 |
Gary and I need your help...... Once upon a time I went for a long ride and stumbled across this. It was west of Gardner, east of Greenfield, south of Rte. 2. It was behind another building where I had stopped to take a photo of something else. Clearly a depot moved from it's original location, it was on cement blocks awaiting an uncertain fate. It got my attention real fast! I had a nice analog camera with me, and took this photo. Then I got in my truck and drove off, not giving it much thought. Recently I was scanning some old analog
photos, and came across it again, and became curious. So.... What IS this? Where did I take it? Clearly it's in B&M cream and maroon. I forget just where I was. (Shhh. I was with an old girlfriend that I don't talk about any more. We were just out for a long ride, taking pics of whatever we saw.) It looks an awful lot like the post
card image of nearby Shelburne Falls, Mass depicted below. So that
is my guess.
Can anyone out there tell us two
things: Where is this now, and what depot is it? You
can e-mail me at "mail at stevefisk dot net", if you think
you have any info that would be of use. We would appreciate it. :-)
-Steve Fisk ------------------------------------
Some news about this one......... A rail enthusiast named Alden lives out that way, and he tells Gary and me of an e-mail conversation about this mystery. (Alden is very very knowledgeable about this stuff, and what he says is highly credible.)
"The cream and maroon mystery depot, I'm 98% certain is the B&M station in the Village of Turners Falls located in the Town of Montague. I never paid much attention to it but drove by fairly often and it looks so familiar! It was probably moved to make room for the shopping center that is now located in the area and then either was burned or torn down. Ah, that sounds quite right."
Are you saying you remember seeing this, but now it's gone?
"Yes,I never paid much attention to it as I was busy working on an active railroad. But I drove by it for years meaning to stop and see if there was anything left inside but never did. And it just disappeared. oh, let's check that SHORELINER...V20#2... no, nothing but some neat maps. no photos. I'll ask my friends next tuesday at lunch if I remember..."
Thank you, Alden! (I am more intrigued than ever.)
Update: Phil Johnson has also written to say, "Turners Falls, MA B&M depot. It is gone now, but I think it was that one in your picture. I did not take and pix when the TF station was standing, but I remember it as looking like that. It was on the main drag in Turners, Avenue A, near the grocery store parking, behind the TV store. I believe this is the same one. I think you took the picture from it's "moved to" Location. It was not moved far, the tracks ran near there until abandonment. I have lived in Greenfield since 1986, and 'found' it on my journeys around the area." (Thanks, Phil!) So it would seem that "Turner's Falls" is what this depot is/was. That being the case, the mystery becomes "What became of it?" Clearly, this picture shows that it was moved and stored on blocks. Would this be done only to destroy it later? Why bother? Seems to me more likely that it was moved yet again. If so- is this someone's house now? Or what? Another aspect of this mystery is "Where exactly did I take this picture- and what is there now?" Could the depot still be right where I photographed it over a decade ago? Hmmmm.. --------------------------------And this just in.... 1/18/05 I just received an e-mail about this station from someone who saw this page "That is
the Turners Falls depot. It was verified for me by a former B&M
worker. -Buddy W.
Thank you so much, Buddy. (I have asked Buddy to forward his pics so I can add them here.) So it would seem that this is/was in fact the freight depot at Turner's Falls, Mass. And the riddle is of course only partly solved. We know now what it was. But what happened to it after I took this photo? Seems odd that someone would go to the trouble of storing it on blocks- only to destroy it. So where is it now if it still exists? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/25/05 But wait! There's more. (You just knew there would be, right?) So here is the thing. I got to thinking about this one. (OK, "Obsessing". ;-) I searched my hard drive, and come to find out, I had an interesting clue in my archives. Here is a blueprint of the Turner's Falls Depot.
And I don't think it's a match. What do you think? If you look at the blueprint, there is a "womens' waiting room", and a mens'. And it just does not look right. Clearly in my photo it is a combination depot. But the blueprint shows a passenger only stop. Was this a new one to replace one that burned? Now I am puzzled..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then, the plot deepened... |
