I wasn’t planning on my Local Trains to Boston and Vermont trip ending with another train journey simply driving back to New York City my parents like most of my trips up to Vermont, but my mother decided to take the car for another day and visit freinds in Southeastern Connecticut. She originally suggested driving down to New Haven and putting me and my Dad on Metro-North. That seemed crazy since the most practical way to leave the I-91 corridor to head southeast is CT-2 just south of Hartford. I originally thought of Hartford but that’s a center city station with less desirable highway access. Then the perfect drop off point came to mind, the bus shelter stop of Windsor Locks, Connecticut (the stop I originally got a seat check for heading north) just off Exit 42 on I-91. I will also add that this was one of my few Amtrak trips in a long time where I didn’t take a single photo. The bus shelter in Windsor Locks was crowded with other passengers and we had too tight a connection in New Haven.
We leave my relatives house in Windsor, VT at 2:10 for the 130 mile drive down I-91. In Massachusetts when I realize were definately going to make the train I buy our two tickets for the Shuttle to New Haven for $16 each, I also check the fare of connecting to the Amtrak Northeast Regional to get back to Penn Station and it is at a sky-high bucket of $80 each. Not worth it at all! We’ll take Metro-North in for $12 or $15.50 each depending upon if we switch to get off at Fordham or ride straight through on an Express to 125th Street. We get to the Windsor Locks bus shelter 15 minutes early at 4:15.
Shuttle train #465 arrives in push mode at 4:30 (1 minute lae) and the conductor asks the names of the 7 of us boarding on the platform. They’ve done the usual car arrangements by opening the Amfleet I and keeping the cab car closed until Hartford. We grab the last two seats at the end of the car behind the cab before the sets of four facing ones.
At 4:37 we stop at the other Windsor, Connecticut for two more passengers and the open Amfleet coach becomes completely full (no doubling up)
We arrive in Hartford at 4:44. A few people walk into our car and double-up. We finally leave at 4:53, 5 minutes late, I assume from a large passenger load. I also guess the conductor scanning everyone on the platform.
We stop in Berlin at 5:06 for a couple passengers, one getting off. I assume our 7 minute lateness is high passenger numbers in Hartford, the car is quiet except for one family sitting in the ADA area, a mother and baby sitting on the floor. The ride down the Amtrak own track doesn’t feel that smooth, sitting backwards over the trucks.
We stop in Meriden at 5:16 while northbound Shuttle train #488 is about to arrive in the station at the same time across the tiny platform from us. We leave 7 minutes late.
We pull into Wallingford at 5:24, 11 minutes late.
The conductor comes up and tells us he will open the door directly behind the locomotive, keying in and MUing the coach once we arrive or if that doesn’t work give him a minute . I will be tight for the 5:45 Metro-North train. I check and notice its commenting from Shore Line East (showing a SLE ticket stub lets you pay without penalty) and my dad decides that the possible pay on board penalty is not worth getting stuck in New Haven for. We slowly curve onto the NEC.
We arrive at 5:39 in New Haven and go straight to the train hoping we won’t get the $6 fee. Why can’t Metro-North put TVMs on the platforms? I see the shuttle pull our before the Northeast Regional #161 pulls in and no sign of our connection. There other people getting off our train doing the same thing walking out towards Metro-North, not into the station. There isn’t any sign of the Shoreline East Train connecting to us nor the NE Regional Connecting to our Shuttle Trian. The conductor announces just a few minutes were waiting on Shore Line East. It pulls in ten minutes late at 5:48 and unloads a decent number of passengers, most of whom come over to our car. It’s gets crowded. I also notice that train boarding passengers as we leave at 5:50 since its the next Eastbound and simply push-pulls in the station not bothering to pull into the yard.
The Conductor comes, I say “we’re connecting” as others pay cash showing their SLE receipts. We hand over the $31 (no fee charged) and I get my first ticket printed by the little receipt reader Metro-North now uses. 2 Passengers share one receipt and it clearly has space to be punched for connecting travel.
5:55 – Stop at the bridgeplates at West Haven since the restored forth track isn’t in service yet.
We stop in Stratford and Milford but I don’t bother with times, and spend most of this ride reading.
We get to Bridgeport at 6:14, 5 minutes late, they have opened the rear of the train. We pass the Bluefish stadium, there scared girls about walking between cars (without an anti-climber). They finally leave making the car quiet.
6:20 – Stop at Fairfield Metro. The people getting on, many with luggage make if clear that its a Sunday, not a weekday coming back from weekends out. The conductor seems overwhelmed. We make all the local stops as I read my book.
6:47 – We stop in Noroton Heights as an Amtrak train passes us. It’s train #165 running 28 minutes late that connected with our Shuttle Train!
We arrive in Stamford at 6:53 to Amtrak Regional #165 also stopped in the station, on one of the normal New Haven-bound tracks. We make a very quick stop and I hear the bell of the AEM7 ringing indicating the Amtrak train is about to leave but we pull out first to switch onto the Express track.
The conductor finally comes through for a ticket sweep as we pass a local train stopped at Greenwich. I don’t think tickets have been checked since Bridgeport.
- 7:12 – We go through New Rochelle ahead of Regional 165 that would have cost an extra $64 to take! And would have gotten us home now later
- 7:15 – Lose ventilation as we make the electric switch between Pelham and Mount Vernon East.
- 7:18 – See an NYPD lot, were back in the Bronx and join the Harlem Line taking the local track through Woodlawn.
- 7:22 – Through Fordham (we’d get off here if the train stopped)
- 7:24 – Closed Tremont Station because of the track work project. I need to take a walk over there one of these days for photos.
- 7:26 – Slow down through closed Melrose
- 7:27 – The Mott Haven interlocking as a diesel train from the Hudson Line joins us, the lead locomotive is the Constitution State.
We cross the Harlem River at 7:29 ahead of it down Park Avenue into light.
We get into 125th at 7:30 on time. The southern staircases closed for some reason. We walk over to Madison (I don’t have a routine for getting off at 125th) but hop on the M100 over to St Nicholas getting there at 7:45. A train comes at 7:49. We get off at 7:58 3.5 hours home!
This trip definitely beat connecting Northeast Regional #165 that would have cost $100 more to take! It didn’t arrive into New York-Penn Station until 7:42 (our Metro-North train probably arrived in Grand Central before it at 7:40), after leaving New Haven 23 minutes late at 6:06. Metro-North beat that train on even a city center to city center trip!