In September of 2025 I was able to score a work related trip to Boston and since I have been making about two trips per year to that city for the past decade it was somewhat difficult to figure out a railfan mission besides ride up and ride back. I ultimately came up with a nighttime round trip out on the Green Line C Branch to Cleveland Circle. This set of photos also has the distinction of being taken entirely with my phone camera as I was always in low light or actively traveling.
As is typical my trip kicked off at the Amtrak BWI Airport Rail Station. Upon arrival I caught ACS-86 #634 with a southbound Regional, however I would be on classic Acela set #17 with power car #2022 leading train #2252. At this point in time the Next Gen sets had officially entered service, but with only a single weekend round trip I would not be on one.
Here are some videos from the side window of #2252 including racing cars at the BELL flyover and passing through Trenton non-stop.
At the Penn Station "halftime" break I grabbed a photo of NJT ALP-46 class unit #4600.
Crossing the Connecticut River Drawbridge, work had started on its eventual replacement, which did not seem to be making use of the piers the New Haven had built for that purpose.
Old #2022 completed its trip, pulling into Boston South Station's track #6. I then proceeded South Station Under to catch a Red Line train to Shawmut.
Instead of waiting around at South Station Under, I caught a Braintree train to JFK UMass where a CRRC train with #01936 arrived for me to complete my journey down the Ashmont Branch.
Fortunately there was still plenty of classic rolling stock running around on the Red Line like 1970 vintage Pullman Standard car #01617.
Back in 2024 I paid a visit to the Columbia Ave overpass over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in Northwest Philadelphia. When later processing the events of the trip I realized that the location as adjacent to some Conrail era signaling accessible via the Fairmont Park disc golf course. When I was back in the area in the summer of 2025 I set out to rectify this oversight as well as getting some additional photos of traffic on the old Connecting Railway.
Reaching the 33rd St overpass that overlooked Amtrak's MANTUA required me to revisit the Columbia Ave location I visited in 2024. While there I managed to catch the "sequential" classic Acela set with power cars #2013 and #2012.
Amtrak's MANTUA interlocking used to be part of ZOO tower's territory up until the late 1990's. Today it is most notable for being where SEPTA and Amtrak traffic have to switch places for the former to head to 30th St Station's upper level while the latter descends to the lower. To partly remedy this conflict center track #3, formerly used by the PRR for freight, was given a "straight" shot to the "River Line" track to 30th St lower level while the SEPTA trains on outer track #4 are left to navigate a 30mph diverging move. In the videos below we see the 4W signal at MANTUA at first displaying Medium Approach and later Medium Clear to a pair of single unit Silverliners V, including #708, from Chestnut Hill West
Next along was a southbound Regional train with ACS-86 #657.
Next up was a northbound Regional with ACS-86s #636 and #626 running top and tail.
Running behind the Regional was an outbound SEPTA R7 Trenton train.
I was then surprised by the appearance of an Amtrak Next Gen Acela trainset with power cars #2133 and #2124. They were in the final stages of testing before entering service later in the month with simulated revenue trips running to a real, but unlisted schedule.
CP-PARK on the former Conrail Trenton Line has seen some modifications since the CSX takeover in 1999, however the east end still sports Conrail mast signals and the blue station sign.
In 2025 a friend in southern New Hampshire I had stayed with during the HART tower trip back in October 2024 informed me that they would be soon be moving back to Ohio. Although I had largely completed by Connecticut Valley signal documentation project there were still a few odds and ends I wanted to check on so I found a free weekend with cheap Acela runs. Unfortunately, my friend was presented with a surprise gift of tickets to see Ringo Star's All Star Band at Carnegie Hall on the night where I would arrive via Amtrak's Valley Flyer to Greenfield, MA. Well, no problem, instead of transferring to the Flyer, I could just backtrack from New Haven to where my friend would be parked at Stamford, killing the remaining time at a brewery in South Norwalk. Here is a set of photos from what turned out to be a surprisingly successful Plan B.
Somehow I managed to get a reasonably priced seat on the 330pm Acela out of BWI which arrived with a classic set and power cars #2027 and #2033.
Using an upgrade to first class I was able to two meals on my trip to New Haven, crab meat enchiladas and a cheese plate.
I managed to make a very short connection to the next westbound Metro-North local with M8 MU #9729 leading. The previous eastbound MNRR NHL train was on the adjacent track with M8 #9365 on the rear.
I arrived at South Norwalk well after dark. I had been to the station a couple times before to visit the nearby preserved SS44 interlocking tower, but never inside the actual station building.
