Chasing the Housatonic Railroad - November 22, 2004
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last updated: 12/12/04
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When making plans for my Thanksgiving break, I thought about railfanning someplace that I hadn't
been recently or ever; I wanted to explore some locations beyond the Selkirk Branch and the D&H.
Somehow or another I hit upon the idea of chasing the Housatonic, and set about learning what
the railroad's typical daily operations were. Many thanks to the members of the
HRRC list for sharing current schedule info,
with special thanks to Rolf Schneider of Berkshire Hills Hobby and "Signalman Bob" for highlighting
key points of the NX-13 chase route.
Ride along as my favorite Northeastern cohort, Dave Mason, and I chase the Housatonic's NX-13
Canaan, CT, to Pittsfield, MA, turn on the morning of November 22, 2004. The weather may have been
rather miserable, but the experience was wonderful and I'll be sure to return to further explore
this great New England shortline.
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| Canaan, CT |
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After checking in at the Canaan office, Dave and I returned to his truck to hear some
chatter on the radio about the "terrorists" who'd be out chasing this day. Heading back into town
to wait for NX-13 to depart the yard, we caught up with an MOW crew about to set off a pair of long
ties at the Rte. 7 crossing east of the wye. |
| Canaan, CT |
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The pickup complete, NX-13 shoves west back to the main. The north leg of the wye was
out of service due MOW work, so 3602 would be the leader for the northward run to Pittsfield. |
| Canaan, CT |
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Top: After putting its train together, NX-13 pauses at Barracks Road while the conductor
inspects the rear end of the train. During this pause the engineer climbed down and walked over,
informing Dave and I that they had one setout in South Lee and would then continue on as close to
Pittsfield as the dispatcher would permit them; they were to be called for a 9pm job that night
to pick up a transformer from Metro-North and needed to tie up before 1pm in order to get
sufficient rest.
Bottom: After shoving back to pick up the conductor, the engineer notches out the two GP-35Ms,
sending billowing clouds of carbon into the air. At 08:47 NX-13 entered the limits of its Form D,
and the chase was on! |
| Great Barrington, MA |
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On the south side of Great Barrington, NX-13 climbs past Mahaiwe Cemetary as it approaches
town. |
| Great Barrington, MA |
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After fighting traffic on US 7 through town, Dave & I managed to remain ahead of the train
and shot it at Pearl St. north of 7/41 split. I blew that shot, so we jumped back in the truck
and headed north. Barely a half-mile later we looked back and saw an S-curve alongside the road;
we stopped and jumped and had literally just enough time to stop moving and aim and shoot and
hope, and wouldn't you know it but I absolutely nailed the shot. Onward... |
| Glendale, MA |
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With Dave on the verge of running out of film, we rushed northward ahead of the train in
hopes of finding a store; no such luck until we got to South Lee, but I've been wondering if
we missed any shots along the river between Housatonic and here. I'll have to return...
Anyways, upon advice from Rolf, we parked on the Glendale Middle Road bridge to imitate Roger
Coleman's scene in the Fall 2004 Railroad Explorer;
wouldn't you know it but the sun peeked out just at the right time! |
| South Lee, MA |
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Nearing South Lee, NX-13 rolls by the nearly 200-year-old Hurlbut Paper Company mill. You
can tell I was standing just inside the shadow line, otherwise I would have set up further back to
capture a wider-angle view of the train passing the mill's main building. |
| Lee, MA |
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Our last shot of the day was this broadside along the Housatonic River just north of Lee,
with 3602 & 3600 reflected in the smooth waters of an inlet separated from the river by the
railroad's causeway. This wasn't quite the shot I had in mind here, but clouds were blocking
out the sun at the very moment I tripped the shutter, and each of the three subsequent exposures
is noticably darker, resulting in this being the best image of the bunch. (I suppose sometimes
I'm just too critical of my own work.) |
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We lost NX-13 north of Lenox Station and gave up the chase, satisfied with an excellent morning's
work. An afternoon wasted on the Boston and River Lines quickly brought us back to reality,
but by then it was time for me to head home, and so ended another adventure.
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