| By: | Bob Krug |
| Dates: | 7/16/2023 - 7/16/2023 |
| Album Info: | The Berkshire Flyer is a new seasonal service offered by Amtrak from New York City to Pittsfield, MA, departing on Friday afternoon, with a return trip - Pittsfield, MA to New York City on Sunday afternoon. It allows New Yorkers to spend a weekend in the scenic and culturally rich Berkshires of western Massachusetts. I set up to photograph the Berkshire Flyer at State Line Tunnel in Canaan, NY. The Sunday train originates at Albany Rensselaer, NY and starts with a deadhead move eastbound to Pittsfield to support the 3:00 p.m. Sunday departure. The Berkshire Flyer then heads back to Albany Rensselaer, and from there heads south along the Hudson River Empire Service Corridor to the city. Since the Sunday / return train reverses direction at both Pittsfield and Albany Rensselaer, the 5-car train set is bracketed with locomotives at each end of the train. The eastbound Sunday deadhead move from Albany to Pittsfield is led by a dual-mode diesel electric locomotive in the 700 series, because it will ultimately power the train southbound out of Albany Rensselaer enroute to NY / Penn Station. The locomotive at the west end of the train set is a regular Amtrak diesel engine, but I had the good fortune to catch the unique and good-looking Midnight Blue unit - Amtrak #100 on the July 16th Berkshire Flyer. State Line tunnel, in Canaan, NY is a photogenic spot to catch the Berkshire Flyer - first as a deadhead / eastbound move, and then less than an hour later as a revenue / westbound move. |
