The main reason I wanted to make the loop trip up to Burlington is to ride the Vermonter in full. The friend I am visiting is another railfan and he decides to leave his family and ride back with me. Yesterday we went on a bit of a driving adventure to downtown Burlington so I could photograph the old train station (and platform of the short-lived Champlain Flyer Commuter Rail), we also drive to the Vermonter’s stations in St. Albans and Essex Junction. These stations all have bus service from Burlington and I was originally planning a trip to visit them by bus and stay in the youth hostel in Burlington. I had also figured out how to visit Waterbury and Montpelier Junction by bus but those stations will have to wait for another trip.
My friends parents drop us off back to the station at 8:10 as the train is backing out of the yard on the hand thrown switch. I don’t really get a picture of the cab-car before the train backs into the station. We get a locomotive photo right across from the NECR St Albans sign. I run into the little waiting room and get some photos (it was closed yesterday since we weren’t there within an hour of the train’s arrival or departure). The train consists is the P42 in pull mode until Palmer, followed by a Cafe/Club Car, then 3 Amfleet-Is and an Ex-Metroliner Cab Control Car for after the backup move in Palmer. This cab car will strangely be directly attached to the AEM7 or HHP-8 that will pull the train under electrified territory to Washington. The Vermonter unfortunately can’t have any Amfleet-IIs for its long ride. This is because after New Haven the train becomes a regular, albeit shorter crowded Northeast Regional run south to Washington and the crew needs to be able to automatically open all the doors at once and the Amfleet-IIs have manually controlled doors, (along with the Metroliner Cab, but that was closed until after Springfield) One door to the train is open at the cafe car.
- 8:30 — were moving, not hearing a double toot and slowly go south through town. The first grade crossing is Lake Street right at the end of the platform. We pass a construction project for Mylan Technologies.
- 8:34 — cross-under US 7 seeing houses outside of St Albans
- 8:36 — first unarmed crossing in the trees with just lights for Congar Road, we’re making good speed
- 8:37 — pass the siding Oakland and Oakland Station Road, no real town. We keep passing trees
- 8:40 — cross under I-89
- 8:41 — Skunk Hill Road unarmed
- 8:42 — pass a bunch of railroad ties cross the Lamoille River at the end of Arrowhead Mountain Lake and above Route 104A
- 8:44 — pass a few houses and unarmed grade crossings. We briefly see industry in the trees as we go through Milton with an NECR sign and a few armed grade crossings. We pass houses and the fire department.
- 8:50 — Farmsworth Road then E Road and E Road again (one unarmed, one armed). There is dense foliage with some houses visible between the trees
- 8:54 — slow down and pass a warehouse between the trees. There seem to be railway ties stacked up in places
- 8:55 — another track joins us, a little siding with a derailer. We pass houses an start following Route 2A into town. We go beneath multiple highway overpass. One of which is under construction. Next is a propane refilling yard with a railroad spur
- 8:58 — We get the announcement for burlington-Essex. There is a women getting off and the crew is opening two doors, the only stop in Vermont they will do this for. We slow down entering this junction town.
We arrive at 9:01 to about 50 passengers getting on, two doors on each side of our frontmost car are open. The door to the little station is to (It was closed when I visited yesterday). There is an Amish Mennonite family with rolling suitcases. So much for a nice quiet car. At 9:03 the train leaves, I notice a man off the train on the platform with an Amtrak ID badge. We slowly go through town, passing a rail lead that heads south and then one the other direction. Its the branch line that enters Burlington, I’m surprised Amtrak doesn’t go downtown instead of to St Albans.
- 9:07 — Pass some heavy industry.
- 9:09 — Start heading passed cornfields and a welcome to Williston sign. The conductor is slowly still issuing hand written tickets. It’s a misty morning in Vermont. Passing the Winooski River and trees.
- 9:14 — We keep following the Winooski River and go under I-89 again the family on front of us asked to move. There are lots of intra Vermont passengers. We run between the river and I-89.
