August
-
September
2010
New England and New York Routes
Fall
Foliage Forecast
 |
If you're considering heading for New
England to enjoy the
incredible fall foliage you are probably wondering when to venture out.
Well, the leaves are already starting to turn in some locales as shown
on this September 2, 2010 'Yankee
Foliage' forecast map. Click on
the map and bookmark the page if you'd like to keep track this year.
In the meantime we've added two new
routes to the Rail Passenger USA website library that you may want to
consider in planning your trip; Amtrak's Vermonter
and Downeaster.
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Vermonter
Amtrak
currently
provides daily service in both directions between
St. Albans, Vermont and Washington DC on their Vermonter train.
Photo Courtesy Flickr
- Bruce Denis |
On one of the many scenic segments of
its route the
Vermonter follows the
Connecticut River along the Vermont-New Hampshire state line.
Claremont,
New Hampshire is pictured here with Mt. Ascutney, Vermont seen off to
the west.
The north and souhbound Vermonter both stop in Claremont daily. Click on the image for more
photos.
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Amtrak's Route Guide
reads "The
Vernonter has its origins
in the original Montrealer service offered by the former
Boston
and
Maine (B&M) Railroad, serving Washington D.C. and Montreal,
with
some intermediate stops. The B&M ceased passenger service in
1965,
and Amtrak began to provide nationwide passenger service in 1971. Soon
thereafter, Amtrak's version of the Montrealer begain serving the
route. Other than a single two-year suspension of service, it lasted
until 1995, when it was replaced by the Vermonter." Click here
to download a printable copy of
Amtrak's entire Vermonter Route Guide.
Presently, the 611 mile
trip between St. Albans and DC takes
about 13 hours and 45 minutes. Click on
the map below to check out the scheduled stops along the way.
Washington
DC
|
 |
St.
Albans, VT
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To
access the Rail Passenger USA Vermonter Route Guide
click - Vermonter
Route
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|
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So, if you're an ex-New Englander (ex-pat
so to speak)
now scratching out your living in a big city somewhere far away, you
may want to
click on the photo to go to Washington's Union Station and listen to
Doris croon a tune
that Ray
insists was composed especially for the Vermonter.
Then page backwards through our guide to head toward St. Albans.
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Downeaster
The
Downeaster provides daily service in both directions between the Boston
North Station and Portland, Maine.
The short
round trip is a great way for first
time train travelers to slow down and enjoy the great fall scenery of
northeastern Massachusetts, southeast New Hampshire and lay fame to
touching the
Atlantic Ocean in Maine.
Click on
the map below to check out the stops the Downeaster makes on its 115
mile, 2 hour and 25 minute trip.
Boston
(North Station)
|
 |
Portland,
Maine
|
To open our new Rail
Passenger USA Downeaster Route Guide
click - Downeaster
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Image extracted from YouTube
- Brunswick Kick-Off...
Wayne Davis, Chairman of TrainRiders/Northeast
|
On August 2, 2010 a groundbreaking was
held at Brunswick, Maine celebrating the start of the $38 M Downeaster
expansion from Portland northward to Freeport and Brunswick. The
project is scheduled
for completion in 2012.
Click on Wayne's image to view a YouTube clip of the ceremony. |
There are
many ways to tour the northeast in the fall but, of course, we're
convinced that the best by far is by train. In addition to the two new
routes we've just added, here are a few more that you may want to check
out.
Adirondack
Amtrak's
Adirondack travels this 381 mile route between New York City and
Montreal daily. The scheduled travel
time is 11 hours and 5 minutes. Enjoy great fall scenery all along the route that takes you up the Hudson River,
through the
Adirondack mountains and along the western shore of Lake
Champlain
on your northbound journey to Montreal. Don't
forget your passport on this
rail venture between the USA and the province of Quebec in
Canada.
Click here
for Amtrak border crossing information.
Click on
the map below to check out the Rail Passenger USA detailed route maps
and local
transportation and history information along the route of the
Adirondack.
Montreal
|
 |
New
York City
|
To go to
our Rail Passenger USA Adirondack Route Guide
click - Adirondack Route
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Maple
Leaf
The
Maple Leaf runs daily between New York City and Toronto via Niagara
Falls where you cross the USA-Canadian border. Click here
for Amtrak border crossing information.
The June
2010 Amtrak published rail travel distance between New York and Toronto
on the Maple Leaf is 544 miles and the published rail travel time is
about 12 - 1/2 hours.
Click on
the map below to check out the Rail Passenger USA detailed route maps
and local
transportation and history information along the Maple Leaf route.
Toronto
|
 |
New
York City
|
To go to
our Rail Passenger USA
Maple Leaf Route Guide
click - Maple Leaf Route
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Lake
Shore Limited (Between Albany and Boston)
The Lake
Shore Limited begins its
westbound journey in two cities, New York
and Boston. The two separate trains meet up in the afternoon
in Rensselaer, New York (Albany) where they're coupled up for their
trip on to Chicago.
The New
York to Albany-Rensselaer train follows the same route as the
Maple Leaf between those two cities. Hop on the Boston Leg of this
train to check out fall in the Berkshire Mountains and more great
scenery all across the state of Massachusetts.
The May
2010 Amtrak published rail travel distance between Albany-Rensselaer
and Boston
on the Lake Shore Limited is 200 miles. The scheduled travel time is 5
hours and 40 minutes.
Empire
Service
If Niagara
Falls is in your fall travel
plans Amtrak's
Empire Service, Train Numbers 281 and 283, provide daily service
between
New York City and Niagara Falls following the same route as
the Maple Leaf between those two destinations
The August
2010 Amtrak published rail travel distance between the Big Apple and
Niagara Falls
on the Empire Service is 460 miles and takes 9 hours and 40
minutes.
Niagara
Falls, NY
|
 |
New
York City
|
To go to
our Empire Service Route Guide
click - Empire Service Route
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Acela
Express
Amtrak's
Acela Express provides convenient connections to the above trains and
also includes some great fall scenery of its own up and down the east
coast between Boston and Washington DC. Click here
for Amtrak's Acela route description page or click
here
to launch Amtrak's Acela Tour.
Gandy
Dancing Today
Flixxy.com
- A Train Laying its Own Track
|
|
If the mechanical John Henry's shown in the 'Downeaster
Expansion' video clip got your
attention, click on this image.
As the late story teller Utah Phillips once related: "...they
don't do gandy dancing in
the normal way anymore ya
see, like they did in the
old days..." |
Click here
to read the Utah Phillips' story about
the
worst job he ever had
and then go ahead and
Have
Great Trip!
Happy Rails to You!
Ray York
Rail Passenger USA
__________________________________________________
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Rail
Passenger USA is a free website founded by Ramblin' Ray, an old train
travel addict who devotes most of his time to mapping USA passenger
railroad routes and preparing route guides to share with others via his
website.
www.railpassengerusa.com
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