Cape Cod Tracker

A Cape Cod Halloween

As Halloween has come and gone, The Cape offers many places to go and thing to see on Halloween checkout the video above is the Cape really spooky? Prehaps you decided to carve a pumpkin or decided to put a pumpkin on your front lawn from the local Pumpkin Patch shown below

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Rocky Shores and Sandy Beaches

Cape Cod has long been known for it rocky shores and sandy beaches and at most of these beaches a lighthouse can be seen such as the well famed Cape Cod Light also known as Highland Light.

Lighthouses in and around Cape Cod (not all) :

Ned Point: The Ned Point Lighthouse is located on the North Side of enterance to Mattapoisett Harbour. Construction started in 1837 and ended in 1838 the lighthouse was first lighted in 1838. The tower stands 39 feet and was deactivated between 1952-1961 also  the grounds of the lighthouse are opened to the public everyday.

Bird Island: The Bird Island Lighthouse is located on the entrance to Sippican Harbour and Buzzards Bay. Construction started in 1819 and was light lit in 1819 then during 1933-1997 it was deactivated then reactived once again in 1997. The lighthouse is not open to the public and is best seen by boat.

Wings Neck: The Wings Neck Lighthouse was built in 1849 and then later rebuilt in 1889. The lighthouse is located at the entrance to Pocasset Harbour in Pocasset, MA and is only open to the public by rental.

Cape Cod Light: Cape Cod Light also known as Highland Light may be the most famous lighthouse on Cape Cod, It is located in the Cape Cod National Seashore and is closest to the town of Turo.

Race Point Light: Located at the eastern tip of the US Race Point Light was built in 1876 at a height of 45 feet. Race Point Light is located closest to Provincetown the last town on the Cape. To reach the lighthouse you can take a 45 minute walk from Race Point Beach the grounds are open to the public and the keepers house is available for a night stay.

Pictures of various lighthouses on the Cape check out the video above!

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Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge

When I travel to the Cape I always make an effort to try and catch the train at the Railroad Bridge along the Cape Cod Canal. Most of the time I catch the train because of my knowledge of the train schedule but most people never do. The Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge was built in 1933 by the Army Corps of Engineers the bridge has a 544 foot span and is operated by 2 counterweights one on each side of the Canal. The railroad bridge is normally left in the up position which provides a 135 foot clearance to vessels navigating the Canal. When the bridge needs to be lowered the bridge operator must call the Army Corps of Engineers Canal Traffic Control Center and request permission to lower the bridge because vessel traffic has the right-away in the Canal. For those who have never see the railroad bridge come down and the train cross over checkout the video below if you are interested in riding across the bridge visit the Cape Cod Central Railroads website at www.capetrain.com.

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A Travel Back By Rail

Every time I see the train on the Cape I always think of what the railroad's where like before the modern trains that we have today existed. In 1848 railroad tracks from Middleboro reached Sandwich. In 1854 the rails reached Yarmouth Port and Hyannis.

Then by 1872 did tracks reach Provicetown. At this point in time you could take the train all over the Cape. In 1938 all regular passenger trains to Provincetown where suspended and in 1959 all passenger service ended on the Cape. In 1982 passenger service started agin on the Cape and once again in 1998 did passenger service on the Cape stop. Then in 1999 Cape Cod Central Railroad formed and was sold and then bought back in 2006.. From 1986 to 1996 passenger service from New York to Cape Cod was ongoing. Today Cape Cod Central Railroad is one of the leading trains in the country. I recently decided to learn more about the rail history on the Cape by visiting the Railroad Museum in Chatham. The railroad museum is a great place to see some of the artifact's from the early railroad history on the Cape. Checkout the video above or visit the Railroad Museum to learn more about the railroad history on the Cape.

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Crossing That Bridge

For a long time has it been known that you are not offically on Cape Cod till you cross the Cape Cod Canal either by car, boat, or train. The Cape Cod Canal essentially made Cape Cod an island with water on all four sides. The Canal was first explored and considered by Miles Standish of the Plymouth colony in 1623 Standish realized that a waterway connecting Buzzards Bay with Cape Cod Bay would help trade between the Plymouth colony, the Native American Indians and the Dutch from New York.

The Cape Cod Canal today.

Although such a task was beyond the abilities of the colony during the Revolutioninary War George Washngton saw the need for a Canal to give greater security to the American forces. In 1776 Thomas Machin an engineer with the Army  investigated the feasability of a Canal his report recomended that a Canal be built. Over the next Century many surverys and studies where done and some groups even started construction of a Canal but failed. In 1904 August Perry Belmount president of the Boston Cape Cod and New York Canal Company conducted a engineering study and on favorable results started construction on the Cape Cod Canal in May of 1909.

Very little was accomplished during the first year due to winter storm in November causing the company to stop work until Spring of the next year. By 1910 the Canal project was fully underway and in September of 1910 the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge was completed consisting of a single span 160 feet long. The weight of the span was balanced with one huge counterweight. In 1911 and 1912 the Bourne and Sagamore bridges where completed each of the highway bridges consisted of 2 spans and functioned like a draw bridge.

By 1914 ony one dam seperated the two waterways of Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay and on July 29, 1914 the Cape Cod Canal opened as a privately operated toll waterway. The Canal was first opened with a depth of 15 feet with it's target depth of 25 feet. Serveral serious accidents occured in Belmonts Canal causing many lengthy Canal closures and losses in revenue. By 1915 Belmont had already tried to sell his Canal failure to the Federal Goverment and in March of 1928 Belmonts Canal was sold to the Federal Goverment for $11,500,000.

On March 13th, 1928 Congress  directed the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to operate and improve the Canal. The Corps of Engineers then learned from users of the Canal how it could improve naigation in the Canal. Then the 2 draw bridges where removed and 2 fixed high level bridges replaced the 2 draw bridges and then on June 21st, 1935 the two highway bridges where opened to traffic. These bridges are the very same bridges that exist today, In December of 1935 the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge was completed as it exists today. The Corps then went on to widen and deepen the Canal to be 480 feet wide and 32 feet deep . In 1940 the widening and deeping of the 17.4 mile canal was completed making the Cape Cod Canal the widest sea level Canal in the world.

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