DennyG Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 While looking for something completely different, I found a site offering a rather interesting looking guide to the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts. The publisher has a stated goal of producing guides for other Massachusetts auto trails with this being the first. I know nothing about the book, the publisher, or evin the Mohawk Trail. You? http://www.muddyriverpress.com/historicauto.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 While looking for something completely different, I found a site offering a rather interesting looking guide to the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts. The publisher has a stated goal of producing guides for other Massachusetts auto trails with this being the first. I know nothing about the book, the publisher, or evin the Mohawk Trail. You? http://www.muddyriverpress.com/historicauto.html The Mohawk must have been one of the most publicized old auto trails in its day. There is almost never a time when you can’t buy a vintage Mohawk Trail Guide or postcard on Ebay. It was a little like the old Columbia River Highway in that it was celebrated for its views and vistas. Those old fashioned brown booklets bound with gold twine, and filled with color images of and from the road were produced by the truck load. I’m sure I have one, and probably at least a few post cards. I could get the exact route but your link has the details. It guess it still exists and if I ever get back to Massachusetts, I’ll do a road report! Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadmaven Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 I've driven the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts. We were in Connecticut a few years ago visiting Jennifer's family when we headed north to check out the basketball hall of fame before heading west to Albany, NY to visit with Route 66 roadie Steve Rider. I insisted we take the Mohawk Trail so I could visit mecca: Clark's Corvair Parts in Shelburne Falls, MA. As I recall, it was quite rainy and quite foggy that day. But, from what I could see, the scenery was fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 I've driven the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts. We were in Connecticut a few years ago visiting Jennifer's family when we headed north to check out the basketball hall of fame before heading west to Albany, NY to visit with Route 66 roadie Steve Rider. I insisted we take the Mohawk Trail so I could visit mecca: Clark's Corvair Parts in Shelburne Falls, MA. As I recall, it was quite rainy and quite foggy that day. But, from what I could see, the scenery was fantastic. I’m glad Roadmaven could report on the Mohawk! According to the picture brochure I have in hand, the trail was opened to traffic in 1915 and ran between North Adams and Greenfield (although I’ve seen it marked on maps further). The frequently cited vistas along the trail include, the “Famous Hairpin Turn,” the view of North Adams, the Elk statue, the War Memorial on Greylock Mountain, “Hail to the Sunrise” which is a statue of a Mohawk Indian, the Deerfield River Bridge, Bridge of Flowers, and French King Bridge. I also recall an observation tower on top a restaurant as being popular somewhere on the road. Roadmaven, anything familiar there? As a sign of its popularity, I also have a View Master stereo reel of 3 D photos of the Mohawk Trail. I think I am safe in saying that not even the Mother road is so honored! Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisers992000 Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 I’m glad Roadmaven could report on the Mohawk! According to the picture brochure I have in hand, the trail was opened to traffic in 1915 and ran between North Adams and Greenfield (although I’ve seen it marked on maps further). The frequently cited vistas along the trail include, the “Famous Hairpin Turn,” the view of North Adams, the Elk statue, the War Memorial on Greylock Mountain, “Hail to the Sunrise” which is a statue of a Mohawk Indian, the Deerfield River Bridge, Bridge of Flowers, and French King Bridge. I also recall an observation tower on top a restaurant as being popular somewhere on the road. Roadmaven, anything familiar there? As a sign of its popularity, I also have a View Master stereo reel of 3 D photos of the Mohawk Trail. I think I am safe in saying that not even the Mother road is so honored! Keep the Show on the Road! Some more info from web sites: http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/byway/ma_mohaw.