LA&L 433 and WNYP 426 have a big train of 39 cars as they head North in the woods just North of Stull Road in Rush, NY on November 11, 2024. Normally I would stand on the weedy embankment on the other side of the tracks, but I thought I would try the "woods" side this day. I found two ticks crawling on me on the way home and had two more embedded in me the next morning. I'll never go there again!

Tags:   LA&L 433 39 cars

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An eastbound Southern Pacific coal train meets an westbound SP train at Soldier Summit, Utah, on September 7, 1995. During this timeframe, SP’s new GE AC4400CWs were super common on this former Rio Grande main line.

Tags:   coal train GE locomotive railroad train unit train Southern Pacific SP meet Soldier Summit Summit Utah AC4400CW former Rio Grande UT

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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

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Als vor rund 700 Jahren die Greener Burg errichtet wurde, hatten ihre Bauherren den Standort dieser Anlage gut gewählt. Ein weiter Blick eröffnet sich ins Leinetal in Richtung Norden bis nach Alfeld, wo heute der Schornstein der Papierfabrik hoch in den Himmel ragt und auf dem Bild gerade noch zu sehen ist. In Richtung Süden allerdings wurde die Aussicht durch eine nahe Anhöhe begrenzt.

Die Aufnahme der unerkannt gebliebenen 613-Garnitur entstand unterhalb der Greener Burg. Um 14:36 Uhr hat der N 5926 nach Ottbergen den Bahnhof von Kreiensen in südlicher Richtung verlassen, um anschließen in einer langgezogenen und ansteigenden Rechtskurve zunächst die Leine zu über- und dann den Ippensener Tunnel zu durchqueren. In nordwestlicher Richtung röhrt kurz darauf die deutlich übermotorisierte Garnitur am Fotografen vorbei. Im Hintergrund der Aufnahme ist das Leinetal sowie ein Teil der Ortschaft Greene mit der St.-Martins-Kirche aus dem Jahr 1439 zu erkennen. Wenig später wird der N 5926 die Blockstelle Greene mit dem kleinen Bahnübergang passieren und anschließend den Greener Viadukt überqueren. Nach einer Strecke von 62 Kilometern und 61 Minuten Fahrzeit wird das Ziel Ottbergen um 15:37 Uhr erreicht sein.

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Scan vom Mittelformat-Dia (Ektachrome 64 Professional)

Tags:   Germany Trains Railway Deutschland Eisenbahn Niedersachsen N 5926 N5926 Ottbergen Kreiensen Greene Nahverkehrszug Eilzug Baureihe 613 Dieseltriebwagen Eierkopf Banane Bw Braunschweig Deutsche Bundesbahn Leinetal

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