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Amtrak Transit Adventures

The Inaugural Northbound Vermonter Backing out of Springfield with Company Cars and Shuttle Train #475 to Metro-North Home

I decide to bail on the Vermonter, spending the extra $22 to buy a ticket on Shuttle Train #405 in an hour to photograph the northbound train backing out. I walk through a very crowded Springfield Station–(40 Photos), and walk south down Main Street trying to get along the Connecticut River. Downtown Springfield has major problems […]

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Transit Adventures

Visiting West Haven and an AGR Points Run on the Vermonter and Shuttle as far as Berlin

When I headed up to New Haven last August for my Long Day Wending my Way to Rhode Island trip the conductor on the local train from Fordham to Stamford didn’t punch my ticket so in Stamford I bought a new ticket from Stamford to New Haven for $6.75 and decided to save my full […]

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Transit Adventures

Driving from Windsor, VT to Windsor Locks, CT for the Amtrak Shuttle to Metro-North (beating the connecting, late Northeast Regional into NY)

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 […]

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Transit Adventures

A Long Day Wending My Way to R.I. via a Shuttle Points run to WFD, Shore Line East, and a final Northeast Regional OSB-NLC-KIN Trip

My one railfan friend Robert’s family has a house near Westerly in Rhode Island. Were both off this week and were planning to do some train riding in New York until I realize that this is as good a time as any to finally take the train up to Rhode Island where his parents already […]

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Transit Adventures

Springfield Shuttle Train #470 to a great layover at the half abandoned and historic Union Station

Greetings from the Amtrak platform where I post via some AmtrakConnect wifi from the Shuttle Train I arrived on a few hours in the station that hasn’t moved and is still idling in the station. After getting off Regional #170 I walk up the platform to my waiting 2 car shuttle train that looks very […]

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Transit Adventures

Shuttle Train #475 in Push Mode from Hartford-Union Station to New Haven Union Station (Part 4)

Shuttle Train #475 arrives in Push-Mode led by the cab car on time. The two conductors open both vestiblue doors and I sit in the cab car before the red, crew only backwards flag. There like three people in normal clothes sitting behind the flag, I believe they are Amtrak employees deadheading. I sit as […]

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Transit Adventures

A Relatively Empty Shuttle #475 to Crowded Regional #175 back into New York City with the Scenic Entrance over the Hell Gate Bridge

We return to the Windsor Locks Bus stop at 4:20, there is one other passenger waiting to board. At 4:27 our Shuttle Train #475 arrives in push-mode with an ex-Metroliner Cab Car, followed by an Amfleet-I and then the P42. Only the middle non-cab car is open with maybe 12 people on board one other […]

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Transit Adventures

A 1200 AGR points day for just $46 ($23 to each train company) to Hartford via Metro North and Amtrak’s Shuttle and Vermonter

This week is AGR Triple Point week in honor of National Train Day (I’ll be at Grand Central of course). If I lived in a place with a cheep corridor train (for example Philadelphia with the unreserved Keystone, $6.50 for 300 points out to Paoli) I would be trying to ride it quite a few […]