my liking and viola, today’s picture. I liked it, but there was still that feeling tugging at my subconscious. I did not sleep well that night and was up several times and wrote much of what you are reading now. I had watched on TV the fifth installment of OJ: Made in America, so repeating that nightmare is what I thought had me agitated. So Sunday morning I slept in till 8:30 A.M. and got up to take a shower. I flipped on the light switch in the bathroom on the left wall and started towards the shower to turn on the water. I stopped and backtracked two steps and looked at a small piece of bathroom art hanging on the wall. The Starry Night by van Gogh. “Of course!” I say out loud. How could I not have figured this out sooner? I have passed by this unobtrusive little framed lithograph every day since my girlfriend and I moved in here almost two years ago. I barely noticed that she had hung it there, but there it was in all its starry grandeur. I spent much of the afternoon researching Van Gogh online. Here’s the short of it.
Vincent Willem van Gogh was born in Holland in 1853 in the month of March, making him an Aires, that’s a fire sign. He was most productive when he lived in the town of Arles in the south of France. He seemed to have some kind of connection with the water. As a boy he was home, public and boarding school educated. As a man he tried his hand as an art dealer, teacher, and preacher. But it wasn’t till he tried his hand at painting that he found his gift. A lifelong sketcher, but an art school dropout, he started painting at age 27 and took his own life at the age of 37. He smoked, drank too much, and shared company with women of the night. He slept outside on straw to make a point, and cut off his left ear for no apparent reason at all. He was a troubled man. Much has been written about Vincent, but the words sung by Don McLean mean the most to me:
Now, I understand, what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left insight
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk
An artist for the ages, but for him no real place in time. So out there he wandered, between this life and the next, but never far from the water and the Cypress trees. It was time for Vincent’s final Wake. Rest now my friend; let your spirit be at peace. The sadness is finally over.
Fin
Notetable Van Gogh quotes:
"A good picture is equivalent to a good deed."
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
“To understand blue you must first understand yellow and orange.”
“I thought I would be understood without words.”
“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.”
“The sadness will last forever.”
So when the clouds didn't appear when I went out to shoot waterfalls, I decided to take advantage of the sun and shoot some high shutter stills. I think I might do more of this!
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) (top) and a Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) have an argument over a place where they gather nesting material for their respective homes. The Tree Swallow was in a bluebird nest box and the Cliff Swallow was under an awning. Image taken in North Park, Colorado.
There's an old paradox - who came first an egg or a chicken. These days they say that Darvin's theory of evolution is wrong However , according to the current knowledge and technology we can easily renew the paradox - who came first the cyborg or the monkey-:)
I am in the process of transferring files to the new back up NAS server and I found this image. It has always been of my favorites and somehow in the shuffle I lost sight of it.
This image is from my first go-around as a "Hollywood" photographer. I just finished building a new studio and I'm gearing up for my second go-around.
One of the things I would do during a photo shoot was to take pictures that "grabbed" me, they didn;t hav eto have anything to do with the task at hand they were just pretty. I would catch some sh*t from time to time because I was being paid to just shoot headshots. SO to counter that argument I stopped putting a number on the amount of rolls came with the shoot.
Everyone was three rolls six "looks" for X dollars. I became 1 actor a day no roll count all day. That caused three things to occur, no presure to get it right in three rolls and I became a better photographer because of granting myself recless abandon, and third it stopped people complaining about me shooting these types of shots.
This image was captured with a Nikon F5 camera with a 70-210mm D-series lens. Film was Ilford HP5 rated at 200iso. Film was scanned using an Epson V750 scanner and Silverfast scanning software. Post processing was done in Photoshop.
© Vincent Versace 2014
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This day, the two tigers of the zoo of Zürich were in a bad mood. I just could photograph them when they had an argument, Coto on the left and Nurejev his father on the right. I couldn't frame them really good, it went so fast, but the picture is still rather good!
Made it in Explore, #450, July 25th, 2009.
