Photographing Mattapan-Ashmont

I'll be coming down from Maine sometime in the next month to photograph this relic of a line. Can you offer some choice photography spots?

Capen Street for sure. It is the stop before Mattapan.

The stop is one of 2 street crossings on the line. The other, Central Avenue, is the 3rd stop from Ashmont heading toward Mattapan.

The bike path following much of the route allows for good photography of the line.


Also where the bike path passes under the elevated line (near Capen?), go up on the embankment and you can get a good close up photo of the trolleys running high speed.

The "elevated line", do you mean where the trolleys go ovr an old bridge in the cemetary?

^
yeah, sorry...I wasnt really sure how to describe where it was since there are few landmarks nearby.

Is the bikepath the former New Haven branch off the Old Colony line - the path that winds its way around the former Neponset Drive In? Where does the path end?

Yes Paul, the bike path (with some modifications) IS, for the most part, the RofW of the former New Haven RR's Milton Branch.

I believe it winds it's way eastward along the Neponset River towards Dorchester Bay, goes under the distressway, and ends at Tenean (sp?) Beach, but I'm not 100% sure of that. It may continue further.

Paul

Unless you're with a group, I recommend avoiding Mattapan station itself. It is probably one of the most dangerous stations on the entire MBTA system. Last time I was there, I noticed an unsavory-looking character eyeing my camera. He followed me onto the inbound trolley, and I caught him again looking at me on the Ashmont Red Line platform. I didn't feel safe until I boarded a Green Line car at Park Street and knew he wasn't on board.

To second the comments above, I consider Capen Street the best spot on the line. I've always liked Milton and Cedar Grove stations as well. I'd also recommend a few shots of PCC's looping around at Ashmont - after reconstruction begins this year, the current track layout through the station will be gone and a new trolley loop will be built at the south end of the station.

Jim

Mattapan is as safe as any station - just watch out for yourself. I don't want to run afoul of any T police anyhow, so I want to stay off T property. I may shoot the plow (still there?) at Mattapan and then retreat to Milton.

I second that Mattapan is safe - I've been there many times with my camera, and never had any problems. YMMV

I too agree with Mattapan being safe.

Another reason why I suggested Capen Street as well as Central Avenue is because there are a few different angles that you can shoot in each direction while being on publice property (the street).

Mattapan is an excellent place for photos, but i would definately bring a friend along. You can argue to death the safety of the station, but you cannot tell me ashmont is safe when its the most popular station on the news. and dorchester is undoubtably a bad area, and i wouldnt want to be subject to the potential dangers on the mattapan-ashmont line.

also, may I recomend Charles/MGH. It is a very popular spot, you can see the trains descend off of the longfellow bridge into the station, and out of the tunnel from the outbound platform.

And the Snow plow and wire car are still there.

Before I knew about MBTA's photo policy I took maybe 100 photos of most of the line and no one said anything to me. I took quite a few pictures and video of the PCC's on the loops at Mattapan and Ashmont as well as inside one of the cars at the end of the line. My camera is tiny but they had to have seen it.


Here's a great aerial picture of the Ashmont station from the MBTA website under "projects in design":
http://www.mbta.com/projects_underway/i ... isting.jpg