Temporary Tourist

Passengers waiting for their trips milled about on the platform, cautioned by trainmen to stay behind the yellow line while they craned their necks for a glimpse of the engine.
While we waited, we chose to take a walk through a coach that now houses a very thorough exhibit of the Berkshires’ Gilded Age cottages, filled with fascinating facts and photos of such places as Tor Court, which eventually became the former Hillcrest Hospital, and Cranwell, now a resort and spa.
Although I could have tarried in there for quite a while, reading every word, my 6-year-old was more interested in the interactive map that made a buzz and lit up a location on a map that showed each of the home’s locations.
Right on time, we heard the engine’s whistle blow as it approached the station. We were assisted onto the train by trainman Fred Schroeder. The girls chose to sit in the last car, in a set of facing seats across the aisle and behind Conductor Bob Dupont. Dupont certainly looked the part, with his suspenders, white shirt, black tie and spiffy conductor’s cap. I was puzzled by the holster on his belt, until I realized it was designed to hold the ticket puncher gadget.
Our diesel-electric engine, No. 8619, was built in 1953 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division for New York Central, and was ultimately purchased by Conrail. It was bought by BSR in 1985 (the railway was founded in 1984). Our coach was significantly older. No. 310 was built by Pullman in 1925 in Worcester. Before being purchased by BSR in 1984, it had seen duty as a commuter car in Hoboken, N.J.
The seats on the old coach contained metal springs, which created an almost school-bus feeling as we rocked from side to side, a very soothing motion, really. Schroeder explained the line from Lenox to Lee is a sectioned rail, which was responsible for the motion. He assured passengers that the ride would smooth out after we pulled out of the Lee station, where the line is a welded rail.
While we traveled, Dupont used a microphone to let the passengers know what we were passing, most of which were, sadly, closed Lee mills. On the upside, the train makes three crossings of the Housatonic River, which flowed swiftly, sparkling in the sunlight. Canada geese on the river made my kids point and look out the windows.
Coming into Lee, I marveled that although I had crossed those tracks by Joe’s Diner more times than I could count, I had never seen a train there and believed these rails were now defunct. I would be proven more wrong than even I knew on the ride back north.
We paused at the Lee station, but no passengers came aboard, so we were soon on our way south again. We arrived at the Stockbridge station right on time, and were given the opportunity to go into the beautifully restored station to use the restroom if desired.
It was there that I got my first glimpse of the engineers, who of course had been already on the engine when the train pulled up in Lenox. They were dressed as I had imagined — blue and white stripped engineer hats, blue and white striped shirts, blue jean overalls.
When we reboarded the train, my girls were insistent that we keep the same seats, although of course we were now in the front car, as opposed to the last. It was fascinating to watch the engine move onto the siding, pass us, move back onto the main line and then back up to us with a massive thump.
Our return trip was more eventful than the trip south had been. The nonprofit railroad, staffed entirely by volunteers, uses the main line of the Housatonic Railroad. Dupont explained to the passengers that the railroad used to operate Mondays through Fridays, leaving the line free for the BSR trains on the weekends. The Housatonic operates between Canaan, Conn., and Pittsfield, picking up and shunting CSX freight cars between them.
With the increase in freight shipping, the railroad had too many cars to move in a five-day week, so the decision was made to add an additional trip on Sundays. The line is a single line, unsignaled track, which means that when two trains are on the line, the switches that move one onto a siding have to be, as in days past, thrown by hand.
On our way back to the Lenox station, the freight train waited for us north of the Lee station. When we arrived in Lee, the conductor had to leave the train, and the switch that would move us onto the siding was thrown. Once the all clear was given, the freight train could thunder by while we waited. Well, OK, maybe not thunder by, but it sure felt that way as the freight cars came by at about 25 mph. The maneuver caused us to return to the Lenox station a bit late, but I found the extra time on the train to be a bonus, rather than a hardship.
After disembarking the train, I asked Dupont if it was possible to take the early train into Stockbridge and the later train back. He assured me that was fine, and told me that a free trolley operates from the Stockbridge station to Main Street and the Norman Rockwell Museum. It runs from the Lee station to the Prime Outlets as well.
I think the next time I take this rockin’-and-rollin’ trip back in time, I will incorporate a visit to Stockbridge’s Main Street as well.

The Berkshire Scenic Railway operates Saturdays, Sundays and Monday holidays only. Trains depart the Lenox station at 10:10 a.m. and 2:20 p.m. for the 90-minute roundtrip to Stockbridge with a stop in Lee. A midday train leaves for a 45-minute roundtrip to Lee at 12:15 p.m. Cost for the Stockbridge roundtrip is $15/adults, $14/seniors and $8/kids 4-14. For the Lee trip, fares are $9/adults, $8/seniors and $5/kids 4-14. Info: 413-637-2210 or berkshirescenicrailroad.org.