Amherst to Boston Passenger Service via Palmer

https://www.palmertrain.org/a2b-campaign/

Support East-West passenger rail between Boston & Springfield! Connect Amherst to Boston through Palmer. Tracks on both the East-West and Central Corridor rail lines are in place & upgraded (to carry heavy freight). Let’s add train service for passengers traveling between eastern Massachusetts and the flagship campus of our state university system, also connecting to UMass Medical in Worcester.]

North of Amherst station, there is a siding that was used for delivering fuel to Umass. I don't think it's still used so it could be rehabbed to be a layover track for trains doing the Boston to Amherst run.

Connecting Amherst to Storrs might make sense one day a year if either school played its football games on campus, but UMass plays at Gillette and the Huskies play around Hartford, at least the last I knew. But including that map when the thrust of the campaign seems to be to add a LSL (or eventual Hoop City Flyer (c) stop) stop in Palmer and serve Amherst via shuttle from there.

It’s more about the new “inland route” trains that would stop at Palmer than the LSL. But I suppose they could have the Lake Shore stop there also.

I could see a Princeton Dinkey style route running to Amherst.

I remember a photo in my older brother’s UConn yearbook. Students gathered around a CV passenger charter in Mansfield, CT for a ride up to Amherst for a UMass football game.

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I don't think this is a realistic proposal. It would involve operating over the New England Central from Palmer to Amherst which hasn't seen passenger trains since the Vermonter was rerouted back on to the Conn River Line. It also diverts from the real need to provide East - West passenger service between Boston and Springfield. There is already service to Northampton MA so a shuttle could be operated for the few miles between the Northampton station and Amherst.

It's not a realistic proposal,for a variety of
reasons stated in previous posts ...The focus,
as I see it, should be on increased Springfiield-Boston service
with a stop in Palmer...Get that done,it''s a corridor
that's doable NOW...

I'd be happy with a "Borealis East" run between Boston and Albany, stopping in Palmer, complementing #448/449.

I don't see it happening, though, with this new administration coming in January.

charlesriverbranch wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2024 11:04 am I'd be happy with a "Borealis East" run between Boston and Albany, stopping in Palmer, complementing #448/449.

I don't see it happening, though, with this new administration coming in January.

This would be a state supported service so most of the financing would come from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts so I don't think the change in administration should have much of an effect.

I think next year's state budget for Massachusetts is going to be very difficult. They will have their hands full funding their MBTA service and will kick any Amtrak cans down the track for td;lr

So this train would operate over the B&A to Palmer, then interchange to the CV.

Hey, why only Amherst - on to Montreal

After all, that was the route of the Amtrak Montrealer after the B&M was deemed unfit to handle a passenger train Springfield-Windsor.

It was reported at the time that the head brakeman rode the front platform of the locomotive carrying a white cane.

Oh Mr. ExCon; Head Brakeman!!!

We both were in the industry when such "featherbedding" was in place, now do our younger members, even those employed within the industry today, know of either term???

Institutional memory fades ...

Shortly before I retired Conrail was single-lining a portion of the ex-RDG line between Reading and Harrisburg and had established a Temporary Block Station at the beginning/end of single-tracking, with a temporary block operator handing up orders on an order fork. The conductor of a passing train attempted to grasp the string between his thumb and forefinger and missed (the train had to stop and back up) -- the technique of thrusting his arm through the triangle was unknown to him.