Well, we decided to pile the kids in the car and go for a drive since it was a nice day. As luck would have it, we found ourselves heading northbound on Route 32 heading for the CT/MA line – right where we’d find New England Central trains 608 and 610 doing their car swap. By the time we got up to the top of State Line siding, 608 and 610 were getting their respective track warrants – 608 got permission to head to the south yard limits at Palmer, and 610 got clearance down to MP15 (if I remember correctly). Since we also wanted to put our hats in the Mega Millions ring (hey, it’s 300 some odd million), we decided to chase 608 instead of 610 (sorry Joe!). So we parked on the north side of the crossing at the state line and waited for 608 to make it’s appearance. A couple minutes later, 608, powered by the lone 3848, and pulling about 25 cars, approached the north switch of state line siding:
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And crossed over Route 32. This shot just struck me as a bit funny with the warning on the centerbeam car:
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Since the train was moving at restricted speed, the chase was rather easy. Next stop was Stafford Hollow Road in Monson, MA. A couple minutes after our arrival, the train came around the corner, cresting the grade:
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Then it was off to the next grade crossing on Route 32, near Monson Materials.
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Once they passed by, it was off to the next stop – but where would that be? As we were pulling into “downtown” Monson, I decided to head down Bliss Street where there’s some waterfalls next to the tracks. Now that there’s no foliage on the trees, it may turn out to be a halfway decent shot, especially with the fisheye lens to get it all in the frame. You be the judge:
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From there, I headed up to the Monson tunnel – with the slow speed of the train, I figured that I’d be able to get there in advance of the train. Well, I figured correctly. Got a shot of them heading through the cut just before the tunnel:
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Then it was off to one of Jeff Bray’s spots – Bunyan Road. Well, since there was snow on the ground, and it was quite muddy underneath, I passed on the hike to the trestle, and did the easy shot at the crossing.
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Since the only other spots south of Palmer Yard were Hospital Road and the yard proper, I decided to call it quits there. It was lunchtime anyways, and I didn’t need the kids complaining that they were hungry. So we started to head over to Friendly’s on Route 20 in Palmer. On our way over the bridge that spans the B&A, I noticed the Vermonter sitting on the connection track between the NECR and CSX. Hmmm, interesting. And as we got over the bridge, I saw why they were sitting there – a westbound CSX freight was on the siding, waiting at the signals at CP-83.
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So if he was waiting on the siding, something must be coming. So we did a quick turnaround, and headed back. As we pulled into the driveway to the old station (now the Steaming Tender Restaurant), I noticed that the main had a green, not a red – that meant that there was another westbound coming. Cool, a 3 way meet! Once I parked and got out, I could see headlights in the distance alongside the waiting freight. So I headed down the side of the station towards the NECR/CSX diamond. Once I got into position, Amtrak’s Lakeshore Limited made it’s appearnace, heading west:
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And once it cleared the block, the CSX got the green to enter the main and head west:
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Once he started to head west, I decided it truly was lunchtime, so I packed up the gear, and we headed over for a supermelt lunch at Friendly’s.
Thanks for looking & enjoy!
Tom Nanos
