I would like to spend a day Railfanning in Boston, Most likely I would take the Mbta from Lowell Ma. And then walk from North station. Anybody know of the best places to take photo's of trains from? I want pic's of freight trains and of course the T. I will be going as soon as it warms up a bit and I have time off of work. Thanks, Ron
Great Western Rwy fan I would like to spend a day Railfanning in Boston, Most likely I would take the Mbta from Lowell Ma. And then walk from North station. Anybody know of the best places to take photo's of trains from? I want pic's of freight trains and of course the T. I will be going as soon as it warms up a bit and I have time off of work. Thanks, Ron
If you are more interested in freight IMO you'd be better off taking the exta commuter train ride to Worcester Union Station which offers great views from the station platform with plenty of CSX and P&W action..
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
I'd also recommend Worcester... The ride is only a little over an hour, and there's 20+ CSX trains, many MBTA trains, plus the odd Providence & Worcester freight. Here's a schedule of all the trains through Worcester, excluding the P&W (which run as-needed and not on a schedule) and the CSX transfer job to the P&W, which is as-needed but usually every day.
Worcester Train Schedules
Here's a sampling of the types of trains you'll see there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yJRu8mgMSU
The only "real" freight yard left in Boston is Beacon Yard. There are definitely more transit and commuter rail photo opportunities. The Green Line's surface routes can provide some interesting shots with cars, building, tree and pedestrians. Having gone to school at Northeastern University, the Ruggles station in the middle of the campus can provide some nice ralfanning action of the Orange Line, MBTA communter rail and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
The best place to railfan in the city of Boston is at Readville station, a Trains Magazine "Hot Spot" (one of two in Mass., the other being Palmer, MA).
At Readville, you have four MBTA lines (Fairmount, Providence, Stoughton, & Franklin), Amtrak Acela and Regional service, plus CSX's Readville freight yard. Take a Fairmount shuttle train from South Station or ride one of the Franklin trains to get there from the city.
On any given weekday morning and afternoon, there is approx. 15 trains per hour or more passing through Readville. There are multiple connected platforms, and trains come at you from all 4 points of the compass as there is a rail bridge (the old NY&NE crossing the old B&P) that is in use by some Franklin line trains (and CSX).
Readville station is safe during daylight hours, but I wouldn't want to hang out there at night. Not that it's a particularly rough neighborhood, but there aren't too many residences around the immediate station area and it's mostly run-down industrial (IOW, isolated).
Readville was also the home of the New Haven RR's main shop complex (from 1900 to 1957), most of which is still standing today, tho' not in RR use. The old Loco shop is now owned by John Hancock and used for document storage. The freight car shop is long gone but the yard in front is still in use by the MBTA for tie storage and some work equipment. The passenger car shops and other buildings are still standing, but are used by various firms (once, the Boston School Dept. used it for a garage for busses). The old Dedham line also curved off the main at Readville next to the shops, and is still somewhat visible tho' long gone.
As I said, CSX has a pretty good presence at Readville, but it's mostly just local freights using the yard (GP40's, etc.) with transfers of freight from Framingham, Mansfield, Attleboro, etc. using the yard.
If you go during the morning or afternoon rush, you might want to make your own schedule showing when all trains would be going through. I did once, and it was the only way to get in place to take a shot of each train. I had to move quickly at times to get the shot because the traffic is that busy. Fun, but tiring.
Paul A. Cutler III*******************Weather Or No Go New Haven*******************
Thanks Guy's for all the Info. Ty I printed up the Worcester Schedule, Thanks
And Paul the locations You mentioned sound like just what I was looking for. Thanks
Now I just have to plan a trip to Boston.
Okay. If / when you get out to Worcester, send me a PM beforehand... I might be able to join you, and I certainly can offer some more advice on locations and other tips that might be useful.
okay Ty, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks
Downtown Boston is the end of the line, almost no freight. North Station has just MBTA Commuter Rail to the North plus a few Amtrak "Downeaster" runs to Portland Maine. Pan Am Rail (formally Gilford Rail System, formally Boston & Maine) working with Norfolk Southern enter the Boston area by way of Ayer MA and then over MBTA tracks.
South Station is where the Passenger action is. MBTA Commuter Rail (diesel) to the Southeast (Plymouth), South (Providence, RI) and West (Worcester). Amtrak Corridor Service (Electric Power), Regionals and hourly Acela (Bullet Train) Service to New York and Washington. Freight trains only work at night.
CSX run there Container trains west out of Alston in the evening and have a freight yard in Framingham. As stated above, Worcester is the first city west where Freight action can be watched. Worcester is the home of the Providence & Worcester with its yard and shops.
MBTA "should" let you take photos from "public areas" but they reserve the right to question you and ask for identification.
Are you into LRV Trolleys? The MBTA operates there "Riverside Line" over the former Boston & Albany tracks from downtown to I-95 in the suburbs. (out past Fenway Park)
Don U. TCA 73-5735
There's a once-daily train that goes through Cambridge around 3:00 PM. I don't know what it is for, but it is freight. Sometimes a deadheading passenger train runs through there (Amtrak and MBTA commuter rail). It uses several grade crossings and does sound its horn when running through.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.