The Union Freight Railroad Office - 87 Atlantic Ave Boston MA

The Union Freight Railroad's office at 87 Atlantic Avenue, Boston MA.  Judging by the cars, I'd guess the photo was taken in the 1940s.  The building at right still exists.

Boston & Maine Railroad 99-Car Freight at Waltham MA 5/30/1928

I recently treated myself to an Ebay item... an original glass negative of a freight in Waltham Massachusetts.  The caption reads "3009  B&M  May 30, 1928  99 CARS   Waltham Mass".  

I wondered why a photographer would make a special note of the "99 cars", and tried finding newspaper accounts via the Boston Public Library e-resources.  

On May 19th a special train for then president Calvin Coolidge was run on the B&M to Andover MA.  The president spoke at Phillips Academy for their 150th anniversary.  But that event was 11 days before the "99 car train" ran.

On June 5th the B&M had a celebration to open the new hump yards at Somerville, complete with a "parade of boxcars" to demonstrate the system to over 1,000 guests.  Were those 99 cars "props" en route for that event?  

Was 99 even a lot of fright cars on one train for that era?

AND did railroads close down for Memorial Day Weekend in the 1920s?  Was this train run to get freight moved before the holiday?  

Well, in 1928, Memorial Day was also called Decoration Day, and it was celebrated on May 30th, not the last Monday in May like today.  That means the train in the photo ran ON Memorial Day!  Perhaps the photographer just plain had a day off from work and went trackside?

Unless the train was mentioned in an employee magazine, we may never know just what caused the photographer to document that particular train.  

Now, what about the location of the photo?  It seems to me if the train is on the Fitchburg mainline, then  the old Central Massachusetts line is at right.  That means the train is somewhere west of Waverley in the Clematis Brook area and traveling "eastbound" toward Boston.  

There also appears to be an overhead road bridge in the background, with some semaphore signals just visible.  That could be the Linden Street bridge BUT it should be off to the right of the Fitchburg main, so that may possibly just be a signal bridge.

A period track chart would come in useful... 

The easiest info to find is the locomotive type:  2-10-2 "Santa Fe" Alco S1-a, built in 1920.

Am I delving too much into this photograph?  YOU BET!  But HEY, it keeps me off the mean streets!

Rail Photography Can't Always Be Perfect... a Lesson For Flat-Landers & Super Picky Rail-Photo Websites

Rail Photography Can't Always Be Perfect... a Lesson For Flat-Landers & Super Picky Rail-Photo Websites

by Jonelle DeFelice

Some railfan photo sites are so picky, they will reject an image submission just because of a blade of grass in the "wrong" place. Or perhaps there's a tiny shadow on a locomotive's windshield.  Well, they seem to think all railfans live in a perfect world of straight rails, great lighting, lots of trains, and absolutely NOTHING to get in the way of a perfect photo.

This photo from Shirley MA during late September is to show what we in Massachusetts have to put up with: Odd sun angles & shadows, curvy tracks, lots of trees, power lines & poles, signs, auto traffic, you name it. And this is a relatively clean commuter track (for now). Get past Fitchburg and things change... they become even harder.  

"Perfect" photos are a lot harder to get in this neck of the woods than railfans in "the flat lands" can ever understand...

Oh, and the above photo is the best I could get as the train rounded the curve.  Point made?

Here is an uncropped shot from Westford Station (MA) on a sunny September day.  Despite the fact this ROW is just about IN the parking lot of a popular walking trail, most eastbound freights will look like this.  Try to grab an eastbound and you need to stand someplace "photogenic" but also SAFE.  Recent trackwork means lineside weeds are gone... for THIS season...

Another uncropped shot from the same location.  This image from a cloudy Autumn day would probably still get rejected because of the sky.  You may not know this, but skies are not always clear blue.  That pile of ties and rail?  Well, that isn't "perfect".  And those signals aren't lit... why not?

This is a westbound work train at  the same location 3/2020.  Better lighting... sorta of.  You can see it was a nice sunny day.  But there are parked cars, moving cars, dead weeds, and yes, odd lighting.  Nothing you can do about it either, unless you stand closer to the road crossing, then you have the gates to contend with and also you need to be safely away from the train itself.  

ZOOMS are your friend.  But I couldn't get nice, well lit shots of the consist.  Had I stood on the other side of the track, which is closer to the rails, I probably would have had shadows to contend with there as well and the angle would have been bad.  I also would have received nasty looks from the crew for being too close to the train.

Here is that crossing during August of 2018.  Yet again... POINT MADE.

Here is a rather rare shot of an MBTA welded rail train at Belmont MA.  No place to stand other than the station platforms.  From this side, you have good light but the angle is sharp.  Oh, and those ties, they may interest some but to make it onto some rail-photo sites you better just delete this one... 

Uncropped, unedited photo of the same train, same location, but to get the train into the shot, I needed to cross the track.  Now lighting stinks.

