Berkshire Scenic Railroad
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NorStar
N 42° 21.059 W 073° 14.634
18T E 644636 N 4690240
The Berkshire Scenic Railroad runs through the rolling Bershire Hills from Lennox Station to Stockbridge and passes through industrial and town centers as well as along rivers and woods, providing a good sampling of western Massachusetts.
Waymark Code: WM3ZYA
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 06/14/2008
Views: 64
The Berkshire Scenic Railroad is a scenic railroad that provides a non-hurried trip through backyards, village centers, old mills, a marble quarry, woods, lakes, river banks, fields, and parks. The trip is approximately 1 1/2 hours long, including turnaround, and goes from the station at Lenoxdale to the Stockbridge Station, about 9 miles away (there is a shorter trip that stops in the town of Lee and turns around).
The Lenoxdale Station, where you park and purchase tickets, sits beside a beautiful lake, with a gentle ridge rising behind it. The station itself has the ticket booth to purchase not only tickets, but also other items in the gift shop. There is also an HO scale train layout that models the area.
Along the way, the conductor narrates the trip, pointing out buildings and other landmarks. Highlights include the 'cottages' of Lenoxdale (where several well known families had built sizable vacation homes), several mills (of 5 mills that stood, 4 of them have closed in the last year and a half at the time of writing, 06-2008), an old marble quarry still in use, the lovely little town of Lee, Beartown State Forest, a pedestrian foot bridge over the river, and, finally, Stockbridge Station. There is a booklet that you can purchase at the Lenoxdale Station that you can use to follow along.
There is currently an exibit in a railroad car about the vacation homes that were in Lenoxdale. In the early 1900s, the railroad provided transportation to this location from New York.
If you want, you could use the train to ride the first train to Stockbridge, then pick up a trolley (bus) that will take you into the center of town, then give you a ride back in time to catch the third train. This is one version of a Park and Ride!
The trip was enjoyable and relaxing!
For more, check out the web site.
Engine Type: Diesel
Gauge of Railway: Standard Gage
Approximate Adult Fare: 15.00 (listed in local currency)
Approximate Child Fare: 8.00 (listed in local currency)
Type: Spur (out and back)
Length of Route: About 9 miles one way, 18 miles round trip
Dates of Operation: From: 05/22/2008 To: 10/31/2008
Frequency of departures: Three times a day on weekends and holidays
Key Attractions:
Lee Town Center; Stockbridge Center; various views along the river and woods; and, if you are into quarries, the train goes through the working marble quarry.
Railroad Website: [Web Link]
Does this Scenic Railroad Provide: Brunch, Lunch or Dinner Trains?: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:Provide a picture of something with the train. Possible photos include the entertainment on board the train, the train itself at any location along the route, a picture of the scenery with part of the train in view, the kids borrowing the engineer’s hat. Show us you had a good time visiting the train. If the train isn't running when you visit get a photo of one of the many railway related items that can be found in locations like this.