“Whatever is all this about, Posh?” Asked Theo as he sat down with his friends.
“It is the man; he does this every week. He gets that picture taking thingy out on three legs, has an argument with it, and then after pushing a button or two he goes back to the comfuser machine on his desk to create a wonderful picture. The problem is that he always fails and the picture is not wonderful, but that is of no fault of whom he takes pictures of.” Explained Barnaby.
“I realise that, well most of it, but what is it with all this light in here? It is brighter than when the ball of yellow is in the air.”
“I think it is because he is getting very old, Theo, and he can’t see as well as he did once upon a time.” Said Sky looking around and expecting every bear to agree.
“Mind, it would be dark in here if he did not have all these lights on and I think I saw his picture taking thingy flash a light too.” Added Posh Bear who was also confused by all this.
“It does seem strange though, when a bear thinks about it. I mean it has taken him ages to put all those lights up on the stands, plug them all into the walls and get us placed just as he wants, only to produce rubbish pictures.” Said Theo thinking out aloud.
“Be fair, Theo, they might not be good, but I do not think of them as rubbish. After all they do have us on them, so they can’t be rubbish.” Said Bertie.
“True, I suppose. I wonder why he does it though. I mean, like every few days he sits us all down here and sets this picture taking thingy up on the three legs and tried to take our picture. He usually fails, well so I understand, and yet is ready to go again in a few days.” Said Theo.
“He is a tryer, I will give him that much. Barnaby, have you thought any more about becoming a chicken?” Asked Sky changing the subject.
“I have ruled it out of my plans for my future, Sky. There are no advantages for a bear in becoming a chicken. I asked around and no bear had ever heard of a chicken that was a genius. So, as I am going to be a genius like you, Sky, I am working on other ideas.”
“Interesting, what plans are they, Barnaby?” Asked Posh Bear feeling a little concerned suddenly.
“I thought I might become a genius picture taker, Posh. I could borrow what the man has, only use it properly, and then I thought if, no when, I got expert, I could even show the man what he is doing wrong.”
“Might be easier to show him what little he is doing right.” Said Theo stifling a giggle.
“Sounds like a plan, Barnaby. Do you think you could manage the things the man uses; I mean they look heavy?” Asked Bertie.
“I did wonder about that, but thought if I ate lots and lots of honey, even more than Sky does, I might get to be strong enough to use it.”
“Steady on there, Barnaby, why not… erm, use smaller stuff that you can handle and eat far less honey. I do not think eating lots and lots of honey is a good idea at all.” Said Sky looking worried.
“Brilliant, Sky, I suppose that is why you are a genius and I still have a little way to go. I think using smaller stuff is a much better idea.”
Sky breathes a sigh of relief and the rest of the bears start to laugh.
Christiaan Huygens was a prominent Dutch mathematician, astronomer, physicist and horologist. His work included early telescopic studies elucidating the nature of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan, the invention of the pendulum clock and other investigations in timekeeping, and studies of both optics and the centrifugal force.
Huygens achieved note for his argument that light consists of waves, now known as the Huygens–Fresnel principle, which two centuries later became instrumental in the understanding of wave-particle duality. He generally receives credit for his discovery of the centrifugal force, the laws for collision of bodies, for his role in the development of modern calculus and his original observations on sound perception (see repetition pitch). Huygens is seen as the first theoretical physicist as he was the first to use formulae in physics.
Source: wikipedia
"Pride leads to argument; be humble, take advice and become wise."
Proverbs 13:10
_________
below from: www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/albert_camus.html
are a few quotes from Albert Camus, French Philosopher
Born November 7, 1913: January 4, 1960 Died
What the world requires of the Christians is that they should continue to be Christians.
When you have really exhausted an experience you always reverence and love it.
Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.
EXPLORE # 278 on Wednesday, May 28, 2008; # 286, on 05-27-2008
Spotted at the mercado do ribera :
the couple next to me were having a heated argument, now complete silence !
