December 22nd, 2004
We went looking at Deerfield yards, and while we did find them, I blew all my pictures of them. :( So it goes. In the afternoon I found a Guilford train heading to the NECR from the yard in Deerfield and chased it at its whopping 5 miles an hour from Bernardston to Northfield before running out of light.
Miller's Falls, Massachusetts
(map) Between Northfield and Turner's Falls, Miller's Falls has another junction of the NECR and Guilford rail systems.
Deerfield, Massachusetts
(map) Home of the Guilford lines, Deerfield has a large yard and junction. Guilford has a reputation for arresting (not fining) trespassers on its property, according to locals, and the yard is not very accessible without trespassing. It is limited to a bridge on a dead-end road that leads to the yard.
Bernardston, Massachusetts
(map) The Guilford Maine Central (MEC) line heads through Bernardston on what would normally be a short treck from Deerfield to Brattleboro. Except the line is 5 to 10 mph so chasing a train is kind of like chasing a turkey, or would be if there were more grade crossings.
Northfield, Massachusetts
(map) Home of Northfield Mount Hermon School, where I attended high school and met my wife, Northfield has the junction of the NECR and MEC lines in a rural area near the Vermont border.
December 24th, 2004
Having a few minutes to get away a couple of points during the day, I checked the Brattleboro yard, finding it again having shifted its cars around. Brattleboro seems to host a lot of what appear to be coal cars, though I can't figure their purpose there. The yard seems to be switched only at night, which makes finding trains there tough. I also tried to get better shots of the Deerfield Guilford yard. While my shots were better, I really should try again another day (not this trip, unfortunately) to see if I can do it right.
Deerfield, Massachusetts
(map) Home of the Guilford lines, Deerfield has a large yard and junction. Guilford has a reputation for arresting (not fining) trespassers on its property, according to locals, and the yard is not very accessible without trespassing. It is limited to a bridge on a dead-end road that leads to the yard.
September 8th, 2005
We got up early and checked the NECR yard in Brattleboro. NECR #324, which we saw on the 7th, in both St. Albans and Milton was parked on the track nearest the road with no crew. It remained there for the rest of the day, not starting up until around 20:00. Meanwhile, we heard an NECR train head north through town but did not get to it on time, and missed both the north and south-bound Amtrak, but later in the day heard WJED - the Guilford train from White River Junction to East Deerfield yard and we caught it both in Brattleboro and again, after running some errands (GRS tracks in the area are limited to 5-10 mph) in Bernardston.
Bernardston, Massachusetts
(map) The Guilford Maine Central (MEC) line heads through Bernardston on what would normally be a short treck from Deerfield to Brattleboro. Except the line is 5 to 10 mph so chasing a train is kind of like chasing a turkey, or would be if there were more grade crossings.
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Guilford Rail System's White River Junction to East Deerfield yard (WJED) heads through Bernardston.
December 28th, 2005
I went after NECR's Southbound, hoping to shoot it at the bridge in Miller's Falls I accomplished this, but somehow accidentally put my camera into Manual mode instead of Aperture Priority, and didn't notice... causing a number of washed out pictures (originals here). I ran them through a histogram equalisation and they look less (or at least differently) awful, and will figure out what to do with them and the originals when I get home. I then went to Greenfield, hoping to catch EDWJ, which ran unusually early, and rushed back to Brattleboro to catch it there (where it ended up sitting for 2 hours waiting for permission to proceed. I guess it doesn't pay to be early!)
Miller's Falls, Massachusetts
(map) Between Northfield and Turner's Falls, Miller's Falls has another junction of the NECR and Guilford rail systems.
Greenfield, Massachusetts
(map) Greenfield hosts a junction of two Guilford lines at a city park just West of East Deerfield yard.
September 7th, 2006
We made a field trip to Westfield, Massachusetts to see the Pioneer Valley Railroad and their funky CF7 units, catching a Guilford train at Hatfield on our way to Deerfield yard and seeing the Vermonter at Northfield on our way home.
Westfield, Massachusetts
(map) Westfield is the home of the Pioneer Valley Railroad, which hosts several ATSF-built CF7 frankenstinian locomotives.
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PVRR #1 switches the north end of the Westfield yard.
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PVRR #2 switches a gondola into the shop.
Hatfield, Massachusetts
(map) A Guilford line runs through Hatfield south of East Deerfield yard toward Springfield.
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A Guilford train makes around five miles an hour toward East Deerfield yard.
Deerfield, Massachusetts
(map) Home of the Guilford lines, Deerfield has a large yard and junction. Guilford has a reputation for arresting (not fining) trespassers on its property, according to locals, and the yard is not very accessible without trespassing. It is limited to a bridge on a dead-end road that leads to the yard.
Northfield, Massachusetts
(map) Home of Northfield Mount Hermon School, where I attended high school and met my wife, Northfield has the junction of the NECR and MEC lines in a rural area near the Vermont border.
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AMTK #56, the Vermonter, passes under the bridge at East Northfield junction with two P42dcs and 4 cars.
May 8th, 2009
On our way to the wedding of one of my oldest friends in rural New Hampshire, we stopped in to see the Ontario Midland, CSX, HRRC, and PVRR, finding very little running. We brought our camera in for a cleaning, and it was returned to us without charge because of an apparently immutable piece of dirt on the sensor, so another railfan trip goes into the record with a great big spot in the upper-right corner of all my photos.
Westfield, Massachusetts
(map) Westfield is the home of the Pioneer Valley Railroad, which hosts several ATSF-built CF7 frankenstinian locomotives.
June 4th, 2009
After arriving at NMH before my classmates, I headed back out to the tracks for a bit for Amtrak 55 and NECR 323.
Northfield, Massachusetts
(map) Home of Northfield Mount Hermon School, where I attended high school and met my wife, Northfield has the junction of the NECR and MEC lines in a rural area near the Vermont border.
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AMTK #55 crosses under the bridge at the junction at East Northfield.
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NECR #323 passes the cemetery in downtown Northfield.
March 2nd, 2016
Travelling from Andover, where we slept, into Boston, we stopped at Lowell Junction for a few minutes to see what we could find. In the afternoon, travelling from Boston to the area of Milford, New Hampshire, we took the scenic route via Worcester station and found it very hospitable and welcoming to railfans.
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a town just north of Boston hosting the MBTA, CSX, and Pan Am.
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An MBTA commuter train heads toward Boston.
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A Pan Am local arrives at Lowell still in Guilford colours.
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An MBTA train pulls into Lowell, Massachussets.
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city in the mid south of Massachusetts and hosts a major connection of the Providence and Worcester with the CSX.