Twin Ledges question

Many years back I went with a friend to Twin Ledges on the B&A out in the Berkshires. I'd like to go again, but have no idea how to get there. I think we parked near some antique caboose that was along the side of the tracks and we walked up the ROW for 1/2 mile or so to get to the ledges. It was a pretty hairy walk if I remember correctly as we had to cross a couple bridges over the Westfield River and there were also a couple tight spots where I would not want to have been standing had a train come around the corner. With all the added security these days and the RR's really cracking down on tresspassers, I'm wondering if this is still a place that is safe to visit? Is there another way up there? I believe we drove up Rt 20 near Becket or Middlefield to get there? Any directions, info or tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Visit this group to ask for specific driving directions.

The old caboose is near Milepost 130.5 / 131.0. I have never ventured up there by car, but to this day there are still many railfans up on the ledges and other scenic areas aong the mountain. Rte.20 does paralel the main, but not sure where to turn off to get to the old caboose, sorry.

When things are working properly in Selkirk how many trains does the B&A see a day?

Thanks for the info!

As for B&A traffic, it varies by day of the week, with Wed-Sat being the busiest, but when things are running normally, in a 24 hour period you'll have @ 9-10 Intermodal trains, 10 General freights and 4 Autorack trains, for a grand total of 23-24 trains. There are also Ballast trains during construction season, and occassional Unit Grain trains heading to Cargill at Ayer, MA. More rare but still run on occassion are Welded rail trains, the Circus train (which came in last week), Office car specials and high and wide dimensional trains carrying transformers and such. Of course there is also the Lake Shore Limited and possibley another Amtrak inland route train between Boston and Springfield (there was talk of Amtrak killing this - not sure if it happened yet?). As a general rule of thumb, the further West you go, the busier the line gets, with freight traffic picking up substantially at places like Framingham, Worcester and even West Springfiled to a degree. In other words, if you're looking for volume, you'd be much better off West of Worcester as opposed to somewhere in the Boston area. Hope that helps.

FYI: the inland-route run between Boston & Springfield by Amtak was cancelled a year ago.

Your best bet is to continue up Rt 20 to Rt 8 north. You will be looking for Upper Valley Road. At one point, you will come up to the bridge at the Twin Ledges where there is a signal/radio bungelow (Summit Hill Road?)

Just north of that is the area where the old station use to be and is a safe place to park. Just north of that is where the vehicle bridge(removed two years ago) at the summit is. You can still get semi-decent shots from there, just not as good as before. They left earthen bridge abutments there. (Bullards Crossing Road)

The caboose for all purposes is now off limits, and its for invited guests only. Rumor has it that the town brought up something unlreated last year and the owner thought it was directed towards him...so he made it off limits to everyone last I heard.

Area is still accessable from the former ROW/town road, just make sure you have a semi-high clearence vehicle for a couple of the rough spots (regualar pickup is just fine..no cars). Just watch for bears..I have come across a few while up there.

This was my old stomping grounds until Dec when I moved to the Southern Tier.