RAILforum: Mystery Train thru Chatham, NY

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Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :

Does anyone know anything about an Amtrak train that goes thorugh Chatham NY on Sundays? I did not think any Amtrak trains use that track, but my friend swears she saw one twice, both times on a Sunday. Thanks so much for the help!

Posted by JFB (Member # 2520) on :

That's the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited. Runs Eastbound and Westbound through Chatham daily--emphasis on through. Doesn't stop there. The section splits from the LSL at Albany (though sometimes it's a connecting train), calling at Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Framingham before reaching Boston.

The Chatham depot still stands. Impetus for that additional Albany-Boston service that sits perpetually beyond the horizon.

Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :

Thanks, JFB. I don't know why I didn't think of that train myself—I think the friend mentioning Sunday only is what threw me.

Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :

PS Do you really think there will ever be more trains from Albany to Boston? Last I heard, Amtrak was considering dropping the Boston leg of the Lake Shore Limited, not adding more trains.

Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :

Off topic for an Amtrak Forum, but lest we forget that the MNR Harlem Line once (within my memory as I had enough occasions to frequiently ride as a kid) extended from its present "end of track" at Wassaic to Chatham.

Possibly someone with "on the ground" knowledge of the area will comment to what extent there remain any vestiges of the Harlem Division around there.

Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :

Place your bets, Anyone?

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-to-Berkshires-Amtrak-Trains-Berkshire-Flyer-478206553.html

Fair Use:

A train shuttling passengers between New York City and the scenic Berkshires in western Massachusetts could begin as early as next summer, according to reports.

Advocates have been pushing for a restored line between the city and the Berkshires for years, and this week the Berkshire Flyer Working Group released a 130-page feasibility study that lays out how to make the dream a reality

This report by the NBC New York outlet could have someone running to an Amtrak ticket office - only to be laughed at.

Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :

A train going to Pittsfield could do very well, depending on time of day and length of trip; there are a lot of weekenders/semi-day commuters in Columbia County (Chatham) and the Berkshires (Pittsfield MA) who now drive to Hudson or Albany to catch the train. Of course, there are lots of weekenders/commuters who use the train in the Saratoga area as well, but because of the schedule (just 2 trains, one of them late in the day southbound and often late because it is coming from Montreal/customs) a lot of these people drive to Albany (where there is ample parking) to catch the train south from there.

Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :

Ms. Sojourner, travel North to travel South?; only on airlines.

There is also the matter of the backwards ride one segment or the other.

Even though there is not, and in all likelihood will not be, an Interstate following US 7 through Litchfield County, CT (we don't need more city slickers coming up here), the schedule would be hard pressed to meet drive time up the Taconic to the 90.

It's going nowhere beyond where it already has; connected consultants, who may or not have been qualified to accept the engagement, having a feast at the trough.

Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman:
Ms. Sojourner, travel North to travel South?; only on airlines.

Yes! Not long ago our daughter looked at flying Pensacola to Memphis: Amongst some others equally ridiculous, do it via Chicago! It approached what could have been done in the past by Greyhound. Don't look to them either. Some their current possibilities are far worse than their past schedules. All are slower than the 13 hour Frisco local that lasted up to the mid 1950's. You can now drive it easily in 8.

quote:
It's going nowhere beyond where it already has; connected consultants, who may or not have been qualified to accept the engagement, having a feast at the trough.

True. Politicians have found this the easiest way to placate the proponents of a project. Conversely, many times that can result in the death of something that should be built. If you want some mega project to happen, pick the easiest to get started portion, carry everything through, that is needed studies, all environmental and other permits and start moving the earth. That is why the California High Speed Rail is starting with Fresno to Bakersfield. This is the easy pickings part. Flat terrain, relatively easy to define the details of the route and obtain right of way. Now you have this piece getting under way so that the argument becomes, what next? Go to LA or go to SF? Incidentally, to go to SF is really the next easiest, even though logistically to go to LA would seem to be the better choice.

An example of what happens when you don't do this is Dallas's DART. In 1986 the initial planning got under way. There were a couple of "it's gotta be here no matter what else we do" segments, but the board was unwilling to commit, so the project died completely for several years. My suspicion is that if they had started construction on either of these segments at that time we could have been riding trains some 8 to 10 years earlier than actually happened.