Some time in Beantown

Bob LaMay and I went up to Boston for our annual ritual on Saturday – attending the Mystic Valley Railway Society’s calendar judging luncheon.  This event was for the MVRS’ 2011 calendar.  And also as we usually do, we shoot along the way.  This time we ended up catching some CSX, MBTA and a “new” locomotive for the Grafton & Upton Railroad.

Like usual, we headed out first thing in the morning.  It was my turn to drive this year, so Bob got to my house a little after 7.  After a quick stop at Dunkin’ Donuts in Willimantic, we were on our way to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Our plans for the day were simple – stop in Framingham, MA to see what was happening on the MBTA, as well as the CSX yard located north of the station, then head to Riverside where we’d pick up the Green Line into Boston.  Our destination at Sullivan Square in Somerville was on the Orange Line, so we’d have to change trains at North Station.  We’d reverse the route on the way home, and do a little shooting along the way, and then just hop on the Mass Pike and head home as the sun set.

When we got to Framingham, things were quiet.  After checking the schedule, we found out the next train was a good 45 minutes out.  So we looked to the north and shot some of the power sitting there.

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Then in the distance we noticed a former CN GP-9R – this unit is waiting for the Framingham CSX local to bring it to the G&U in Grafton – a new addition to their growing roster.

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After shooting that, we loitered around a bit, and I did a couple shots from the platform.

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And a shot of a CSX MoW truck unloading some rail segments in the yard

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Then this one struck me – not sure why…

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After a little while, the next inbound MBTA run showed up.

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With that in the bag, and the next train not due for another 40 minutes, we decided to call it quits – we had a train to catch in Riverside.  On the way out, we ran into another railfan – Josh Oparowski – who told us of a spot where we could get a better shot of the G&U geep.  So we made a little side trip to find that spot.  After a going down a few side streets, we found it, and got a couple shots.

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With that shot done, we got back in the car and made our way to the Green Line’s MBTA terminal.

Once we parked the car, we headed over to the tracks and got a few shots of some of the Green Line equipment – both new and old – around the shops there.

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Satisfied with our shots, we headed over, got our tickets and waited for the next inbound train.

While on the train, we sat in the front of the lead car (of course), and took a few pictures along the way.

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By the time we got to North Station, we noticed we were running late, so we didn’t stop for any more shots – didn’t want to miss the lunch buffet before the slideshow!

After the slideshow & voting (and a nice meal, accompanied by a few tasty Newcastle Brown Ales), we made our way back to the Sullivan Square Orange Line station.  While waiting for the train, we again were doing a little shooting.  I got a couple shots as our train approached the station.

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Then at North Station, I got a couple of the approaching Green Line trolley

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Which we boarded.  But while on board, we noticed we weren’t on a Riverside bound train.  So we got off at Park Street to transfer to the right train.  While there, I got one shot of our train approaching the station stop.

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And that was it.  When we got on the train, the meal and beers seemed to have taken their toll, and I took a little catnap on the way back.  Better to do it there, rather than when I was driving us home!

Thanks for looking!
Tom