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THE HISTORY QUIZ CONTINUES . . . newcomers welcome!
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<p>DING DING DING! We have a winner!</p><p>Yes, the Wachusett Reservoir is correct. It was built by damming the Nashua River in Clinton, MA. The bridge was over the valley close to the foot of the dam. To the east it crosses over Rt 70 before entering the tunnel.</p><p>One trick that steam locomotive engineers used to play on new firemen was to not tell them about the bridge. They'd be going through the tunnel, and the fireman would be standing on the footplate just a few feet from the edge. Then they'd come out of the tunnel, and the fireman would be standing on the edge of the locomotive on a hundred+ foot high bridge with no railing! </p><p>And I thought the then abandoned railroad was the Worcester, Nashua, and Rochester Railroad, but I could be wrong.</p><p>The rail trail starts in West Boylston, on the other side of the reservoir from the dam and goes west. The bridge near the dam is long gone, but the tunnel survives, and the abutment for the bridge is hidden in the weeds. You can climb up and hike through the tunnel; there is no parking or anything, and that part technically isn't part of the trail, but the roadbed is smooth and clear of debris. I've walked through the whole tunnel.</p><p>Heading east, the line crosses the CSX Leominster Branch on a long-gone bridge, and then heads through the outskirts of Berlin. It still has crossties and rail at this point. It goes under I-495 and continues east.</p><p>I belive the line is railbanked or something; as there is nothing built on the ROW, and all the bridge abutments are still there. I highly doubt it will be rebuilt, but I can always dream... It would be nice to have an active rail line within biking distance...[8D]</p><p>Here are a couple photos and aerial photos of the tunnel and dam area.</p><p>Tunnel:</p><p>[IMG]http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/TrainManTy/Prototype/image5.jpg[/IMG] <br></p><p>You can see the bridge pilings in the water at the base of the dam here. If you look to the right of them you'll see the tunnel entrance.</p><p><a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.404763,-71.685287&spn=0.003383,0.006303&t=h&z=18" mce_href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.404763,-71.685287&spn=0.003383,0.006303&t=h&z=18" target="_blank" title="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.404763,-71.685287&spn=0.003383,0.006303&t=h&z=18">http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.404763,-71.685287&spn=0.003383,0.006303&t=h&z=18</a> </p><p> </p><p>Paul, the next question is yours. Congratulations! <br></p><p> </p>
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