This Belmont photo is SUPER rare... Pan Am Railways detour freight EDNM 4/3/10.  Also uncropped, we have GREAT lighting on the locomotives BUT only for a split second... soon the shadows will ruin things and the train will be too close to me to get a nice broadside photo.  I couldn't stand further down the platform because the track has a tight curve.

In closing, here is a rather NICE photo... nice lighting, interesting subject... OH BUT WHAT are those things blocking the view at center-left??  Nature??

Welcome to freight railroading in Eastern Massachusetts...

Name That Photo Location: 1947 Ayer MA Boston & Maine Photo Location FOUND!

The Photo.

In December of 2017, I posted a photograph dated 2/28/47 of a B&M train somewhere in Ayer Massachusetts.  Last week, I accidentally figured out exactly what that building was, and after some online research, where it was as well!

I was doing some organizing of my digital
railroad photo files, then noticed an Ayer postcard that seemed very familiar.  It showed a NYNH&HRR boxcar on a siding.  All of a sudden, a lightbulb went off in my head.

"That looks like the building in the background of that Ayer photo I have!"

Postcard view of the Chandler Machine building

I can now say for sure my photo was taken next to the Chandler Machine Company, whose address was listed as simply "West St, Ayer MA".  They manufactured industrial sewing and stitching machines.  The business was founded in 1899 and closed in September 2002.  The building appears to have been torn down some time between 2003 and 2005, replaced by (as usual) some condos.

Knowing this, the rail siding in the photo was off of the Worcester & Nashua line, which is now a paved rail trail north of Ayer Center.

Newspaper articles in 2002 stated that Chandler's closing was due to the proliferation of cheaper machinery being sold by countries like China.  This is a story repeated over and over in America.

WW&F Spring Photographic Excursions 2018

Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum

Spring Photographic Excursions

 Saturdays, April 14 & 21 2018

 
All of our original and replica equipment will be used to demonstrate mixed and freight trains commonly operated on the old WW&F.

April 14th runs 6 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., and April 21st runs 6 a.m. into the evening. Both days will include the firing of No. 9 starting at 6 a.m. and day session photo train operating 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. 

April 21st will also feature a staged and lit night scene starting at 6 p.m. Several unique photo opportunities will be provided both days. Price is $150 per person April 14th, and $225 April 21st.  

Maximum attendance will be 25 people April 14th and 20 people on April 21st. Reserve your seat online at wwfrytickets.simpletix.com!

Name That Photo Location: Boston & Maine Wreck at Lynn MA

I have managed to figure out the location of another vintage B&M photograph in my collection, and am sharing my findings with YOU!

The image shows B&M locomotive #827 on its side, with B&M crane #3359 hooked up to a baggage car.  The area has multiple tracks and a signal, which helped confirm the location of Lynn Massachusetts, just west of the West Lynn station.   (The Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn RR also had a West Lynn station)

The only real lead I had to go by was the sign in the distance atop a commercial building.  It appeared to read "Hoag & Wald_n", which I assumed was "Walden" or "Waldon".  After much web searching, I found a reference to a shoe manufacturer in Lynn named "Hoag & Walden". 

I then started looking at old maps and aerial photos to see if I could find the building in the middle-background, as it had an easy-to-spot roof style.  I finally found the exact building, which in 1916 belonged to Fred M. Page & Company, "manufacturers of cotton and paper specialties"and was located on 29 Bennett Street.  Amazingly, this building was still standing as of 2014, though partially re-sided and in tatty condition.  There was also a building to its left that may possibly be the one in the photo with a water tower on the roof.   If so, it has been altered quite a bit.

As for the key Hoag & Walden building, it was located on Commercial Street in an area that appears to now be a playing field. 

Now that I had located the location of the photo, I needed to figure out the date it was taken.  I used an online newspaper archive to search for Lynn train accidents that made the news.  I knew that locomotive #827 had been scrapped in 1913.  I used that date, along with the style of automobiles in the photo, to narrow down my search.  I finally found a short article in the March 29, 1910 issue of The Lowell Sun newspaper which said that just before noon, the "Portland express... Train 44" derailed while traveling on the Eastern Division toward Boston.  The train consisted of "a couple of baggage cars, a Pullman, and three regular coaches, the latter being in the rear".  The passenger cars being in the rear explains the baggage car being present behind the locomotive. 

The train was not scheduled to stop at West Lynn, and left the track "a hundred yards beyond that station", followed by all but two coaches.  The article states that an open switch had caused the accident, which also confirms the photo's location, as even today there is a track that curves off the main.  This is the now abandoned Saugus Branch. 

No one died in the accident.

Enfield MA Depot... Now Under the Quabbin Reservior

This is a photograph of the Enfield MA depot.  Enfield was served by the Springfield, Athol & North Eastern, which later became a branch of the Boston & Albany railroad.  Trains stopped in 1935, and the official end of the Swift River Valley towns to be flooded was April 28, 1938.

