Boston on a Hot Hot Day

Posted on August 8, 2012August 8, 2012 by Dusty Roads

A couple of weeks ago my friend Nancy and I made plans to meet in Boston for the day. She is a college professor and she only had morning classes. I wanted to get some pictures of Boston landmarks for my photo cards. I figured I’d go into town early, grab as many shots as I could then meet Nancy for the afternoon.

Well, let me just say that going into Boston is never an easy jaunt. In fact it annoys me so much it’s hard to believe people do it daily for work. Trying to be frugal I decided to take the “T”. I timed my departure (I thought I was being so smart) for 9:30 am to miss the rush hour traffic on Rts 24 and 93. Well that part worked . Traffic was heavy but moving and I found a parking spot on the 5th level of the Quincy Adams Parking garage…inside…so the sun would not be turning the car into an oven. So far, so good.

10:00 am I’m in front of the Charlie Card machine and I hear a train pull into the station. I grabbed my ticket and ran for the platform…too late it had loaded and was just pulling out. Boy that was quick! No problem though. Trains run about every 10-15 minutes at that time of day. Sure enough it wasn’t long before another train pulled into the station. It was pretty empty and I got a seat right away. Only 10:15. I expected to be in town by 10:45 which would give me an hour to shoot pics before meeting Nancy.

But here’s where things began to fall apart. We seemed to be waiting longer and longer at each stop. Finally just before we got into Boston proper we stopped completely between stations. Now we got an announcement that there were “switching” problems at Park St. As soon as they got the train in front of us out of the way we’d be on our way. Tick Tock Tick Tock…I could hear the clock ticking in my mind.

Finally moving again we made it to Boylston but then we sat again. By now it was after 11:00 am So much for a free hour for my photo shoot.

Originally I was going to get off at Park St. Take pictures of the Boston Gardens and then walk over to the Aquarium taking pictures as I went. Now pulling into Park it was almost 11:15 and it was HOT…a record setter and HUMID. I decided I might as well take the train to Government Center and switch to the Blue line to get to the waterfront where I was meeting Nancy.

I’m not sure how I messed up. Probably faulty memory since there were no maps posted in the T car I was in but somehow I got twisted around and ended up over by The Rehab Hospital and the old Jail, the Science Museum and Esplanade on the Green Line. I got off and changed platforms to back track.

Finally on the Blue Line I made it to the Aquarium Station. Stepping onto the street was like walking into a solid wall of humid heat.

It was so extreme it took my breath away.

The various trolley companies all have ticket booths right there so I stopped by the Olde Town Trolley booth for a short chat.

JR used to work for them once upon a time so I have a soft spot for them. But aside from personal prejudice I do feel they do the best job for the money.

Ghosts and Gravestones is Olde Town’s Ghostly tour. Love their promos! Halloween all year ’round! But I imagine the young lady was pretty warm in those volumes of skirts.

Leaving the trolleys behind I noticed that Boston has continued to move into the eco-friendly realm with bicycle rentals. A very nice idea.

By now I was soaked with perspiration and feeling very uncomfortable. I found a nice outdoor bar on the wharf and plunked myself there to wait.

My icy cold club soda arrived at the same time Nancy stepped out of the T station. As I went to meet her the waiter reminded me to “stay hydrated”. Got it! I sure will.

It was time to put our heads together and make a game plan to survive the heat.

Essex Steam Train and River Boat Ride

Posted on August 3, 2012August 3, 2012 by Dusty Roads

Just because I’m back home doesn’t mean I’m sitting around resting on my laurels or anything else. No indeed not. It has been a very busy summer so far. I’ve been lamenting that I haven’t once been down to Chatham to chase seals or great white sharks, or to Bristol to check on the Osprey nest. Even my Great Blue Heron at Oliver Mill Park seems to have given upon me. I haven’t seen him at all since the out of control kayaker nearly ran him down.

One of the things I wanted to do this year was check out the Essex Steam Train in Connecticut. I was waiting for the summer schedule when they had a combination train and riverboat ride. It seemed like the best use of time and money to do both. When I saw the schedule online on my return from my mini vacation I jumped on the chance to go.

The cost was quite reasonable. An adult ticket was only $26.00 for the combo. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I came prepared. My GPS delivered me right to the station where signs directed me to the gravel parking area.

I gave myself plenty of time because I wanted to get lunch out-of-the-way and in case I got lost. The Trackside Cafe was open in a vintage railcar.

They had pre made sandwiches in a cooler and hot dogs on a hot dog rotisserie. I opted for the hot dog, a bag of chips and a diet coke. Why is it that hot dogs taste so much better when you’re on an excursion of some kind. Anyway I enjoyed the ambiance of the little railcar while I ate my hot dog then went exploring.

