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.
The last time I went to Lowell, MA was during the height of COVID and I only had enough time to walk the length of BY interlocking where the MBTA Lowell line briefly merges with the old Guilford Rail System Freight Main Line. With all of the re-signaling that is currently taking place along that route, I returned with a friend for a day of craft beer appreciation and searchlight signal photos. This post will detail the more interesting parts of the trip along with my return to the Mid-Atlantic via Acela express.
On weekends service to Lowell is pretty awful with trains running on a 1-2 hour headway. Today was no different and the only thing I was able to catch at Lowell's transportation was an empty high-low island platform. Lowell has an interesting layout as the two tracks on the left are used for MBTA service to Boston, while the three on the right are part of the former Guilford Rail System "Freight Main Line" that at one point stretched 714 miles from central Maine to Sunbury, PA.
A few years ago what remained of the Guilford was purchased by CSX which has wasted no time assimilating the line with new chaining, signals and, in this case, bridge art.
Due to the presence of hydro power, Lowell had become an early industrial hub, mostly specializing in textile production. The advent of electricity and modern logistics allowed this industry to move to more suitable locations turning Lowell into the stereotypical "gritty old mill town". In 1978 Federal money was obtained to create the Lowell National Historic Park as an urban renewal. One component of this was a heritage streetcar operation coined the "National Streetcar Museum", which I was able to visit and ride back in 2006. On this march day 20 years later the vintage streetcars weren't running, so I made do with a photo of Boston and Main 0-6-0 switcher #410, which is displayed on the streetcar platform.
Since 2006 Lowell has undergone an impressive recovery as the cost of housing in the core Boston area has exploded. Helped by the presence of UMass Lowell and MBTA service, the city is full of new development with many of the old mill buildings converted into artist lofts or new housing. This vintage service station sign was located across the street from the National Streetcar Museum.
Heading out of town my host suggested seeing the old B&M station at North Chelmsford. The trackside structure is being relocated for preservation with the wooden building already gone and the foundation marked up for disassembly. This project is likely one of CSX's "good will" gestures after taking control of neglected Guilford assets.
The MBTA Fitchburg Line station Shirley might look like something out of the 19th century, but it was actually constructed in 1993 after the station itself was reactivated in 1981 after over a decade of Fitchburg Line extensions and retrenchments. Although the minimal infrastructure gives the station a vibe similar to some of MARC's least used stations, Shirley currently serves a respectable 100+ passengers a day.
Because I had been out all day getting photos of 1940's and 50's vintage railroad signaling I hadn't really noticed that it was almost sunset when I had encountered an actual train movement in the form of a Norfolk Southern run-through freight with a former Guilford C40-8 leading a trio of NS units including SC70ACC #1807, AC44C6M #4857 and C44-9W #9928. In the 2010's NS had invested in a joint venture with the Guilford to run freight from Harrisburg to Ayer in conjunction with NS's of the former Delaware and Hudson route between Sunbury and Schenectady.
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.
The MBTA's Mattapan-Ashmont "high speed" line is a part streetcar museum, part light rail transit operating at the southern end of the Red Line subway's Ashmont branch. As previously covered in my last post of still photos the line is run entirely with 1940's PCC streetcars left over from the MBTA's extensive PCC fleet that powered the Green Line system up through the late 1980's. This anachronism has persisted due to some weight and clearance issues on the 2.5 mile line, however there are long term plans to rebuild the bridges and replace the PCCs with Boston's Type 9 LRV's currently in Green Line service. In January 2024 I returned to ride the Mattapan-Ashmont Line for the first time since 2008 and in addition to photos I made due to get some video of the operations there.
First up is this clip of PCC #3087 departing a snow covered Mattapan terminal at the end of the morning peak, with #3265, which had been been performing equipment test runs, in the background. The 8 minute run to Ashmont typically sees two cars in service for the peak periods with one car off peak. The video was taken from a new pedestrian/cycle overpass at the north end of the terminal area which is a great vantage point for photos and also a testament to the improvement of the local neighborhood, which had previously been known for its poverty and crime and, ironically, the likely reason the PCC operation was not modernized earlier.