- 9:18 — running Between 89 and the river, we decide to walk back a car as the front one is getting crowded and it appears that the crew will just be opening the door at the cafe car at every station stop, the 3 middle Amfleet-Is are open, the Cab Car is unfortunately closed.
- 9:20 — leave the river and tiny Bolton on nice fast track as the Winooski and I-89 join us again
- 9:24 — cross the river and run between trees and a dirt road. See an overpass of I 89 off in the distance. The river reappears on the other side of the train before we cross again and see boats in a
blur between the trees. We are on new good track all welded rail from the Recovery Act funded Vermont track improvements.
At 9:28 we arrive in Waterbury, the station is an old red building with a neat cafe lacking any Amtrak signs. There are just Waterbury signs at each end of the building. The river comes back into view between the trees.
- 9:35 — slowly go through a rock cut rising above the river with fisherman
- 9:37 — cross under a highway see what might be an old depot and even a park and ride lot for commuters for Montpelier or Burlington. I-89 soon rejoins us and we keep following it between us and the highway.
At 9:43 we cross the Winooski and enter Montpelier Junction. It has a nice red depot. Only the front car opens again. That coach is getting crowded. It is another red station house nestled between two yard leads with an Amtrak information panel In between. We pass some Proctor Chemical cars as we leave, and turn south leaving the main tributary of the Winooski River behind and start following a secondary tributary, the Dog River.
- 9:51 — A woman in front of us is going all the way to DC, the first passenger I’ve noticed. We follow a private drive with lots of old stacked tires
- 9:53 — cross the Dog River again, we’re now.
- 9:54 — go through Northfield Falls and see a red covered bridge
- 9:56 — now in Northfield, crossing the Dog River now more a stream. There is an old depot and freight house. The train keeps passing more trees and cross a stream and road on a high bridge and leave water, now the Northfield golf course. We go above the little stream.
- 10:03 pass a little wetland and a NECR siding sign I can’t read. Then pass a few houses, I think its Roxbury according to my phone without service. It is approximately around here we cross the River Divide from Lake Champlain (via the Winnoski) to the Connecticut River in a valley of the Green Mountains.
- 10:05 — pass some neat little ponds. Then we’re back in trees with a steam on the other side. Its the Third Branch of the White River. We cross it and follow it again
- 10:09 — there is now corn across from us and cross the stream again.
- 10:11 — another little town with a sign for canoes in valley near a road with the tree covered green mountains on each side.
- 10:14 — pass a neat stream and other houses
- 10:15 — farm equipment held down by tires
- 10:17 — arriving in Randolph announcement we cross a river and slowly entering town.
At 10:20 My rear car stops along a redemption center. There is a longish platform with a fence and an old pointless arrow sign. We slowly leave town
- 10:27 — keep seeing what looks like a stream it is the White River we will follow all the way to the next stop.
- 10:29 — go through another decent sized town Bethel with an old laundromat sign and cross two rivers
- 10:30 — a wider stream is still visible between the two rivers.
- 10:32 — We are in a clearing between the hills and trees. Then cross under 89 and see a kingdom hall of Jehovah Witnesses in Royalton. Cross over the river and through a rock cut
- 10:37 — South Royalton with more small houses. The train continues through trees.
- 10:42 — we continue through the trees. The White River is below but we’re high above it in the trees.
- 10:45 — cross the White River and Route 14.
- 10:47 — see I-89 again and go above the White River now it is off to the right.
- 10:49 — Pass a graveyard and some more houses in West Harford. We slow down, go under I-89 and pass a few more houses. The train keeps following VT-14
- 10:54 — Cross VT-14 and the White River and keep running above it. Then we go through trees. We enter White River Junction with 5 extra minutes of schedule padding passing a large rail yard of trees and lumber. The conductor doesn’t announce a smoke stop but the smokers ask and the conductors begrudgingly let us off. They tell us to stay close to the train and will enjoy leaving us behind.
