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Date: 5/13/2020
CHESTER – Chester on Track, one of the annual spring highlights in town, is going virtual this year on May 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with vintage train footage and musical acts interspersed with live commentary from the Chester Railway Station Museum.
Local historian David Pierce, president of the Friends of the Keystone Arches and the Chester Foundation, will be hosting the event live at the museum. He will introduce videos and photos of the history of building the western railroad through Chester and over the Berkshires, as well as clips from the documentary, “Railroad to the Moon.”
His cohost, puppeteer and former Ringling Brothers clown Maggie Sawhorse will show footage and talk about life on a circus train.
Pierce said they considered postponing the 29th annual event, but figured the fall will be jammed. “It came together pretty well.” Pierce said.
Also featured will be musical acts by The Oakes Family, The Pitoniak Brothers, The Electric Trains, Mark Franklin and Tommy Filliault, interspersed with videos from car clubs, drone footage of the track, and highlights of local trails like the Keystone Arches.
A video of the Huntington Dance Center performing on a Keystone Arch will be aired, along with videos from the Chester Theatre Company and the Massachusetts State Police.
During each break, Pierce will have a different Old American Flyer toy train set up running on tracks, and will show some of the most interesting artifacts at the Chester Station Museum. Viewers will tour the 1919 wooden caboose, which is available for “glampers” to rent for a night, and everything will stop when a real train goes by.
The event will be interactive, with Pierce, who has been studying the western railroad line for more than 30 years, answering questions posed by emails. He will also take orders for the 2020 Chester on Track T-shirts, and a special Chester on Track postal cancellation will be the default cancellation at the Chester Post Office till noon on that date. Both designs honor 3,000 of the first American immigrants who built the precedent-shattering railroad.
Pierce said this year he has participants from New Hampshire to the West Coast, one of the benefits of hosting a virtual event. He gave credit to Mike McCormack of iptimelapse.com in New Hampshire, who previously donated the live webcam installed at the station, and provided the expertise for this year’s virtual Chester on Track.
“This way we’ll reach people we’ve never reached before,” Pierce said, adding, “This will open the door for all kinds of broadcasting in the future.”
Virtual Chester On Track will be streaming live from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.on YouTube at youtu.be/aFMTHJOFylA as well as on the Chester Railway Station Facebook page. More Information about the Chester Railway Museum is available on the website, chesterrailwaystation.net.
“The event planners hope that a touch of joy in peoples’ homes is just what’s needed in this cloistered time,” Pierce said.