Dial up - http://www.georgewgardei.com/videos/tra ... os_56k.wmv
Broadband - http://www.georgewgardei.com/videos/tra ... adband.wmv
Trip Report – 6-24-04
Amtrak 680 – The Downeaster from Haverhill Ma to Boston North Station
I drove myself to the Haverhill station with my mother and my luggage in tow. I tied my “essential clothing” bag and camera bags to my big travel bag (one of those big boxy things with wheels and a handle) so that it would be more easily brought aboard the train. My mom waited around to watch me board the train when it arrived a few minutes late. The conductor allowed me to place my bags in one of the unoccupied handicap areas.
I head for the café car and decide that I would sit at one of the tables on the way down to Boston, so I head back to get my luggage and move it to the handicap area of the café car. I ordered a cup of Green Mountain Coffee (which is arguably the best coffee in the northeast) and a cinnamon raison bagel which was toasted without me being asked. The coffee and bagel were both enjoyable and I rode the train in quiet solitude into Boston, well at least tried to because the southbound lane of the MBTA owned Lowell line didn’t have continuous welded rail, so it got pretty rough in some areas where the track was in bad need of attention.
At north station, I went out to find a taxi and immediately found one. I waited for it to offload its passengers and luggage and the driver promptly loaded my stuff (I kept the laptop bag on me) and had him take me to South Station.
At South Station I check in my Luggage and played Train Simulator for several hours. Around 6:30 I went to the Cheese Steak place and ordered some lunch. I ate half the sandwich and saved the rest for later. I then went out to wait for my next train, the Lake Shore Limited to be backed into the station. Around 11:15 it was finally in the station and I asked the baggage supervisor if I could take some pictures of the locos. Head escorted me through the maze of forklifts, mail, and express freight being loaded onto one of the ex-heritage coach baggage cars. We had two units in phase V scheme, a baggage car, viewliner, two coaches and 1 café. I asked, and I was escorted into the viewliner and I took a few pictures there. When I was done taking pictures, I went to the line forming of passengers and waited to board the train.
Lake Shore Limited – Boston South Station to Albany/Rensselaer NY.
I road in the last coach next to the café. The train was booked so the conductor announced that if no one had a seating parner, they would find someone to sit with you. A gentleman around my age asked to sit next to me. He was heading for Toledo. He turned out to a good conversationalist, about trains, computers, etc. The five hour trip to Albany was mostly smooth and uneventful. We arrived in Springfield Ma on time, and I got out and took a few more photos.
After Springfield, we started to run a little late. We arrived in Pittsfield about a half an hour late and eventually into Albany 20 minutes late. We did not have to wait for freights except at Pittsfield. We passed at least two eastbound freights and one westbound freight. Sometime during the trip I sampled to coffee from the café car which was good, but not as good as the Green Mountain served on the Downeaster.
On both trains, the crew was both professional and friendly. The Downeaster was a little grimy, but the interiors of the coaches were well kept. The Lake Shore Limited was sparkling clean, and the interior was also clean.
Trip Report - 7-5-04
Empire Service - Albany/Rensselaer - New York Penn Station
I departed from Albany om time at 10:00am on the Empire Service. I chose a seat on the coach behind the cafe car, which had the older "red" interior scheme. Since I never took the Hudson river router before, I rode on the right side of the train so I could watch the river go by. The river valley was foggy, which made the river look peaceful and calm. After the food service car opened I went in and ordered a "microwaved” grilled cheeseburger and a giant cookie. I enjoyed the burger and cookie. A woman who got on at Yonkers (I think) sat next to me, but she was not a conservationist.
The train arrived at Penn Station on time. I never been in Penn station before (I passed through on a regional before) so I looked around the station a little to find the restrooms and a place to eat. I chose to eat at Roy Rogers because it has been many years since I ate at a Roy Rogers.
Regional - New York Penn Station - Boston South Station
The regional arrived 5 minutes late into Penn Station, so we departed about 10 minutes late from Penn Station. One thing I've noticed is that the train was long... I rode 6 cars back from the cafe car, and the cafe car being the second car, and there were at least three cars behind mine... that’s a long train. The car I rode on was in bad need of screw and bolt tightening because everything was rattling. I was not able to find a seat on the "blue" cars which were much quieter. The car I rode was again had the older red interior.
While I was "exploring" the train to get to the cafe car, a gentleman "claimed" my seat. When I got back, I just sat next to him. Turns out he wasn't much of a conversationalist either. What I did get from him is his distaste of riding the train to Providence RI and that he would have drove if his car wasn't being serviced. Also, he apparently was going to a funeral, so I figured by that and the car thing.. he wasn’t in a talking mood. He slept much of the trip... and I did get in an hour long nap (funny how trains rock you to sleep)
Outside of Route 128 station. we had to wait at least an half an hour to allow an acela express, an mbta train, and another regional to pass because of single track operation. We arrived at South Station 45 minutes late. Needless to say, I missed my Downeaster connection at North Station. Knowing that I missed the Downeaster at North Station, I stopped to take a photo of the loco and then I utilized the subways to get to North Station. I asked the ticket agent when the next Downeaster would be and he informed me 10:30. Too late, so I chose to take the next MBTA train to Haverhill. Problem was, MBTA was operating on a Sunday Schedule because of the holiday, so I had to wait two and a half hours for the 8:48 train. so I decided to find someplace to eat. McDonalds was open at North Station, but I refuse to eat their "artificial" food so I went out of North Station to look around. The only restaurant that was open was a local bar and hooters.. so McDonalds it was.
MBTA train from Boston North Station - Haverhill Ma
By this time it was dark outside and I was very tired from the day's activities. I rode in a sparsely populated coach, and the guy sitting in the seat across from me was an excellent conversationalist. He was fascinated about the Albany to New York Amtrak service and asked me if I had an Amtrak schedule with me (which I didn't). He and I chat about everything from Bird watching to whatever.
