New England Central Railroad (NECR)

Brian-
Thanks!

With the cold weather approaching, does anyone know what the improvements were completed on the NECR between East Northfield and St. Albans? Is all of the new CWR in now in? There were sections of new CTC to go in also, along with improvements to the existing CTC; were those projects completed? Was anything else done improvement wise to the line since last April?

Hello all. I'm looking to railfan the NECR between Brattleboro and White River Junction Saturday (1/26) after the Springfield train show, and Sunday morning. What kind of activity can I expect over the weekend in the area? I know the Vermonter runs daily....but can I expect any freight to look forward to? Any activity on the other railroads that connect with NECR? (VTR in Bellows Falls or WRJ, CCRR in Claremont Junction or WRJ, or Pan Am?)

SlackControl wrote:Hello all. I'm looking to railfan the NECR between Brattleboro and White River Junction Saturday (1/26) after the Springfield train show, and Sunday morning. What kind of activity can I expect over the weekend in the area? I know the Vermonter runs daily....but can I expect any freight to look forward to? Any activity on the other railroads that connect with NECR? (VTR in Bellows Falls or WRJ, CCRR in Claremont Junction or WRJ, or Pan Am?)

Change of plans. Going to head up on Friday, swinging through the Saratoga area so buff the SNCRR in the morning, then work our way across to WRJ hopefully getting there mid afternoon/early evening. Thanks for any advice that can be shared

I've heard that the new schedules based upon the upgrades will take effect March 1. Have not seen yet where 79 MPH will take effect nor if any new interlockings or signal rules have been placed in service.

Andy

twropr wrote:I've heard that the new schedules based upon the upgrades will take effect March 1. Have not seen yet where 79 MPH will take effect nor if any new interlockings or signal rules have been placed in service.

Andy

All signalized territory is getting the Class 4 speed bump with the CTC upgrades, so Northfield Jct. to White River Jct. is the new sped-up stretch for the current route. Believe the Class 3 uprate in dark territory WRJ-St. Albans has already taken effect...at least most of it if they haven't yet finished 100% of those upgrades.

WRJ to St Albans was already Class 3....

I'm planning on taking a trip on the B&A sometime in the following weeks and looking for the best times to be in Palmer for both CSX and NECR action. What are the symbols of the trains for NECR that operate thru Palmer? I know most of the CSX symbols, have no idea about NECR trains and how they are called. Thank you

From the website of the Steaming Tender restaurant:

http://www.steamingtender.com/downloads ... hedule.pdf

No idea how accurate it is, but it's a start.

The photo in that schedule from the link is definitely not recent, so not sure if the schedule is.
Be prepared to sit & wait, you'll average about 1 train per hour from CSX. I feel like most are Eastbound during the day. There is a local CSX job which, last I recall, is a Westbound around 8-9am. I notice people like to sit in view of the signals, which should only be lit if something is coming. The plus is you'll know something is coming, the minus is without a current schedule you'll want to move up to the diamond if you want to catch an Eastbound as it comes through the diamond. I'm sure NECR has a schedule but you'll mainly be seeing local moves behind you.

Based on my experience that looks pretty accurate, though Q422, Q427 and the autorack trains have historically been hard to pin down.

Bring your own lunch and watch the trains from their lot ! (unless you like so-so food served unheated and rudely thrown at you)

I just learned that the revised schedules for the VERMONTER have been postoned from March 1 to April when Amtrak issues its Spring/Summer timetable. Anyone know the reason for the holdup?

Andy

What is the NECR traffic like? and train symbols? I assume that it is the Palmer subdivision that crosses at the diamond

3rdrail wrote:Bring your own lunch and watch the trains from their lot ! (unless you like so-so food served unheated and rudely thrown at you)

My two cents, but i've never had an issue with their service. Food can be better from time to time. But I think any business that allows you to park on their property for as long as you want, the least they deserve is for one to patronize their business, even if just for a soda or a sandwich.