|
Picking up from last issue, we are heading from New York for Boston……
Departing New York Penn Station on time at 1603k, we settle into our comfy seats in the First Class car of the trainset (below), much empty as it is Sunday. The rest of the train is quite full as we cross over the Hells Gate bridge and head north through Connecticut. It is a much nicer day than the one when we traveled south, and the coastal scenes are enjoyed. There is lots of slow running on this trip, however, and we switch tracks to pass a stopped Amtrak Regional train before New London. Another overtake occurs later at speed, as we pass another Amtrak with an HH8 locomotive and Amfleet. We are through Providence at 1920 and arrive Boston at 2000—just a little off.
Boston is one of our favourite cities and we will be here for the balance of the week. We check in to our hotel, which is just north of the Boston Garden arena (now the TD Garden), and just a two block walk from the T's Lechmere station. Thus will be perfect, as the MBTA (or the T as it is called) is the best way to get around Boston.
The T remains one of the great transit bargains in North America. Regular cash fare is just $1.25 for the subways, trolleys and buses, and we discover that a weekly combo pass can be had for just $18.50—unlimited travel for a week! That's for us, as we have six days yet before heading for home. We head over to Lechmere and discover another change—the good old transit token is being phased out. It is being replaced by a magnetic stripe card, called the "Charlie Card" (remember the old song, Charlie and the MTA—Kingston Trio I believe, although someone will be sure to correct me!)
For the next six days we travel the T regularly, the Green Line takes us in and out of town and to our hotel, the Red Line out to Harvard Square, we ride new trolley buses to Longfellow House historic site, the Blue Line to Revere Beach and so it goes. The classic T hasn't changed much at all, although there are some new low floor articulated trolleys on the green line—most are still the old Japanese cars, however.
Boston has been cleaning up from the "Big Dig" - their massive project to put the old elevated steel freeway structure that has blighted the city for decades to rest and the roadways underground. This has resulted in one of the most visible changes to the city in the 15 years we have been visiting. The huge swath across the waterfront is now open with the old structure gone, you can see new views of the buildings of the city here to for blocked from view, and things already look better. This entire area is in the process of being converted to parkland—which will be great. However, some time to go yet before this is all done so we'll have to come back again!
Part of the changes have also seen the Charles Riverfront in the core of the city converted to parkland—it is now possible to walk right to South Station along the river, another big improvement, and from the vantage point where the tracks cross the river, you have a close up view of the comings and goings of the T Commuter trains and Amtrak's new Down'Easter service that operates to Portland, Maine.
Boston T Green Line train approaches Lechmere station
A highlight of this trip is being in Boston for the big 4th of July celebration. This event is one of the largest in the US, and is broadcast on CBS nationally live. Core of the event has the famous Boston Pops Orchestra playing live in the bandshell on the banks of the Charles River, followed by a great fireworks show. We decide that, as this is our first 4th of July in the US, we should try to take this in. We are in the perfect spot, as we can walk—over 500,000 people are expected!
Taking a stroll on July 3, we are wandering the concert area and make an interesting discovery—the entire concert gets a live rehearsal on that evening. We know we won't even be close on the 4th, but are able to take in the show here on the 3rd—including the full orchestra and guests (which include Aerosmith). The 4th is quite an event, but well organized. Over 500,000 people show up and we elect to stay on the Cambridge side of the river. This is also crowded as can be, but we are able to get a spot where we will have a clear view of the fireworks, which are set off from barges in the River (as we do here in English Bay). While we can't see the music performance we can hear it, thanks to large speaker stands all around the Charles basin. It is truly a spectacular event and we are glad we came—we are also glad we can just walk back ten blocks to our hotel!
Our last rail event of the trip is a ride on a Boston T commuter train out to the New England seaside town of Rockport, Massachusetts. We board train 109 and depart at 0830, with F40PH-2 #1000 pulling five commuter cars. The trains have been reported as getting pretty tired and that is true—we do find one coach, however, where the terribly scratched windows have been replaced and it is actually possible to see outside! The ride is pleasant and efficient, though, and we arrive Rockport on time at 0938.
It's another sunny and warm day, but the coastal town with its beach, galleries, harbour with lobster boats is great. We enjoy walking around and having a wonderful patio lunch looking out at this piece of classic New England. We catch the 1400k train back to Boston, a repeat of the morning train except the one coach with clear windows has non functional air conditioning. Given the almost 90 degree temperature, we relent and opt for cloudy windows but cool environment.
Saturday, July 8—time to head home, and Air Canada gets us there through Toronto on a CRJ-70 and A 321 combo—once again a great visit to two of our favourite US cities.
|
