I’ve had my eyes on the Acela for a very long time, as far back as the original Microsoft Train Simulator when it came out on PC (Jesus, I’m old
). Now was finally a decent time to try it out, and doubly so since it’s on the way out. I guess you could say this trip was the best of both worlds. This was April 2-4, 2023.
Sunday morning took me to Hartsfield 3 hours before my flight, figuring it would be spring break crazy, and I was correct. It was packed. I ended up needing a lot of that time to figure out what I could and couldn’t get in to for a quick lunch. Lounges were a no-go, as were most of the concourse center points. I ended up settling at T for something small.
My first segment to Baltimore was on N823DX, the very last 757 off the line. Cool to get some history in my logbook. It arrived from RDU at 1:07 for our 2:30 flight.
Delta Air Lines Flight 2752
ATL-BWI
Depart ATL - 2:26pm (was actually 2:28)
Arrive BWI - 4:15pm (was actually 3:59)
Boeing 757-200
N823DX
Seat 16F in Comfort Plus was my home today. I would say this is my favorite seat in Delta’s 757’s (once you can get past the lavatories scaring the sh*t out of you when you aren’t expecting it). Those three rows before first class are almost a separate cabin on their own. It’s a nice feel. Side note, N928DU next to us was going to CVG.
We pushed on time and headed for runway 27R.
Not sure where this 757 was going, but throw at a dartboard of destinations within 2 hours of Atlanta, and you have just as good a chance as any at being correct.
A321 in from PBI.
https://youtu.be/jFXhAqhJkHUVideo of takeoff from 27R. Listen to those PW2037s sing
Nice day getting out of Atlanta. We took the JACC2 departure this afternoon.
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Michelin proving grounds in the middle of nowhere in South Carolina.
Per the usual, I live a hardcore life.
Nice day in the cabin too.
Carowinds.
RDU. I think I would have gotten better views of stuff sitting on the left, but I also didn’t want the sun right in my eyes.
Brushing the edge of the Chesapeake Bay.
Edging closer still.
https://youtu.be/ynlBO-Kecx0Video of landing on runway 33L.
Lot of action happening on the ramp today. I’m glad we were able to squeeze in to our gate.
N823DX, to the surprise of nobody, was turning back to Atlanta. I’ve flown through BWI twice before, but the first time I was far too young, and the second time I was on deadlines both ways. Today I had some extra time, so I explored a bit.
Including the downstairs bit at the higher end of the D gates. I could have probably just sat and stared for longer. She’s beautiful.
N423AS loading up for Seattle. You’re not proudly all Boeing yet, Alaska. Calm that down. I would argue that shouldn’t be a point of pride these days anyway, but that’s a different discussion for a different forum on here.
I wandered over to another wing because I needed just one more photo of a 757 because my life depends on it. Ok, so that may be a slight exaggeration.
Never knew this observation area was here. I wish more places had something like it. I also like that it had kids and adult stuff there. I would have felt weird and out of place if it was just a kids’ play area.
737 MAX taking off for somewhere.
It was late enough in the day that I didn’t have a ton of time until sunset, and I didn’t want to be out after dark, so I went to my hotel, ordered dinner, and went to bed. (Again, I live a very hardcore life).
I discovered something previously unknown to me, Baltimore-style barbecue. What it lacks in good looks, it more than makes up for in good taste. I’ll definitely keep this stuff in the back of my mind.
And dessert from a place called Cinnaholics. Tastes like diabetes
Ok, I did play a tiny bit of Xbox too, but that’s it.
Monday morning was a sort of early wake up. My train was scheduled to leave Baltimore at 9:20am.
Wad the hotel breakfast glamorous? No, but was it included in my stay? Yes.
I was planning to to back to the airport and take their shuttle to the Amtrak station, but my hotel offered the station too, so that was a nice plus. I was dropped there right about 8:15. I know there was no real need to, but I looked at the schedules and saw there would be quite a bit passing through. It seemed like a good time to watch that, and I love cold weather, so I wasn’t bothered.
Empty tracks both directions to start, but that would change.
First thing to arrive was Acela train 2104 to New York.
I think first thing to arrive southbound was Northeast Regional #111 to Washington, but I won’t swear to that.
Some MARC action both directions too.
And a rare HHP-8 appearance.
Again, not entirely sure, but my best guess is this is Northeast Regional #86 or #130.
I ventured up for an overhead shot too because why not?
More MARC both directions.
One more Northeast Regional northbound about 2 minutes before my train. Again, not sure the number. I wish I had paid better attention to the schedules I was looking at. That was a lot to take in in the span of just an hour.
Right on time came my train, Acela 2158 from Washington.
I was in car 2 towards the rear of the train, and the designated quiet car. That was very nice.
Plenty of room for my tall self to stretch out, and better yet, there was nobody seated next to me all the way to Boston.
