Goodbye Cruiserface, Hello Happyface: The (old) Long and (new) Short Of It All

With the Covid related decrease in Airbnb rentals it's not surprising that this once sought after rental property was dismantled.

Rail Yard Report: Stopped by the Deerfield yard on Tuesday last. Parked the redhead just outside the yard to sneak a peek without going in.



I didn't think anything would be moving and my expectations were met. The only thing out in the yard was an idling GP.



If the redhead is within a couple of miles of the place, I am hard-pressed not to check the yard for action, even though the probability is near 100% there won't be any. However, the chances of find one or more railfans hanging around waiting for something to happen is pretty high. When it's riding vs. waiting for yard action, waiting always loses. We grab a couple of pics and scram.

Any chance of getting permission to enter the grounds for some close-ups of the round house?

I would be great to get pics of the old roundhouse and turntable; however, they're not known as the North Korea of railroads for no reason. I am guessing a high level connection would be needed but will try their PR department. The back of their yard by the old roundhouse, from what I can see thru the zoom lens, looked a little junky the other day, as shown below.



Am thinking the RR could use some good PR.

Keep us posted on the round house. Btw, how's the new hydration pack?

Well, the new hydration pack is big - so big when filled that the panniers are going back on to accommodate stuff the camelbak displaces out of the backpack. That old backpack is, BTW, holding together better than the GS tank bag, which is coming apart at the seams. The backpack is what, around 20 years old, has had the crap beat out of it and will probably last another 20 while the tank bag is is giving up the ghost at 6.

GREAT PICS!

So when I saw the trains with the PanAm logo, there I went down a rabbit trail of how Guilford Transportation wound up with the name after the demise of the original airline and subsequent iterations.
David

Yup, it's quite the trail and another lesson in learning that a world famous name and logo doesn't help all that much if you haven't got a good operation to back it up. Horizontal integration isn't all that great if the links between the pieces aren't up to snuff. The RR world went double stack intermodal while PanAm was still pushing around small consists with single stacks using tired old GPs. Even after getting some rehabilitated dash-8 units from GE, the old GP's can still be found idling around. I found earlier this week that was probably doing yard switching.



As you're probably aware, their main line from NY into MA is somewhat strangled by the height of the Hoosac Tunnel.

Quick question.
Pan Am 352, about how old and are they still making that type?
OK just one more. The Approx. cost?

Thanks, and a picture to share.

Pan Am 352 is registered as MEC (Maine Central) 352 and is a 1969 EMD (GM) GP-40, which were built from 1965 to 1971. Several thousand or so were produced. I've no idea of what they cost new or what they're going for now. If anyone out there has an idea, please let us know.

Also, thanks for the great pic of that bridge/viaduct. Where is it at?

It's located not far from this landmark.

At one time, might still be (?), the largest poured concrete span of it's kind in the world.

A Look At Shelburne Falls, Part 1: I often pass through Shelburne Falls, MA, when out riding. Once known as Salmon Falls, Shelburne Falls is a historic and picturesque village that sits in the towns of Buckland and Shelburne, spanning the Deerfield River. Settled around 1760, mills spring up around the falls beginning sometime after 1775. One of the country's premier cutlery makers, Lamson and Goodnow, had their headquarters and factory here. More on that later.

When coming off the Mohawk Trail, I usually ride into the village on the western, Buckland side of the river.



On this particular day, I parked the redhead just across the street from the two bridges, wanting to get pictures of both.



The main link to downtown is the old, 1890 , Warren thru-truss, iron bridge. Simply put, this old bridge has character.



Just to the left (north) of the iron bridge is the village's main claim to fame - the bridge of flowers. The bridge of flowers is a rehabilitated and re-purposed old trolley bridge made into a flower walk. Due to the covid scare, it is currently closed.



Below is a picture taken in June 2018 on the bridge of flowers from the other end.



Just after taking a photo of the closed flower bridge, I noticed I had a good shot of the old iron bridge's foundations.



Below is the upper part of the iron bridge.



Below is a side shot of the bridge of flowers.



One last bridge shot below.



More to follow in Part 2 on the other side of the river, including the falls.

Those are some mighty nice looking "foundations" there John................Oooooh; you meant the stone ones..

Yes, they were nice looking and the angle of the abutments was of particular interest.

Agreed, that's a great pic.

We have yet to find a good lunch spot in Shelburne Falls. Happily Helen's luncheonette isn't too far from there. How is she?

Finding a good lunch spot in Shelburne Falls might be a bit of a problem given how the village has transformed from a working class mill town into more of an artsy-fartsy tourist trap where meatloaf and gravy can't be found and their idea of a burger is some crap beef and soy shit, fat meat ball on a bun that you can't get your mouth around. I will, however, do some research on the subject but think our best lunch bets are the hole-in-the-wall pizza place in Ashfield or Helens's place. Helen, by the way, hasn't lost any of her wonderful, in-your-face, piss and vinegar attitude.

A Look At Shelburne Falls, Part 2: I often pass through Shelburne Falls, MA, when out riding. Once known as Salmon Falls, Shelburne Falls is a historic and picturesque village that sits in the towns of Buckland and Shelburne, spanning the Deerfield River. Settled around 1760, mills spring up around the falls beginning sometime after 1775 and the area shifted from agricultural to industrial. One of the country's premier and oldest cutlery makers, Lamson and Goodnow, had their headquarters and factory here.



Founded in 1837, Lampson and Goodnow went bankrupt in 2014, sold off the factory property in 2015 and moved most of its operation to Westfield, MA. Below are some new and old pictures of that industrial property, which was sold to a developer out of Ashfield who wants to restore the factory buildings. Several years ago, we happened by when they were attempting to save one of the oldest factory buildings by deconstructing and saving what was still good..



Below is how the old building looked in 2016 before deconstruction began.



Below are various recent and older pictures of the Lamson mill and factory that were taken when riding through Shelburne Falls.









More to follow.