Here we see MBTA PCC #3268 depart the inbound platform and head around the Mattapan Loop to board passengers for the return journey to Ashmont near the end of the Friday morning peak. Despite the snow and age of the cars, the PCCs were holding up well with no apparent faults. The Mattapan terminal has been extensively modernized as when I was last here in the early 2000's it was still mostly comprised of wood.
Here we have a view from the rear window of PCC #3268 covering the entire route from Mattapan to Ashmont. As you can see there there were two PCC cars on the live providing 10 minute headways. Unlike SEPTA's PCC II's, which were gutted and rebuilt by Brookville, the MBTA PCC fleet still have their original propulsion and air system. Video covers the departure from the Mattapan station and the vehicles subsequent departure from Ashmont around the loop and back down the ramp towards Mattapan. Note that the now retired "High-Speed Line" moniker refers to the streetcars running on their own right of way and not in street traffic, even if the top speeds on the route are still 25-40mph. This historic nomenclature was also popular in Philadelphia with the Route 100 and Patco continuing to have the label applied.
In this video a 6-car MBTA Red Line train pulls into the departure track at the Ashmont terminal from the 3-track relay yard just south of the station. Stock is composed of two 01700 series pairs (01718+01717 and 01757+01758) on the ends with 01600 series pair 01637+01638 in the middle. The classic Boston Red Line 01599 and 01600 series stock was developed by Pullman Standard around 1970. The subsequent 01700 series were delivered around 1987 by the the Urban Transportation Development Corporation of Canada, which had purchased the IP from Pullman out of Bankruptcy. UTDC would later get merged into Bombardier and ultimately Alstom.
Here is my attempt to take a front facing video from an MBTA Red Line train running between the Fields Corner and Savin Hill stations on the Ashmont Branch. Although All Red Line rolling stock has the capability for this view, placement of cab signal equipment and later emergency stretchers frequently block the view.
The Mattapan PCC's are perhaps the crown jewel in Boston's railfanning scene featuring un-reconstructed streetcars that have been in continuous service since the 1940's. Operating as an extension of the Red Line subway, the 2.6 mile Mattapan branch connects the Mattapan Square transit hub with the Red Line terminus at Ashmont. Therefore it is rather surprising that the last time I had ridden the line was all the way back in 2008 despite visiting the Boston area at least once or twice per year. A part of this gap may have been due to the extra fare it costs to transfer to the Mattapan Line, although more recently Boston has had a bunch of more pressing retirements such as the trolleybus network and the Orange Line's 1980 stock. Anyway, in 2024 I made a point to rectify this oversight and reserved a morning of my winter Boston trip to ride the Mattapan Line. This post will contain the still photos ( mirror )while video content will be in a follow-up post.
While I had originally been booked on a mid-morning Acela, the season's first cold snap disabled many of the increasingly worn out trainsets so I was forced onto the second run of the day, departing Washington Union Station before dawn. The rear power car was #2028 and it was stabled adjacent to ACS-86 #620 on track #20.
Passing ACS-86 #612 underneath Penn Station New York.
Passing MBTA 1800-series cab car #1838 in the Southwest Corridor trench.
My trainset's lead power car was #2007.
The next morning I set out early from downtown transferring at JFK-UMASS from a Braintree to an Ashmont train after having taken the opportunity to rice a train of classic Red Line stock led by c.1970 Pullman Standard 01600 series car #01644. I can never get over how British these look.
On the same platform I happened to catch the lead car of the 01800 series. This order of cars from Bombardier replaced the remaining 01400 series cars from 1963.
Finally arriving in Ashmont, my train gets a lineup into the yard. The Ashmont branch used to be a New Haven RR commuter rail line up through the 1920's and until the PCC loop was rebuilt in the 2000's, featured a period interlocking tower from when the line was first converted to rapid transit use.
Up through the mid-2000's the Ashmont PCC loop was at the same grade level as the Red Line faregates with an elevated flyover at the north end of the trainshed-like station. As part of the rebuild the PCC loop was moved to the south and completely elevated. One of my very first rail videos is of a Mattapan PCC squealing around this loop.
It didn't take long for PCC car #3268 to arrive and climb the ramp up to the loop.
On the outbound run my run passed PCC car #3087 at Milton on a crew training run and #3265 at Central Ave providing 10 minute peak period service. While I was out one of the two PCC's pulled into the shoppe increasing headways to a lackluster 20 minutes.
