25-03-22 PHOTOS: Guilford Autos

With the Vermonter route now completely re-signaled the next chapter in my big New Englande adventure is pivoting to the former Boston and Main Western Route Main Line which is currently under assimilation by CSX. Having made friends with a local signal enthusiast who also happens to have a car I was able to round trip myself up on the Acela for a weekend of signal shenanigans. The first half of the trip involved seeing what could be documented on Amtrak's Downeaster route between the Massachusetts border and Saco, Maine.  The photos will cover the trip up and a couple of Downeaster catches on the WRML. 

Like so many of my recent journeys my trip started off at the BWI Airport Rail Station where I managed to catch an uncommon MARC diesel doubleheader with MP36PH-3C #34 and GP39H-2 #75 with a northbound Penn Line train. 

Because BWI only twos 2-3 Acela departures each weekday I was having to first backtrack to Washington Union Station. Arriving near the start of the evening peak I caught the lineup of MARC cab cars at the Union Station buffer stops before waiting for my 6pm Acela departure. My train that day would be Acela set #11 with power car #2017 on the south end.

The 6pm Acela out of Washington is a Friday only run to Boston that completes its journey at 110am. Here is ACS-86 #639 at Penn Station and ACS-86 #618 across the platform from Acela power car #2036 at Boston South Station.

The new hotel that sacrificed about 2 car lengths of South Station platform length was nearing completion with the arched pedestal forming a somewhat open air concourse in front of the existing South Station train hall. Because the last Red Line had already departed shortly before 1am, I was forced to take a much more expensive Uber to my friend's house. 

Heading out the next day my first catch was Downeaster Train #694 with Amtrak Phase III Heritage painted F40PH cabbage car #90406 with P42DC #95 pushing on the rear passing under the B&M signal bridge at CPF-241 near Rollinsford. The new CSX signals are waiting to be put in service.

 

18-09-09 PHOTOS: Boston Backwards

Traveling to Boston typically involves a return and a surplus of Amtrak class upgrade coupons means that I was positioned in the rear car of a Regional allowing me to survey the Shore Line between Boston and a point in Rhode Island where the low light and high speeds made good photography impossible. Also included in this set are some Downeaster photos and a brief trip I took on the Orange Line for the purpose of killing an extended layover in Boston. You can find the full gallery of photos here or on Google.

We begin at the Exeter station waiting for my southbound Downeaster train. While I waited the northbound train appeared with a rather shabby looking Amtrak P42DC #104 in the lead and Amtrak Great Dome car #10031 trailing behind. Through 2018 the New Englande Passenger Rail Authority would pay to have this car added to the Downeaster as a leaf season extra, however it's future availability is in doubt due to Amtrak cost cutting :-(

Cabbage car #90220 was on the rear.

As the passing siding was only a few miles to the north the southbound Downeaster soon arrived with Amtrak P42DC #120. 

Due to work on the Lowell Line, my train was diverted down the Reading Line, affording this view of the Amelia Earhart Dam.

MBTA GP40MC #1120 at North Station.

MBTA 1200-series Orange Line car #1260 at Wellington. These cars are in desperate need of replacement, although the Chinese cars purchased for the task will likelt be little better even upon delivery. 

16-09-01 PHOTOS: Downeaster Dome

Most years, Amtrak's sole remaining Great Dome car gets trotted out in the fall to provide leaf peepers with a better view on the Adirondack and (occasionally) Cardinal services. In 2016, NNEPRA, the governmental organization in charge of the Downeaster passenger service to Maine, hit upon the idea of booking the dome for a few weeks in August. One of the two trainsets would be equipped with the dome and it would be run on about half the weekday and weekend trains. As luck would have it, my annual Labour Day Boston trip involves a Dwneaster journey to New Hampshire, so the only action I had to take was moving back my departure from 5pm to 5:45pm.

If you didn't peek ahead and see all the photos last week, the full set is right here.

Former Great Northern dome car #10031 was one of 6 Great Dome cars ordered by the Great Northern in 1953 to upgrade service on the Empire Builder. It is currently the last dome car on the Amtrak roster, last seeing regular service on the single level version of the Auto Train.

Prior to my trains departure from Boston North Station, a strange Amtrak train consisting of P42DC #205 and a sister sandwiching a single Amfleet car was parked ahead of our trainset on the same track. It departed before ours was finished boarding and I still have no idea what was going on.

Our train was being hauled by Amtrak P42DC #140 and the dome car was placed behind the engine.

