Passenger Trains > Downeaster trip

We are going to ride the a Downeaster from Portland to Boston in a couple of weeks. Any special sights to watch for or anything else to be aware of. Likewise for the next leg of the trip. New route for me as will be the Lakeshore Boston to Albany ride, the connection for which we hope to be able to make. To make for an easy transfer we'll probably just take a cab from N Station to S Station, with a quick lunch in the station. I have not been in S Station for about 6 or 8 years. Any recommendations for eats, inside or outside the station? If the the Downeaster is on time we should have several hours to make the connection.

You can do the cab transfer, but if you get off at Back Bay, you can take an "inbound" Orange Line train destined for Oak Grove 4 or 5 stops and you're at North Station. At that point, the train has become an "outbound" train. Confused yet?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/11 10:47 by sums007.

Or if its a nice day and you have the time you can walk along the Rose Kennedy Greenway and sample various restaurants and bars along the way.

Dave

Hi! A taxi between both stations is a good idea. It isn't that much and very much less complicated. Remember, the first goal is making the connection not saving taxi fare. The Old B&A route is scenic. At Palmer you may spot the New England Central's extremely rare NW-5 (ex-GN mixed train road/switcher.) Enjoy! Tom

7 years ago I took a taxi from North Station to South Station. Not a long
ride. Once I told the driver where I wanted to go he immediately declared
that it was a short trip (10 mins) and that he would not make any money
on it. No help whatsoever with luggage. Sassy attitude to say the least.
Now that's only an example of one taxi ride and perhaps other drivers
are fully cooperative. But I was rather surprised by his rudeness. If
a driver parks his cab outside North Station he should not be surprised
that people would wish to be taken to South Station. If you do use a
cab I hope your experience is better than mine.

I would skip the taxi altogether and just take the Orange Line from North Station to Back Bay. Anytime my girlfriend and I head into Boston we tend to park at either Lechmere or Riverside, and either hoof it or take the subway wherever we want to go.

As far as railfan sights, there's Rigby Yard in South Portland, which will be on the left southbound. Boston Engine Terminal will be on the right a mile or two before North Station. The yard at Lawrence will be on the left. That's about it, though you might meet a Pan Am freight at one of the sidings in New Hampshire.

There is a McDonalds in N. Station. Causeway St which runs in front of N. Station/TD Garden has a number of eating places. Perpendicular to Causeway in front of the station are Canal St., Friend St. and Portland St., all of which have restaurants.

As you leave N. Station, sit on the left side of the train where you'll see Boston Engine Terminal, the "T's" major shop for commuter rail. Just south of Portland, you'll travel through Pan Am Railway's Rigby Yard.

The train turns off the Pan Am main onto the former MEC Mountain Div the get to the station, Just before the junction on your right, note a former signal tower in a parking lot adjacent to an old multi story office building. This was the site of Portland Union Station and the office building is the former Maine Central Railroad general offices.

When getting off the train in Portland, look across the tracks to the SW. You'll see the former Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad's Thompson Point shop. The large skeletal structure adjacent to the shops are the remains of the Portland Union Station train shed which was moved there after the station was demolished. The former shop and train shed are likely going to be torn down soon so that a convention center can be built.

Enjoy,
Tom Coughlin
Stow, MA



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/11 16:50 by tomcough.

Not only is the ex-B & A line scenic, there are a number of old stations of interest. Additionally, when I rode the line in the 1980s, there were a one or two brick freight houses, but I don't if these are still standing.

We took a cab from a hotel to South Station in 2005, not only was the cab driver helpful, he was a railfan! Luck of the draw.....

There's a relatively simple principle to follow when trying to figure out Inbound vs. Outbound on the T in Boston...

Inbound is any train moving toward Park Street Station (Green and Red Lines), and outbound is moving away from Park Street.
For lines (Blue and Orange) that don't go to Park Street, pick the nearest station to Park Street, and use the same reasoning. On the Blue Line, that's Bowdoin Station, and on the Orange Line, use Downtown Crossing (the old Washington Street station on Red and Orange Lines).

This is a general rule of thumb that should prove handy and fairly reliable.

HRGXguy,
Don't forget your Charlie Card!