Passenger Trains > 448 / 449 cancelations in September

I friend noticed 448 / 449 are showing as canceled in late September. If this still the result of the CSX work curfew on the B&A? Or is it the Amtrak-related construction around Albany-Rensselaer? Deluxe Motor Coach bustitution is on offer.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

Yes, a "deluxe motor coach" (talk about an oxymoron), is a nice as a Viewliner Sleeper!

Going back ten years--my wife and I were planning to rent a motor home for a visit to Texas and New Orleans.  Then Katrina hit and we figured that the last thing  the disaster area needed was a couple of Californians getting under foot while the folks were trying to recover.  The RV rental place refunded our deposit without hesitation, so Plan B was to take Amtrak to Boston and visit her relatives in New England.  I had seen something on TO about work on the former Boston & Albany line that meant that some days would have an Ambus running between those cities.  When I mentioned this to my wife she made it very clear that a bus  was NOT ACCEPTABLE.  It wouldn't have bothered me that much, because I was used to riding the Ambus from Los Angeles to Bakersfield for the San Joaquin  service, and in 1977, I had ridden the Doggie Bus all the way to Boston and back, but for this trip, I double checked the Amtrak website to make SURE we wouldn't be stuffed into a motor coach for the last part of our journey.

I  checked the Amtrak website but found no reference to any such cancellations. Is it somewhere I haven't checked or is not available to the public?

I found it.  Looked at booking on the 23rd and 25th of September.  The 23rd shows the bus option, the 25th shows a train.

Chessie1963 Wrote:
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> I found it.  Looked at booking on the 23rd and
> 25th of September.  The 23rd shows the bus
> option, the 25th shows a train.

Similarly, on Sat. 9/19 the train is available, but it's bustituted the next day. Sounds like the same Sun-Wed CSX work window.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

I rode 448 ALB-SPG on 9/1. 

There's lots of new ties alongside the track west of Pittsfield for perhaps 30 miles or more.  It looked like about  25-30% of number of ties needed to do a full replacement.  However,  I thought the ride was very smooth, so I'm wondering whether these were excess ties from the replacement already completed.

In some areas west of the ties, they've put down new gravel and graded it where the removed track was.  But no new ties in those areas.  It looked to me as sub-base gravel, with perhaps 30% dirt content, but it was graded smooth.  Perhaps it's for improved motor vehicle access.  In the one grade crossing I noted along the graded area, there was no evidence of crossbucks being moved or pavement changes.  As an aside, when I did the same trip in spring, it looked as if they are re-decking some bridges, even the 'missing track' sides, too.  So whether it's being done to put back some of the second track or improved truck access, I haven't a clue.  As we left ALB 90 minutes late, if there were any workers there, they had already gone home.

There's a need for a passing siding west of Pittsfield.