Eastern Railroad Discussion > Boston Advice

I have an upcoming Boston trip for work. I know I want to shoot the Mattapan/Ashmont line and the part of the Green Line that is on old NYC ROW and frankly - really mostly commuter lines. If there is any good place to get Pan Am freight, I'd like to do that too, but as this is a biz trip don't have a lot of driving time.

I am staying in downtown Boston and will have a car.

What suggestions do folk have?

Any easy to shoot shortlines/industrials I should be aware of?

Best MBTA commuter line this time of year for light?

Quantity is not that important to me - but interesting surroundings and reliable timing is. I can't wait somewhere for two/three hours for a train that may or many not come - need to do lots of drive in, shoot, leave.

Thank you in advance for any ideas!

Charles Freericks

OK for the Mattapan line, check out the Capen Street station, next to last stop before Mattapan. Great grade crossing shot in a leafy single-family suburb, and the orange cars make a neat contrast with the greenery. Valley Mills (Valley Road, maybe?) is the next stop inbound from there, tough to get to by car, but worth shooting as well.

Getting Pan Am is a bit tough. Mainline doesn't come near Boston and really isn't all that photogenic in most places--green tunnel scenery abounds. Some highlights: The Merrimack River bridge just south of the Haverhill station is nicely lit in the late afternoon, carries MBTA trains on the Reading/Haverhill line as well. The area around the Lowell station also carries both freight and commuter traffic. Amtrak's Downeaster goes through both locations as well.

Local Pan Am traffic is a crapshoot, more "crap" than "shoot".

Other MBTA higlights--there's a pedestrian footbridge just north of North Station that is a cool spot to watch the outbound rush. All north side trains and the Downeaster pass beneath. Easy transit access (green line to Science Museum), somewhat tougher by car because, well, Boston, parking--not two words you want to use in the same sentence.

Crystal Lake, a half mile south of the Wakefield station, can be a neat shot, but I'm not sure how the weed control has been along the shore line the last few years. Not a bad little park to sit in and watch fishermen and trains, just watch for the goose poop.

On the south side, I kinda like the Attleboro station platform on the NE corridor. Canton viaduct (just south of Canton Jct, where the Stoughton line branches off the NEC) is treed in, but still workable broadside for afternoon southbounds. Its a stone arch bridge dating to original construction, still in service for Acelas and all the commuter trains. The view from below loses the lower 1/3 of the trains, but still worth doing IMO.

I used to like the junction at Readville, but I'm not sure how the security situation is now. Haven't been there since the trespassing phobia really took off, so it may not be doable any more.

Worcester has a neat old station and some CSX freight traffic to boot.

Nearly all MBTA trains are push pulls, with the engine on the outbound end. Surprising variety in motive power--new MP36, two different types of F40s and some of the ex-CN widecabe should still be in service.

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I don't think your freight train / short line / industrial requirements can be met in Boston as there are only a few CSX/Pan Am freights that run Boston/Cambridge/Somerville and some of those run at night. To shoot the Mattapan line trolleys, I would drive to Milton to photograph the PCCs but I wouldn't recommend venturing to Mattapan as it can be a dangerous area. All the Green Line trolley routes are easy to photograph west of the Kenmore subway station (B, C, D lines) and Symphony subway station (E line). The B and C lines are quite photogenic in the evening. And no car is needed if you ride the trolley.

Perhaps the most diverse MBTA commuter rail lines are the Providence line out of South Station that MBTA shares with Amtrak Acelas / Regionals and the Lowell line our of North Station that MBTA shares with Amtrak Downeasters. A good station along the Providence line would be Mansfield while a good station on the Lowell Line would be Anderson RTC. I think it will be a challenge to get to and return from these venues within two hours of downtown Boston with a car, though.