More Portugal here :
www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/albums/72157626640111149
more candids here :
www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/sets/72157622769131641
Please do note fave my photos without commenting ( what do people do with thousands of faves, look at them every morning?)
Have a nice Sunday
Visdief (Sterna hirundo) / Common Tern
Canon 7D Mark II / Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 Sports
Deze visdiefjes waren het niet helemaal met elkaar eens. Geen idee waar het over ging, maar het zag er wel indrukwekkend uit...
Slingelandse plassen, Goudriaan.
Press "L" to view large,
press "F" to make my day!
.... In need of some refurbishment!
The B3097 is quite a busy road, the bridge is holding up so far but the local authority have imposed weight restrictions and banned HGVs.
Meanwhile, arguments continue regarding the extra vehicle emissions generated by a longer route avoiding the bridge.
I expect that nothing will happen until there is an accident.
Class158 749 heads north while Freightliner Class66 565 waits with a freight train.
Tucked away, just a short distance from the road, is the quiet and quaint DEW Falls on Mill Creek in Nantahala National Forest.
I titled this image "Spring on Upper Mill Creek", as it is upstream from John's Jump Falls from one of my previous posts that I titled "Spring on Mill Creek" (I decided to get real adventurous with the naming here, haha!). Whether the location of DEW Falls is considered "Upper" Mill Creek however, is a different argument. Still, I came to find this waterfall special in several ways.
First, while it's easy to get to, I didn't encounter another person while I was here, which is always a nice treat when exploring waterfalls.
Second, while it's a small and fairly unimpressive waterfall in and of itself, it's tucked away in such a pristine and beautiful little spot, surrounded by Rhododendron bushes on either side, that it feels like a true hidden little gem that you just happened to stumbled upon in the forest.
Third, it's named after a fellow South Carolinian (yes, after about 15 some odd years living in the Upstate of South Carolina, I think this Swedish guy can call himself South Carolinian, at least in part!), Dorothy Ehlrich Walker, who tragically passed away in the summer of 2003, which, coincidentally, is when I concluded my very first year in the U.S. as a foreign exchange student. This would put Ms. Walker and I right around the same age as well, which makes me all the more solemn in sharing this out.
So there you have it, the small and unassuming DEW Falls now shines in my book as one of Western North Carolina's most easily accessible and pristine little waterfalls that also carries some resemblance of personal meaning.
A special shoutout to Kevin Adams for letting me cipher off his hard work and knowledge of North Carolina's waterfalls.
Thank you for stopping by to view my photos folks, I appreciate all your support. And until next time, may the light be ever in your favor!
© Johan Hakansson Photography, All Rights Reserved.
I had captions on this and then decided to let my creative flickr friends add their own..have fun!
If you are stuck, see that last pic posted for some ideas LOL
Two Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibicus) have a disagreement in a Mikumi National Park pool. Image taken in Tanzania
Below words of Mr. Churchill, I found at
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/winston_churchill.html
Winston Churchill, English Statesman
Birth: November 30, 1874; Death January 24, 1965
Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.
Sure I am of this, that you have only to endure to conquer. You have only to persevere to save yourselves.
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
The British nation is unique in this respect. They are the only people who like to be told how bad things are, who like to be told the worst.
The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.
The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see.
The first quality that is needed is audacity.
The great defense against the air menace is to attack the enemy's aircraft as near as possible to their point of departure.
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
The length of this document defends it well against the risk of its being read.
EXPLORE # 310 and # 439 on Friday, August 8, 2008
Such a fabulous scene so here's another for my album.
Having made a trip 26 miles to the present end of the line in South Barre, Massachusetts Central Railroad train PA-2 is now back at Ware Yard with MCER GP9 1749 (ex CO 6199 blt. Dec. 1956) and GP38-2 1751 (ex PC 7997 blt. Jun. 1972) both dressed in a sharp scheme that mirrors the original Boston and Maine bluebird colors debuted on their GP9 order of 1957.