The gift shop was tiny but across the way was a model train museum.

The sign welcomed me to Little River Junction. It had a wonderful model train that you could play with. It wasn’t just a display behind a glass window. The multiple trains could be run at the same time and the various villages lit with glowing windows and miniature attractions. Really fun.

Outside, as I waited for the train , I met a fellow who was dressed rather outlandishly playing a ukulele.

He said hello so I answered. That broke the ice. He is “Ramblin’ Joe” a sort of street entertainer.

I think when it’s busy his role is to keep the waiting passengers entertained and answer questions for them. He is certainly hard to miss!

The train pulled into the station and the passengers from the earlier trip stepped out. Then the engine was uncoupled, driven back to the front of the train and recoupled to take us out for our ride. That process was pretty interesting and brought out the serious train buffs to photograph the whole process.

My seat was in the open air car. Passengers in this car are warned that this is a real steam engine and cinders and soot may fly into the windows and trust me, it did!

I paid special attention to the route and where the train crossed major roads or streets in case I want to “Chase the train” sometime. That’s how you get the great shots of a steaming locomotive traveling down the tracks. We stopped to let people off for Gillette Castle and another stop at Deep River Landing.

We passed several marshes and conservation areas that looked like interesting places to go bird watching but it was hard to get decent pictures from the moving train.

At the end of the line they did the recoupling again and we started back. I was wondering when and how the River Boat came into the equation when I saw the boat from the train window. Pretty soon we were at Deep River Landing again and they were telling us to get off the train for the Riverboat ride.

We could clearly see the riverbot as she approached the dock but our attention was soon diverted to the process of climbing down from the train.

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All Aboard!

Posted on January 12, 2012January 12, 2012 by Dusty Roads

The White Flags on the Engine indicate this is a “special train”.

Final Thoughts on Steam in the Snow

Posted on January 11, 2012January 11, 2012 by Dusty Roads

This was a great experience and now that I’ve done it once and learned what it’s about, I am putting it on my calendar for next year too. Maybe then I’ll get my “Money Shot”.

Some people choose to follow the train in their own cars. These folks are called “chasers”. With the mild weather we had there were a lot of them.

The Snow Train crossing a vintage trestle bridge.

North Conway is a pretty town. We headed to dinner at sunset. Although with the heavy cloud cover there was no “sunset” the lighted ski trails on the mountain made up for it.

Steam in the Snow 2012

Posted on January 10, 2012January 10, 2012 by Dusty Roads

The “Steam in the Snow” is a special Charter by the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts (Mass Bay RRE). This special train is chartered from the Conway Scenic Railroad. According to the handouts this continues a tradition that was begun in 1934! This is called a Fantrip which is a trip made just to observe and photograph the railroad operations.

The route for this trip was from North Conway to Notchland by diesel and back to North Conway pulled by the steam engine. The return trip includes the photo stops, the main reason I was on this trip.

At a photo stop the passengers who are interested in taking pictures get off the train. A photo line is set up that we aren’t supposed to cross. Then the train is backed up out of sight so that it can be run back by us for photos. After the “run by” everyone climbs back onto the train until the next stop.

There were 300 passengers on this trip which according to the “Car host” was a lot. The photo stops were crowded because a photo club brough 35 members for a class of which photographing the train was the subject. You could spot the class members. Most of them were using tripods. I had been warned not to take a tripod as it would be too crowded.

The organizers tried to split the photographers into 2 groups and do 2 run-bys each stop but it was taking too long to get everyone on and off the train. I was getting a lot of heads in the pictures until about the third stop when I decided to get aggressive. I started asking people to let me get in the front row and then I got on my knees so they could “Shoot” over my head.

My “picture of the day” was actually taken after the train left a tunnel. Everyone was crowded right at the tunnel entrance. I gave up trying to get a position in that mob so I went on down the tracks and knelt down on the berm that sloped down from the tracks. I was pretty close to the tracks but no one yelled at me to move so I stayed. What an adrenaline rush! I could feel the ground shake and the wind as the train rushed by almost knocked me over…but I got the shot! I think If I’d have been standing it would have been instinctive to back away as the train approached. But by being on my knees I was committed! No time to move.

Although I got that picture and few others, none reached the standard I was trying for. That just means that I will have to go back again next year.

We had dinner at Rafferty’s in North Conway before we all piled back into the bus for the ride home. A long but satisfying day was wrapping up. The sun hadn’t cooperated but it had been pretty warm for January. The overcast made for nice even lighting for the pictures.