Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, NYC to Washington on the Rear of Cardinal 51

April 26th, 2024, leaving New York Penn at 6:45am. Because of the Viewliners and the private car we could only do a maximum speed of 110mph.
Thanks to Railexco for having me onboard:
railexco.com/
My Links:
linktr.ee/alanthefisher
Timestamps:
0:00 Penn Station
2:19 Hudson River Tunnels
5:50 The Meadowlands
14:40 Newark Penn
19:00 NWK to TRE
53:00 Trenton
56:00 TRE to PHL
1:26:40 Philadelphia
1:31:30 PHL to WIL
1:53:50 Wilmington
1:55:00 WIL to Perryville
2:16:35 Susquehanna River Bridge
2:17:12 Susquehanna to BAL
2:43:30 Baltimore and Tunnels
2:52:55 BAL to WAS
3:22:00 Washington DC

[@scottydude456]

Putting this vid in 2x speed to see what true American HSR would look like 🥲

[@visionist7]

You beat me to it lol

[@n.bastians8633]

If KZbin would let you play it back you'd get a DC to NYC cab ride.

[@trainman2615]

except you would be blowing through tons of red signals. I think I would get a mini heart attack every time.

[@banksrail]

The new Portal Bridge is looking pretty good!

[@TheRailwayDrone]

Agreed! They've done a ton of work there.

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

They're officially halfway done

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

I really hate PRR for demolishing the original Penn Station.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

They were trying to keep the company from going under. The LIRR platforms were already dark and underground. In the 1960s, passenger rail wasn’t exactly doing well, and that land in Midtown Manhattan was worth a lot. Don’t hate the PRR for trying to stay alive, hate Eisenhower for building the interstates that killed them.

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

@@michaelimbesi2314 Fair enough.

[@Synergiance]

@@michaelimbesi2314 Grand Central almost had the same thing happen, but somehow it was spared.

[@yukkyarzupro1108]

Robert mosses?​@@michaelimbesi2314

[@Sacto1654]

@@Synergiance What saved Grand Central was its smaller size, which meant building maintenance was quite a bit lower. But it was still very costly to restore Grand Central to its old glory.

[@guthreleonard4164]

I wish San Diego to LA had service like this.

[@TheRailwayDrone]

I was stationed in San Diego when I was in the Navy and I know exactly how you feel.

[@LouisChang-le7xo]

let alone la to sf

[@stevenmontoya9950]

Despite it being Amtrak's busiest service on the West Coast, the Surfliner could use more round trips!

[@dirkcjelli]

California needs to pay more taxes and look after itself better, but NIMBYs gonna NIMBY.

[@DirectorWestfield]

Maybe in 20 years? Is phase 2 of the CAHSR locked in? If so it’ll be better than the entire NEC.

[@matthewconstantine5015]

Fun to see this trip from a new angle. I usually just see it with my nose pressed up to the glass in the cheap seats. Just reminds me that, unless something drastic changes with rail somewhere else in the country, I don't think I'll ever be leaving the Northeast Corridor.

[@robertbufkin5568]

Thanks!

[@joshplaysdrums2143]

currently watching this in the cafe car

[@joshplaysdrums2143]

syncing the video up to where I am

[@joshplaysdrums2143]

2:16:45 and 2:23:35 are always my favorite parts :]

[@visionist7]

NERD lol j/k

[@maxnewts]

Train inception lmfao

[@Quirin0]

Did anyone watch it on 1.5 speed and thought how nice it would be if it was true?

[@scottydude456]

Yes but 2x

[@SethMethCS]

2x speed, 4x more track maintenance.

[@coreymcdonough8289]

57:45 ..."Beacon of Light, Beacon of Hope." 🤣

[@user-ct6lc1nv6y]

all the major upgrades right from the start look sweet, keep it up! cheers from Spain

[@cedar1464]

44:55 Princeton no dinky for those concerned

[@TheRailwayDrone]

I'm not exactly sure why, but I have a strange feeling of satisfaction watching those concrete ties at speed.

