Dennis LeBeau was giving me a tour of post-industrial Worcester.
We called into ‘The Space Studios’ located in old brick factory buildings immediately north of CSX’s former Boston & Albany mainline near Webster Street. The building complex once hosted an array of sidings, including a small coal trestle.
Inside the studio Dennis’s son Tommy LeBeau was recording The Green Sisters who were energetically performing traditional Bluegrass with a variety of stringed instruments.
Using my Lumix LX-7 to its best advantage, I made a few evocative images of the session.
So what’s this have to do with railroads? Not much really, but its all related. Sometimes when you look for one thing, you find something else.
Later in the afternoon Dennis and I reviewed a vintage collection of B&A photos depicting the Worcester area. In the last 115 years a great deal has changed.
There was no Lumix LX7 in 1901.
I wonder what Worcester will be like in 2131?
Tracking the Light Finds New Angles Every Day!
Yes, there is (or was), on the west side of Worcester in a sprawling 2 or 3 story wood building next to the B&A (not one of those glorious brick mills). They have not renewed their URL, so I’ll point you here:
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?15496-Club-near-Westfield-MA
post #7:
” There’s the Worcester Club, then theres [sic] the Worcester Club.
The Worcester Model Railroaders/Worcester Central Lines Club is in Dudley, MA. They meet twice a week if I am not mistaken, and they are still in the process of building their new layout.
Real Model Railroaders, the club in Worcester, MA (which I belong to) occupys [sic] the old location of the Worcester Model Railroaders. In fact, RMR started when one of the members bought their old layout and started a new club because he didn’t want to see the beautiful old layout get destroyed. We are usually there Saturday after 1PM, Sunday after noon, and Wednesday in the late afternoons although the club’s president may be down there playing or working on the layout. Unlike the Dudley club, members get to go down to the club any time they want and play or work.
The CSX B&A main line is outside our front door! We get to play with models then run outside and see the real thing
Real Model Railroaders is at 70 James st. However, we’re part of a complex that used to be a wire factory (so every unit is considered 70 James st since the front door to the wire factory was over there). Our front door is actually on Genesee st.
Crossing over the James st bridge you can see some old disconnected sidings that the New York Central used to use to pick up coils of wire from the factory. (we have a piece of track sticking up out of our parking lot )
Last edited by diburning; 02-02-2010 at 10:36 AM. ”
Also search YouTube for “Real Model Railroaders” Worcester MA”.
You might get further information from here:
http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Joseph-Borbone/1615661729
These old buildings are slowly disappearing – hope this one survives – the recording studio is helping. Seems like I heard that there is a model railroad club somewhere in that area, might be in another old factory building.