Duxbury Vermont
September 3, 2009

Camel's Hump Looking West
Camel's Hump From the East (Closeup)
Camel's Hump From East (Distant)
Rorison's Deck from the Southeast
Camel's Hump is Vermont's third highest mountain in elevation in Vermont. It is part of the Green Mountain chain and one of the oldest mountains in the world. (Elevation: 4,083 ft (1244m) During World War II a B-24J bomber on a training mission crashed into the side of the mountain near the summit. Portions of the wreckage still remain. More known for its shape than its height, the mountain is situated just south of Mount Mansfield and is part of the Long Trail system. The Long Trail is part of the longer Appalachian Trail which extends from Maine down to Georgia. There are shelters along the trail and at the summit. There are actually two humps that make up the moutnain and were formed by glaciation (Age of Rock is 550 million years) The Abnaki Indians called it "Sit Down Place", and Samuel De Champlain called it "Le Lion Couchant" translated as "The Resting Lion". Ira Allen refered to it as "Camel's Rump" on a map in 1798. Standing in a clearing Southeast of Rorison's house and overlooking his deck your about 2,000 ft in elevation and almost directly east of the peak of Camel's Hump. A valley lays between yourself and the hump and often in the morning can be blanketed by fog below..
The Back Walkway
Looking down to the End of the Driveway
The Frog Pond
The Front Yard
Some of the botany here is wild and natural, while there are other plants which were introduced. There are man-made stone walls interspersed with glacial deposited rocks. This shot is from the driveway looking east which is bordered by a dense forest of trees in the yards. There is a bit of wildlife at times including an occasional black bear. I Took this shot from the deck looking down to the west end of the yard and the end of the driveway beyond the trees. I'm looking eastward to the northern portion of Camel's Hump. Burlington and the Champlain Valley lie on the other side. What do you know with leftover rocks? You can make a stonewall or your own little frog pond. Add some running water and just maybe one or two frogs will appear over time. I counted two small ones while I was there. Looking directly west towards the base of the valley. You can see that the yard is tiered in several levels of elevation. I'm standing at the second floor level of the house. The next tier is at the first floor of the house and the following tier is around halfway up the driveway. Total drop in elevation is around 100 feet.
Looking West
From the Front Yard Looking Southeast
Mike Rorison Fireside
Looking South
From the edge of the eastern wooded area looking down towards the deck from which I was standing in the previous shot. This is the south end of the house and the frog pond sits just to the left of the deck. Directly opposite the previous shot, I took this shot of the house looking southeast from the midlevel of the driveway. Mike is sitting back in a homemade Adirondack Chair in front a fire in early evening. Dinner was served out here that evening. I took this shot from the top of the driveway looking southward.
     
The Woodshed at the Top of the Driveway
     
From the mid-level of the driveway looking east and the top of the driveway where the utility vehicles are parked. The previous shot and the house are just directly to the right of this shot.

WATERBURY VT
September 4, 2009

Built in the 1880's, the Vermont Central station has been beautifully restored and is the centerpiece of downtown Waterbury. Unfortunately on this day they were doing some water main construction which kicked up a fair amount of dust.
Central Vermont's Waterbury Station's sempahore signal board as seen from the northside of the station trackside.
Looking east down the main line of the Central Vermont Railroad from Waterbury Station.

The freight side of the restored station's door has the Amtrak schedule posted on it. Through the door is an excellent little museum exhibit of railroading in Vermont through the years.

On the Passenger side of the station you will find a Green Mountain Coffee outlet and a gift shop. Well worth the visit even if your not a railroad buff.