[@nolantherailfan5048]

They're making great progress on the New Portal bridge

[@jarjarbinks6018]

Thank you for filming this I’m on the west coast and have never been to the east coast before but have become fascinated with the northeast corridor because of how busy and useful it seems It will definitely be on my bucket list to take the northeast regional on a city hopping trip some day. And maybe stop by New Haven to get some pizza :) Also what is being built here? 10:09

[@97nelsn]

That be the new Portal Bridge that’ll replace the old one which is known to get stuck causing lots of delays (something I dread as someone who takes NJTransit trains to and from NYC regularly)

[@erik_griswold]

Saddens me to see all the places where there is room for, and the NEC probably had, extra capacity but it has been removed over the years. Still, the corridor is in better shape now than it has ever been since the 1960s.

[@travisbeagle5691]

Yea it's kinda sad. You'd figure they'd have kept or made the whole thing quad tracked by default at this point.

[@timothystamm3200]

​@travisbeagle5691 I think they have the quadtracked sections for where they will most likely have a conflict between the commuter rail and Amtrak. Essentially, outside of passing maneuvers, the outside is for commuter rail, and the inside Amtrak, Acela gets priority probably followed by the next fastest express on down to the long distance trains then the commuter express and finally the commuter local which I suspect is not supposed to leave the outside track unless something is stuck in front of it. So they would only need more if they were going to run more Amtrak trains or the commuter lines outside of SEPTA and NJ transit wanted to run more trains. That might actually require six tracks be built in some locations because from what I could tell they use scheduling as much as express tracks to keep other trains clear of Acela.

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

@timothystamm3200 The only parts of the NEC that aren't quad tracked are MA, RI, and eastern CT (past New Haven). Those also have to share with the MBTA and SLE.

[@travisbeagle5691]

@@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45 There were several sections in the video that showed it drop down to 2 or 3 tracks despite the right of way being designed for 4.

[@timothystamm3200]

@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45 what about going in and out of Wilmington and Baltimore, and the approach to Washington as can clearly be seen in this video? Also, the MBTA tries to get off the NEC as quickly as possible, and use side lines for as much as possible for the Providence line and Amtrak signals and dispatches both and is part of running SLE which is a joint creation of them and Connecticut.

[@ironickrempt]

Can’t wait for Amtrak’s planned expansions & high speed lines here in the Southeast!

[@TohaBgood2]

Damn... That station approach is soooooooo massive! Holy crap! I can't believe that all of that is under NYC! How in the world did that build that?! Amazing!

[@Synergiance]

Believe it or not that's not the only one. There's a station terminus at Grand Central that is about the same size, right in the middle of Manhattan!

[@erik_griswold]

Built by hungry immigrants.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

It was all cut and cover. It would have been impossible to bore all that. Even until a few years ago, the interlocking (or really several) west of Penn Station was mostly in the open, albeit below grade. So you would go under the Post Office between 8th and 9th, then from 9th to 10th was daylight, an underpass under 10th, then daylight to 11th where you'd go under one big beige building and then into the tunnel portals. Sometimes I still think it's weird not to have that daylight view of the big wide cut when leaving the tunnel and approaching Penn Station. The Post Office (now mostly the Moynihan portion of Penn Station) was built at the same time so that space was open during construction as well, and the building I'm thinking of between 11th and 12th didn't come along until at least the '60s, so it really was wide open when they were building all this. They had a little less space to play with at the east end of the station (although the currently-being-demolished Hotel Pennsylvania was part of the same project so that land was available at least)

[@the.abhiram.r]

most of it is hudson yards. i remember when it used to be an open air section before penn station

[@nicolayu.kotomanoff4358]

Thanks for Alan! Great work! Amazing video! Nice view! 👍👍👍👍

[@LoopysLeftovers]

Now, I want a tour of the private car

[@visionist7]

Just imagine this is your private car they hooked on the back that's what I did 🥞

[@EJBuddy]

Going through the Hudson River Tunnels was so cool, the sights and sounds make it feel like a subway thats really fast with no stops, as someone who is yet to experience the NEC, this was an amazing video.

