CONRAIL BOSTON LINE

CONRAIL

This page will cover what was once as the Boston & Albany. Later becoming part of the vast New York Central System, the line runs between the two namesake cities. After Penn Central was incorporated into Conrail in 1976, the line was renamed the Boston Line. Today, the route is part of CSX.

The main station in Boston used by the NYC, later PC was South Station. The New Haven also served South Station.

My first visit to South Station was in 1978 and the new MBTA was using the old equipment left over from the 1950's. Even some Boston and Maine RDC's worked out of South Station. They were in better condition than PC's cars.

Having been bumped from their old D & H Adirondack trains, the four D & H PA's were leased for a short time to the MBTA in 1978 and worked the former B & A line to Framingham. Pulling old New Haven coaches, they made for very classy commuter trains.

An old New Haven GP-9 brings an inbound train at the throat of South Station.

The main freight yard in Boston is known as Beacon Park.

A couple of Geeps sit idling at Beacon Park in 1978.

Wellesley, Mass. 1990. 6610 on a short eastbound piggyback train.

Wellesley Farms Station

Wellesley Center

PA 18 with a three car local near Natick, MA. June 19, 1978.

Natick Station. 1990.

PA 16 departs the Framingham station. June 19, 1978.

PA 18 is ready to go at Framingham. Note the Checker cab.

Conrail 2015 is at the modest engine service area in Framingham. 1990.

A classic NYC stone depot at Ashland, MA.

Westboro, MA. October 1990.

Worcester, Mass. station in 1990. Fortunately the building was restored.

The old tower that controlled train movements in the Worcester area. An old interchange existed here between the Boston and Maine and the New Haven and both railroads operated passenger trains through here. Since the South and North Stations in Boston don't connect ( still !! ), through trains between New York and Portland, Maine passed through here.

Conrail and Guilford moved their interchange point to Ayer, Mass.

SD60 6849 accelerates out of town enroute to Boston. October 1990.

Amtrak F40 261 leads the westbound "Charter Oak" through Charlton, MA.

Two F40's bring the Boston section of the Lakeshore Limited through South Spencer, MA.

West Brookfield, Mass. in October 1990.

Big GE C-30-7 6560 rolls eastbound at West Brookfield.

Beautiful depot at Warren, MA. A classic New England community.

Sometimes you get lucky. SD60 6849, seen above going east earlier in the day, heads west through West Warren passing a wonderful classic New England mill in fall colors. October 6, 1990.

Palmer, Mass. Palmer is the location of the crossing of the former Central Vermont, now the New England Central. Conrail and the NEC interchange cars here and the Amtrak Vermonter changes direction here, as well. I say change direction as there is no direct connection from the eastbound Conrail main and the northward NEC main line. Amtrak trains use the southeast interchange track to go from one railroad to the other.

6849 has made a stop to work the interchange and then continues west in October 1990.

Springfield is the largest city between Boston and Albany. Amtrak operates trains over the old New Haven from here down to New Haven and then into New York. The Vermonter comes up from New Haven and turns east to Palmer to reach the old Central Vermont. The Boston and Maine ( now Guilford ) Connecticut River line comes into Springfield from the north and crosses the Boston Line on diamonds just east of the bridge over the Connecticut River.