We arrive at 11:00 and me and Robbie run up to the back of the train to get a picture of the cab car. The station is hopping with passengers many there to board the White River Flyer Tourist Train to Thetford. The Vermont Rail System used to run two other tourists lines (one out of Burlington and one out of Bellows Falls) but increased freight traffic has discontinued those other two routes. At 11:04 we get the All Aboard and get back on.
- 11:07 — go beneath the bridge for I-89 across the Connecticut River to New Hampshire we follow the connecticut. Leaving it in places for fields.
- 11:18 — run along a cliff high above the river. There are trees between us and it.
- 11:20 — slowly enter Windsor with the announcement
At 11:23 we arrive in Windsor Vermont. It’s a very quick stop, the new signage is up I can’t tell if anyone is getting on or off at the least used Amtrak station with daily service.
- 11:26 — cross the Connecticut seeing the Windsor-Cornish Covered Bridge and enter New Hampshire. We follow the Connecticut passing some houses of Cornish
- 11:32 — cross high over the Sugar River and even over power lines.
- 11:36 — come to a quick stop at Claremont one person is getting on we’re on the outside track and they use a small wooden crossing to board the train
- 11:41 — Continue through trees.
- 11:44 — The Connecticut River comes in and out of view, we leave it running along the only stretch of Amtrak in New Hampshire for quite a few years.
- 11:48 — Pass buildings and go through the town of Charlestown
- 11:51 — See the river briefly and then follow it with route 12 in between
- 11:54 — slow down passing a freight and a small town.
We slowly cross back into Vermont beneath the actual Bellows Falls and stop at its station at 11:58. At 11:59 I hear the double toot as we leave the waypoint welcome center.
- 12:01 — very slowly leave the island where Bellows Falls station is on. It is formed by a canal with locks, and enter trees. The Connecticut River is barely visible off in the distance, we it follow along a cliff and see the river before passing some fields and then remerging along the river.
- 12:10 — see the nice wide Connecticut
- 12:13 — Keep seeing the Connecticut River and following it
- 12:26 — a family canoeing waves at us. Then we pass a sewage treatment plant. Then two bridges, one closed across the Connecticut as we enter Brattleboro.
- 12:30 cross the West River as we keep following the Connecticut.
At 12:33 we arrive in Brattleboro to like 30 people boarding, the parking lot platform is gone with new plastic bollards to block cars from it. It’s now a new no parking Zone. People walk through my car trying to find empty seats. The plastic chairs are out of the depot. The train feels relatively crowded. We pass freight cars and trains of logs leaving. And a line of locomotives for rail america, NECR then Connecticut southern. There clearly ex-UP as we pass the Vermont Street Wetland. The Connecticut comes back in view beyond the trees.
At 12:53 we go over the Connecticut again. We’re in Massachusetts. It’s time for lunch and me and Robbie go up to the cafe car. It is the standard Northeast Regional menu (which I’m not used to) with overly gourmet sandwiches. The cafe car doesn’t have any Vermont specialities except for Long Trail Ale and a type of local chips. I remember seeing a handwritten sign for when I took this train at least six years ago, the attendant remembers this and wonder’s why Vermont who funds the train doesn’t reintroduce them. We pass a cemetery in Northfield
- 12:29 — the track has become clearly jointed rail going through trees it’s much less improved here in Massachusetts where the train by 2014 will be diverted to the line that was used until 1987 resulting in 30 minute faster trip times and no Palmer backup move.
- 1:03 — Go through Millers Falls and cross a river on a high bridge as another railroad joins us.
- 1:06 — We continue through trees on rough joined rail
- 1:10 — Go over a road and continue through trees
- 1:14 — Keep following electrical wires
- 1:17 — see a clearing and wetland in the trees
- 1:19 — just north of Amherst we pass Henry street an pass trees with the announcement for Amherst
At 1:22 see the NECR sign for Amherst as we slowly enter. The vandalism on the wheelchair lift has tried to be covered. We get the annoucement for a half-hour to Palmer where the direction of travel will change and that the conductors will get off to hand throw switches. It’s still the clicky-clack of rough, jointed rail as we leave Amherst. My car is nearly full. We keep going through trees.
