In the last two years, I have been traveling regularly on SEPTA R5 and R7 lines as well as the NJTransit's NEC and Morris and Essex line. But I have never been able to go train spotting as well as travel by Amtrak trains. Karan Desai was in Philadelphia and he informed me about his plan to go to Princeton Junction along with other IRFCA members to spot Amtrak trains including the Acela Express at high speeds. It was decided that we would catch the 9.45 train from Philadelphia to Trenton and then catch the 11.00 NJTransit train to Princeton. We had Karan, Sri Ram and me coming from Philadelphia and John Garcia coming from New York. Jay Balakrishnan would drive down from Atlantic City and we had our small rail fanning group ready.
Over the next few hours, we spotted two Acela Expresses, many Keystone services and North East Regional Services trains to and from New York running at high speed. Also spotted was an Atlantic City Express service running towards NY. This train runs with an Electric loco at one end and Diesel loco at the other. This ensures there is no time spent in reversing at Frankford Junction near Philadelphia. The line from Philadelphia to Atlantic City is a non-electrified section, hence the need for Diesel loco. The tunnel below the Hudson river to enter New York Penn station prohibits entry of Diesel hauled locos, hence the need for Electric loco.
The tracks for 3 miles on either side of Princeton Junction are straight and this station is really a haven for watching trains run at mps of 135 mph. Of course, a 24 coacher hauled by a 5000 hp WAP4 at 110 kmph is more exhilarating to watch than a 8 coach hauled by a 7000 hp AEM7 at 220 kmph due to the sheer length of the train. But it was really great fun to see the Amtrak trains coming and going at 220 kmph. After 6 hours of train spotting, we caught the NJTransit to Trenton and then caught the onwards SEPTA R7 to Philadelphia.
I have never been on an Amtrak here. So when I found Karan was catching the Amtrak Keystone train back to Exton PA, I too decided to join him in this journey. A quick check at the time table to find a return train journey told me that there was a wait over of 15 mins at Exton before heading back to Philadelphia. However on second glance, Karan informed me that this train runs only on weekdays. The return train from Exton to Philadelphia would make me have a halt at Exton for two hours. So I got a ticket from Philadelphia to Paoli from where I would catch the SEPTA R5 back to Philadelphia.
Our SEPTA R7 reached 30th street station 5 minutes before the departure of the Keystone service to Harrisburg. I finally had my first Amtrak journey from Philadelphia to Paoli, a 19 mile journey covered in 25 minutes with a halt at Ardmore. And I couldnt help but compare the Amtrak train with our trains in India as well as the SEPTA/NJTransit trains that I have traveled in the last two years. We were slow till Ardmore and then covered the 11 miles journey from Ardmore to Paoli in 8 minutes. After getting down at Paoli, caught the return R5 to Philadelphia. This was my sixth train journey in the day. A 45 minute journey got me back to 30th street station, happy and satisfied after a long day of rail fanning.
The Amtrak trains are quite comparable to Shatabdi trains. Of course, since this was a passenger service having many halts, we never did that high speeds. But the sitting configuration inside is quite good. The seats are quite wide and the leg space is more than in Chair Car on the Shatabdi. The only down side about these trains is that the windows are quite small. Both Karan and I were wishing for LHB size windows to enjoy breezing through the country side.
A sincere thanks to Karan, Sri Ram, John and Jay (and of course Amtrak) for making today really wonderful. Had a wonderful time today.
Over the next few hours, we spotted two Acela Expresses, many Keystone services and North East Regional Services trains to and from New York running at high speed. Also spotted was an Atlantic City Express service running towards NY. This train runs with an Electric loco at one end and Diesel loco at the other. This ensures there is no time spent in reversing at Frankford Junction near Philadelphia. The line from Philadelphia to Atlantic City is a non-electrified section, hence the need for Diesel loco. The tunnel below the Hudson river to enter New York Penn station prohibits entry of Diesel hauled locos, hence the need for Electric loco.
The tracks for 3 miles on either side of Princeton Junction are straight and this station is really a haven for watching trains run at mps of 135 mph. Of course, a 24 coacher hauled by a 5000 hp WAP4 at 110 kmph is more exhilarating to watch than a 8 coach hauled by a 7000 hp AEM7 at 220 kmph due to the sheer length of the train. But it was really great fun to see the Amtrak trains coming and going at 220 kmph. After 6 hours of train spotting, we caught the NJTransit to Trenton and then caught the onwards SEPTA R7 to Philadelphia.
I have never been on an Amtrak here. So when I found Karan was catching the Amtrak Keystone train back to Exton PA, I too decided to join him in this journey. A quick check at the time table to find a return train journey told me that there was a wait over of 15 mins at Exton before heading back to Philadelphia. However on second glance, Karan informed me that this train runs only on weekdays. The return train from Exton to Philadelphia would make me have a halt at Exton for two hours. So I got a ticket from Philadelphia to Paoli from where I would catch the SEPTA R5 back to Philadelphia.
Our SEPTA R7 reached 30th street station 5 minutes before the departure of the Keystone service to Harrisburg. I finally had my first Amtrak journey from Philadelphia to Paoli, a 19 mile journey covered in 25 minutes with a halt at Ardmore. And I couldnt help but compare the Amtrak train with our trains in India as well as the SEPTA/NJTransit trains that I have traveled in the last two years. We were slow till Ardmore and then covered the 11 miles journey from Ardmore to Paoli in 8 minutes. After getting down at Paoli, caught the return R5 to Philadelphia. This was my sixth train journey in the day. A 45 minute journey got me back to 30th street station, happy and satisfied after a long day of rail fanning.
The Amtrak trains are quite comparable to Shatabdi trains. Of course, since this was a passenger service having many halts, we never did that high speeds. But the sitting configuration inside is quite good. The seats are quite wide and the leg space is more than in Chair Car on the Shatabdi. The only down side about these trains is that the windows are quite small. Both Karan and I were wishing for LHB size windows to enjoy breezing through the country side.
A sincere thanks to Karan, Sri Ram, John and Jay (and of course Amtrak) for making today really wonderful. Had a wonderful time today.
Great report! I missed it but know you all must have great fun!
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