Proposed Boston - Concord, NH Route Discussion

Wow!

Shpuldn't this thread be combined with the other one?

eustis22 wrote: ↑Wed May 11, 2022 9:29 am Shpuldn't this thread be combined with the other one?

Do you mean the thread in the MBTA forum? That one is a discussion of a potential MBTA operated commuter rail extension from Lowell to Nashua or perhaps further in to New Hampshire. It is distinct from the proposed Amtrak service discussed in this thread. While the topics are related, they are definitely two separate ideas, each under discussion in the correct forum in my opinion.

Re:the track from Boscawen to Lebanon being lifted: they'll likely have to replace the track between Lowell and Concord anyway, so why should it matter that the track beyond Concord has been removed?

More than half of the ROW between Boscawen and White River Jct. is now rail trails. To put track back there would generate a large number of angry constituents.

According to a 1955 B&M timetable I saw yesterday, RDCs were scheduled to do Concord - White River in about an hour and a half. The non-RDC trains were about half an hour slower for some reason.

Boston - WRJ via Concord was about an hour faster than via the Cheshire Branch and Bellows Falls.

The superior route was via Wells River plus you had connections to Quebec City on this routing. My screen name may be biasing my opinion though.

The daytime Allouette routing via Laconia and Woodsville took about the same time as the route via White River jct., but had the advantage of serving New Hampshire's Lakes Region. The "Northern" route via White river Jct. had the best track and easiest grades, and connections to Canada via CV and B&M/CP. The "Cheshire" route via Keene and Bellows Falls had good service, both connecting (Rutland RR) and through (to White River Jct. ) Even the Red Wing ran via White River Jct, sharing a train number with the B&M/CV New Englander.

The last moves on the "Northern" that weren't switching moves out of Concord or West Lebanon for a couple of miles were a bunch of detour moves made when some boxcars derailed on the West River bridge in Brattleboro VT in 1986. The Cheshire line was pulled up in sections in the 70s and 80s, and is now gone except for the last mile or so in North Walpole which is used for car storage by the Vermont Rail System.

At times the Red Wing ran between both Wells River and White River.

Could a daytime train connect to Vermonter to allow access to Canada? If another train ever established maybe connect with a New Haven <> Springfield onward at?

There was a discussion about this a while ago in another thread. Massachusetts has a proposal out there to do just that, but it's behind getting anything at all going on the inland route.

charlesriverbranch wrote: ↑Mon May 16, 2022 9:05 am According to a 1955 B&M timetable I saw yesterday, RDCs were scheduled to do Concord - White River in about an hour and a half. The non-RDC trains were about half an hour slower for some reason.

Possibly due to the faster acceleration and braking of the RDCs.

Bullet dodged (for now), but no doubt they will try again to kill this.

Fiscal conservatives were especially unhappy when the Senate killed without debate a bill (HB 1432) to block spending any state dollars on a future return of commuter rail to New Hampshire.

Link

Thank god.
Let that Greg Moore guy cry and babble all he wants, I bet the share he is getting from the auto industry's sponsors to AFP will cheer him up. This is a step in the right direction, let's hope this can be the start of the MBTA project, which in turn will be the start of reviving passenger rail in NH.