{"id":7256,"date":"2014-06-18T02:20:12","date_gmt":"2014-06-18T06:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=7256"},"modified":"2014-06-18T21:11:22","modified_gmt":"2014-06-19T01:11:22","slug":"amtraks-vermonter-on-new-england-central","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/amtraks-vermonter-on-new-england-central\/","title":{"rendered":"Amtrak\u2019s Vermonter on New England Central"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal Street in Belchertown, May 25, 2014.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vermonter_at_Federal_Street_1_P1020522\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Amtrak<\/a>
Amtrak train 57, the southward Vermonter rolls across Federal Street in Belchertown, Massachusetts on May 25, 2014. Exposed with a Lumix LX-7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since 1995, Amtrak\u2019s Vermonter<\/em> has operated via Palmer and Amherst, Massachusetts. This requires a 13-mile jog over CSX\u2019s former Boston & Albany from Springfield to Palmer, where the train reverses direction and heads north on New England Central\u2019s former Central Vermont main line.<\/p>\n

Presently, Pan Am Southern\u2019s former Boston & Maine Connecticut River Line is being upgraded between Springfield and the Massachusetts-Vermont Stateline at East Northfield. This will allow a restoration of passenger service to the traditional route north of Springfield.<\/p>\n

The Vermonter<\/em> is expected to switch to the former B&M routing via Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield by the end of this year. As a result, I\u2019ve been making photographs of Amtrak\u2019s train at various places between Palmer and East Northfield, while the service still operates that way.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, my late friend Bob Buck and I, were following a northward New England Central freight. Bob had been making photos on the Central Vermont since steam days.<\/p>\n

We were just a few minutes ahead of the freight as we passed Belchertown.<\/p>\n

We turned on Route 9 toward Amherst. After a couple of minutes Bob pointed, \u2018take a left, there on Federal Street.\u2019 We found the tracks and I made a photo of Bob rolling the freight by the crossing.<\/p>\n

It was here I chose to capture the Vermonter<\/em>, while I still can.<\/p>\n

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