Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

Gilbert B Norman wrote:Why anyone devotes precious vacation time to shopping escapes me. But then, I guess there are folks out there who think of going to the Dentist as fun.

Funny how I for one think that I'm not spending any vacation time on an activity I consider a chore.

1) Completely agree.

2) It's really -forgive me for saying this- mainly a "chick thing" to go shopping Most men and young children have to be dragged kicking and screaming when it comes to that. Especially on a weekend when all humankind needs to REST.

3) Millions upon millions of shoppers are willing to wait in line for those Black Friday deals even on Thanksgiving so apparently common sense doesn't prevail in certain area of life to begin with.

4) We sadly live in an overconsumerist society so go figure.


And now to relate this to the Downeaster.. if there's a "family shopping trip" to Maine for the day with children in tow the train's not gonna cut it. It'll be easier and more economical to drive in the station wagon/minivan/stretch Hummer(?) than to get everyone to the station and then keep everyone calm and collected onboard. Nothing like a group of restless and hyjink-ficated children to make the journey literally half the fun. It can be as entertaining as a group of rowdy adults on the last train out of Grand Central Terminal

BM6569 wrote:I forgot that all the people who ride the Downeaster are "passenger rail buffs".

Y'mean none of them are just people looking to get from Point A to Point B without driving, flying, riding a bus, or walking? Well, darn. {/close sarcasm}

I think Mr. Schaeffer's nose might be out of joint because it looks like the NIMBYs can't do anything else to try and stop the construction of the layover facility, which was/is one of the numerous things he liked/likes to complain about in and around Brunswick. (He has a blog using the name "P.C. Poppycock." I think P.C. stands for "Perpetual Complainer," but maybe that's just this reader's opinion.)

Yesterday's 696:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L86wBYhDhoo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't think this has been mentioned in this thread yet, but the "easy Orange Line transfer" is going to get a lot harder. As part of the construction project on the site of the old Garden which will eventually result in indoor access from North Station to the T platforms, the subway entrance by TD Garden is going to be closed for three years. If you want to get to the subway, cross Causeway and walk to the entrance at the other end of the block. I'm on my phone or I would provide a link.

Only tangentially related to the previous post, but I commute to Maine from Arlington (MA). I finally calculated if I get off the Red Line at Charles/mgh and WALK to North Station, taking the shortcut through Charles River Park, I can usually beat the T (Red + Orange or Green) to North Station. Practicality depends on baggage load and weather obviously.

But I have overheard conductors on the DE, and particularly those Train Hosts who don't know Boston, give healthy looking people with light baggage the spiel about how to make the transfer via the T (or worse, via TAXI) when they could easily walk. In heavy traffic they might even beat a taxi.

I'm curious: do you walk through the West End, or do you circumnavigate it? One of the failures of the new West End was a lack of direct passage from North Station to Charles/MGH -- or, at least, there's no obvious way through anyway.

If you follow Google directions (which doesn't know pedestrian routes) they have you go up Cambridge Street all the way to Staniford St (Old West Church) and down to Causeway from there. BUT if you go up the stairs into the Charles River Park parking area and cut diagonally to the opposite corner, there is a secret passage out of there to the back which comes out on Staniford St. (It's not so secret because if you take it in the rush hour it is full of pedestrians getting to/from No Sta). Even better it cuts off most of the top of the hill you have to climb just to go back down again.

If you plot that route on a map, you'll see it's almost a straight line between the two stations.

Well, it's not as straight as I thought, but to do better you would have to zigzag through the MGH campus and a bunch of other barriers to something more direct.

Subway service advisory (archive.org used for a stable link)

Boston Garden Towers notification form: long but interesting

Well, it's not as straight as I thought, but to do better you would have to zigzag through the MGH campus and a bunch of other barriers to something more direct.

You can also cut directly through the hospital as well. That's especially nice in foul weather. I used to live across the street from Charles/MGH and commuted out of North Station to Waltham every day. It's a pretty easy walk, and you can grab coffee and some light groceries on the way. If you enter the hospital near the corner of Emerson Place and Blossom Street, it's a straight shot through. Just before you exit the other side, you can bear right, turn left quickly, and cut through the Yawkey building as well. That'll leave you almost across the street from the Red Line with a route that's almost 1/2 indoors.

Regarding Mr. Noah's immediate, time for a little humor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4BYdTrkWoo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FatNoah - I'll try your route just for some variation. I plotted it with Google and it isn't any shorter - but like you say better sheltered. My doctor is at MGH so am somewhat famiilar with it (as familiar as anyone can be with that maze). It also occurs to me it cuts off even more of Beacon Hill than my route does, so there is less ascending just to descend (MGH and BON must be close to the same altitude, few feet above sea level).

Nice mention of the convenience of Amtrak service at Durham-UNH in this Boston Globe article.

Victoria Dutcher, vice president of enrollment at UNH, said the university recruits more in Massachusetts than any other state because of its proximity and population concentration.

With 12,840 undergraduate students, the campus is large enough to provide academic and recreational opportunities for students, but small enough so that students don’t feel lost, she said. The Durham campus has an Amtrak station, making it easy for students to travel to Boston or Portland.

markhb wrote:I don't think this has been mentioned in this thread yet, but the "easy Orange Line transfer" is going to get a lot harder.

I don't see how it becomes a "lot" harder when the Garden-side subway entrance closes on January 2nd. The other entrance is literally across the street... maybe a sixty-second walk from the one that's closing. As one who uses that stop a couple times a month I would call that a minor inconvenience.

Causeway Street is wide and fast, with poorly timed lights. It's quick, sure, but it's not a pleasant pedestrian experience. And those needing an elevator have to walk an extra block down Canal Street.