I just caught the first Southbound run of the Ethan Allen Express from Burlington Union Station to Penn Station, NY. First regularly scheduled passenger train on these tracks since the Rutland went on strike in 1953!
Please forgive the finger...
Jon 
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Very cool.
willl have to check out the schedule for next season’s skiing.
Boy your thumb is huge in that video. LOL thanks for posting.
Nice video, great sounds and image. In my opinion, this kind of rail service is what the entire USA should have. Wish I could take a ride through Vermont on this train.
MELGAR
Sadly, this run and all subsequent runs until further notice have been interrupted due to falling concrete from an abandoned warehouse in Albany. Passengers were bussed around between Rensselaer and Saratoga Springs, while all other service west of Albany has been embargoed. No Lake Shore, Empire Service, Maple Leaf, etc.
With all the legal battles going on it doesn't look good for any remediation on that decrepit building any time soon. I suppose now days there's no way to route trains around that area.
Nice video Jon. Too bad about the building in Albany. Kind of sums up how Albany works.....🤪🤪
@Scotie posted:With all the legal battles going on it doesn't look good for any remediation on that decrepit building any time soon. I suppose now days there's no way to route trains around that area.
This is my typical luck. Two friends and I are booked on 48 CHI-SDY on 8/31 to connect to 291 SDY-BTN on 9/1.
Hoping they demolish this hulk and restore service before then.
@KOOLjock1 posted:I just caught the first Southbound run of the Ethan Allen Express from Burlington Union Station to Penn Station, NY. First regularly scheduled passenger train on these tracks since the Rutland went on strike in 1953!
Please forgive the finger...
Jon
Great video, Jon - thanks for sharing. I’ve been in NY for a couple of weeks and just caught this story on the NYC ABC news this evening. Your video was MUCH more interesting (even with the thumb 
)!!!
I hope this gets resolved quickly. I feel very bad for Amtrak and for all those who waited for this service to commence.
Peter
Snow/Ski trains from New York (City) were popular, unfortunately seasonal. Long time political presence, Washington D.C. allowed for this commuter train. Vermont is a great area, with an increasing population. Since Pandemic, a once, or twice, a week commute to the big city, via Amtrack, along with cyber communication might be, the new model, of work. IMO.
@Nick Chillianis posted:This is my typical luck. Two friends and I are booked on 48 CHI-SDY on 8/31 to connect to 291 SDY-BTN on 9/1.
Hoping they demolish this hulk and restore service before then.
Update: Lake Shore is turning at Schenectady, the Ethan Allen at Saratoga Springs. There is a Capital District Transit Authority bus that will bridge the gap for us. Amtrak is only bridging the gap from Rensselaer to Saratoga Springs.
Update to the update. Lyft is only $38 exclusive of tip. That’s door to door SDY-SAR. Uber is pricier, at $55.
The bus leaves us pretty far from the Saratoga Springs station. We’d need a Lyft or Uber to finish up anyway.
Experience has taught us that you always have to have back up plans when traveling by Amtrak.
I have my 4th and 5th multi-train trips since August 2020, coming up in August and September.
At least once on every previous trip, I have experienced an excessive delay or a cancelled train.
Making an Atlanta-Birmingham-Atlanta RT tomorrow, just to get out of the house for a day.
Found this article with a shot of the building from the side. Pretty neat that the siding tracks went right inside, and on the second level too! 
Looks like a nice mess.
Great video.
I was surprised to see twin 700-Series NYS-owned P32ACDM on the EAE. I was under the impression that power was already short. Good to see them in what looks like fresh paint. Big fan!
Tracks past the Central Warehouse have been reopened.
Jon
Jon, Off topic but. Just went to KOOL 105... are you in Burlington? I was born in Proctor, raised in Brandon (Rutland County) and sort of went to UVM (drafted freshman year... lottery ...only thing I ever won). Anyway, nice to see another Vermonter on here... although, I'm in New Orleans now.
LONG LIVE THE RUTLAND!
Cheers!
Jon, regardless of the finger 
it is good to see a passenger train running at a decent speed on the former Rutland. I had expected to see it bouncing along at around 40 MPH, but it was moving right along! Thanks for posting.
I live a couple of miles from that building.
Fun fact: up until the 1980s, something like 80% of all frozen turkeys eaten at Thanksgiving were processed through that building. I used to railfan near it a lot: https://dandhcoloniemain.blogs...rth-albany-2005.html
The CSX train shown in the pictures at the link above were passing that building, and I would sit in the parking lot at the bottom of it.
@KOOLjock1 posted:Please forgive the finger...
Depends on which finger it is. 
Seriously, good to see passenger service back there.
@Dennis-LaRock posted:Jon, Off topic but. Just went to KOOL 105... are you in Burlington? I was born in Proctor, raised in Brandon (Rutland County) and sort of went to UVM (drafted freshman year... lottery ...only thing I ever won). Anyway, nice to see another Vermonter on here... although, I'm in New Orleans now.
LONG LIVE THE RUTLAND!
Cheers!
Yep. Studios in South Burlington a couple of doors from Channel 3.
Jon
@BenLMaggi posted:I live a couple of miles from that building.
Fun fact: up until the 1980s, something like 80% of all frozen turkeys eaten at Thanksgiving were processed through that building. I used to railfan near it a lot: https://dandhcoloniemain.blogs...rth-albany-2005.html
The CSX train shown in the pictures at the link above were passing that building, and I would sit in the parking lot at the bottom of it.
Not really on topic either, but that is kind of funny. The last use of the high line in NYC (now a walking trail) was reputedly a load of frozen turkeys in the 1980s. Maybe they came from there!
Glad to hear the train is running again. Always surprised that something like an abanadoned building like that, that is clearly a danger, isn't classed a danger to public safety, torn down and the owner given the bill.
@KOOLjock1 posted:I just caught the first Southbound run of the Ethan Allen Express from Burlington Union Station to Penn Station, NY. First regularly scheduled passenger train on these tracks since the Rutland went on strike in 1953!
Please forgive the finger...
Jon
@KOOLjock1 Very cool video. Any chance that you can tell me what radio frequencies I should monitor when I ride 291 from Schenectady to Burlington on 9/1? "On Track On Line" has the frequencies for the route from New York to Rutland, but no one has updated the listing to include the Rutland - Burlington segment.
I came across one YouTube video that seems to indicate that everything can be heard by listening to the two repeater channels AAR 12 160.290 and AAR 72 161.190. Can you confirm or refute that. Thank you.
I've never owned a scanner... so I can't help you.
Jon
Great to see trains in Vermont !!
@KOOLjock1 posted:I've never owned a scanner... so I can't help you.
Jon
Thanks for the reply, Jon.
After much digging and reviewing FCC licenses, it appears that the above info is. correct. There are three repeater stations located on mountain tops. One near Killington, another on Okeemo Mt. and a third near Burlington. By monitoring the above output channels I should hear everything.
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