on the Acela to Boston

Right now I'm sitting in New York Penn Station in the First Class section of Acela Express 2150 after a 2:20 run from Baltimore. Whs we roll out it's on to Boston where I plan to pick up a car, and then onward to a vacation in Maine.

They're starting to load passengers, and we'll be off soon. We are off, with only a 10 minute layover in New York.

I'm in first class thanks to an upgrade coupon. I'm spending the extra money on the Acela because it does save me an hour, allowing me some more time in Portland this afternoon.

I arrived at Baltimore Penn Station at around 4:50 AM for my 5:24 scheduled departure. Soon they showed a 5 minute delay. The train finally arrived at 5:30, and I found my way to the nearly empty first class car. I was told I could sit wherever I wanted, as the first class section was not going to fill up. Thus, I have a nice 4-top all to myself, although I had to check out a few seats, as the recline mechanism didn't work in the fist seat I tried. Also had a problem with no powerin the electrical outlets. But I finally found a seat and e toyed the view of the sunrise as we crossed the Susquehanna Havre de Grace.

I waited until Wilmington to get my breakfast. My pick was The breakfast calzone. Not too bad, but it could have had a little more filling relative to the crust.

My view of the scenery, such as it is between Wilmington and New York has been somewhat impeded by the morning sun glare, which is only one, about 9:30 am, getting out of the way. We stopped only in Philly and Newark, making for a pretty fast ride. We did creep into the Newark station and also went pretty slowly through the Hudson River Tunnel, so we did the trip in 2:20 instead of the typical 2:10.

Onward we go. We just passed Bridgeport running at LD train speeds. Ill have a final report later today after i get to Boston.

Sounds like a nice trip, MARC Rider!

Very smart to have breakfast at Wilmington, since there isn't much to look at between there and New York (except for the nice mural of a whale on a building at Wilmington and the Philly skyline--but you would have to turn around to see that if you're going north--and maybe some rowers on the river).

I have always been curious about how much scenery you can see going fast on the Acela. For example, were you able to see the beach (a bit before New London--I think it's just past Old Saybrook) and the boats at Mystic and parts of Long Island Sound in the distance? Or was it all just a blur? I would love to know so I can decide if it would be worth trying it sometime or just to take the regional and get there slower but see everything--thanks!

MRD, the only things that might be blurry are the trees and bushes right along the ROW. And remember, the Regionals can go up to 125 in some areas.

Others here who fly can correct me if I'm wrong - when a plane takes off it is going 150-180 mph and the airport terminal is not blurry.

AmtrakBlue said:

MRD, the only things that might be blurry are the trees and bushes right along the ROW. And remember, the Regionals can go up to 125 in some areas.

Others here who fly can correct me if I'm wrong - when a plane takes off it is going 150-180 mph and the airport terminal is not blurry.

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You are correct on the take-off speed,

Everything doesn't turn all blurry when I drive that fast!

B757Guy said:

AmtrakBlue said:

MRD, the only things that might be blurry are the trees and bushes right along the ROW. And remember, the Regionals can go up to 125 in some areas.

Others here who fly can correct me if I'm wrong - when a plane takes off it is going 150-180 mph and the airport terminal is not blurry.

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You are correct on the take-off speed,

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Well, I did cheat & googled it. But you know you can't believe everything you read on the Internet.

MARC Rider,

Where did you go? The last we heard from you (before we got sidetracked onto what you can see outside an Acela window) was that you were going to catch up with us when you got to Boston. Did you just decide to escape to Maine and go out on the water on a nice relaxing boat? :giggle:

I am really looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. There is nothing better than reading about refreshing Maine weather when you're stuck in the humid mid-Atlantic region!

He's kicked back in the Cool NE Patty, probably no WIFI or phone service where he is, but even if there is, who wants to be tied to a device when you're on Vacation?

Can't say I blame him, getting out of the Washington rat race ( the rats win!) is great!

Trip reports are usually done upon return home or on the train when service is available!

Why don't you get out of Jersey by hopoing on a train up to Boston,then catch the Downeaster and join him up there in the wonderful cool NE??!!!

"It can cure the soul and make it whole! "

Bob,

I think he's trying to get away from us--probably on a boat hanging out with the whales and puffins instead! :giggle:

I do my trip reports in stages as I go along, but that's because I know I won't remember all the details when I get back!

Mystic River Dragon said:

MARC Rider,

Where did you go? The last we heard from you (before we got sidetracked onto what you can see outside an Acela window) was that you were going to catch up with us when you got to Boston. Did you just decide to escape to Maine and go out on the water on a nice relaxing boat? :giggle:

I am really looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. There is nothing better than reading about refreshing Maine weather when you're stuck in the humid mid-Atlantic region!

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Well, here I am in Boston. The train was so late that we only just arrived. I guess I'll have to get a ticket for #67 to get home in time for work tomorrow.

Just joking. I'm actually home from my trip. The train, despite being late out of Baltimore, arrived in Boston right on time. Then I got my car and drove up to Portland and enjoyed the view of the harbor from the lounge at the top of my hotel. I guess I had one martini too many (i.e. one martini), as I did not have the desire to fiddle with posting from my cell phone.

Yes, you can get good views from the Acela. But between New York and, say, Westerly RI, it's not a particularly high speed train. Heck, they could cut another hour off the travel time if it could run a constant 70 mph in Metro-North territory. But the scenery is good, at least.



Here's a view of Manhattan as we came off the Hell Gate Bridge



Some of the new M-N EMU equipment at New Haven



Here's my seatmate. I had a whole 4-top to myself the entire trip up.



A beach somewhere in Connecticut.



Ferries in New London



Yes the Acela Express does get up tp 150 mph (or at least pretty close) for two stretches (between Kingston RI and Providence) and between Providence on Rt. 128)

Finally, arrival in Boston:



Then I got my car and drove over to Winthrop and enjoyed a giant lobster roll (actually a half-pound plate of lobster salad with a bun hidden somewhere) at Belle Isle Seafood with a harbor view and a view of the planes landing at Logan.



Finally after fighting Boston traffic on 1A and US1, I arrived at Portland, where I lost track of my reporting duties after a scenic martini:



But wait: a walk down by the harbor revealed some more train-related stuff:



This is not the Acela Express.





I wonder how fast those two-footers could go, assuming the track was aligned properly?



The next day, I drove up to Farmington, where I dropped the car, and my Dad was waiting for me. We had a nice week at the cabin, and I drove home with him, stopping at Steamtown along the way. No steam locos running that day, alas.

I'm back home and ready(?) to go back to the office.

Nice trip and pics, thanks for sharing!

It's a shame you have to go back to Sodom on the Potomac while everyone else is still on Vacation!

Bob Dylan said:

Nice trip and pics, thanks for sharing!

It's a shame you have to go back to Sodom on the Potomac while everyone else is still on Vacation!

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Hey, I'm not complaining. I missed most of the Red Line "Safe Track" safety surge, although I'll have to put up with the last day of it tomorrow.

Of couse, I'm still stuck with the 23 day disruption of the Red Line in October. Fortunately, the Jewish holidays are late this year.

Thanks for the wonderful report and the information on the Acela.

I'm glad you had a nice visit with your Dad.

I think the beach in your photo is near Old Saybrook--that photo and the one of the ferries in New London remind me of trips to Mystic.

I haven't been to Maine for years (the Downeaster hadn't started operations the last time I was there) and didn't realize how much I miss it til I read your report. I think it is time for me to start thinking about a trip up there again.