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  • State Line Railroad on NY/MA line in Berkshires?

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

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 #1611613  by sextant
 
I found a abandoned in place railroad between Pittsfield MA & Troy NY W
SW of Williamstown MA on some old USGS maps called “ State Line Railroad” I visited the site a few years back and it was being used to store old Metra Commuter Cars anyone know about this 1 mile long railroad oddity?
 #1611653  by Allouette
 
The Rutland's Chatham branch was pulled up in 1953/1954. There was a Boston & Albany branch from Pittsfield to North Adams operated for a time by B&M. A stub is in place from North Adams south to Adams.
 #1611654  by Train60
 
sextant wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 7:41 pm I found a abandoned in place railroad between Pittsfield MA & Troy NY W
How about dropping a Pin on the location on Google Maps and then sharing the link.(1) That would help a lot.

(1) Open Google Maps on your browser, find the location, left click on the location, click on the "share"icon in the dialog box that pops up, click on "copy link." Then paste the link in a new post here.
Last edited by Train60 on Wed Dec 07, 2022 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #1611655  by NHV 669
 
Allouette wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 5:15 pm The Rutland's Chatham branch was pulled up in 1953/1954. There was a Boston & Albany branch from Pittsfield to North Adams operated for a time by B&M. A stub is in place from North Adams south to Adams.

These are the only two abandoned lines I see in that vicinity; the story doesn't add up. Both stretches were torn up before Metra or Metro North's existence.
 #1611677  by shadyjay
 
When I went on a railfan excursion back in c 2010 or so on the Housatonic's Berkshire Line, we passed a string of stored double decked commuter cars (they may be METRA) somewhere between Lee and Great Barrington. Not sure if they are still there, or if this is what the OP was talking about.
 #1611712  by F74265A
 
Ronald kart’s lost railroads of New England shows the “state line branch” of the NH/housatanoc that ran from roughly great barrington heading nnw to meet the B&A main at State Line. Looks like it was abandoned in the very early 1960s
 #1611734  by sextant
 
Found it!!State Line Rd MA102 and NY 22 and I 90 converge here as also the main line of the Boston and Albany(CSX,Conrail,NYC) the abandoned in place (as of 2010) route goes to West StockBridge. 1940s USGS map shows a railroad going from the State Line to West Stockbridge but the 1970s map does not show it...But yes there is a unicorperated village of "State Line MA"
 #1614455  by jbvb
 
The New Haven had a branch off the Pittsfield line starting somewhere around Housatonic and ending at an interchange with the B&A/NYC timetabled as State Line. It existed so the NH could get better rate divisions vs. the B&A, plus possibly better grades and avoiding congestion in downtown Pittsfield. AFAIK it was always freight-only, maybe except for special moves.

IIRC it was abandoned when its track condition caused a derailment of some size and NH management decided the revenue gained wasn't worth the cost to rebuild it. State Line Berkshire County MA is in a 1960 Official Guide It isn't listed in a 1964 ETT. It looks like the track went under I-90 at Moscow Rd. in West Stockbridge, passed west of Depot St., along Shaker Pond. Jennifer Ln. appears to be the old roadbed, which next crossed the Flat Brook WMA.
 #1614510  by Douglasphil
 
Just a bit off topic , has anyone else tried to access the NHRR valuation maps at UConn recently ? I've tried a few weeks ago , partly due to this particular topic and found that access is denied . For a long time it was available to the public but now requires some type of account.