Welcome to Southern Maine Rail Pics

By John Erickson

Trip to Western Massachusetts not Pigeon Forge

Sunday the 15^th

I arrived back at East Deerfield early Sunday morning at 02:00 to find switching on the east end and then heard an 11-R train making up on the west end. When I caught up with them I found they had the MEC 5976, 5943, 5948, 5946, & 5974 and I chased them from East Deerfield out to Mount Hermon Station Road in Northfield. This time I knew they would be headed up the Connecticut River branch, but we were in darkness, so, no pictures.

About 09:30 I heard from a 16-R train and caught them near the Greenfield Station with MEC 5930, 5967, 5936, 5973, & 5966 for engines and 46 loads and 34 empties. Amtrak train 57 The Vermonter came by at 13:56 with AMTK 119 and 5 cars, then it was back to East Deerfield to record some of the engines that were there. One of them was Housatonic 3604 along with MEC engines 5973, 5936, 5967, 5930, & 7594.

Leaving East Deerfield and starting for home I met a Providence & Worcester train at Gardner with their engine 2009 at 17:58. Next I stopped at Fitchburg to see train 2409. They were ahead of schedule at 19:05. Then I met POAY at Ayer at 20:17 with MEC 7835 & 7643, but I'm not sure what order POAY's engines were in because either they started work as AY-3 or AY-3 grabbed the engines when they arrived to put the engines away. Once this was done they got on the MEC 7575 and began switching. After this I went to sleep for a while.