Tag Archives: #Pan Am Railway

Hoosac Tunnel Then and Now

Over 35 years some places have changed beyond recognition. While others have change very little.

The other day, my Fiancé Kris and I visited the East Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel.

Completed in the 1870s, this 25,081 feet long bore is the longest railroad tunnel in New England.

The East Portal has an elusive mystical quality.

I recall another visit here on a chilled evening in February 1985, when my old pal TSH and I waited for an eastward freight to emerge from the depths of the mountain. 

Below is a vintage black & white photo exposed with my Leica on Ilford FP4 film on that trip, and a pair of the recent contemporary color digital images made with my Nikon Z6.

The headlight of an eastward Boston & Maine freight punctuates the inky gloom of the East Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel. Exposed in February 1985 on Ilford FP4 film using a Leica IIIA. Processed in Kodak D76.
September 2021, East Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel exposed using a Nikon Z6 digital camera.
September 2021, East Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel exposed using a Nikon Z6 digital camera.

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