Over the last two years, I’ve posted progress on the replacement of the McClelland Farm Bridge over the west end of Pan Am’s Boston & Maine East Deerfield Yard near Greenfield, Massachusetts.
A visit toward the end of January 2019 found the new bridge open to traffic in both directions and nothing left of the old bridge except the concrete bridge piers.
New photographer-friendly fences were in place on the west side of the bridge, while temporary chain-link fences were on the east. Presumably these will be replaced as the new bridge reaches completion.
Photographer friendly fences in place on the west side of the bridge. It is easy enough to take photos from between the fence posts and the new sidewalk (footpath) is a welcome change. Lumix LX7 photo.A view over the chain-link fence looking East toward the yard and the abutments of the old bridge. Lumix LX7 photo.Although it isn’t a pretty picture, this shows the temporary chainlink fences on the east side of the new bridge along with remaining vestiges of the old ‘Railfan’s’ bridge, where so many photos were made over the years. Lumix LX7 photo.Looking along the old alignment of McClelland Farm Road; East Deerfield Yard at the right, and the abutments of the old bridge to the right (east) of the new bridge. Lumix LX7 photo.Pan Am’s symbol freight 16R arriving from the West as viewed from the new ‘Railfan’s Bridge’ over the west end of East Deerfield Yard. Lumix LX7 photo.
The view west offers several good angles of the tracks; while (as previously discussed) the view to the east of East Deerfield Yard suffers from the installation of new power lines with heavy electrical cables that interfere with photography.
The old McClelland Farm Road bridge over the Boston & Maine tracks at the west end of East Deerfield Yard (near Greenfield, Massachusetts) had been a popular place to photograph trains.
Guilford SD26 632 leads EDRP (East Deerfield-Rouses Point) westbound at McClelland Farm Road on August 30, 1987. Kodachrome slide exposed using a Leica M2.
Known colloquially as the ‘Railfan’s Bridge,’ this vantage point had been featured in articles in TRAINS Magazine, Railpace and other popular literature for decades.
For more than a year a new bridge, parallel to the old bridge, has been under construction.
Last week, December 6, 2018, photographer Mike Gardner and I made a brief visit to East Deerfield to inspect progress.
The old bridge was still in place, while the new bridge was open and mostly complete.
Inevitably, fences will be installed, and how these may affect photography has yet to been seen. However, looking to the east, the view has been complicated by the erection of new electrical lines.
Below are a few views of the new and old McClelland Farm Road bridges.
Panoramic view of the new and old bridges.
The view looking west from the new bridge. Here’s the sorry state of the old bridge. How many thousands of photos were made from this span?
Looking east from the new bridge.
The view from the new bridge looking toward the East Deerfield Loop.
How many thousands of photographs have been exposed from the old bridge at the west end of Boston & Maine’s East Deerfield Yard?
The new bridge is progressing. I made these photos a few days ago.
Old and new bridges at McClelland Farm Road, East Deerfield, Massachusetts.
As mentioned in an earlier post, a new pole-line has been erected to the east of the old bridge that threatens to ruin photographs. How will this ultimately affect views from the new bridge?
Suitable vantage points are key to making good photographs, so I’m curious to see what the new bridge offers. If it turns out to be of little use, I’ll need to find new vantage points.
South approach to the new bridge.
North abutment with Pan Am tracks in foreground.
Looking west from the old McClelland Farm Road bridge.
Construction crews are working on the approaches to the new McClelland Farm Road bridge over the tracks at the west end of Pan Am’s East Deerfield Yard.
This work has been on-going for about a year.As detailed in previous posts, the old bridge has been a popular place for photographers for many years and countless images have been exposed from this vantage point.
The new bridge is being built immediately to the west of the old bridge, and once it is complete and fully open to traffic, the old bridge will be removed.
The view west from the old McClelland Farm Road bridge.
Pan Am GE’s wearing tired CSX paint pass construction crews working on approaches for the new McClelland Farm Road bridge.
The old McClelland Farm Road Bridge at East Deerfield.
Now for some bad news: in conjunction with bridge construction, the above ground electrical line has been relocated and is now carried across the tracks on a new pole-line located to the east of the bridges.
The new pole line can be seen here on the right crossing over the tracks. To the uninitiated this may seem innocuous but in fact it poses an obstruction that may make views of the yard from the new bridge difficult to achieve without heavy cables running right through the middle of the image.
This obstruction poses a new challenge for photographers making photos of the yard and depending on the height of the new bridge mayruin the classic view.
I exposed these views of former CSX DASH8-40Cs leased to Pan Am that had just arrived on road freight POED from Portland, Maine.
Photos made with a FujiFilm X-T1 with 27mm pancake lens.
The old McClelland Farm Road bridge over the Boston & Maine tracks at the west end of East Deerfield Yard (near Greenfield, Massachusetts) has been a popular place to photograph trains since the steam era.
Known colloquially as the ‘Railfan’s Bridge,’ this vantage point has been featured in articles in TRAINS Magazine Railpace, and other popular literature for decades.
I first visited with my father and brother in the early 1980s, and have made countless photos here, many of which have a appeared in books, calendars, and of course on Tracking the Light.
My friend Tim coined it the ‘waste too much film bridge’ in the early 2000s, owing to our propensity to make an excessive number of photos as Guilford freight trains switched in the yard.
Although hackneyed and perhaps over frequented, it’s been a great place to catch the sunrise, make photos of the locomotives and freight cars, and work the evening glint.
At times, I’ve seen as many as 30 photographers here, all vying for position.
Imagine my surprise last month, when Tim and I arrived to photograph the elusive and much followed Pan Am Railways office car train, expecting to find a wall of lenses, and instead realized that we were the only photographers on site!
In the evening glow, Pan Am Railway’s prized former Canadian National FP9s lead the company office car train off the Deerfield Loop track at the west end of East Deerfield Yard. Exposed using a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
. You can see that the trees have been cut in preparation for the heavy works, expected to begin shortly. Lumix LX7 photo.
How many thousands, or tens of thousands, of photos have been exposed from this vantage point over the decades? FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
I used this opportunity to make some photos of the old bridge, soon to be replaced by a new span located 40 feet to the west.
Why is this my first farewell? Simply, the bridge isn’t yet gone. After it is, perhaps I’ll post a ‘final farewell’.
