Amtrak Autumn Express Thread

[Dick H]

The Ayer to Worcester segment is probably a no-no at this time.
It has a 25 MPH speed limit with some 10MPH running and has had
some hiccups (derailments) in recent years. Also, the East Deerfield
to Fitchburg segment is problematic with 25MPH and some 10MPH
running. With the exception of two private car excursions over
the PAR/PAS route earlier this year and in 2012, there have not
been any open to the public excursions on either route in decades.
PAR's track upkeep leaves much to be desired.

[SouthernRailway]

I wonder why Amtrak doesn't operate one from NYP, with all of the coaches sitting in Sunnyside Yard on weekends.

[Noel Weaver]

I rode a special Amtrak train on the northern part of the DELMARVA back in maybe 1988 or 1989. It originated in DC and ran via the Porter Connection. We were originally going to go to Pocomoke but Conrail did not allow it to run south of Salisbury, Maryland due to track conditions. It was a great trip and would be very doable for a one day outing, I think Salisbury would be far enough to satisfy most. I doubt very much if the River Line is possible, there is just plain too much traffic to allow for the disruption that a move like this would cause, still too many bottlenecks too. I don't think photo stops or run-bys are practical on a trip of this nature but it sure is nice to get many miles on freight only trackage in relative comfort under good conditions. Whatever happens in the future the participants should consider themselves very fortunate to be able to ride some decent trackage that they would not otherwise have been able to ride and certainly deserves the support of all of us.
Noel Weaver

[jackintosh11]

I wonder why Amtrak doesn't operate one from NYP, with all of the coaches sitting in Sunnyside Yard on weekends.

No diesels can travel through the north river tunnels, though I guess they could put an electric on in addition to the diesels. Not a lot of freight lines accessible from NYP through the east river tunnels or empire connection, afaik.

[JimBoylan]

Is the West Philadelphia Elevated RR High Line really owned by CSX, or is it just a ConRail Shared Assets line that CSXT dispatches? Does Norfolk Southern have any rights on it that it can use for an "Amtrak" train that it is running? (If it's a CR OWNED line, then NS does have rights that CSXT can't dispute.)

[nomis]

IIRC, CSX owned as of the split & NS has rights on it into South Philly.

[runningwithscalpels]

I wonder why Amtrak doesn't operate one from NYP, with all of the coaches sitting in Sunnyside Yard on weekends.

No diesels can travel through the north river tunnels, though I guess they could put an electric on in addition to the diesels. Not a lot of freight lines accessible from NYP through the east river tunnels or empire connection, afaik.

I think the point was originate the trip from NYP - might net even higher ridership, even if you do waste time riding to Philly.

[gprimr1]

Originating from NYP to go to Philly would be a huge extra add on waste of time. Doing something out of New York would be cool, but going out of NYP to go to Philly to do something is a waste.

That said, Amtrak could offer ticket from NYP to the Autumn Express. It would half the regular fair, but it would be built into the ticket so say the AXP is 129, you'd pay 159 for the ticket.That way people can't scam it.

[runningwithscalpels]

Sadly there really isn't much rare mileage one can do out of New York though really. Womp womp.

The half-fare NYP to PHL is a really good idea though.

[gprimr1]

How about a tour of the freight only parts of the LIRR followed by a carfloat ride from Brooklyn to NJ?

[JimBoylan]

Why not start form Penn Station in Newark, N.J., to get around the Diesel problem in the tunnels?
Newark, Hunter Tower, Allentown, Reading, Harrisburg, Rockville, Enola, Shocks Mill, Columbia, Lancaster, Trenton Cut Off, Monmouth Jct., Jamesburg, South Amboy, Rahway, Newark. More likely, it would be direct from Trenton back to Newark because of darkness.

[njtmnrrbuff]

There is not enough room at NWK Penn Station bc the tracks would need to be used for regular movements. I have an even better idea; Hoboken Terminal. Not all of the tracks are being used there.

[JimBoylan]

Is Track 0 used on weekends? In the past, extras leave from Track 5, the Raritan Line platform.

[ExCon90]

I would think that on a weekend they might even be able to set aside Track 2 for the time necessary (one hour, or less?); at one time they loaded originating North Jersey Coast trains on 2, sending all eastbounds on 1 and 0, and this during the weekday evening rush hour. Actually, there might be more of a problem finding room for the gathering throng on the main level before the train is placed; I'm sure if they used Track 0 the train could be placed as early as necessary. Using Hoboken would introduce another railroad into the mix (also requiring a pilot?).

[NealG]

Maybe a Boston North Station to Lincoln NH run, via Lowell, Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Franklin, Weirs Beach, Meredith, Plymouth and finally into Lincoln/North Woodstock. Much of the track is under public ownership (MBTA and State of New Hampshire), with Pan Am owning Nashua and Concord. It doesn't hurt that Pan Am and Amtrak seem to be getting along well these days...