On the opposite train Rotem bi-level K-Kab-Car #1802 arrived at the head of an inbound MBTA commuter train.

Seating in the dome was at no extra cost and was first come first serve. The dome was open prior to departure and one did not need to maintain a seat in one of the regular coaches.

For anyone who has never ridden in Amtrak's Great Done, here's a video tour.



Speaking of video, I still had some space on my GoPro memory card so I found a way to rig it to the front of the dome to record a quasi railfan view of the Downeaster route between North Station and Haverhill. The first video includes the MBTA Lowell Line between North Station and the Anderson (Cooper) RTC. The second picks up from there and covers the Wildcat Branch as well as the Haverhill Line to just shy of the Bradford Station.

14-08-28 PHOTOS: Hudson Line 125th Street

One might expect that the photos from my annual Labour Day trip to New Englande, but this time I took a side trip to visit fellow Subchatter Lexcieeee who happens to live in Ossining which gave me an opportunity to take some photos and videos of the Metro North Hudson Line. The first photo stop was at Oscawana Island, which is that place in Courtlandt where the 3-track Hudson line bores through a small rock ridge via two tunnels.

The next day while connecting to Boston via Amtrak at New Haven I spend an hour or so photographing the morning rush at Harlem 125th St Station. After that I wandered around the New Haven station complex a little longer than I had anticipated due to my Regional train being significantly delayed.

Finally, I took a few more photos in and around the Portland, NH area. You can enjoy the full set of photos here and also stay tuned for a special video post to follow.

We begin at Grant Central Terminal with M3 #8017

Unfortunately that Budd was not for me as I caught a Push-pull trainset to Ossining with Shoreliner cab car #6309.

After heading out to the park, the first train that showed up was the westbound Amtrak Train #49 being pulled by a beleaguered P32AC-DM #707. Heritage cars still in consist.

Following close behind was an MNRR Poughkeepsie train with P32AC-DM #206 in the lead and a red-blue set of Shoreliners behind.

Alex told me that there might be a meet and he was right as two MNRR diesel trains passed, the second pushed by P32AC-DM #217.

Not long after southbound Empire service train #242 with Amtrak P32AC-DMs #712 and #713 popped out of the tunnel on track #3.

Here is a video of both the meet and the double headed Empire train.



As we got into rush hour another northbound diesel train with MNRR P32AC-DM #212 headed north of track #2.

Soon followed by a southbound MNRR on track #3 with P32AC-DM #218.

Last but not least a more to the north end of the tunnels bagged me a rear shot of Amtrak Empire train #237.

Alex catches a M3 express train into the city with the last stop of Tarrytown. I can never pass on filming an express run, but before we opened the taps I snagged MNRR P32AC-DM pulling an outbound diesel train just north of the Tarrytown Station.

Now I didn't actually get off at 125th St. I first rode all the way into GCT to get breakfast with Lexcieeee before heading back out via the (4)/(5) to Harlem 125th St station. Once there one of the first trains I caught was an inbound push-pull set with P32AC-DM #223.

A short while later I caught this trio if inbound MNRR equipment heading towards midtown.

A few M2/4/6's were still running like #8516 here.

Here New Haven Railroad P32AC-DM #229 pulls in opposite a brand new M8 trainset.

13-08-30 PHOTOS: Downeaster Exeter

For the last couple of years I have had a friend up in New Hampshire that has provided me with an excuse to go up there from time to time and make use of the Downeaster train service. Recently he moved from one location to another in the Portsmouth, NH area and as a result I have switched the station I use from Dover to Exeter. In this photo set I'll show some photos and video from Amtrak's Shore Line, a few pics from North and South station and finally a few of the Exeter, NH station area.

You can find all of these photos right here.

We begin in the New Haven trench just west of downtown. I was hoping to get a series of photos out the back of my Amtrak train, but morning shitty weather threw a wrench in the works. Before I gave up in the interest of shooting video here is SLE cab car #1711 on point for an eastbound SLE train that would follow ours. Power was P40 #840.

At Shoreline Junction we passed a westbound Acela Express trainset with power car #2015.

View out the back of the train as it passes through the East Haven tunnel complex.

As I said between Guilford and the Connecticut River bridge I shifted over to video from the back of the train due to poor lighting conditions.



More video from the rear taken between Providence and Route 128. This includes one of the 150mph sections used by AX trainsets.



After Route 128 I shot directly from the rear vestibule using HD video. This includes the famous Southwest corridor trench and the MBTA junction at Readville.


MTBA F40PH-2C #1074 at South Station.

