Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

The PPH says that it arrived Brunswick at 1:35 p.m.

Riding 681 tomorrow to Freeport

petahgriff8316 wrote:The PPH says that it arrived Brunswick at 1:35 p.m.

That answers that question. (Whew!)
Guess somebody was too busy popping champagne and eating cake to update the arrival times on the website.
I'd say celebration is in order today.

--eastwind

681 crosses Congress St. today This was the first scheduled passenger train to cross Congress since B&M ended service in 1964 (couldn't find the exact date on that). I also have vids of the Freeport and Brunswick arrivals and most of the Freeport speeches which I will try to post over the next few days. Apologies to anyone who was hoping I would do a better job of Tweeting.

From the Portland Press Herald:

The Portland Press Herald wrote:It was a somber day, Sept. 5, 1960, when Nelson Soule stamped the last passenger ticket at Freeport Station and boarded the Maine Central Railroad's last passenger train to Brunswick.
. . .
Soule worked another 20 years on Maine railroads, retiring in 1980, but he never lost that ticket.

"I wanted to remember that day," Soule recalled. "It was the end of an era."

Freeport's last station agent helped to usher in a new era of train travel in Maine on Thursday, when he joined dozens of other dignitaries on the inaugural run of the Amtrak Downeaster's expanded passenger service north of Portland, to Freeport and Brunswick.

Read more at: http://www.pressherald.com/news/retired ... 11-02.html

Cute new TV ad from NNEPRA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzcCszJqCYE

I've heard no mention of the extension on the Boston media. Searching Boston Herald website shows AP story two days agos. Search on Boston.com comes up dry.

I've heard no mention of the extension on the Boston media.

Us old geezers who read printed newspapers saw a large color photo of the inaugural run at Freeport on page 2 of the Metro section of today's Boston Globe.

Boston.com ran an AP article yesterday:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new-ha ... story.html

So what's the final tally of equipment assigned to NNEPRA now they are up-and-running?

Cowford wrote:So what's the final tally of equipment assigned to NNEPRA now they are up-and-running?

I'm seeing 3 sets and a protect diesel. There could be more.

Just uploaded video report on the Downeaster's Inaugural Train to Brunswick.

View it at http://www.trainridersne.org

ThirdRail7 wrote:

Cowford wrote:So what's the final tally of equipment assigned to NNEPRA now they are up-and-running?

I'm seeing 3 sets and a protect diesel. There could be more.

I believe there are 3 sets and a protect diesel and a extra cafe and coach. A week ago during FRA/Amtrak First Responders training we had the 90224, Coach, Cafe and 822 to train on. It would make sense since 681 had 2 cafe's on the inaugural run and I seem to recall seeing a spare coach and something else hooked up across the road at the PTC were the spare set usually sits on Wednesday night when I arrived.

The MBTA will be doing a culvet replacement on the Lowell Line, today and Sunday (11-3/4).
Downeasters will be using the Reading route and there will be no service at Woburn.
A chance for some "rare Downeaster mileage".