[@frankcherry3810]

This is amazing to see all this underground rail footage… in Manhattan!

[@jimjay848]

Newark penn station , Track 3, to your left track 4 to Trenton (NEC line or NJC Line to long branch) , far left wall track 5 Raritian valley line

[@seankaiser2505]

Nice to see the installation of new poles for catenary modernization going up north of Trenton

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

No way, Alan Fisher official NEC ride video I'd love one for NY-Boston someday

[@Synergiance]

I took pretty much this exact trip the other year but from up in Connecticut to Virginia, to pick my brother's car up. Needless to say, the train ride down was much more pleasant than the drive back on 95.

[@timothystamm3200]

There's a reason all Chesapeake and Ohio services following the same route used to terminate in Cincinnati. It was the longest route to Chicago, and if they wanted even the Cincinnati service to be successful they needed to have different timing for the trains that put the night stretch mostly in West Virginia.

[@the.abhiram.r]

really sad to see how depressing the SEPTA stations look compared to NJT

[@the.abhiram.r]

also the fact that i saw 50 njt trains running and like 2 septa trains

[@thezombieslayer12100]

Great footage! Now that most of the NE Regional trains are operating as push-pull, this has become a rare view on the NEC.

[@wtaenyc]

🏆🫡♾️ Thank you for sharing this experience.

[@mikejordan8259]

Saw my hometown. Bristol, PA.

[@vuurniacsquarewave5091]

Now imagine having this across most of the USA, or faster.

[@Adam-rf7ni]

I caught this train from DC to Indy on the same day! The Cardinal was beautiful, but weaving through West Virginia for 8 hours isn't exactly practical- still better than flying lol.

[@vipraalbudhram2235]

Wow, this was amazing!

[@MarkTheLostTraveler]

WOW!!! Leaving out of Penn Station was amazing. Unbelievable that is all underground. Then it looked like you were on a subway train in the narrow tunnel. Great video and sound. What camera did you use and did you have it on a suction mount it was very smooth. Thank you.

[@djvincekline7338]

Yeah, I also want to know that! I'm planning to record my bicycle rides on video (Catalonia/Spain is soooo beautiful!) Yet. the camera I'm looking now is only recording like 1.5h max, not nearly close enough what I have in mind (my rides are often 4 to 5h, last Saturday I drove around 6h in total)

[@thefareplayer2254]

This is fantastic!!! Must’ve taken a while for this to upload too!

[@raycooney7632]

November sharp steady video. The weather was perfect too.

[@pimpnamedslickback7780]

Wish we could keep upgrading the tracks and get fully dedicated trains. The trip could be 2 hrs

[@mariotorres6287]

A trip that I have made so many times, that landmarks along the way have become familiar. It was terrific to see the massive interlocking just out of NYP, a sight one doesn't get to see, but feel as the train enters or leaves. It's truly amazing trackwork to behold. And nice to see the tunnel that snakes under the Hudson River into New Jersey. Now, the new tunnels HAVE to be built to increase the throughput of trains, and allow repair work to the existing more-than-century old tunnels. That was nixed during the New Jersey's ex-governor Chris Christie. Come on, let's get moving on the new tunnel!! Riding along, looking out the rear of this train makes me wish we had true high-speed rail here in this country. I always enjoy taking the train!

[@japanamericacar427]

Hell yeah

[@officialmcdeath]

Fascinating! I take it the segment from Sunnyside is behind paywall? \m/

[@duncancurtis5108]

Great to see Metropolis in the morning.

[@user-vo6sz4kt8t]

В Нью Йорке веер путей на станции просто фантасический.