My annual winter Boston trip has always involved the challenge of convincing my more normal friends to take a round trip along the full length of the NEC. In the 2010's going overnight on Train 66 was a no-go due to their troubles sleeping on board. For a while a compromise was reached where they would fly up and I would use a companion pass for a return Acela trip. More recently, thanks to Amtrak's new pricing strategy and my tier status perks, we have found ways to make the trip in Acela first class, which my friend finds preferable to flying. Although Boston has a bit of a "been there, done that" feel for me, 2025 would turn out to be the last winter trip to Boston before the Next Gen Acelas entered service. With this I paired a trip to Braintree due to the impending retirement of the early 01500, 01600 and 01700 Red Line stock. You can see both categories of photo here.
Although I live close to the BWI Airport Rail Station, the poor selection of Acela trains often makes it necessary to travel first to DC to then proceed north. While waiting for my southbound MARC train, Amtrak Regional Train 170 pulled into BWI on track #1 with ACS-86 #640.
Arriving Washington Union Station I caught VRE and MARC MP36PH-3C's #V63, #29 and #29 in their respective storage facilities.
The Original Generation Acela sets were getting long in the tooth with train cancellations a frequent occurrence, especially in winter. On my upbound trip I lucked out with my 930am departure departing DC Union Station on time. The Track 19/20 "Acela platform" had two waiting trainsets with power cars #2039 and #2011, with #2039 being the "ultimate" unit of the 40 Acela Express power cars constructed. My party had managed to get window seats at the Row 14/15 4-table, adjacent to the Joe Biden 14A/15A seat pair favored by then Vice President Joe Biden when he was a weekly Acela commuter. While Acela first is a fantastic service, there was still the whiff of Amtrak inconsistency as cut lemons and limes were not stocked for this trip. Fortunately I had remembered to bring my own.
The first arch span of the new PORTAL bridge was in place. The new design is trying hard to make up for replacing an iconic bit of early 20th century engineering, but remains just as soulless just at a higher price point.
At Penn Station we pulled across the platform from NJT ALP-46 #4650.
On the Metro North New Haven Line I managed to snag a photo of New York Central heritage painted P32AC-DM #211.
Passing New Haven, Amtrak Phase III heritage P42DC #145 was still working out of Springfield with ACS-86 #609 on hand for the Regional/Vermonter power changes.
At Boston South Station power car #2035 was on the opposite end of my train and the outdoor train concourse under the new South Station Tower was largely complete.
Delays with the CRRC 01900 series cars have extended the life of the older Boston rolling stock with the bulk of service now being provided by the 01700 and 01800 classes.
The Urban Transportation Development Corporation 01700 series cars, #01754 shown below, are a somewhat updated 1986 copy of the c.1970 01500/01600 series cars built by Pullman Standard. UTDC and its plant in Thunder Bay, Ontario would be taken over by Bombardier Inc who would go on to produce the all-new 01800-series in 1994.
Ages ago when I was going to Boston on a more frequent basis I remember being scared to travel to Braintree because nobody could give me an answer on if the trains would discharge outside of fare control, resulting in paying an exit token followed by two more tokens to get back in. Thanks to the internet I now know the Quincy extension uses island platforms and can be visited without additional cost. Here we see 01754 and 01727 waiting at the Braintree island platform.
A fun feature of the whole 01500/01600/01700 series are the manually operated rollsigns.
Returning back downtown I made an effort to take forward facing video as the new CRRC cars effectively lack a forward view. The Quincy extension was built for 70mph speeds, but is currently operating at 55mph, which is actually an improvement from 40mph due to a track maintenance panic.
Of course my good luck couldn't last forever. Due to about 4 inches of snow falling overnight Sunday my 11am Acela was canceled on Monday and I was pushed back onto the 1pm departure. Arriving at South Station three Acela sets with power cars #2036, #2014 and #2035, were waiting at the buffers, implying that the reason for the cancellation was crew availability as opposed to equipment failure. The roll of the dice directed me onto the #2025/#2039 trainset, aka the exact one I had traveled to Boston on several days earlier. What are the chances?! 藍
Amtrak has been promoting the revamped menu in Acela First and while they have been doing a good job, I was presented with the same menu on both round trips which included an Italian version of the plant based meatballs. While quite tasty Amtrak has been leaning heavily on this ingredient as a vegan dining option and the novelty can quickly wear off. Needless to say I went for the crab enchiladas.
On the New Haven Line I got videos overtaking two separate Metro North trains.
Due to the later departure I was losing light approaching New York, however I managed to get some photos of the sun setting behind Manhattan as we crossed the Hell Gate Bridge.
Ultimate Acela Express power car at New York Penn Station track 12,
That's all for this run up and down the NEC. Join me next time as I head back to the Capitol Region to check out some former New York Central infrastructure.
