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  • Ethan Allen Discussion, including Expansion (Burlington)

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1536585  by MattW
 
Why would he or she have to change ends and initialize PTC? Amtrak does shoving moves a lot longer than this with just a conductor and backup hose. Plus, this should all be within yard limits anyways right? What they really should have done is just extend to St. Albans and use the existing layover facility there. That line about "two railroads" is a false flag, we're not talking about two busy Class 1 mainlines here.
 #1536591  by east point
 
If the train is parked overnight south of the station then the crew has to back north to station to start trip back south to NYP. Will engineer have to do that from north end or can he back at south controls with conductor at north end ? The train going south has to initiate PTC when entering PTC territory. It may have to tell loco it is initially not in PTC territory. How all that will work is above my pay grade.
 #1536625  by shadyjay
 
As stated above, it can be done with a backup hose and the conductor on the "blind" end. This is what's done to many trains daily across the country which back into terminals/stations that may not be on the mainline. The Vermonter is one of these, backing into Springfield MA (SB) and backing out, NB.

What's the bigger question is whether or not the train will have a locomotive on either end or will utilize a cab car, due to the change of direction at Rutland. There is a wye south of Rutland on the line to Bennington but that would require some time and is in the middle of the VTR yard. At Center Rutland, where the e/w and n/s lines connect, there is only a WB to NB direct line.

Given the many crossings along the line and the "newness" of the service, it may be beneficial to utilize a locomotive on either end. The change of direction could be accomplished during the Rutland station stop.

Ideally, it would be nice to see the service also serve SW Vermont, where a reverse move wouldn't be necessary. That track still needs a bit of work to get it up to passenger train standards, and may need even more work given its recent temporary mainline status for detouring Pan-Am freight trains.
 #1536748  by buddydog
 
article in today's vt digger: https://vtdigger.org/2020/03/13/when-am ... rail-yard/
When Amtrak arrives, trains will be stored in Burlington rail yard

By Sarah Asch
Mar 13 2020
BURLINGTON — Amtrak trains will be stored and serviced overnight in a rail yard south of the busy downtown waterfront under a state Agency of Transportation plan.

The decision, announced Thursday, came as a relief to a local developer who fought against a previous proposal to park trains at Union Station. The plan now calls for the rail cars to overnight in a yard south of Maple Street.
Last edited by mtuandrew on Sun Mar 15, 2020 1:44 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Fair-use quote
 #1539827  by trainhq
 
Putting it at the rail yard is clearly the place to be. I took a look at the noise from parking it at the station a while ago from idling late at night (they were actually considering CR to Essex Junction back then), and it was clear the nearby folks wouldn't like it. The yard on the west side by the lake has enough distance from the residents to make it work.
 #1582272  by Railjunkie
 
Qualifying to start Rutland to Burlington I believe either today or Monday. An extra set of equipment was tied onto the rear of AMT 295 Sat. night. Looks like two round trips between RUD and Burlington each day.
 #1582276  by jp1822
 
Presume they will need a cab car from the Keystone pool of train consists, or a second unit added onto the rear at Albany? Has to reverse directions at Rutland, just like the Vermonter had to do at Palmer Junction, MA! They will need training with this maneuver too!
 #1582279  by Railjunkie
 
Crews are currently qualified to Rutland, we already turn the train on the wye that is located there. I don't think once service starts that will become part of the normal move as there will be either power on both ends or a cab car. I do not remember if any of the wye is FRA excepted track, if it is you would not be able to turn a live passenger train on it. Changing ends is not that big of a deal and can be done fairly quickly as long as the equipment wants to cooperate.
 #1582284  by jp1822
 
So will it still be a 3:15 pm departure from NYP and arrival into Burlington in the late 10 pm hour? Hopefully the Ethan Allen will depart southbound from Burlington, VT in the afternoon....add a little variety from the Vermonter’s schedule, which is largely a morning southbound train. If Vermont wanted to add variety, it would put a stub train in from Burlington, VT to Albany via Rutland. Lost though, will be the 5:45 pm departure out of NY Penn to central Vermont.....That was a good get-a-way train, but I think the Ethan Allen Express will do well as long as Amtrak holds the departure as late as possible, while still trying to get into Burlington, VT by 11:15 pm even (timetable).
 #1582286  by Anthony
 
jp1822 wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 1:41 pm So will it still be a 3:15 pm departure from NYP and arrival into Burlington in the late 10 pm hour? Hopefully the Ethan Allen will depart southbound from Burlington, VT in the afternoon....add a little variety from the Vermonter’s schedule, which is largely a morning southbound train. If Vermont wanted to add variety, it would put a stub train in from Burlington, VT to Albany via Rutland. Lost though, will be the 5:45 pm departure out of NY Penn to central Vermont.....That was a good get-a-way train, but I think the Ethan Allen Express will do well as long as Amtrak holds the departure as late as possible, while still trying to get into Burlington, VT by 11:15 pm even (timetable).
Amtrak is working to bring back the Montrealer, which would likely mean the current Vermonter's schedule will revert to the overnight schedule. If the Montrealer is restored, it would make sense to extend the Ethan Allen another 8 miles to Essex Junction to connect with the revived Montrealer.
 #1582297  by njtmnrrbuff
 
No, Amtrak is not bringing back the Montrealer. Yes, they are working on extending the Vermonter from St. Albans to Montreal which is much needed.

Back to the Ethan Allen-yes, the Ethan Allen will probably depart NYP at 3:15 and will arrive into Downtown Burlington at around 10:00. That's a pretty good departure as it doesn't involve people having to arrive into Burlington too late at night. Once people get to Burlington, it doesn't mean that their destination is in Burlington. It could be well north of there closer to St. Albans. The southbound from Burlington is expected to depart 10ish in the morning.
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