Thoughts on riding the LSL's BOS to ALB segment

[jiml]

Huh? My plan would be to ride the LSL westbound from Boston. That way, I'd be more confident the train would be running on time.

If it's on time, 449 should cover the best mountain scenery between about 3:30 and 5 p.m., so it should be all in daylight except for a few weeks near the winter solstice, when you might miss the last 20 minutes or so. It leaves Springfield at 3:23, Pittsfield at 4:39. For nearly all of the year, it's light till at least 5 p.m. I do think the descent into the Hudson Valley is rather impressive too, so it would be better to go at a time of year when it's light till 6 p.m., but that covers nearly all of the Daylight Savings Time period except the end of October.

Apologies to you both. The last time I took the LSL westbound it departed Boston after 4 pm. I was not aware of the more recent schedule.

 

[Rasputin]

I enjoy the Boston - Albany scenery and I seem to enjoy it a bit more westbound than eastbound.

 

[jis]

Apologies to you both. The last time I took the LSL westbound it departed Boston after 4 pm. I was not aware of the more recent schedule.

Here's the current schedule...

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...tables/Lake-Shore-Limited-Schedule-101220.pdf
Leaves Boston South Station at 12:50pm

 

[fdaley]

Apologies to you both. The last time I took the LSL westbound it departed Boston after 4 pm. I was not aware of the more recent schedule.

I remember that schedule. It was a waste of good scenery, though it was sometimes advantageous to be able to leave Boston later in the day. I do wish the eastbound ran earlier; even a mid-afternoon arrival would be preferable to the 8 p.m. schedule, which of course is often much later. Last time we took 448, in October '19, it left Albany about 8:30 and arrived in Boston at 1:45 a.m.

 

[Rasputin]

I remember that schedule. It was a waste of good scenery, though it was sometimes advantageous to be able to leave Boston later in the day. I do wish the eastbound ran earlier; even a mid-afternoon arrival would be preferable to the 8 p.m. schedule, which of course is often much later. Last time we took 448, in October '19, it left Albany about 8:30 and arrived in Boston at 1:45 a.m.

Well said. My problem with 448 is that I am often too worried about how late the train will be and whether I will miss connections and have to spend the night in Boston, So it is sometimes a frustrating and not a relaxing trip.

 

[fdaley]

Well said. My problem with 448 is that I am often too worried about how late the train will be and whether I will miss connections and have to spend the night in Boston, So it is sometimes a frustrating and not a relaxing trip.

For me, the destination on most trips is Maine, so it would work a lot better if 448 arrived by 4 p.m. -- in time to connect to the 5 p.m. Downeaster. With the current schedule, I'm resigned to booking a hotel in Boston and continuing north the next day. But it also means that on many trips, I just drive to the commuter rail in Wachusett and use that to connect to the Downeaster. Many more schedule choices, and it avoids the need for a hotel room, which in downtown Boston is usually godawful expensive. Plus I don't need to change stations in Boston.

 

[Mailliw]

On my recent trips (i.e., before Covid), the cafe/BC car has been between the sleeper and the coaches. Business class was only added in the past 3-4 years. Previously, for many years, the lounge car ran on the back of 448/449. The sleeper remains at the front, although there used to be a baggage car ahead of that before the Anderson team discontinued checked baggage on the Boston LSL.

Out of curiosity how is the care oriented? Is it sleeper passengers who have to walk through business class to get to the cafe or coach passengers?

 

[fdaley]

Out of curiosity how is the care oriented? Is it sleeper passengers who have to walk through business class to get to the cafe or coach passengers?

On my last two trips, both on 448, I remember the BC end of the car faced the coaches, so coach passengers went through on their way to the cafe counter. The tables were at the sleeper end, and most of them were occupied by the crew or extra supplies for the cafe.

 

[Rasputin]

Out of curiosity how is the care oriented? Is it sleeper passengers who have to walk through business class to get to the cafe or coach passengers?

On my trips on 448/449 (the last being in 2018). the business class section has usually been toward the front of the train and sleeper car passengers have to pass through the business class to reach the cafe. However I have had trips where the car was reversed with the business class section toward the rear and coach passengers went through the business class to reach the cafe.