I finally got a chance to ride the extended trip to Brunswick yesterday. Took the 681 from Haverhill North to Brunswick, and the 686 South from Brunswick back to Haverhill. Overall, great trip, and a special thanks to 2 great crews on both trips. Great customer service, and they were helpful to all. To the conductor on the 686, who won the heart of the little girl by getting a photo of her while she tried on your conductor hat, thanks for showing yourself to be a great guy.
I tried a breakfast sandwich and coffee on the am trip, and it was actually pretty good!
At Brunswick, the station staff, who are not Amtrak personnel, were also great. I asked how the ridership numbers were doing...great was the answer...noting that the earlier inbound trip was sold out. Both legs of my trip were pretty full. There was some discussion of the possible extension to Rockland, but nothing firm at this point...MAYBE a late summer excursion trial in 2020.
A little bit of a hiccup on Northbound trip as the train arrived in Haverhill on the Southbound side, but the engineer carefully stopped in plenty of time to allow everyone to cross in front of the engine to board on the other side. This could have been tricky, but it was handled well.
Steve