Rail and land

Adirondack, Vermonter, and Downeaster

Daylight trains along the Hudson, the Connecticut River, or the Maine coast. A cafe car sells sandwiches, snacks, and drinks.

An Amtrak train along the Hudson, with Bannerman Castle in the foreground — The Adirondack follows the Hudson north from New York. Bannerman Castle is on an island in the river. You see it from the train. The train does not stop there.

The Downeaster locomotive leading passenger cars through trees — The Downeaster between Boston and Brunswick. It stops in Portland on the way. The station is across the river from the Old Port.

Adirondack

The Adirondack runs from Moynihan Train Hall in New York to Montreal in about eleven hours. It follows the Hudson past Rhinecliff and Hudson, then the west shore of Lake Champlain, with the Adirondacks on the other side. You see the lake from the coach window.

Ticonderoga is a station. From that station you drive to Fort Ticonderoga, on the lake. Port Kent, in season, is where you catch the ferry toward Burlington. None of those pauses is long enough to see the town. If you get off, the rest of the trip is a new ticket, and you need a hotel for the night.

Vermonter and Downeaster

The Vermonter runs from Washington to St. Albans. South of Springfield it runs through cities. North of there it follows the Connecticut River through Brattleboro and White River Junction. You see the valley from the window. Essex Junction is the stop for Burlington. A bus from there goes into Burlington. The train does not stop in the city. If you stay in Montpelier or Burlington, you sleep in a hotel, not on the train.

The Downeaster runs from Boston’s North Station to Brunswick several times a day, in about three and a half hours. It stops at Old Orchard Beach in season, at Portland, and at Freeport. The Portland station is across the Fore River from the Old Port, about a fifteen-minute ride. Dinner in the Old Port, or time on the sand at Old Orchard, takes longer than the station pause, so you get off and stay the night.

Meals

Each of these trains has a cafe car for sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. You sleep in a hotel if you get off for the night.

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