Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

Also the RDC's don't have the same buff strength in the case of a grade crossing crash, which could be a problem with people not used to seeing trains on the Rockland branch.

From the Bangor Daily News:

Bangor Daily News wrote:A representative from Finger Lakes Railway gave a conceptual presentation to the board of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority — which manages Amtrak’s Downeaster service in Maine — at its meeting Monday.

That was only preliminary, though. A formal proposal is still being fleshed out, and its ultimate fate hinges on agreements between multiple parties, including the rail authority, the Maine Department of Transportation and multiple railroad companies.
. . .
The service would offer one daily trip along the route from November to April. From May to October, a second daily trip would be offered Friday through Sunday. Proposed stops include Bath, Wiscassett, Newcastle and Rockland, according to Betke. A stop in Waldoboro could also be added.
. . .
Moulton said another assessment may need to be done before passenger rail service returns to the tracks.

“I don’t think it’s likely there’s any major hurdles, it’s more of going back out there and assessing and then them proposing speeds they could run and confirming with [Federal Railroad Administration] and others that they can run those speeds,” Moulton said.

Read the full article at: https://bangordailynews.com/2022/01/30/ ... oam40zk0w/

From the Portland Press Herald:

Portland Press Herald wrote:No injuries and minimal damage were reported after a duct fire at Amtrak’s layover station in Brunswick early Friday morning.

According to Brunswick Fire Department Deputy Chief James Millson, crews arrived at the Turner Street facility at approximately 3 a.m. after Amtrak staff reported seeing flames and smoke coming from an exhaust system near the ceiling.

Upon arrival, Millson said, it appeared the fire was already out since Amtrak staff had shut down the impacted duct. Firefighters then monitored the facility until clearing the scene at about 4:45 a.m.

The fire was contained to the duct, and no other damage was reported to the building or any of the trains.

Read more at: https://www.pressherald.com/2022/02/11/ ... brunswick/

MEC407 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 13, 2022 8:18 am From the Portland Press Herald:

Portland Press Herald wrote:No injuries and minimal damage were reported after a duct fire at Amtrak’s layover station in Brunswick early Friday morning.

According to Brunswick Fire Department Deputy Chief James Millson, crews arrived at the Turner Street facility at approximately 3 a.m. after Amtrak staff reported seeing flames and smoke coming from an exhaust system near the ceiling.

Upon arrival, Millson said, it appeared the fire was already out since Amtrak staff had shut down the impacted duct. Firefighters then monitored the facility until clearing the scene at about 4:45 a.m.

The fire was contained to the duct, and no other damage was reported to the building or any of the trains.

Read more at: https://www.pressherald.com/2022/02/11/ ... brunswick/

That's a fully sprinklered building, so it would not have gone far before it was put out.

Amtrak fan Youtubers took a ride on the Downeaster in December.... and confess to having gone to South Station first!
Amtrak Downeaster | Boston To Portland, Maine in Business Class.

(I would have embedded it but even though the button works the site won't let me.)

It looks as though the double track project between Wells and North Berwick, Me is underway. Crews have been out clearing trees, etc from the right of way. Pan Am has dropped the speed for all trains to 40mph between Main Street, MP 233.41 to Elm St / Route 4 MP 234.28. Early estimates have the project taking about a year to complete.

The Downeaster and Patricia Quinn are involved in this story regarding the transit agencies in Southern Maine disagreeing over carving up the federal transit dollars pie.

Even after months of work, Quinn said she was caught off-guard when her agency’s funding request was cut back in the spending option selected by board members. Up to $3.8 million from the total should have been available to continue subsidizing existing transit, she said.

“Arbitrarily, a packet showed up with different numbers in it, and it was voted on,” Quinn said. “We determine our needs here at (the rail authority). For someone else to say, ‘We’ll give you this (funding) instead,’ without understanding the impacts on any of the agencies, I did not approve of that process.”

(Background for those not from the area: Metro is the city bus service for Portland, Westbrook and a few surrounding towns. South Portland has its own bus service because long ago they said they could serve their city better for less money than their expected contribution to Metro. Biddeford, Saco and OOB are about 12-15 miles from Portland and have a small service of their own. And Casco Bay Lines (officially the Casco Bay Islands Transit District) is the island ferry service that predates all the others by probably close to a century. The crux of the issue at hand, as alluded to by Patricia in a recent NNEPRA board meeting, is that the other agencies believe Metro is grabbing a much larger share of the money than they usually do.)

PT1101 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:52 pm It looks as though the double track project between Wells and North Berwick, Me is underway. Crews have been out clearing trees, etc from the right of way. Pan Am has dropped the speed for all trains to 40mph between Main Street, MP 233.41 to Elm St / Route 4 MP 234.28. Early estimates have the project taking about a year to complete.

Does that make the siding just over ~ 6/10 mile long? Or is that just part of the whole siding length. Worried about the new CSX operating land barges.

The second track is being installed from the current CPF 228 to somewhere around the Elm St area. So in essence, there will be around 8 miles of double track, beginning at CPF 226, once the project is complete. I haven't viewed the project's progress in a couple weeks. Hoping to get an eye on it soon. And apparently the 40 mph restriction between the 2 crossings was due to a track related issue, and not the double tracking project.

Posted this elsewhere but it needed here.

It is puzzling the big difference in rail attitudes in Vermont and New Hampshire?
NH will not support Downeaster and Maine subsidies the DE. Why not charge any NH passenger fares to be the same amount to/from Wells to any other station along route to BON? Not knowing how NH & ME get along can someone from there elaborate.

Hoping to get back to ME this summer. However, The Crescent schedule OTP, no night owl leaves that trip impossible at this time. Waiting for some schedule changes. The 1 hour Acela connection at WASH ---- lots of luck

New Hampshire is devoted, first and foremost, to the idea of taxation as user fees as much as possible, rather than broad-based personal taxes going into the general fund. That automatically limits the scope of state action; it also does lead credence to the "people paying for it while not getting any benefit" when "people" means "someone from Berlin who possibly travels to Manchester one a year, if that," because even if the train draws more high salaries to southern NH the state doesn't get a taste of that unless property taxes rise to match.

Two trespassers died in Biddeford yesterday, in what appears to be a particularly tragic incident:

Portland Press Herald wrote:BIDDEFORD — Two people died late Sunday morning after an incident involving an Amtrak train in Biddeford, authorities said.

Early Monday morning, Biddeford Police Chief Roger Beaupre said the preliminary investigation indicates the two people were lying on the tracks as the train approached. He said that based on the available video feed, the persons sat up, hugged one another and were struck by the train.

https://www.pressherald.com/2022/05/08/ ... biddeford/

MEC407 wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 5:34 am Two trespassers died in Biddeford yesterday, in what appears to be a particularly tragic incident:
https://www.pressherald.com/2022/05/08/ ... biddeford/

Ouch... this was a double suicide by train.

Half-siblings, 20-something years old. Police identify pair who died on train tracks in Biddeford. My heart goes out to their families and friends and the crew of the train, especially the engineer.