Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

Downeaster with Dome car 8/13 at Haverhill MA, Thanks to Bob Sprague for the photo.
http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... ex=2&key2=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interestingly, the first eastbound passenger move with the dome (#691) was
sold out through Dover. Seats in the dome cannot be sold, as it is not ADA
compatible and first come first served for passengers from the other 4 cars.

How far in advance would one (typically) arrive at North Station to get a spot on the Dome Car? An hour? Two hours?

For the record, I'm planning on going to Maine on 691 on Saturday 9/3 and back on Monday 9/5 on 688. I live close to North Station, so can get there super early if necessary, but I also don't want to spend 2 hours on a bench if it turns out that no one else will show up that early.

I wonder if there's even going to be an orderly line at BON; there isn't usually in my experience (but there's also not a dome car most of the time).

The Press Herald has an article on the "Royal Junction" passing track. In response to the comment here earlier that PAR will likely wind up clogging it with canned trains, I looked up the route in Google Maps and it appears there are 4 grade crossings throughout it, with the longest clear stretch being about a mile between Tuttle Rd. and Route 9. They won't have the 2-mile clear stretch they have between Riverside St. and Allen Ave. in Portland (I can never remember the CP numbers). I'm not sure if that gives them enough room to park anything even if their agreement with NNEPRA had a loophole allowing them to.

petahgriff8316 wrote:How far in advance would one (typically) arrive at North Station to get a spot on the Dome Car? An hour? Two hours?

markhb wrote:I wonder if there's even going to be an orderly line at BON; there isn't usually in my experience (but there's also not a dome car most of the time)..

I expect the latter; I'd be amazed if there is any semblance of a line to board the Downeaster at North Station. Certainly people don't line up there on a regular basis; they just sit on the benches or mill around. The dome is a big attraction for railfans, but I doubt that many members of the general public are planning trips around it or even understand what's unusual about it. Downeasters departing North Station usually board 10-15 minutes before departure and I'm pretty sure that as long as you get there before the gate opens, you'll be fine.

Interestingly, Portland tends to be different... people do line up at the boarding doors there, probably because that's the normal practice for the buses that share the facility.

I'm planning on taking a ride myself in two weeks, but being an old retired guy I've planned it for midweek to avoid the weekend excursionists, railfan and otherwise.

I road to Portland on 683 Tuesday and we mostly had the dome to ourselves. It filled up for a while returning on 682 yesterday, but people come and go.

Looking at some travel To/From Logan and South Station coming up the weekend of November 5th. All trains north and south Saturday 11/5 and Sunday 11/6 are 'sold out' guessing this is due to fall tie project? No mention of a service disruption or that the trains are cancelled. Any insight is appreciated. No Bustitutions? Thanks. Guess I'll be giving my money to C&J.

Interesting. The Amtrak site also shows all DE trains sold out on Saturday, November 12.
On the tie replacement project last year, most, if not all, of the PAR tie work was done
during the week, with the mid-day trains cancelled. Strictly speculation on my part,
but this total cancellation seems like it could be an MBTA project or projects involving
the double tracking or the Merrimac River Bridge project in Haverhill. I have several
friends, who are Dover station hosts. I will ask if they know any details, although
past experience would seem to indicate, that they generally get such information
only a few days prior to the outages, when public notices arrive from NNEPRA.

From the Portland Press Herald:

Portland Press Herald wrote:The Downeaster requested a turn with the dome car in a bid to give frequent riders a new experience and draw in those who haven’t tried the Downeaster yet.

“We are always looking for opportunities to improve customer service and offer something new and different for our passengers,” Quinn said.
. . .
But because of height restrictions, train passengers on the East Coast never really had the chance to experience dome cars, and still only get sporadic opportunities to try one out.

The current run of the dome car might be the last chance Downeaster passengers have to ride in it. Depending on its performance this year, the Downeaster may or may not request the car again next year, Quinn said.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/08/22/v ... -the-line/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Video by William Lord:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKiCdTbMI9w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Several years back, we had lively debate about the Brunswick extension and its financial impact. The latest NNEPRA Board Material is insightful. Back when NNEPRA started publishing Performance Benchmarks, their goals were:
• Achieve 50% total cost recovery
• Achieve 90% OTP

As of FY17, they've now lowered their Benchmarks to:
• Achieve 45% total cost recovery
• Achieve 85% OTP

What's more telling is that the former 50% cost recovery target was in place when MBTA was actually charging for trackage rights (since eliminated from the budget), and fuel was significantly more expensive.

PS: In the FY17 budget, NNEPRA finally pulled their fuel plan down to a realistic level.

I traveled from Portland to Boston yesterday, 8.25.16, on train 686 and sat in the dome car almost the entire way. It would have been the entire way, but we weren't allowed to enter the car until about Scarboro.

The perspective by train travel is unique in itself but, the dome car provides a totally different experience. Most of the time I sat in the most forward seat this allowed a great view over the cars and engine in front. It is very unusual and enjoyable to see where you are going while riding a train, this seat and some others, provided it. The ability to see the signals ahead and the change of indications as the train passed was particularly interesting. The view as the train headed into curves or passed oncoming trains was great as well. Maybe one of the best parts was the approach into North Station as the train wound its' way through the complex trackwork to the platform.

The greatest number of folks that were in the dome car at any one time on this trip was maybe eight or ten. Most came and left after a few minutes but seemed to enjoy the different view.

The car itself is a bit tired. Clean enough but the windows were quite dirty, I'm sure it's difficult to keep them clean considering it's traveling through lots of bugs on its journeys.

It was a wonderful experience and made for a terrific trip, highly recommended.

I've attached a really poor quality pic of the train crossing the Merrimack SP? River.

S

Have not ridden this dome but::: on others.
The glass has a problem with grit in the air that is abrasive. Wonder what is the best type of glass. Real glass or lexan or some kind of high resistant glass ?e

They use a polycarbonate glass meeting FRA 49 CFR Part 223. Type 1 is for forward pointing glazing, Type 2 for side glazing.
FYI, Lxan is a trademark name for a type of polycarbonate glass.

The article in today's Boston Globe regarding the MBTA's failure to reimburse AMTRAK for track maintenance includes a mention of the Downeaster - as part of the section where AMTRAK is threatening to curtail service to Boston if the MBTA doesn't coff up the dough-re-me, while the MBTA says AMTRAK invoices list work that isn't requested, and that AMTRAK owes the MBTA $$ for trackage used by the Downeaster. As both sides continue to throw rocks at each other, hopefully neither the AMTRAK trains to South station nor the Downeaster will not suffer as this disagreement winds it 's way through the court.

Typical Amtrak negotiation tactic, threaten to kill service. Don't forget, I warned this could and would happen earlier in another thread.