Vintage Budd Fantrip? (1955 Concord Branch)

Was given this print a long time ago. What do you think - fan trip ? The fact that just a couple of guys have cameras makes me wonder, plus no photo line. Some of the gear looks like hockey equipment...but it's out in the wilderness ! I suspect it's western Mass in the Berkshires. Thanks for looking.

Maybe this isn't what you were referring to, but the thing that looks like a hockey stick standing on end is a flanger sign, which alerted crews of plow trains to raise flanger blades when approaching things like switches and bridge guard rails that might snag them.

Otherwise, I'm an old guy but not quite that old! The pre-McGinnis logos suggest a date in the early 1950s, and my guess is a Mass Bay RRE fantrip on some branchline. The mainline through the Berkshires was all double track in those days with phone lines along the ROW, and this appears to be single track with no wires.

Yes, that is what I was looking at. Thanks, Tom. I'm still not sure that it's a fan trip. Most everbody seems to be heading away from the RDC. Unfortunately, I have no way to check. The guy that took this shot I believe, my cousin, recently passed away after suffering from the effects of Agent Orange for most of his life. He was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War.

3rdrail-
There could be a white flag on the far Budd even though the pilot on the near one has been doing some plowing and the cab is crowded. The people seem too well-dressed for skiing, but the clothing seems down a notch or two from the usual shipper/brass excursion, so that makes the photo seem more like it's of a fan trip. The MBRRE Callboy just finished a cataloging of Mass. Bay fan trips (which I no longer have) and there might be some help there.
If only more time, effort, and money had been spent treating Agent Orange instead of initially denying it...

This was an RRE fan trip that took place on March 6, 1955. The trip ran from Boston, up the Lincoln Branch out of Concord, NH. At Tilton the train ran down what was left of the F&T (Franklin and Tilton) branch to the end of track near Franklin Falls, which is where this photograph was taken. Returning to Tilton, the trip continued to Lincoln. The East Branch & Lincoln had both of their steam locomotives out to meet the train, and gave rides around the yard on #3 and #5 in the middle of a snowstorm. My Dad and his friend Preston Johnson both rode the trip with their wives that day. The RDC's used that day were 6104 and 6105. See the color shot below;

Best regards,
Wayne Hills

Thanks Wayne - that clears that one up ! What a great fan trip that must have been ! (They don't make 'em like that anymore !)

Fantastic photos, guys! 3rdrail, you took the words right out of my mouth: "What a great fan trip that must have been!"

Wow! Two photos, same angle, different photographers! Thanks for coming forward with the great color shot and the into! I was going to guess it was a Ski Train to North Conway...

-otto-

As a postscript, the 6104/5 only had Minuteman heralds for a relatively short time. I believe RDCs prior to the 1955 order were delivered with plain ends and got Minutemans in late 1954 or early 1955. All had their ends painted white with BM heralds by McGinnis in the winter of 1956/7.

Wow, those shots are great! Probably one of only a few times that RDCs ran on the Franklin Falls line.

Does anyone know if RDCs ever ran on the White Mountains Line between Plymouth and Woodsville before it was abandoned?

I find it interesting that there only seem to be one or two people who appear in both photos. Of course both photographers might appear in the others that is tricky to figure out. The guy with the deer hide colored camera bag may be the fellow just to the right of the visible photographer in the first photo. Certainly appears to be wearing a flat cap.

I keep wondering where they are all headed. They don't seem to be milling around just looking at the RDC's nor do they seem to be forming a photo line. They seem to be walking down a path to the left towards somewhere. I wonder if there was/is a railroad attraction nearby ? Abandoned ROW/wreck/water tower ? Would there be a place for a lunch stop somewhere nearby ?

Maybe the two photographers were standing in a photo line and the folks in the picture are stragglers moving away from the train.