Newton Junction schedule

Hey I am new and was wondering if there is some sort of schedule available for when trains will be passing through Newton Junction. I want to take pictures of trains there but I do not want to be that sketchy guy sitting in his car for hours on end waiting for a train.

Railfans aren't usually considered "sketchy," when sitting watching the trains roll by. As for a schedule, POSE/SEPO (POrtland-SElkirk/SElkirk-POrtland) runs fairly consistently with SEPO usually coming through Plaistow between 11am and 3pm. I'm not sure when POSE comes south through Newton Junction. Various other trains also run. I recommend investing in a radio scanner (~$100-200) which can alert you when trains are moving and where. Others may have more to add on that.
As always good luck, and don't be afraid to spend a few hours killing time by the tracks.

B&M 1227 wrote:Railfans aren't usually considered "sketchy," when sitting watching the trains roll by. As for a schedule, POSE/SEPO (POrtland-SElkirk/SElkirk-POrtland) runs fairly consistently with SEPO usually coming through Plaistow between 11am and 3pm. I'm not sure when POSE comes south through Newton Junction. Various other trains also run. I recommend investing in a radio scanner (~$100-200) which can alert you when trains are moving and where. Others may have more to add on that.
As always good luck, and don't be afraid to spend a few hours killing time by the tracks.

Thanks. I've started taking mental notes when hear it go by and have started to get a feel for the schedule. And its not sketchy when the train is going by but waiting there for hours on end might be a little odd.

Pick up a Downeaster schedule at Exeter or off the web
at amtrakdowneaster.com.

There is no passing siding between Newfields and Plaistow,
so once a westbound Downeaster is due at Exeter, there will
be no eastbound freight through Newtwon Junction until the
Downeaster clears Plaistow. Conversely Once an eastbound
Downeaster leaves Haverhill, you won't see a westbound
freight until after the Downeaster clears Exeter.

Besides the SEPO and POSE trains already mentioned, the
other major PAR job is the EDPO and POED pair. Times on
those tend to vary considerably.

Two other freight jobs are the DOBO and BODO (gravel train)
(Dover/Boston, Boston/Dover). Currently, these trains only
are running on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, usually
departing Dover by 8PM, which would put it at Newton Jct.
around 9PM. It returns in the early morning hours around
4-5AM. As was mentioned, a scanner will be helpful, once
you get a bit used to the chatter from the District #2 dispatcher.

Dick H wrote:Pick up a Downeaster schedule at Exeter or off the web
at amtrakdowneaster.com.

There is no passing siding between Newfields and Plaistow,
so once a westbound Downeaster is due at Exeter, there will
be no eastbound freight through Newtwon Junction until the
Downeaster clears Plaistow. Conversely Once an eastbound
Downeaster leaves Haverhill, you won't see a westbound
freight until after the Downeaster clears Exeter.

I knew that about the single track with the Downeaster but actually reading it I now realize that if I just hang out there after a Downeaster goes by chances are I'll see a freight train that was waiting for it to go by.

I will second what Dick H said about the Downeaster. If you know when the Downeaster is due at Exeter, you can well-predict when freights will be coming through. In fact, one day (at Rockingham Junction in Newfields), I reasoned that a northbound (well, railroad eastbound) would come through Newfields approximately a half hour after the southbound Downeaster left Exeter; sure enough, a half an hour later, a northbound freight showed up. Now, of course, there is not always going to be a freight train between Downeasters, but as this example shows, it is possible to accurately predict when a freight would be coming through Newton Junction.

Also, about DOBO - I would be trackside at Newton Junction around 7:50 PM (to play it safe). Over the past couple months, I've heard them passing through East Kingston (which is right next to Newton) between 8:00 pm and 8:15 pm. And that sucker flies... chasing it is almost comparable to trying to chase the Downeaster.