Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
The trip began with a 40 minute ride on a New Jersey Transit train into New York Penn Station. We made good time and I managed to take a few shots of the various trains we passed.
Once in New York we had over an hour until the Vermonter was scheduled to depart. We spent most of the time waiting in the Amtrak seating area. The train arrived from Washington on time, and we were called for boarding around 11:25. The crew was totally absent from the boarding process, making the boarding chaotic. The train was very full, and there were no window seats available. I found an empty seat next to a sleeping passenger and settled in.
We made excellent time along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and arrived at New Haven a few minutes early. Here there were plenty of folks detraining, so I was able to get a window seat.
Window seat secured I walked out on the platform to watch the power change from an HHP-8 Electric to a P42 Diesel. We also had another P42 put on the back end of the train since the Vermonter switches direction during the trip.
During the power change I spoke briefly to our new engineer then went back to taking pictures. I stood outside for the standing brake test to be completed then went back to my seat.
The train remained crowded through Connecticut with as many folks boarding as detraining. Its good to see people on the trains even off the Northeast Corridor. We kept perfect time all the way to Springfield, Massachusetts where we arrived early giving us about 25 minutes to walk around on the platform. There was plenty of Amtrak equipment in Springfield giving me plenty of good photo ops.
We departed Springfield and were given an entertaining speech from the conductor about our change of direction in the yard in Palmer, where we reassured, “You have nothing to fear we do this everyday.”
After the change at Palmer we switched host railroads from CSX to the New England Central Railroad (NECR) and thats where the trip really got fun. The tracks aren’t as well maintained, and it makes for quite a rough ride. Its quite fun to bounce along as the route beings to hug the bank of the Connecticut River.
We rocked and rolled our way to Amherst where about 20% of our car detrained. Most seemed to be college students heading back to school. Once we departed Amherst we would enter the state of Vermont.
The scenery improved as we rolled through Vermont on the aptly named Vermonter as the tracks stayed close to the banks of the Connecticut River. It created some very interesting grade crossings backing traffic up on some bridges also spanning the river.
As we followed the twists and turns of the river we made on time station stops in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls. We then crossed over the river and entered the state of New Hampshire. We made a brief stop in Claremont and that would end our time in New Hampshire.
Entering the Green Mountain State we made a scenic crossing of the Connecticut River again as the sun began to cast its last glow on the Vermont landscape. We arrived in Windsor, VT a few minutes early.
We rolled uneventfully to White River Junction where there was some Green Mountain Railway equipment including a nice snow plow. We are holding right on time with only a couple hours left in the trip. We keep passing freight yards full of empty cars, but I have only seen 2 or 3 locomotives in the entire state of Vermont. Freight interference is nonexistent which is contributing to our flawless time keeping.
Randolph, VT was truly a classic American small town the train station was in the heart of the 2 block downtown area. The buildings were classic and well maintained. It looked like quite an interesting town. Just as quickly as we arrived we pulled out of Randolph and it was on to the capitol Montpelier.
We made our stops in Montpelier and Waterbury on time with a few passengers detraining at each.
The final push to Burlington saw the entire train getting ready to depart. Everyone was standing ready to go. We stopped in Burlington on time, and had no problem getting a taxi to our hotel. I watched the Vermonter pull out and head to its final stop in St. Albans and that was the end my encounter with the Vermonter.
Thank you so much for reading my trip report. I would love to hear your comments, and apologize for any grammatical errors.
Please take a look at my photos by clicking here
A couple of samples.
Thank you!
Once in New York we had over an hour until the Vermonter was scheduled to depart. We spent most of the time waiting in the Amtrak seating area. The train arrived from Washington on time, and we were called for boarding around 11:25. The crew was totally absent from the boarding process, making the boarding chaotic. The train was very full, and there were no window seats available. I found an empty seat next to a sleeping passenger and settled in.
We made excellent time along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and arrived at New Haven a few minutes early. Here there were plenty of folks detraining, so I was able to get a window seat.
Window seat secured I walked out on the platform to watch the power change from an HHP-8 Electric to a P42 Diesel. We also had another P42 put on the back end of the train since the Vermonter switches direction during the trip.
During the power change I spoke briefly to our new engineer then went back to taking pictures. I stood outside for the standing brake test to be completed then went back to my seat.
The train remained crowded through Connecticut with as many folks boarding as detraining. Its good to see people on the trains even off the Northeast Corridor. We kept perfect time all the way to Springfield, Massachusetts where we arrived early giving us about 25 minutes to walk around on the platform. There was plenty of Amtrak equipment in Springfield giving me plenty of good photo ops.
We departed Springfield and were given an entertaining speech from the conductor about our change of direction in the yard in Palmer, where we reassured, “You have nothing to fear we do this everyday.”
After the change at Palmer we switched host railroads from CSX to the New England Central Railroad (NECR) and thats where the trip really got fun. The tracks aren’t as well maintained, and it makes for quite a rough ride. Its quite fun to bounce along as the route beings to hug the bank of the Connecticut River.
We rocked and rolled our way to Amherst where about 20% of our car detrained. Most seemed to be college students heading back to school. Once we departed Amherst we would enter the state of Vermont.
The scenery improved as we rolled through Vermont on the aptly named Vermonter as the tracks stayed close to the banks of the Connecticut River. It created some very interesting grade crossings backing traffic up on some bridges also spanning the river.
As we followed the twists and turns of the river we made on time station stops in Brattleboro and Bellows Falls. We then crossed over the river and entered the state of New Hampshire. We made a brief stop in Claremont and that would end our time in New Hampshire.
Entering the Green Mountain State we made a scenic crossing of the Connecticut River again as the sun began to cast its last glow on the Vermont landscape. We arrived in Windsor, VT a few minutes early.
We rolled uneventfully to White River Junction where there was some Green Mountain Railway equipment including a nice snow plow. We are holding right on time with only a couple hours left in the trip. We keep passing freight yards full of empty cars, but I have only seen 2 or 3 locomotives in the entire state of Vermont. Freight interference is nonexistent which is contributing to our flawless time keeping.
Randolph, VT was truly a classic American small town the train station was in the heart of the 2 block downtown area. The buildings were classic and well maintained. It looked like quite an interesting town. Just as quickly as we arrived we pulled out of Randolph and it was on to the capitol Montpelier.
We made our stops in Montpelier and Waterbury on time with a few passengers detraining at each.
The final push to Burlington saw the entire train getting ready to depart. Everyone was standing ready to go. We stopped in Burlington on time, and had no problem getting a taxi to our hotel. I watched the Vermonter pull out and head to its final stop in St. Albans and that was the end my encounter with the Vermonter.
Thank you so much for reading my trip report. I would love to hear your comments, and apologize for any grammatical errors.
Please take a look at my photos by clicking here
A couple of samples.
Thank you!