Maybe you should have booked your business trip for Berea or Fostoria instead of Boston? ;-)

"...well, Boston, parking--not two words you want to use in the same sentence. "

Boston and parking are usually used in the same sentence with several adjectives and/or adverbs as modifiers -- none of which are suitable for family viewing!! My brother and father (both ministers) used to park at outlying stations and take the T into the city proper. It was easier and safer!!

Bruce

Greenbush line is very tough to shoot with angles and tough light in my opinion

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Marty Harrison
Knob Noster, MO

Here's an outbound Green Line car at Brookline Village on the Riverside (ex-B&A Highland) branch. Use your imagination to think of it as a bona fide train.

Ray

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North and South commuter rail stations yield timetables for the commuter rail lines that pass through that particular terminal,
that way you'll see how much wait time you have. there is another (maybe same as above) roadway to see all the rail traffic in and
out of north station as well as boston engine terminal. you need to take orange line northbound, get off at bunker hill community college (first station outside of tunnel) on the sidewalk outside, turn right and the tracks are a little way down the bridge.
photography at north and south stations can be tough, too many police and the engineers themselves tend to give you a hard time. high number platforms at south station are far away from the roving eyes.

Orange line southbound toward forest hills will give you access to south bound commuter rail, it parallels trains, (can't find my map) I believe Ruggles and Forest Hills have view from platform. Far end of forest hills platform gives a good view, and hardly
anybody ever there.

Riverside line (green/trolleys) is scenic and you don't have to go too far out. Reservoir has lots of activity, a car barn and
Beacon St line ends there. Have fun!
Frank30

Further Green Line notes--again, on the transit lines you're better off leaving the car behind.

Some of the D line stations are former B&A depots, two toned stone stations designed by HH Richardson. Newton Highlands comes to mind, but there's at least one other. Best to shoot these oncludy days or in low sunlight angles so that the stonework is not in shadow, but not so low that the entire scene gets shaded by trees. Ride the D out and back and take your choice.

The C line is in the middle of Commonwealth for a couple miles, nice architectural backdrops around on both sides. The station at Coolidge Corner is a good place to start. As somebody else noted, both the C and B look good in twilight, or even after dark if you have a tripod (or if you're willing to shoot with an Iphone.)

Enjoy, Boston is a fascinating town for a railfan even if it largely lacks freight trains.

march_hare Wrote:
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> Further Green Line notes--again, on the transit
> lines you're better off leaving the car behind.
>
> Some of the D line stations are former B&A depots,
> two toned stone stations designed by HH
> Richardson. Newton Highlands comes to mind, but
> there's at least one other. Best to shoot these
> oncludy days or in low sunlight angles so that the
> stonework is not in shadow, but not so low that
> the entire scene gets shaded by trees. Ride the D
> out and back and take your choice.
>
> The C line is in the middle of Commonwealth for a
> couple miles, nice architectural backdrops around
> on both sides. The station at Coolidge Corner is
> a good place to start. As somebody else noted,
> both the C and B look good in twilight, or even
> after dark if you have a tripod (or if you're
> willing to shoot with an Iphone.)
>
> Enjoy, Boston is a fascinating town for a railfan
> even if it largely lacks freight trains.


Yes.

The loop at Boston College (C line) is good because trains pulling out will have a number of different angles for the sunlight, and traffic signal protection. That can be an early morning shot.

For MBTA commuters, a good morning location is the Danvers River bridge near Salem, MA, on the line to Gloucester/Rockport. The Charles River drawbridge in Cambridge is excellent in the afternoon, and there's a public walkway that goes right over its northwest throat now.

In normal operations, all locomotives face AWAY from Boston on the MBTA commuters, so keep that in mind for your location/time-of-day choices unless you want to get a lot of cab-car and/or backlit shots.

Based on your constraints, forget about doing anything with Pan Am. They don't run a big volume of trains anywhere and what they do run can be quite variable as to when. This was true 25 years ago when it was still Guilford Transportation Industries; I got the impression that crew taxis rack up more miles than trains do.