Looking west down the main line of the Central Vermont Railroad at Waterbury Station.
East of the station, the now unused double track winds past an old creamery used today as a warehouse for the Green Mountain Coffee Growers.
Pretty much the same shot as the previous one taken on the vertical focusing more on the foreground overgrown vegetation. The track on the left has new ballast and is overspilling the older ballast on the right. The older ballast appears to be more of a local quarried riverbed type.
Road signal just to the west of the Creamery.
Close up of the Creamery, now used by Green Mountain Coffee
Took this close up shot of the Creamery to highlight the freight doors which were railside on the warehouse.
Railroad Crossing, Waterbury Vermont.
Warehouse trackside, northeast of Railroad Station.
Making new friends in Waterbury.
This guy was pretty gentle and loved to pose for the camera. He was extremely patient.
Your choice of local gourmet food tasting at the weekly farmers market in Waterbury.
The weekly farmer's market in Waterbury VT. Vegetables, food, and arts and crafts were featured.
Display being set up at the farmer's market in Waterbury in the early afternoon.
Not too busy yet as this grower relaxes having set up early.
Answering questions at the farmer's market in Waterbury VT.
Arts and crafts display being set up.
Local hero's story from World War 1 is honored on a plaque in the town's park.
World War I is honored and remembered.
The World War II memorial is a simple cenotaph honoring those who served.
Finally the Vietnam memorial listing the names of those remembered.
RUTLAND VT (Walking tour late afternoon)
September 5, 2009
From the third story of my hotel overlooking the Vermont State Fair. Looked pretty busy but seemed downscaled and tone down from the years I used to attend. From the Plaza parking lot in downtown I was able to catch a Vermont Rail locomotive bringing in a load of OMYA cars to be sorted in the yard. The Plaza stands where the main Vermont Rail yard was and the building in the background is one of the few remnants of the Rutland Road left standing in Rutland This is a shot of the new Rutland Depot streetside and from the north. It is unfortunate that there is no ticket agent anymore, but at least the waiting room was clean and this would be my departure point on the 8th. Just north of the depot there is a pedestrian railroad crossing that crosses the two main tracks of the yard. Although it was a quiet day in town the walkway appeared to be in steady use.
A contrast of shadows and signs in this shot. A history timeframe in itself. Trackside at the new passenger depot. Rutland is the terminus for Amtrak's Ethan Allen which runs on former Rutland, and Delaware & Hudson track. There is no agent in Rutland so in order to get your tickets you need to buy them on-line, from a travel agent or just buy them on the train like I did. Trackside looking south where the Vermont Rail line runs behind the plaza. At one time this would have been a very busy yard. Trains would arrive from Ogdensburgh, Montreal, Burlington and Whitehall NY from the north, while trains from Bellow's Falls, Chatham, Troy, and New York City would come from the south. A parking lot stands in what would have been the north end of the railyard overlooking Evelyn St. Although passenger trains would have been gone by the 50's, Rutland remained the main switching point on the railroad up until the labor strikes of the early 60's. Ironically I was there on Labor Day and had moved to Rutland in 1972 a decade after this part of the yard had been paved over.
Merchants Row North taken from the corner of Evelyn and Center Streets. This bank stands on the corner of Evelyn and Merchants Row. Not sure which bank this was but I do remember that the Howard Bank was close to here and there was a drive-in behind it off of Evelyn Street. Looking East from the northern end of the Plaza parking lot. Center Street runs straight up the picture with East Mountain in the background. Merchants Row runs horizontally and Evelyn street runs diagonally from the corner of Center Street to the bottom left of the shot. Merchants Row looking south from the corner of Center Street, to the left and Evelyn Street to the right. Got to love the mix of architecture here especially the art deco hi rise which would have been a passengers first look at the city as they got off the train. The old Rutland passenger Depot would have stood just across the street.
Looks are deceiving. These facades have been well maintained and you'll find restaurants, bookstores and tobacco shops on the northside of Center Street. I worked for years in one of those restaurants on the second floor of the center building. The building was actually dated somewhere back in the late 1800's and if you managed to get a tour through the back and the third floors you would find that it was simply a shell built around the original building. Just up from the corner of Merchants Row and on the northside of Center Street stands the Tuttle Building. Charles Tuttle built a publishing empire and I still run across books from time to time that were published by them. today the Tuttle Publishing company is based in North Clarendon VT and includes offices in Singapore, Tokyo and Jakarta. I spent a few summers working in this theater as a projectionist. Although the balcony was rarely used in those years, today the colonial revival theater is on the National Register of Historic Places and still is used for its original venue. It was designed by George T. Chaffee and built in 1913. Another view of the theater from the northside of Center Street. In the years I worked here it was primarily used for movies but the old stage, dressing rooms and backstage offices still existed. A lot of history still was scattered back here including old pamphlets and playbills.