I’ve always long been fascinated with the Central Massachusetts Branch of the Boston & Maine. In fact, the modern day Mass Central pays homage to that line in both name and in locomotive paint…despite the fact that their mainline is all ex Boston & Albany.
So a bit of history. The Central Mass was a 100 mile route that ran in almost a straight line from Boston to the Connecticut River at Northampton. There is little argument among rail historians that it was truly a line that should never have been built. Originally chartered as the Massachusetts Central Railroad, it was enacted into law by the Massachusetts legislature on the auspicious date of May 10, 1869. The railroad wouldn’t actually open for business for another 11 years when the first 28 miles to Hudson were finally put in service on October 1, 1881. Completed to Oakdale and Jefferson’s (48 miles from Boston) the following year. Due to financial problems the line ceased operation in May 1883 and it would be two more years before the line would open for business again. Finally by the end of 1887 the line reached Northampton completed under the auspices of the Boston and Maine who had leased the Boston & Lowell in August of 1887, the B&L having leased the Central Mass 6 months prior. The B&M would control the Mass Central for the remainder of its life.
For a time in the early 1900s the Central Mass looked like it might give the other east west trunk lines (the Fitchburg to the north and the Boston & Albany to the south) a run for its money as a major east-west mainline. That is too long a tale to tell here, but one very much worth reading. If you’re interested the B&M Railroad Historical Society has published a fabulous book on the road that I highly recommend.
The first portions of the line were abandoned in 1931 & 1932 when trackage rights were acquired over parts of the parallel Central Vermont & B&A Ware River branch (today’s modern day Mass Central) respectively although thru trains still ran. But in a half dozen years the middle portion of the line was removed from service and formally abandoned between Oakdale and Barre in 1939. That effectively turned the Central Mass into two long branches from Boston to Clinton on the east and Northampton to Wheelwright on the west. Note that segments of the original main remained as spurs including around Ware and from Creamery (on the old B&A Ware River branch) to Wheelwright. They would remain as such into the early 1970s when change would come quickly.
The last train to Wheelwright would run in 1973 and the branch was cut back to Bondsville. Six years later even that much would be done and dismantled by 1983 including the Wheelwright spur out of service for a decade. What remained on the west end of the old Central Mass was a three mile spur from the Forest Lake Jct. (on the old B&A) to Bondsville and yard trackage around Ware including a half mile of the old mainline west from Ware.
Enter the modern Massachusetts Central Railroad. In the first railroad charter granted in the state since 1910 the new Mass Central was established as a common carrier in 1975. The new iteration of the road had big dreams of saving the remnants of the original road but it wasn’t to be. While they did take over the three mile spur to Bondsville and the yard trackage in Ware they only operated the former for a about a year (though 40 years later the rails and ties remain amidst the forest).
Meanwhile the former Boston & Albany Ware River Branch had been cropped back from Winchendon to South Barre by the Penn Central in 1968 when the northern 25 miles were abandoned. Eight years later the remaining 25 miles were not included in the USRA’s Final System Plan for Conrail. The Commonwealth picked up the trackage and contracted with Conrail to operate it for the first three years. In December 1979 the new Mass Central was named designated operator of the state trackage and has operated it ever since. The modern day Ware River Line has been a success, and in 2024 they operate 5 days a week serving 5 busy locations. But ghosts of the original Mass Central remain if you know were to look and what you’re looking at.
Here we see the crew working in Ware yard switching hoppers at Quantix (formerly A&R Packaging). The tracks in the foreground curving off toward the right background are the mainline toward Barre (original B&A) at about MP 12.2 while the loco is working on ex B&M Central Mass branch trackage that was part of the old B&M yard. East of the yard was the original route that was abandoned in 1932 when the trackage rights described above were acquired from the B&A. The rails end about 1100 ft east dead ending the woods on the causeway that once crossed the edge of the Ware River Reservoir.
Ware, Massachusetts
Friday October 11, 2024