POSTCARD VIEW: Dual Depots, Ayer MA circa 1905

 

In this view, we are looking east, with the B&M's Fitchburg line toward Boston at right, and the Worcester & Nashua heading north/south.  Note the ball signal, and the current tower near the site today has yet to be built.  There is also a building behind what is now Carlin's, along the line to Greenville NH.

Name That Photo Location: Bradford MA LOCATION FOUND!

Back in 2011, I posted about a set of photographs I have that didn't have a location noted.  I ended up finding out they are of the Boston & Maine bridge connecting Bradford to Haverhill MA.  

The other day, while pondering selling or donating the photos, I decided to try once again to identify the business who's name was painted on the brick building to the right of the bridge.  This time, I actually had some luck!

The name is F.N. Livingston Co, one of many businesses in the area involved in the shoe industry.  At left is a page from an 1889 business directory of Haverhill MA.  At that time, they were located at 12 Porter Place, which was near 74 Washington St.  That is the road directly behind the buildings in the photo.  

In 1905, F.N. Livingston was located at 17 Sanders Place, which was from 130 Washington St. 

Another bit of info I found was that the building with the painted sign ALSO once housed Perley A. Stone's company, also a shoe related business.  There is a drawing of the building in the same 1889 directory.    So it appears these companies moved around a lot!

From a 1914 map of Haverhill MA

This view looks south toward Bradford, away from our buildings.

 

I also found out that the existing railroad bridge was opened in 1920.  It sits on piers from "the 1880 bridge", which is the bridge in the photos!  Therefore, the photos I was wondering about were taken most likely in 1879-1880!  

Lastly, I noticed in one photo an ornate tower/cupola.  Sure enough, that belonged to the B&M railroad station that stood right near the shore.  

Tower of B&M station at Haverhill

Vintage View: Belmont MA Boston & Maine Station

Vintage View: B&M Steam at FitchburgMA Station

B&M Steam at Fitchburg MA Station

POSTCARD VIEW: West Portal of Hoosac Tunnel, North Adams MA

I like the photo credit at lower left:  PUBL. BY FORBES THE KODAK MAN

Name That Photo Location: Unknown Boston & Maine Wreck

I acquired this photo recently and am curious what the date & location is.  It was part of a scrapbook that appears to be in the 1900-1910 date range.  In it were all sorts of newspaper clippings pertaining to the local railroads, mostly the Boston & Maine.  

If anyone has any idea at all when & where this photo was taken, let me know!

Boston & Albany RR Wreck, Palmer MA 1909

RPPC of a wreck on the Boston & Albany at Palmer MA, on what is now the CSX Boston Line.  The writing states "... the engine & first 3 cars passed over safely, then rail separated and wrecked these cars; 4 Pullman, 1 diner, 1 baggage... only 5 were hurt... "  The postmark is 4/30/09, the card was written on 4/29/09.

Connecticut Company Trolley #123

Connecticut Company trolley #123.  Note on reverse says "body of car is now part of a tourist camp near Providence RI".  Photographer unknown.

The Look of Things to Come... MBTA #2001

MBTA #2001 pushes an inbound commuter through Ayer MA, on the way to Boston.  In time, the sound of EMD engines will become less common on T rails...

Pan Am Railways FP9 Added to Streamliners at Spencer Event

(SOURCE:  Trains.com NewsWire)  More info HERE

SPENCER, N.C. – The North Carolina Transportation Museum and North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation are adding Wabash E8 No. 1009 and Pan Am Railways FP9 No. 1 to the list of locomotives attending the Streamliners at Spencer event. The four-day event is being held May 29-June 1 at the museum’s grounds in Spencer. It will celebrate classic streamlined locomotives, ranging from Atlantic Coast Line E3 No. 501, built in 1939, to Norfolk Southern’s recently upgraded executive F9s. With the addition of these two units, the total number of engines attending “Streamliners at Spencer” is now 16.

General Motors Diesel, the Canadian subsidiary of EMD, built Pan Am Railways FP9 No. 1 in 1954 for Canadian National as No. 6505. The unit was used in passenger service for CN until 1978, when it was transferred to VIA Rail Canada.

VIA sold the engine to New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic Railway for use on the tourist railroad. In 2010, the engine was part of a trade between Conway Scenic and Pan Am Railways that saw the engine move to its new home in Waterville, Maine, to pull business trains.

Tickets are now on sale for the event. A special Preview Day, featuring the last of the engines to arrive, special movements, site preparations and more will be held May 29. Tickets for the Preview Day are $40 per person in advance. Tickets will be $45 on the day of the event.

Combo tickets and group discounts will be available, along with discounts for North Carolina Transportation Museum members and Norfolk Southern employees. Tickets are available online at www.nctrans.org or by calling (704) 636-2889, ext. 237 or ext. 257

Stereoview - Brattleboro VT Railroad Yard

This is a vintage stereoview of the rail yards at Brattleboro VT

 

Fitchburg Railroad Station, Boston MA

Stereo view of the Fitchburg Railroad station, Boston MA. 
One of the towers was moved to Truro MA, on Cape Cod.