Reuniting with a long-ago hiking partner (second half of the 1990s), we had a chance to share one more adventure. Beginning in the southeastern regions of Berkshire County, and just barely in Hampden County, we attempted to trace an old railroad line. That line brought granite from the Becket quarry down into adjacent Chester where it was finished.
Accessing the site of the old right-of-way began near the abutment of a former trestle. Getting in proved to be a bit tricky but soon we were on our way along old paths and Walker Brook. As we got deeper into the woods - and higher in elevation - we began to close in on Quarry Road. Here, the ROW eventually disappeared but sections of old Mitchell Rd. could be found including former bridges that once traversed ravines sporting attractive falls.
Eventually, it became necessary to bushwack on up alongside the stream, finally making our way out to Quarry Rd. On the opposite side, a woods road was located. It provided a southerly route, parallel to Quarry Rd, with old relics such as culverts (one being a small keystone bridge) and an old, primitive shed with ancient apparatus within. We finally reached the quarry parking lot where we had left one car. So it was only to drive back to car #2, where a brief examination of the trestle abutment ensued, then on to our respective homes.