Finally here is a shot of Muckenschnabels bar on Washington Street. This was usually my first stop in the Rutland bar circuit. I remember "Skiddy", the bartender once stood a sawhorse and tied it to a street sign. He hung a sign on it that read; "Please do not feed the horse!"
There was a very dry air mass over the entire Northeast and Eastern Canada that week which did not result in spectacular sunsets. Here a harvest moon has risen over Boardman Hill to the west of Rutland.
The dry air mass persisted on the morning of day 6, but moisture had built up in the valley behind the fairgrounds along Otter Creek. The Main Line of the Rutland and Bennington branch would run right to left right behind the fairgrounds. The Bellows Falls Branch is the one pictured just behind the yellow house and in front of the McDonalds in front of the fairgrounds.
The Vermont State Fairgrounds as seen from the intersection of Allen Street and taken from the eastside of Main Street. Still early morning as is evident by the lack of traffic and bustle within the grounds area. The Bellows Falls runs diagonally behind me and crosses Route 7 or as it is known Main Street.
From the hotel I walked south along Route 7 and up to the Diamond Run Mall. There is a trail behind the mall that leads you through a swampy area and its a very short hike to get to the tracks of the Bellows Falls Subdivison. Here is a shot looking south towards North Clarendon.
Looking North along the Bellows Falls Subdivision to Cold River Road.
Trekking northward along the Bellows Falls Subdivision the woods opens up to some warehousing and old storage tanks on the right hand side. Through the woods on the left side would be Eddy's Pond.
Between Cold River Road and Curtis Ave. I came across sidings on the left and the right of the track. From topographical maps I had always thought that the two sidings ran parallel to the main track on each side and was surprised to see that the one on the left was actually positioned south of the one on the right. More research needed here as maybe the one on the left was actually a team track to the south which extended parallel to the main line.
There's nothing like an old switch post to bring out the nostalgia of the days of old. This one was pretty worn and connected to the siding to the south and west of the Bellows Falls Subdivision main tracks.
Here's a shot of the siding to the north and west leading up to some more storage tanks with a coupld of some Vermont Rail right of way equipment.
Walking past the siding and now looking southward. ROW equipmetn now on my left and the possible team track siding off to my right concealed by the overgrowth.
Close up the Vermont Rail ROW equipment as it sits on a siding
Railroads were always economical in what they used alongside their tracks. It was always cheaper to use what was on hand and this whistle post where the track crosses Curtis Ave is a good example. An old railroad tie with a reflective "W" with a spike at a 45 degree angle for good measure. Practical, functional and low cost signalling. I was surprised that its location was so close to the road, which told me that this was not a high speed line.
House situated on the northeast corner of the intersection of Curtis Ave.
Pulled back shot showing the crossing of Curtis Ave an associated signals.
Taken from the intersection of Curtis Ave. looking north. The track turns about 5 degrees to the west and continues with a slight descending grade to the Route 7 intersection.
I met up with Gerry Dubeau for lunch at the Midway Dinner for a "Cowboy Breakfast" and then a little cruising tour around the county. We wound up on Campbell's Rd to grab some classic postcard views of Rutland.
East Mountain stands as a background to the city and from this vantage point you get a great view of downtown, St Peter's Church, and Grace Congregational. You can also make out the Park Street School and the art deco buildings of Merchants Row. In front of these buildings stood the Rutland Railroad Station.
Great visibility that day and I squeezed off a quick shot of the peaks of Killington. Ram's head would be the one on the right and note the sloping hill rising behind East Mountain to the peak. There is a branch of the Long Trail (Appalachian Trail) which leads up from Brewer's Corners on Wheelerville RD to a shelter just below the peak of the mountain. Mike Rorison and I hiked up it one spring.
East Mountain to the right and Mendon Mountain to the left and in the center of the picture. US4 and Sherburne Pass runs between the two just east of Rutland.
Rutland Hospital is at the end of Allen Street where it meets Stratton RD. It was here where my father worked as a doctor for many years.
Close up shot of St. Peter's Church with downtown Rutland in the background.