[@jayydarailfaner549]

its only because of the private car train is limited to 110, the V2s can do 125

[@wilbur7096]

That is very realistic!

[@jackbates7467]

Oh cool the part of the Cardinal I'm not riding this month.

[@mns2611]

Excellent

[@jmchristoph]

Say what you will about the efficiency of NY Penn's layout; that ladder is freaking gorgeous.

[@friedzombie4]

Don't forget Alan: May 13th is when the FRA is gonna update us about Corridor ID. My city got the initial Step 1 funding so it'll be interesting if we're on Step 2 or if it's just going to be more initial funding rounds.

[@DepressedRockstar]

Cool i just came back from DC. Took the amtrak both ways too. (Business class)

[@Mcode11Youtube]

45:02 princeton junction

[@samanli-tw3id]

I’m surprised that west of New York City has just two tracks instead of four.

[@moshedayl3064]

How on earth did you get onto a private car?? (Obviously by invitation, but ya know what I mean...)

[@SkysTrains]

alan fish

[@StefanMetze]

For the first time I see that the 3rd rail has been installed to the western portal through the Hudson Tunnel. Is this new? Is there something planned for an expansion of the LIRR? Greetings from Berlin

[@maciekkra539]

The third rail is not new. When the tunnels and the Penn Station were built back in 1910, the electric locomotives were originally running on DC off that third rail. The third rail territory extended into what was called "Manhattan Transfer". There the electric motors were switched over for steam locomotives which continued south to Washington DC and places west. The sight of Manhattan Transfer still exists and that's the place at 12:30-13:10. In early 1930s Penn Station received overhead AC catenary and since about 1933 trains are powered from it. Third rail in the tunnels to the west portal was most likely kept for inspection trains.

[@antoniocareddu4094]

questo video e bellissimo.

[@jonathanstensberg]

Courtesy of the ever glorious Pennsylvania Railroad.

[@frontiergame]

What are those EMUs parked on the right side around 38:30 - 39:00?

[@erik_griswold]

They are the Rohr built Turboliners which were supposed to be providing service on the Empire Corridor but got messed up in a contract dispute with the refurbishment company and New York State. Looks like there are also some retired baggage cars there too.

[@SavageCXV]

Great video but the compression hurts 😭

[@Jeff-uj8xi]

Why is MARC running diesel power under catenary? Just as bad as the MBTA in Boston. Is MARC still planning to extend service to Newark, Delaware with a connection to SEPTA.

[@kagisoseleke]

The best infrastructure railway. in South Africa we don't have something like these I wish we had something like these in South Africa 😢😢😢

[@Wack2theHead]

What makes the sound at 41:45?

[@igorlukin]

It looks like USSR, only architect plans building different, the nature and oldness very similar.I found today postal card maded in USSR from 1982 with a soviet high speed train,so it is very similar to Armtrack today.and i so after 60 minutes video the new UK style train , which company is that?

[@sauce2kgod193]

Did anyone catch the Amtrak New Avelila Liberty Train at 3:15:42

[@rgilbertmtl]

13:10 Hey! No pictures of PATH Trains!

[@davidpan5176]

There is a PATH train leaving Newark Station.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Wish i was born in the northeast. I hate the south.

[@romanrat5613]

I hope we can get our stupid politicians to build more housing so more people can afford to live here.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

​@@romanrat5613 Demand for housing is so high down south all the good ones are taken and the cheap ones are so shit you dont want it. Scumbag Republicans won't build any affordable apartments down here, they call it woke communism.

[@the.abhiram.r]

grass is always greener my friend

[@AaronTheHarris]

I played this at 2x speed to pretend what it would be like if we had true high speed rail

[@bobbyjenkins7946]

How long is the Hudson River tunnel😮

[@djvincekline7338]

Very long, apparently you go straight out of the city and NYC is a very big city :-D (yeah yeah, I know, Newark is basically also a city within the greater NYC metropolitan area)

[@maciekkra539]

Three miles long.

