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photography, Tips and Technique

In all these Years, We’d Never seen this before!

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It is always a delight to stumble upon something relatively unusual and have the foresight and knowledge to make the most of the opportunity.

The old Boston, Barre & Gardner was among the railroads gobbled up by the growing Boston & Maine during the golden years of American railroads. The line primarily extended from Worcester to Gardner and beyond to Peterboro, New Hampshire.

Historically, the route crossed B&M’s Fitchburg line on a set of diamonds in front of the Gardner station. Back in 1880, three passenger trains a day served the 27 miles between Worcester and Gardner.

By the 1950s, one lonely train covered the run, and this made its final journey on March 7, 1953. Check out Robert Willoughby Jones’ book Boston & Maine: Forest, River and Mountain for photos.

These days, the line between Worcester and Gardner is operated by Providence & Worcester, and I’ve featured it on several occasions on Tracking the Light, while a short vestige of the north end of the route extends from a connection with Pan Am Southern in Gardner to a shipper a short distance away.

A vestige of the old Boston, Barre & Gardner makes for a little bit of living history.
A vestige of the old Boston, Barre & Gardner makes for a little bit of living history.
Pan Am Railway's F1-1 is a local based out of Fitchburg and works this rarely used section of line as required.
Pan Am Railway’s F1-1 is a local based out of Fitchburg and works this rarely used section of line as required.

Last week, Bob Arnold, Paul Goewey and I were photographing in Gardner when we noticed the flange ways were clear on this rarely used stub branch. ‘There’s got to be an engine up the line,’ I said, and we went to investigate.

We found our quarry, and waited for the locomotive to return.

A lone GP40 eases its way down the branch passed a furniture store.
A lone GP40 eases its way down the branch passed a furniture store.
The locomotive crosses Main Street in Gardner, near the corner of Chestnut.
The locomotive crosses Main Street in Gardner, near the corner of Chestnut.
The Furniture Center is among the buildings that feature in old photos of the branch crossing B&M's Fitchburg Division mainline. This image required a bit of post processing contrast adjustment to retain detail in the deep shadows of the charcoal painted locomotive and the bright highlights of the building beyond.
The Furniture Center is among the buildings that feature in old photos of the branch crossing B&M’s Fitchburg Division mainline. This image required a bit of post processing contrast adjustment to retain detail in the deep shadows of the charcoal painted locomotive and the bright highlights of the building beyond.

As I explained to a friend later: this operation might happen every Monday, or only on odd number days following a full moon in months ending in the letter ‘R’, but in more than 30 years of photography in the area, none of us had ever seen it before.

Hooray for fortuity!

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