Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

682 SB was only 9 min late into BON. Dunno how that fits in.

Also, there are freights on almost every siding and/or #2 track. Something about the season ?

Monday #680 arrived BON at 9.26AM.
Monday #681 arrived Woburn at 9:26AM.
Assuming Amtrak Train Status is correct, always dangerous to assume,
it would appear that the MBTA again ran a special BON-WOB turn as
they did on Friday to help get the DE's back on schedule. Although, I
am not aware it has happened recently, the DE has occasionally
picked up MBTA passengers at MBTA stations on the Haverhill line
and taken them to Boston. Good to see the DE and the MBTA doing
mutual aid,

Anyone hearing any rumblings about when in December the tunnel to the North Station T station will open?

Yes yes yes, it's been too long and now that Winter has set in, going outside over a considerably longer route stinks.

On the upside, the door in the North Station end of the passage was open for workers last week and you could see it looks quite finished - signage up, looks ready to fly. Although you can't see very far in, the MBTA end of the passage is still walled off like it always has been, so hard to see the whole picture. But recall that there was already a tunnel to the head house that was taken down - seems they would be reusing that.

Swist, PAR has a BAAD habit of parking "dead on law" freights on any siding that handy,when the T&E crew run out of legal hours to work.
That tends to screw up planed meets of Downeaster trains!

Yeah, I know they do that. It's just that the sheer number of parked (or even moving!) freights is way more than I usually notice. So I was wondering if it's a seasonal thing. Certainly the time between Thanksgiving and Xmas is busiest for road and air freight services.

On the other hand, I don't know too many people who give non-odorized LP gas or lumber for Xmas!

This year's video presentation at the 30th Trainriders/NE Annual Meeting examined three areas: the success of the Dome Car and its uncertain future; the various projects NNEPRA and PanAm are pursuing; and the unique Tax Rebate Program for senior volunteers at the Saco Train Station. https://youtu.be/0lJSxO05E4k" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does 681 turn as 686 in Brunswick? I have an Amtrak voucher to burn and I'm thinking about taking the Downeaster up to Brunswick and back for a scenic ride. What I don't want to risk is missing 686 if 681 gets delayed.

diburning wrote:Does 681 turn as 686 in Brunswick? I have an Amtrak voucher to burn and I'm thinking about taking the Downeaster up to Brunswick and back for a scenic ride. What I don't want to risk is missing 686 if 681 gets delayed.

I believe so, yes. 680, 682 and 684 are the respective first trips for the three trainsets, so 681 and 683 would turn as 686 and 688. I know that was the case in the pre-expansion schedule (I just wish I had taken the Dome Car to Boston instead that day).

Reference the video at the NNEPRA meeting on the discussion of "saving" the Dome car.
Maine and New York would likely be able to work out an agreement to maintain the car
and some states in the mid-west, where it has run, might also participate. Of course,
it all depends on Delta Dick and it was noted that Amtrak has not yet replied to the
requests for discussions. Maybe, a private railcar entity could purchase the car and
lease it to various state funded Amtrak trains. The Downeaster is somewhat unique, in
that NNEPRA contracts with Amtrak to run the trains, rather than just a state subsidy
agreement on certain routes,

Maybe the next step for NNEPRA is buying their own cars like North Carolina, whether or not a dome is in the offing. Mr. O’Keefe, has the organization considered such, and if so what have they concluded?

mtuandrew wrote:Maybe the next step for NNEPRA is buying their own cars like North Carolina, whether or not a dome is in the offing. Mr. O’Keefe, has the organization considered such, and if so what have they concluded?

If NNEPRA (Maine) were to purchase a big/super dome car, why not buy three of them so every train set has one? There are plenty of them still around, although I’ll admit I don’t know how many are up for sale. Amtrak only has one in their inventory right now. Even better if you desire used rolling stock, because they will become available soon, how about buying ex-SF/Amtrak HiLevel cars including the ex-Pacific Parlor cars? Low floor vestibules will be their only major problem if all the Downeaster stations have high level platforms. Do they, I’m not sure?

Haverhill, Exeter, Durham, Dover and Freeport do not, IINM.