Tag Archives: Washington Summit

photography

CSX near Washington Summit.

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Western RailRoad of Massachusetts; Boston & Albany; New York Central System; Penn Central; Conrail; CSX.

CSX is the current operator of the Boston & Albany route.

I made this photo earlier this month of train Q263 westbound at Muddy Pond approaching Washington Summit .

Exposed digitally using a FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm Fujinon zoom lens.

In recent years CSX freight volumes over the B&A route have been declining.

Saturday (December 16, 2017), we learned that Hunter Harrison, CSX’s Chief Executive Officer passed away.

I can’t help but wonder what will become of the B&A, and how Hunter’s controversial strategies have affected this route in the few months he was at the reigns of CSX.

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photography

Conrail SD40 at Bullards Road, Washington Summit.

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Conrail eastward freight at Bullards Road, Hinsdale, Massachusetts on August 3, 1984. Take notice the former Erie Lackawanna SD45-2, Conrail 6659, second out. Some of those old EMD’s are still on the move too. This day it’s 20-cylinder 645-diesel was adding to atmosphere. (Fear not, I have plenty of photos of the SD45-2s on the B&A and elsewhere on Conrail).
Conrail eastward freight at Bullards Road, Hinsdale, Massachusetts on August 3, 1984. Take notice the former Erie Lackawanna SD45-2, Conrail 6659, second out. Some of those old EMD’s are still on the move. This day it’s 20-cylinder 645-diesel was adding to atmosphere. (Fear not, I have plenty of photos of the SD45-2s on the B&A and elsewhere on Conrail).

Looking back more than three decades; it was a warm August 1984 afternoon when my pal T.S.H. and I sat up on the grassy hill near the popular Bullards Road Bridge to photograph this Conrail eastward freight as it approached Boston & Albany’s summit of the Berkshire grade.

I made this image on 35mm Kodak Tri-X using my Leica 3A with a Canon 50mm lens.

Conrail was divided in Spring 1999, nearly 15 years after this photo was exposed.

In 2003, CSX removed the old Bullards Road bridge (and stone abutments).

I can’t say for certain what happened to the SD40, but a similar former Conrail engine still works for New England Central.

Personally, I’d trade my digital cameras for a fully functioning time machine.

Tracking the Light acknowledges

Conrail’s 40th Anniversary!

 

 

 

photography

Boston & Albany’s Washington Summit—Retrospective.

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Once upon a time, long ago Boston & Albany’s main line over Washington Summit represented an engineering achievement and a lifeline of commerce that connected Massachusetts to the West.

Today, it is CSX’s Boston Line; but effectively a branch railway off the old Water Level Route.

Amtrak’s daily Lake Shore Limited traverses the line, as do periodic CSX freights, but its relative importance is but a pale shadow of it former greatness.

CSX_Muddy_Pond_Washington_Summit_DSCF2018
Washington, Massachusetts; looking railroad-east on the old Boston & Albany on February 27th, 2016.

I made this stark image at Muddy Pond using my 12mm Zeiss Touit lens; I controlled contrast using a Lee graduated filter, which I adjusted to even the exposure between sky and foreground.

Key to my composition is the jet contrail overhead, which for me represents both historical symbolism and my next step.

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photography

Amtrak 449 Lake Shore Limited at Washington, Massachusetts.

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Photographing the Lake Shore Limited is a tradition in our family dating back almost 40 years.

It was a clear afternoon. The Boston section of Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited was nearly on schedule.

The other day my father and I selected a location near the summit of the Boston & Albany at Washington, Massachusetts.

In this view, back lighting helps to emphasize the train. The angular shape of Amtrak's General Electric P42 diesel-electric catches the light nicely while the front makes a shadow that draws the eye to it as the primary subject.
In this view, back lighting helps to emphasize the train. The angular shape of Amtrak’s General Electric P42 diesel-electric catches the light nicely while the front-end is in a shadow, which draws the eye to it as the primary subject.

Using my FujiFilm X-T1 I set up a view that places the train in the left-hand portion of the image, while featuring the pastoral autumnal scenery on the right.

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