Martin State Airport.
Crossing the Bird River.
Crossing the Susquehanna River.
And very quickly in to Wilmington, Delaware. It was about an hour from BWI to here including the stop at Baltimore Penn.
Oh, hello, more HHP-8s. Actually, aren’t these being converted to cab cars?
Not exactly the most-flattering angle, but we arrived in Philadelphia maybe 25 minutes later.
Once we left Philadelphia, I decided to stretch my legs a bit and walk the length of the train, or as much as I could anyway. First Class doesn’t seem to care to be mixed in with the plebs of the world.
Is…Is that a Turboliner?
JetBlue A320 landing at EWR.
Getting very close to New York.
PATH trains.
New Jersey Transit dotting the landscape now.
Now really close to New York.
Apparently everybody but me was going to New York.
I did step off briefly since it was a long stop. I wish I had known how long it would be. I would have walked around a bit more.
Blowing through some intermediate stops along the way.
Didn’t realize the New York subway crossed us at any point.
The views were nice.
Southwest 737 landing at LGA.
At this point it was just past noon, and most of the crowd had cleared in New York, so I figured this was a good opportunity to grab lunch.
Confirmed that I am going to the right place.
Dining car was packed earlier, not so much now.
Was it super gourmet? No, but decent for what it was? I think that’s fair.
Then we started racing Metro North trains.
This was taken going probably 80mph.
Connecticut was scenic, but man, was it slow. Once we hit Rhode Island the fun began again when we could go full blast.
I stepped off in Providence just to stretch the legs again.
Blowing through Canton Junction.
And company as we brought it in to track 10 at Boston South Station.
The trailing end of our train. I assume it went back to Washington, but exactly when I don’t know.
Long and now empty platform.
Company joining us.
Sadly I did have to leave this beast and head toward the front at some point.
Front end of our train as I headed inside.
Departures board in the middle of the action.
My hotel was at the airport. I could have taken the Silver Line, but that’s not the point of this trip, is it?
So we took the Red Line.
Then the Orange Line.
And finally the Blue Line to the airport.
I was at the Embassy Suites. Nice views, anyway, and plenty enough space since it was just me and a backpack.
Back to the train station I went to find food somewhere in town.
I ended up taking the Blue and Green Lines to Boston Burger Company. Sweet Jesus, was it a caloric overload.
They even sold me on this monstrosity. Suffice it to say, I was full and very satisfied.
So back to the train and my hotel past this attempt at a lock wall I went. My flight the next day was pretty early. I could have taken a later flight for the same price, but it was on an A320 as opposed to an A220. I’m getting ahead of myself.
I took the hotel shuttle to terminal E, and was dropped off at 7:05. I know JetBlue leaves primarily from C, but E is way easier to get through.
And when your Priority Pass gets you $28 off breakfast, you may as well go all out.
Something I only just recently have been able to see at home.
JetBlue paradise awaited me.
N3085J at gate C11 was my ride this morning. It had arrived in the 6:00 hour from Phoenix on a red eye.
JetBlue Airways Flight 1097
BOS-ATL
Depart BOS - 8:45am (was actually 8:38)
Arrive ATL - 11:44am (was actually 11:12)
Airbus A220-300
N3085J
“Blue You Gonna Call?”
I guess when compared to Delta, every JetBlue seat is a Comfort Plus seat. I was in 10F this morning.
N3058J had just arrived from MCO.
N3062J was going to AUS. JetBlue has really taken on new A220s quickly.
One last look at Boston before we point the nose out to the ocean on runway 9.
https://youtu.be/uLe0iEl-V4UVideo of takeoff form runway 9. Very nice with it being a relatively short runway and all.
Turning south on the BLZZR5 departure.
Up and out pretty quick.
The interiors of these things are so nice.
Oh hey, last time I flew JetBlue was for the national championship game. Guess I’ll just have to watch this replay on tv. Actually, that was good for time because there was little to see fro my side. Just like the flight up, I would have had better views from the left side, but also the sun right in my face.
AVL, always the signal that descent in to Atlanta is near.
And unfortunately, it was in clouds the entire way.
https://youtu.be/C7PRDibKDzsVery short video of landing on runway 8L. Ceilings were very low, just a couple thousand feet.
Crossing 8R.
And in to gate E34. We followed N265JB in from JFK one right behind the other.
There is no window at gate E34, so this parting shot from the middle of the E concourse would have to do as a parting shot for today.
Man, what a fun trip. Good to catch a 757 as they quickly go the way of the dodo, and always good to catch a ride on JetBlue. The Acela was a ton of fun. I’ll definitely keep that in mind if I need to get across the northeast for some reason, or just do it again for my own amusement. I definitely will need to when the new Avelia Libertys come online. Good stuff. I wrote this over a couple of hours in an evening. Hopefully my errors aren’t too glaring. Thanks for reading