[@ondracienciala7209]

Why do they run the private cars if they are not rated for the full 125mph? Who runs them anyway?

[@alanfisherextras]

The Long distance trains on the corridor with Viewliner Sleepers are limited to 110mph either way, tacking a Private Car on the back does not change the max speed

[@banksrail]

@@alanfisherextras Now that some LD trains are equipped with Viewliner II Sleepers, which are rated for 125mph, it will affect the max speed. Either way, Amtrak has massive schedule padding, so yeah it's not like the private cars would make a difference.

[@joebob3719]

Back in 2022 I rode on the Pennsylvanian between Philly and Trenton with a private car on the back (well actually in front behind the ACS-64 because of how Amtrak swaps locos in Philly Penn Station) and we hit 125… maybe it’s not a fixed rule

[@brutemegahunk3895]

Stobe Hobo tribute graffiti at 2:54:17 ?

[@user-np7se4cs6t]

Good ❤ اللهم صل على محمد وال محمد ❤

[@lucvanhoef2479]

Een achterwaartse video ????

[@rico4.700]

put it on 1,75 for the true TGV experience

[@JaYDeeAnchor]

Give all my tax money to Amtrak

[@DynamicDuo795]

Abandoned Cross Bros slaughterhouse at 1:15:20.

[@Paulzilla9111]

Sorry can’t watch this ride backwards I get severely nauseous 😢

[@pedrocaparros1413]

Railway system of the last century 😂😂😂😂

[@OregonRailfan83]

Well done. Too bad the opening to the West of NYPenn has been covered over. Air Rights and all that.

[@povertyspec9651]

Roadways carry so much more people and cargo than rail does. 99% of the time in the video the tracks are empty, not being used, since trains require large headways.

[@lechiffre1914]

The landscape is very dated, rusty, and industrial looking, isnt it? Its a shame, because much of the US is so beautiful!

[@aabb55777]

You should put an epilepsy trigger warning ⚠️ on the Hudson River Tunnel segment.

[@erik_griswold]

At 1:54:39 the person who programmed the text to voice should be ashamed on how they had “her” read out RTE’s name.

[@erik_griswold]

And there it is again at 2:47:27

[@schindelschwingerflohheim4945]

Rückwärtssicht ist Mist.

[@evan12697]

i'd love to make this trip once in a while but ultimately to justify taking the train while I own a car it needs to be either significantly cheaper or significantly faster than driving and amtrak is... neither

[@frafraplanner9277]

Same for me, but on the West Coast. Plus I'm too young to rent a car once I get to California (none of the places I'd visit there are reachable by train)

[@ayanbarnwal2905]

I'd argue if you're in the city or next to a NEC train station, it's both (at least between NY and DC). The average speed of the northeast regional is ~86mph from NYC to DC, and DC and NY are transit-oriented cities anyway so you wouldn't need to drive or find parking.

[@evan12697]

@@ayanbarnwal2905 I mean if you've never looked into either option then sure but saving an hour at best isn't worth $164

[@evan12697]

And that hour is quickly swallowed up when you factor in having to get to the station Amtrak leaves from in the first place and then either paying to park near the station or paying for a ride to the station so the savings just isn't there at all

[@alanfisherextras]

If you live in any of the cities along the corridor, its much faster to take the train (especially in the NYC to Washington section). Also if you book weeks ahead you can get surprisingly cheap tickets $50 or under

[@erik_griswold]

Join up with the Baltimore & Ohio’s (MARC) Camden Lime at 3:15:23, the oldest rail line still in use in North America. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_Line

[@fcjose31]

Eso es cuando el tren era tren y no capsulas como ahora, se podía sentir el olor del campo y el aire, ahora vamos encapsulados como aviones. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jV7JnKl3qLyladUsi=qSNqWhegTDh3Jua8&t=1