I will be visiting the Berkshires for a few days in July. Does anyone know the best places to see action on the old B&A? How much traffic is currently running on the line during the day. Thanks in advance.
own limited experience there is that in the Berkshires there are lots of nice spots for photos. So you’ll like it. There is decent highway access, and the area is gorgeous. And it seemed to me that in the hills themselves there isn’t much in the way of customers; this means most or all trains are thru-trains. Accordingly, you are as likely to see a train at one spot as any other spot.
Here is a shot I took in the area. The exact location escapes me, and my notes are not at hand. https://500px.com/photo/1018262089/AmtkLakeShoreDepotMSTR-by-KudzuTraveler/
Still in training.
I have ridden the line on Amtrak, but have never photographed the line. It seems the classic photo shot is at State Line Tunnel, near the border with NY State.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/42%C2%B022'48.0%22N+73%C2%B026'43.0%22W/@42.3672376,-73.4509426,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d42.38!4d-73.4452778?hl=en
Although I do not know good places, I know a bit about the traffic.
Q017/Q020 are the high priority intermodals, and seem to run during the night or early morning.
Q022/Q115 are other connecting intermodals, but I'm unsure of the schedule or if they run every day.
There are several manifests, all in the Q400 series, that will probably be your best bet.
Unit trains (K trains) run a handful of times a month.
Depending on where you are, there are a few webcams on the line hosted by Boston and Maine Live.
https://youtu.be/uISh_f2txqE
Hope this helps. I have yet to railfan the line much myself.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.