Power for my train was AEL-7 #944.

The highly ironic Veterans cab car #1528 was also at South Station. The irony comes from the fact that the car was constructed by Messerschmidt, the same Messerschmidt that built fighters that many of those same Veterans faced over Germany in World War 2. 

Train inbound to North Station with a route cleared for an outbound train on Track 9 across the twin drawbridges.

 Amtrak P42DC #113 next to the departing F40PH #1012.

13-04-21 PHOTOS: Boston Redeye

So now to finally finish my story of trying to get to Boston after a kerfluffle with a terrorist dying in a boat cancelled my existing travel arrangements via Amtrak Train 95 on Friday evening. I had been intent on just cancelling my trip and was in the process of returning to Philadelphia when received word that the trains were running again. Taking action I got off my RiverLINE train in Robeling, NJ and after booking a ticket on my usually blacklisted Train 66 I headed back to Trenton and then New York.

Train 66 arrives at 2am as you saw before I went down to the South Ferry station to grab some photos of the new old station and its gap fillers. Upon returning to Penn Station and grabbing a bite to eat I went to kill 3 hours in the Amtrak waiting room when I noticed that Train 66 was now listed as "Delayed" on the big board. A trip to Amtrak customer service with the question "is Train 66 running" yielded the response "technically yes, but it was hit by a tornado and is stuck south of Washington, DC.

Well now I was pretty much screwed seeing as there was no way to abort my trip aside from taking Train 67 back down south which involved the same wait, but a disappointing outcome. It was only on another trip back to Amtrak customer service when I heard another traveler being told that the buses were running again and if I was to walk up to the PABT I could catch a 3am departure.

Well desperate times call for desperate measures so so all I had to do was walk the 8 blocks from Penn Station to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. If being forced to ride a Stinkbuggy wasn't bad enough it had started to rain and I must have looked at someone the wrong way because the next thing I knew I was running for my life! I managed to get away, but that's when the CHUDs came after me.

I eventually managed to purchase a ticket on the 2AM departure, which was the first bust departure north since the lockdown. There was a rather long line, but they had enough buses lined to to take everybody and I got on a 1/3 filled brand new 2013 bus that had not yet been thoroughly stinkafied. Departing about 30 minutes late I managed to fall asleep somewhere on the Thurway and woke up as we were pulling into South Station right on time. You know I'm committed to trains, but the Bus service can be reasonably nice so Amtrak had better not slack off in terms of service.

Anyway, in Boston I was scheduled to catch the first northbound Downeaster departing at 8:50, which was still several hours away. To kill the time I hopped an Orange Line train to Oak Grove and later took some pictures at South Station. A few days later I reversed the process and headed home from Exeter.

Anyway enough narritive as I assume you all want some photos. Again you can find the full set here, just scroll down a little.

First off is a video of my Rutgers wrapped RiverLINE train as it heads south from Robeling without me. Thanks to the POP system I didn't have to get a second fare to abort my trip.


In Trenton I got video of HHP-8 #663 arriving with a southbound Regional. The Limited Clear signal at the end of the eastbound platform was for an approaching Keystone. The southbound Regional is greeted by a Medium Approach indication at the end of the westbound platform


And a northbound Keystone departing past the Limited Clear signal at the end of the eastbound platform with AEM-7 #950.



NJT Arrow III set parked on track #4 at Trenton. #1327 has had its original United Knitting Machine twin arm pan replaced by an off-brand Schunk type.

Here is a brand new 2013 Van Hool....HA, just kidding. Of course I didn't take any pictures of the Bus or PA Bus Terminal. Instead here is an interior view of 1200 series Boston Orange Line car #1230. It's a shame we're going to loose that fine wood paneling when the cars are retired. They just don't make things like they used to any more. :-(

#1230 facing the Stop signal at Oak Grove.

#1220 preparing to head back south at Oak Grove.

MTBA F40PH #1001 seen hanging out at North Station. #1001 was part of one of the first F40PH orders by a commuter railroad back in 1978. #1031 in the background might look the same, but is actually an F40PHM-2C built by Morrison Knudsen in 1992.

Amtrak P42DC #72 at the head of the early morning Downeaster. Due to trackwork I would be treated to a rare millage trip over the Reading line instead of the more usual Lowell Line via the Anderson RTC.

Two routes had been cleared out of North Station through the former Tower A interlocking plant.

My Downeaster set that day was also sporting a rare twin P42 configuration with #204 on the rear shown here as the train departs Exeter.