Visiting Springfield

I will be staying in Northampton for a few days in July. I am totally unfamiliar with this area but believe there is a good deal of activity in nearby Springfield. I would like to get pix of freight with industry in the background or perhaps a station or a bridge and especially short line locomotives. Can someone suggest where I might be able to see and photograph such activity? Thanks

If you have the use of a car I would suggest Palmer rather than Springfield because for one thing it is far safer, you have the Steamin Tender Restaurant in the old station at the diamond where the New England Central crosses CSX and I don't think anybody will bother you there either. The only activity you will get in Springfield and not Palmer is the Amtrak Shuttle trains around the station otherwise Palmer has it too.
Noel Weaver

Thanks. I had no idea Springfield might not be a good area to hang around. Will the new England Central be running on a Saturday?

Like most of urban Massachusetts, Springfield isn't as dangerous as it used to be, especially if you're careful. South of the tracks/downtown is pretty safe; I wouldn't go too far north of the tracks, though the bus station is right there if you want to eat.

However, there's not much to photograph. The station is on a high grade, so except for shots of trains going over the Main Street viaduct you can't get much from the ground. The station layout is not very railfan-friendly-either; the waiting room don't have much of a track view. As an Amtrak-owned station, you are supposed to have a ticket to photograph from the station platforms, and there is usually a cop there.

The old station is blocked off by fences for restoration. In a few years, it'll be a nice target for photography on its own, and the track views may be better.

I live in Holyoke....

Here is what I do........

Springfield MA......you can railfan on the platform at the station
you can railfan in the parking lot of the car wash/oil change place next to the yard
you can railfan at the west end of the yard by the gas place.
you can railfan along the river by the old station
you can walk the walkway and railfan on the bridge

I have NEVER had an issue in any of the above places.

Holyoke MA........you can chase/follow the Valley Line Pan Am run.
you may see Pioneer Valley run into downtown, although I have lived here for 17 months and caught them ONCE

No problems here either......

Deerfield MA.........Pan Am Yard.......the bridge and next to the yard on the dirt. Stay off the tracks.

You can chase Pan Am north from SPG or south from Deerfield
You can chase Amtrak/CSOR south from SPG

Palmer MA........Steaming Tender.......NECR, Amtrak, CSX and MassCentral.
Get there around 11AM and by 4PM you'll have a nice full card.

Worcester MA if you want to drive the hour will give you P&W, CSX, The T and Amtrak.....

Have a great time!

If you're not already doing it, some reconning by Gearth might be a good idea as ways to establish routes, potential sites, build familiarity, and particularly with layers enabled, to help determine shadow times if your'e going to be photographing. Dunno about Tom-Tom, but Garmin does show most rail lines.

Noel Weaver wrote:If you have the use of a car I would suggest Palmer rather than Springfield because for one thing it is far safer...

I think notions of safety are best left to personal determination... Also, I don't know what parts of Springfield Noel is hanging out in, but I've never had a problem during my visits to either the Amtrak station or CSX West Springfield Yard entrance.

-otto-

Springfield is no more or less safe than any large city. Certain spots you don't go after dark. Use your street smarts and you'll be fine. If anything the area around the station is one of the highest patrolled areas of the city due to the large amount of clubs and bars in the area.

In 2011 Springfield ranked in the Top 15 most dangerous cities by someone's reckoning: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/ ... ost_d.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's still safer than New Haven, apparently!

Springfield has some nasty neighborhoods, but the one around the station is not one of them. It's in the business district which is an active area... probably not at 3 AM, but there are no trains then anyway! Also, as noted above by Mr. Ege, there is usually an Amcop on duty.

In West Springfield, the east end of the old B&A yard is right beside a public road, and several other roads offer other views into the yard. I don't think they do much switching there anymore, though.

TomNelligan wrote:Springfield has some nasty neighborhoods, but the one around the station is not one of them. It's in the business district which is an active area... probably not at 3 AM, but there are no trains then anyway! Also, as noted above by Mr. Ege, there is usually an Amcop on duty.

FWIW, about 8 years ago, my father and grandfather and I were driving in the area of the West Springfield yard. Someone shot at my 4Runner with a beebee gun, and it hit the side of my door about 3 inches below the window. So while it might not seem bad from visual appearance, its not without potential for issues...

Yikes! I'm glad no one was hurt.

On the other hand, you're probably just as likely to get shot at with BBs if you drive through some rural backwater town in the middle of nowhere, where the kids have nothing to do with their time other than go muddin' in their four-wheelers and shoot stuff.

bwparker1 wrote:

TomNelligan wrote:Springfield has some nasty neighborhoods, but the one around the station is not one of them. It's in the business district which is an active area... probably not at 3 AM, but there are no trains then anyway! Also, as noted above by Mr. Ege, there is usually an Amcop on duty.

FWIW, about 8 years ago, my father and grandfather and I were driving in the area of the West Springfield yard. Someone shot at my 4Runner with a beebee gun, and it hit the side of my door about 3 inches below the window. So while it might not seem bad from visual appearance, its not without potential for issues...

And two years ago I was mugged in Hartford. So what's your point?