Hoosac Tunnel to Troy, NY

So the Troy & Boston was primarily a passenger line connecting to the Fitchburg line, it seems likely that there was not much commercial freight coming from Troy on the T&B.
So where was most of the freight coming from? Much further west?
My assumption was that the Hoosac Tunnel was made to connect with the Erie canal, but perhaps by the time the tunnel was finally completed 25 years later, the canal wasn't playing the important role it was at the outset of the project.
I'm interested in finding the origin of any freight in the albany/troy/cohoes area that rode the Fitchburg line, I'm working on a photo essay of the Fitchburg the line, and the towns along the line. I was thinking that my travels would stop at albany/troy, but perhaps I will be traveling further west.

The B & M did get down to the Hudson River. It had a line called the Adams Street railway which went to the Hudson somewhere around River Street. I believe the trackage was either in the street or beside it. The plan I saw, quite old, had a lot of trackage there. The Adams Street trackage was south of Union Station. The City of Troy was anxious to have the railroads move out of the downtown area and demolish Union Station. With the termination of the remaining paasenger operations in Troy, B & M 1958, D & H and NYC about the same time, this goal was realized. However, the Rutland was using B & M-NYC trackage rights to reach Chatham, NY via Troy. As long as the Rutland operated, trains continued to run right through the downtown section of Troy. The Rutland shut down for good during the 1961 strike; the Vermont section was bought by the State of Vermont, but the trackage rights expired. By about 1963 or 1964 the B & M/NYC connection at Troy was broken and the B & M sold its Adams Street railway trackage to the New York Central.

ThinkNarrow wrote:The author of "A Pinprick of Light" was Carl R. Byron. The book was published by The New England Press, Shelburne, Vermont, which is evidently now defunct. This book was expanded and revised from a book published by Stephen Greene Press in 1978. The copyright on the current version is 1995, and the ISBN is 1-881535-17-7. It is 144 pages long and has over 90 pictures and drawings. It's a fascinating read. The price back in 1995 was $16.95; it is now available through Amazon for prices ranging from $35 to over $200!

-John

I do believe there are still some copies available through the Boston and Maine Historical Society at a reasonable price unlike $200.00..

eddiebehr wrote:The B & M did get down to the Hudson River. It had a line called the Adams Street railway which went to the Hudson somewhere around River Street. I believe the trackage was either in the street or beside it. The plan I saw, quite old, had a lot of trackage there. The Adams Street trackage was south of Union Station. The City of Troy was anxious to have the railroads move out of the downtown area and demolish Union Station. With the termination of the remaining paasenger operations in Troy, B & M 1958, D & H and NYC about the same time, this goal was realized. However, the Rutland was using B & M-NYC trackage rights to reach Chatham, NY via Troy. As long as the Rutland operated, trains continued to run right through the downtown section of Troy. The Rutland shut down for good during the 1961 strike; the Vermont section was bought by the State of Vermont, but the trackage rights expired. By about 1963 or 1964 the B & M/NYC connection at Troy was broken and the B & M sold its Adams Street railway trackage to the New York Central.

Interestingly, the trackage on the Hudson River waterfront is shown on the 1925 USGS map but does not appear on the 1893 survey. Whatever it was, I don't think it was used to interchange with the canal.

FYI,
I found that the North Adams Museum of History and Science, located in the western gateway heritage park in North Adams, has copies of "A Pinprick of Light".
I picked up a copy yesterday for $16.95. They also have interesting displays related to the city.
The nearby visitor center at the heritage park has many displays about the Hoosac Tunnel, and the railroading era of the region, so it makes for a good sunday afternoon destination.