- 1:36 — pass Arcadia Lake and a branch line covered in trees then a landfill
- 1:40 — Belchertown siding and keep going through the trees
- 1:49 — Go through Three Rivers crossing the Chicopee River. There are houses along the track. It is slow running along jointed rail as we enter Palmer.
- 1:52 — Cross another river and go under the Mass Pike. There is a siding with some freight cars and we enter the old industry of Palmer, Mass. We cross a bridge and houses as well as seeing a Mass Central locomotive. Then is a sewage pumping station. There is a stream again.
- 1:58 — Stop for the first switch and we move to the third car sit forward for the rest of the ride.
- 2:01 — Slow and stop by steaming tenders. There are the usual few railfans present by the old stone depot.
- 2:04 — keep moving backwards entering CSX territory. My car comes to a stop under Main Street. The cab car is unfortunately still closed by the crew. No watching the crew changing. Guess that is something that requires northbound travel to see. I still remember taking the train to Vermont in 1996 and looking out the front window of the cab car entering Palmer.
- 2:11 — hear what sounds like an air break were slowly moving at 2:12 crossing back over to the main southbound track. The CSX rail is in notably better shape and were back in the trees while also seeing some buildings.
- 2:18 — the train follows another river, the Chicopee, and passes through a town by it’s baseball fields. With the train using the cab car the whistle sounds totally different.
- 2:26 — keep going through the trees and pass some factories and warehouses.
- 2:28 — there still plenty of trees passing the Route 66 diner.
We slowly run by I-290 and ctdot maintenance yard entering Springfield. There trees on each side of the line along slow running past more factories. The train passes some small wood framed houses. We slowly enter the Springfield Station passing an idling shuttle set on a siding on track 8, a side platform. We arrive at 2:39 and step off getting photos of both ends of our train. Plenty of people are boarding, the facing forward section of our car has gotten crowded. We get the announcement that were on Train #55 southbound to New Haven, New York, Washington and points in between. The first announcement that wasn’t just for announcing a station stop (or the back-up move).
At 2:52 we slowly leave Spingfield pasting the Hippodrome. We get a long announcement from the conductor including that there is wifi. He includes cell phone courtesy and to not put you shoes on the seats ceiling or walls, only the floor. The train follows the Connecticut out of town between it and I-91. We pass what looks like a tiny former station along the river and a water and sewer pumping station. Then the basketball hall of fame.
At 2:58we go under the last bridge in Massachusetts and keep following the Connecticut. The cab car has opened. Were directed to exit there passing marshland. We’re finally going at a fast speed by swampland.
At 3:02 enter Connecticut at North Thompsonville, pass a field. This was once a station stop. We’re the only two getting off at Windsor Locks. The conductor addresses us as Cox and McConnell from his iPhone manifest. There working on someone who hopped on for Hartford and buying a ticket for the next train that will then be scanned for this train. They mention the issues with eTicketing and the fact it cancels your reservation if you don’t get scanned on your first train. We go over the Connecticut River a final time and get ready to detrain. The chatty conductor asks us if were being met at the station and I say, No Were railfans and I have visited every stop except this one on the Shuttle Corridor and with a Shuttle arriving a little over an hour later (and the fact the Vermonter is usually 20ish minutes late) it seemed like a good place for a quick stopover.
We arrive on time at 3:12 to the tiny bus shelter platform which is maybe 10 feet long (the strangest stop I have been to) at a small park & ride lot just south of I-91s bridge across the Connecticut with a bit of a river view. I’ve been to bus rapid transit stops that were larger. There four people getting on and we both run off and get a cab car picture of the train stopped before it leaves. We spend the layover walking up Main Street and stop at a Ducken Donuts across from the historic but dilapidated station house 1 mile north of today’s parking lot. I get a photo essay of the dilapidated station house.