This thread is to discuss Railfaning in New England. You can discuss the best places in New England to railfan, your favorette Photo Spots, or anything. Tourist Railroads can be discussed here too. For Starters, Who agree's that Ex B&HS #250 should be restored to operation?
Of course she should be restored! Then she should be returned to her original home in Hattiesburg, MS where she can run on her original rails...assuming CN allows trackage rights. This link is a brief history of the B&HS, including many photos of #250. http://www.msrailroads.com/B&HS.htm
My usual spot for railfanning in NE is the west end of the CSX yard in West Springfield MA. A guy in our model railroad club has a hot dog stand right next to a two track crossing. Sometimes the conductor will leave the lead loco for a dog and soda while waiting for the car knocker at the rear of the train in the yard do his thing. The guy running the stand keeps a scanner on. He is well known by the crews who pass though the area. This place is right next to the former West Springfield train station which still has Boston & Albany on one end of the building. The stand is open from about 11 am to 1pm Monday though Saturday and longer hours during the time school is out. The owner drives school buses before and after hot dog time and he is there much of the year. In the summer, I take a folding chair and sit there for a while. Couple videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh9GpAKp6Ks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HyH6FOlc6o The yard is split into two yards, north half and south half.. A double track runs though the center and some trains run though the area at close to 40 mph. Usually the trash trains and UPS trains and sometimes the trains with the UP car carrier rolling stock. We believe CSX considers this spot an extension of the yard that is about 3/4 mile away. They sometimes block the crossing for as much as 30 minutes. Rich
Thats a good idea, mabey it could be painted in her B&HS Paintscheme. and on occasions it can be painted in its Wolfeboro Railroad Paintscheme to honor the railroad it last worked for
That must be pretty awesome Lexon, i go to the Springfield Train Show every year but because the show is in Feb. and that im in New Hamshire, i cant just Grab a dog there. Wish to do that sometime.
Living in New Hampshire there aren't the opportunities to railfan with out a long drive that you might have in other areas. I used to enjoy riding and watching the "Wilton Scenic" that ran a pair of RDC's from Wilton to Greenfield. A seasonal tourist line. Unfortunately the owner died a couple of years ago and his widow sold everything. The "Milford and Bennington" runs from Wilton to Milford on their own and "Pan Am" formerly "Guilford" trackage. They haul crushed stone from their quarry to "Granite State Concrete". They operate an SW-9, formerly a "Canadian National" unit and eight or ten two bay hoppers and a caboose/cab car. Occasionally on Sunday mornings I go to the "Wye" at Ayer, MA where a group of guys informally known as the "Ayer Railfan Club" watch "Pan Am" and "MBTA" operations. Usually not very busy. One area I love to go is the "Connecticut River" valley from "Brattleboro" to "White River Jct., VT. There are locations on both sides of the river to see the "New England Central", "Pan Am", "Vermont Rail", "Green Mountain", "Amtrak" and "Claremont and Concord". The "Bellows Falls" area is the best. I also go to the "Amherst Railway Society" show every January in West Springfield but as a member of "Amherst Belt Lines" I am so busy with the show that the only time to watch trains in the "CSX" yard is after dark in the cold. Not my favorite sceniario. I have also been up north to the "Conway Scenic" several times. I've never been to the "Cog Railway" though. Once in a while I will go down to "Worcester, MA" and watch "CSX" and "Providence and Worcester". There are a list of places I'd like to see including the "Grafton and Upton", "Wisscaset and Waterville" and the "Maine Narrow Gauge" and others. We will see what happens in the future.
Yeah, I am fourtunate to live in the Springfield Metropolitan area. I belong to the Amhearst Railway Society and I have been going to the show since it was a one building, one day show. Below is something I found in another forum that includes railfanning in New England. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Springfield Switcher Makes Rare Appearance - 10/13/2010 The yellow GE 44-tonner (probably got the tonnage wrong) that lives inside the WMECO power plant in West Springfield (visible from Route 5) is out in the sunshine today. There's a new-looking red flatcar with some kind of equipment (not a huge transformer) spotted next to the switcher. The weird part is, the grade crossing just outside the plant gate-- on the spur which leads to the West Springfield yard-- has filled-in flangeways. Was the flatcar inside plant for months or longer? It's the first freight activity I've seen at the power plant in a couple years. About a month ago, the switcher was outside for a day, but I never saw it move a car. I drive by everyday. One response. It works like this, they move the flat car with equipment that needs rehab out of the plant then transfer it onto a truck. The flatcar is an older type, repainted, possibly ex NYC if memory serves me right. The engine is an 80 Tonner rebuilt recently. They makes moves maybe a couple times a year but almost nothing outside the gate by rail. My company bought the 25 tonner out of there about 6 years ago. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quite often I see an older Guilford loco switching a box plant on the south edge of Northampton, MA. Sometimes one of the two Pan Am Railway locos does the switching. Springfield Terminal switches a coal fired power plant nearby the box plant. I understand Amtrak will be coming up though Northampton in the future, eliminating the run up though Amherst. When Amtrak arrives in Springfield, it will continue north up though Chicopee, Holyoke, Northampton and further north. My step daughter is a street engineer for the City of Northampton and has been to meetings where this has been discussed. I actually live in Easthampton where Pioneer Valley abandoned trackage some years ago. It has become Rail Trail. There is a lot of Rail Trail activity going on here with new bridges being built over active streets. Rich
