While Cristina was at the wedding shower, my original plans were to ride my bike—either road bike/rail trail biking or mountain biking at Pittsfield. A huge rainstorm the day before and early morning nasty gray clouds put the kibosh on those ideas, so I opted instead to sniff out--via car and foot--this section of the old Rutland railroad line:
Old Chatham
An old embankment on the Berkshire spur just north of Old Chatham intrigued me a while ago to start some preliminary research: Chatham Division of the Rutland Railroad
Old Chatham is a quaint little village that required a trip on Peaceful Valley Road--rather than the Mass Pike and Berkshire Spur--when traveling westward from Stockbridge. Once you duck under the Berkshire Spur, you encounter vestiges of the Rutland rail crossing.
Old Chatham is a quaint little village that required a trip on Peaceful Valley Road--rather than the Mass Pike and Berkshire Spur--when traveling westward from Stockbridge. Once you duck under the Berkshire Spur, you encounter vestiges of the Rutland rail crossing.
railroad crossing |
Curiosity next led me down Depot Lane and I was quickly rewarded!
Depot Lane |
My first discovery was a steam engine in a local’s driveway! I was fortunate to met and chat with the homeowners Bill and Holly Logan who explained it was actually made out of styrofoam and the rear simulates the remnants of an explosion. How cool!
Exploded Stream Engine (sculpture) |
Hanging between the trees is another art object called "viewfinder":
"Viewfinder" |
The Logans also informed me that right across the street was the old depot. I was once again fortunate to meet the owner—Joe Finn—and we had a nice chat including a gift of a spike he had from the line [he is also a jazz guitarist so of course we chatted about music as well :-)]. He was very knowledgeable of the history of the line and pointed out the foundation of an old milk factory. The Poulin historical photo, taken right before abandonment illustrates the sidings between the station and the milk factory. It its heyday, Old Chatham was a hopping place :-)
Old Chatham Depot |
Old Chatham Depot (1953) Poulin Photo collection |
Milk Factory Foundation |
The ROW (looking south) |
Yep - there's railroad ties! |
Lastly, these friendly locals informed me that the old ROW was navigable more or less all the way to Chatham. I will be back with my mountain bike to put together a detailed photo overview :-)
Chatham
I was getting hungry and realizing a mountain bike ride at another date would be the best bet for documenting the ROW, I headed straight for Chatham. As I pulled into the Brewery, I had the good fortune of catching a 3-header CSX come thundering by. (Actually I think it was a 5-header - I rushed out of the car to get a snapshot and only 3 engines are shown here.)
CSX Freight Train |
Lunch consisted of a beer sampler and local grass-fed beef burger. Mmm… mmm… good.
Chatham Brewery Beer Sampler |
Chatham, NY |
West Stockbridge
Travel took me once again thru West Stockbridge and another curious turn off on Depot Road took me to what I believed might have been a train station. Later—upon online research—I realized that the larger coffee shop /restaurant just a bit further was the old passenger station (according to their website).
Stockbridge
The wedding shower was held in the majestic Red Lion Inn. It’s a beautifully-preserved relic from the past. I had a special treat awaiting me on the wall - an 1855 historical map detailing the old railroad lines. Once again - How Cool!
The Red Lion Inn |
Cris and I returned home via Rt 7. We first stopped at the North Canaan Railroad Station. Its in sorry shape now but will be renovated.
North Canaan Station |
The view north |
Stone Wall Farm
Heading south from Canaan, Route 7 is really scenic as is hugs the Housatoninc River winding its way thru the Litchfield Hills. Our next stop was at Stone Wall Farms - a lovely community farm just north of Kent Falls State Park. We picked up some raw milk and local honey. (Once back home, Cris made me a cup of warmed raw milk with the honey - it was delicious!)
Kent
Further south, a steam locomotive beckons you from the side - the still active Housatonic Railroad parallels the road here. The museum looks kinda of interesting!
Housatonic Rail Line |
While wandering to the trackside of the station I heard the mellow sounds of a jazz guitar and discovered this old converted passenger car is a guitar shop! Kent CT rocks!
Further Info
Chatham Division of the Rutland RailroadThe Chatham Division, The "Corkscrew"
Filmmaker captures history of ‘Corkscrew Railroad’ in DVD
Union Station (Chatham, New York)
1858 Map of Columbia County, New York
1873 Historic Map of Columbia County, New York
The Poulin Collection
^ Great Collection of Rutland Railroad Photos
Waiting for a train (Stockbridge)
^ I have got to check out the Stockbridge station sometime!
Housatonic Rwy State Line Branch (Berkshire RR) abandoned 1964
I love Corkscrew Division of the Rutland Railroad. There is a local history museum for the Corkscrew (or was) on the street that leads to Stewarts. My brother-in-law owns a place up there and we frequently ride direct roads and of course go to the brewery. I even have a cycling jersey from the Brewery.
ReplyDeleteYes Columbia County is nice - I am looking forward to going back and doing more exploring AND riding! [PS Liked the Stout and NorEastah the best]...
DeleteTry the Farmer's Daughter, next time! (The Beer of Course)
DeleteAlso, shouldn't the title be Chatham and not Chatman?
ReplyDeleteMark - Thank You - this post was sloppy :-( - made a few corrections Thank You :-)
DeleteLooks like you had a fun day, Rich! Not only is that a beautiful area, but it has a very rich railroad history. Check out the dialogue Russ Nelson and I have had in "Railroads Near Or in Sight of the NYC State Thruway" posts in Railroad.Net. The B&A (CSX) between Chatham and the Mass. border does not entirely lie on its original roadbed!
ReplyDeleteDoug -- Yes - I saw the thread (in response to my original posting (Thu Dec 05, 2013 ) )
DeleteThe ITO map has it: approx.loc Hudson & Berkshire (abandoned @1860)
http://product.itoworld.com/map/26?lon=-73.45965&lat=42.38968&zoom=12&open_sidebar=clickthrough_wrapper
Interesting stuff for sure!
I've never seen that map before --- very helpful! I've got to explore that old roadbed sometime.
ReplyDelete