Aerial Report - Ayer to Mechanicville

Happy Father's Day to all fathers.

I picked up the PAR tracks around CPF 309 and headed west.

You can see it all for yourself here:

http://samayotte.com/PAS.html

Some notes:

The parking at the Ayer auto facility has been expanded.
Saw SEPO on the move.
Photographed the Milling's loop track (the endpoint for those grain extras).
The Hill Yard was packed! All kinds of power there.
I got a nice shot of the Ayer Wye. No rail fans in sight. That can't be right.

Saw 4 MBTA engines at Fitchburg.
Saw 4 PW engines at Gardner
Chased down POED
East Deerfield had plenty of power, and lots of open tracks.
Saw one rail fan at Zoar.
Caught up with MOAY at Eagle Bridge
The bridge over the Hudson River is being rebuilt and is down to a single track.

Mechanicville Yard appears to be just about done.
They're almost ready to begin unloading cars.
Remember when it was nothing more than single track in a sea of weeds?
Wow. What a transformation!

It's always a pleasure to look at your photos...Thank you for posting them!

The container picker from the south access road. The visible tracks are the run-through tracks.

Great photos and a very unique look at the railroad.

Great survey shots, thanks for posting. There are times when I wish I still owned my Cherokee (Piper, not Jeep). It was especially useful in late spring when the only snow remaining was on abandoned rights-of-way - just like a white line on a map.

PBM

Are they adding or removing a track at the Hudson River bridge?

Rebuilding the entire bridge, one track at a time.