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadmaven Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 The frequently cited vistas along the trail include, the “Famous Hairpin Turn,” the view of North Adams, the Elk statue, the War Memorial on Greylock Mountain, “Hail to the Sunrise” which is a statue of a Mohawk Indian, the Deerfield River Bridge, Bridge of Flowers, and French King Bridge. I also recall an observation tower on top a restaurant as being popular somewhere on the road. Roadmaven, anything familiar there? Oh man, do I remember that "Famous Hairpin Turn"! I was driving my mother-in-law's 15 passenger Ford Econline van. Westbound MT was downhill and you have to make a HARD left turn. Fortunately, there's a restaurant with a parking lot at hairpin to drive off into if you're coming down the hill a little too hot (hot is "fast" in racin' terms). And as I recall, once you've made the turn, it was a decent drop off the side of mountain, though there was a guardrail there to protect you (although I sure wouldn't want to test its strength!). The hairpin is east of North Adams, MA. I'd really like to get back to it again. We really didn't get to enjoy it too much because of the fog and rain that day. Too bad I'm not heading to CT next week with Jennifer, as we'd probably have to give it another shot! If any of you have Google Earth, I'd view it from there. The detail is MUCH better than the other satellite images. You can really zoom in on the hairpin and even see the lines on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Oh man, do I remember that "Famous Hairpin Turn"! I was driving my mother-in-law's 15 passenger Ford Econline van. Westbound MT was downhill and you have to make a HARD left turn. Fortunately, there's a restaurant with a parking lot at hairpin to drive off into if you're coming down the hill a little too hot (hot is "fast" in racin' terms). And as I recall, once you've made the turn, it was a decent drop off the side of mountain, though there was a guardrail there to protect you (although I sure wouldn't want to test its strength!). The hairpin is east of North Adams, MA. I'd really like to get back to it again. We really didn't get to enjoy it too much because of the fog and rain that day. Too bad I'm not heading to CT next week with Jennifer, as we'd probably have to give it another shot! If any of you have Google Earth, I'd view it from there. The detail is MUCH better than the other satellite images. You can really zoom in on the hairpin and even see the lines on the road. cruisers992000, that is a good tip. They did a nice job. Thanks! Roadmaven, I'm headed for Google. Should I look for skid marks? Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 cruisers992000, that is a good tip. They did a nice job. Thanks! Roadmaven, I'm headed for Google. Should I look for skid marks? Keep the Show on the Road! Roadmaven, First, Google Earth did provide a terrific 3D view of the curve (42.708, -73.063) and the canyon beyond. I don’t see your concern. The drop is only 800 feet into the valley below, and they have built a catch basin for auto salvage at the base of the cliff. In the fog it would have been a quiet, peaceful ride, except for that one abrupt stop at the bottom. I doubt you would have reached terminal velocity much before the end of the short cut, especially if you had a roof rack or anything else to add drag. More seriously, the Google shot was taken when the leaves were off the trees but even then, it looked inviting. Too bad it was foggy. Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Wow! Google Earth is really cool. I've used it a few time to verify locations, etc., but could probably use it more than I do. Not all their imagery is as good as the overhead of the hairpin but most is quite good. It may save gas in the short term but I now want to experience that hairpin first hand so it will eventually balance out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burr - hester_nec Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 (edited) While looking for something completely different, I found a site offering a rather interesting looking guide to the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts. The publisher has a stated goal of producing guides for other Massachusetts auto trails with this being the first. I know nothing about the book, the publisher, or evin the Mohawk Trail. You? http://www.muddyriverpress.com/historicauto.html Yeah, that hairpin turn is something else - road is carved out of the side of the mountain. I've been over that road numerous times, but the one that really sticks in my mind was the time I was following what had to have been something in the order of a 30 foot motor home. Folks, if you've never driven the Mohawk I'm here to tell you it is NOT the road to run a big motor home over - or at least it didn't used to be, unless they've improved the road. I havn't been over it in a long time. I could see thru the back windows of the thing as they rolled up hill and down - Mama was running about madly trying to keep cabinet doors closed, the kids were bounding on the beds and there was a black cat in the back window doing his damndest to get out of that thing and turning white at the same time!!!! LOL ROF That said it is, as has been said here, a very, very beautiful drive. Nearby is the famed Housac Railroad Tunnel - an engineering marvel of its day when it was built. Yeah, it looks like a big hole in the side of a mountain, but it was this tunnel that opened up the mid-west and western states to the Boston market. More @ http://www.hoosactunnel.net/ . So if you ever get up into the Massachusettes area look up MA Route 2 - and follow the Mohawk and enjoy. By the way, as you drive - ponder this little historical tidbit. Back in the Revolutionary War this was the route that Henry Knox and his Colonials dragged the massive cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston - in the dead of winter. The result was these cannons, placed on Dorchester Heights, drove the British out of Boston. You will go away shaking your head and wondering just how the hell they did it - and a better appreciation of the sacrifices men will make for freedom. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Edited July 18, 2007 by hester_nec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 DennyG, it kind of surprised me that you were not a regular user of Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. I was beginning to believe no tool of the road escaped your dominion. (Incidentally, why don’t we do a little “technology for the road” thread one of there days?) Both Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth have their virtues and sometimes one has better coverage than the other. I am a long time user of Google Earth and love it, but Microsoft Virtual Earth has caught up with some crisp images and a super map overlay feature that (in my opinion) works better than Google’s. I could compare the pros and cons, but the best way is to choose an alignment and look at it with both. Both are great tools and provide entertaining and very useful 3D features. Alex, that was a terrific story of the 30 Ft RV on the Mohawk. That cat image is now stuck in my mind. Purrfect description! I used Google to track the road and I didn’t spot evident straightening or other major modifications. I hope DennyG or Roadmaven (or you) will drive it in the sunshine one day soon. Frankly, I had written it off as “lost and forgotten” until DennyG popped up with his comment and link and Roadmaven responded. Maybe it is, or will be, like the Columbia River Highway. Twenty five years ago it was deteriorating and forgotten by most. Today they are fixing the roadbed, repairing the rock walls, and restoring the wooden railings. On any summer day you will see scores of bicyclers, vintage cars, and even hikers enjoying one of the most beautiful roads in America. I think it is great that you obviously have a knowledge of the history of that area. You and I are in the same generation, and lucky enough to have accumulated a mental storehouse of information, trivial or profound. It is almost impossible for me to drive a two lane road in the west without enjoying a mental image of events and experiences that occurred along the route. In some ways it’s like watching a good movie where my mind provides the plot and the dialog! Our younger friends are building terrific libraries, whether they realize it or not! Who else has driven the Mohawk Trail? Let’s have a report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burr - hester_nec Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 DennyG, it kind of surprised me that you were not a regular user of Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. I was beginning to believe no tool of the road escaped your dominion. (Incidentally, why don’t we do a little “technology for the road” thread one of there days?) Both Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth have their virtues and sometimes one has better coverage than the other. I am a long time user of Google Earth and love it, but Microsoft Virtual Earth has caught up with some crisp images and a super map overlay feature that (in my opinion) works better than Google’s. I could compare the pros and cons, but the best way is to choose an alignment and look at it with both. Both are great tools and provide entertaining and very useful 3D features. Alex, that was a terrific story of the 30 Ft RV on the Mohawk. That cat image is now stuck in my mind. Purrfect description! I used Google to track the road and I didn’t spot evident straightening or other major modifications. I hope DennyG or Roadmaven (or you) will drive it in the sunshine one day soon. Frankly, I had written it off as “lost and forgotten” until DennyG popped up with his comment and link and Roadmaven responded. Maybe it is, or will be, like the Columbia River Highway. Twenty five years ago it was deteriorating and forgotten by most. Today they are fixing the roadbed, repairing the rock walls, and restoring the wooden railings. On any summer day you will see scores of bicyclers, vintage cars, and even hikers enjoying one of the most beautiful roads in America. I think it is great that you obviously have a knowledge of the history of that area. You and I are in the same generation, and lucky enough to have accumulated a mental storehouse of information, trivial or profound. It is almost impossible for me to drive a two lane road in the west without enjoying a mental image of events and experiences that occurred along the route. In some ways it’s like watching a good movie where my mind provides the plot and the dialog! Our younger friends are building terrific libraries, whether they realize it or not! Who else has driven the Mohawk Trail? Let’s have a report. Keep The Show.... wrote "......I didn't spot evident straightening or other major mocifications." I was looking at the road using Google Earth and couldn't help wondering about the road to the right just after coming to the summit of the hair pin as you head east. This road could well have been an original alighment as it runs parallel to the current road down to just east of the Hoosac Tunnel where it rejoins. It is obviously a "used" road as there are houses and buildings along it. Just a thought. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Keep The Show.... wrote "......I didn't spot evident straightening or other major mocifications." I was looking at the road using Google Earth and couldn't help wondering about the road to the right just after coming to the summit of the hair pin as you head east. This road could well have been an original alighment as it runs parallel to the current road down to just east of the Hoosac Tunnel where it rejoins. It is obviously a "used" road as there are houses and buildings along it. Just a thought. Hudsonly, Alex Burr You are right! A closer look seems to suggest the possibility of several interesting old alignments. I also noted several semi’s on the road, suggesting it definitely has been significantly improved. I was way too quick to pass judgment. I take it all back! For example, what do you make of the road at 42.694111, -73.055079? It appears on brief inspection that both segments of N County Road may have been an old alignment and that the dirt road at the above coordinates may have preceded it. I bow to your knowledge and keen eye! Give me the coordianates for the tunnel, will you. Thanks Keep the Show on the Road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burr - hester_nec Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 You are right! A closer look seems to suggest the possibility of several interesting old alignments. I also noted several semi’s on the road, suggesting it definitely has been significantly improved. I was way too quick to pass judgment. I take it all back! For example, what do you make of the road at 42.694111, -73.055079? It appears on brief inspection that both segments of N County Road may have been an old alignment and that the dirt road at the above coordinates may have preceded it. I bow to your knowledge and keen eye! Give me the coordianates for the tunnel, will you. Thanks Keep the Show on the Road Tunnel is marked, at least on the Google Earth version I have, by a blue dot just west of where that possible old alignment comes back to the current road. I show it at 42º 40' 31.91" N, 73º 12' 44.12" W. On the Google version I have if I place my cursor on the blue dot it says Hoosac Tunnel. Not sure where the other end goes - or even if it's still in use. I don't see any railroad tracks in the area. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in any semi going down that switch back!!!!!! I was looking as MS Streets and Trips - that seems to show an almost entirely different routing for that possible old alignment I mentioned earlier. Shows it, going east, first as Strykers Road, changing to Central Shaft Road, changing to South County Road and coming out in Drury. Ok, ok. I got it now. What Streets and Trips doesn't show is that the segment starting just east of the summit coming out by the Hoosac Tunnel. What Streets and Trips does show is that the old tunnel has been bypassed by an overland route. It's all a little confusing trying to look at one map and co-ordinate it with Google. That's my look at it tho. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Alex, Thanks! Your history of the tunnel is spot on! I shifted over to Virtual earth for another view. I think the Google Earth dot that pops up “Hoosac Tunnel” represents the “central shaft” which I take to be an air or ventilation shaft. Note the name of the road there. The structure at that site (dot) may house fans, etc. Virtual Earth places Hoosac Tunnel just off Tunnel Road, which is incorrect, but closer. But I did discover the entrances. You can view the east and west entrances to the tunnel on Google Earth at the following coordinates: West entrance: 42.675396, -73.091439 (outskirts of North Adams) East entrance 42.674646, -72.995556 (I set the Google Options under 3D for Show Lat/Lon to “degrees”) A straight line between the two runs through the dot you spotted. The tunnel is just about 4.75 miles long. Kind of a kick. Now someone needs to drive the road and post a report. Keep the Show on the Road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadmaven Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Hey folks, I have it on good authority that someone about to make a trip to Connecticut from Indiana in the next four hours might be planning a journey on the Mohawk Trail within the next week. This person, who shall remain nameless, was seen on his or her computer last evening looking up Mohawk Trail info. This person, who shall still remain nameless, is also a pretty good "pitcher taker", so I would suspect images will be available within two weeks. You heard it here first.....and last! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Hey folks, I have it on good authority that someone about to make a trip to Connecticut from Indiana in the next four hours might be planning a journey on the Mohawk Trail within the next week. This person, who shall remain nameless, was seen on his or her computer last evening looking up Mohawk Trail info. This person, who shall still remain nameless, is also a pretty good "pitcher taker", so I would suspect images will be available within two weeks. You heard it here first.....and last! Roadmaven, Great news. We'll all look forward to hearing the rest of the story! I'll bring the pretzels and beer, if your pick up the the chips and dips. Keep the Show on the Road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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