I'll start of by saying this for people who are unsure or confused on what I mean by "Nightowl" trains. Three of the Northeast Regional trains operated have the numbers 66 (NB) and 65/67 (SB Weekday) (SB Weekend) respectively which operate throughout the late-night and early-morning, hence the name. Southbound Nightowl departs Boston at 9:30 PM while the Northbound departs Newport News, VA at 5:20 PM.
I should also note that I'm not referring to the "Nightowl", a train Amtrak formerly operated that followed an identical timetable as the present-day Nightowl, but had Viewliner sleeping coaches.
Anyways, I'll get to my main area of discussion. I'm thinking about heading down to Trenton, NJ for a full day of railfanning and returning home late at night. I'll be leaving from New Haven, CT which the first train of the day is the Nightowl, which departs at 12:50 AM and arrives at Trenton at about 4:30 AM.
I noticed that in general, the Nightowl trains usually take longer between any two points on the Northeast Corridor (+30 Min). I know that they SOMETIMES use diesel locomotives, but I'm not sure how often, and if they don't why would the travel duration be longer? More importantly, for those who have been on it how well was the experience? Were the trains packed, very loud, bumpy, etc? Is it a train you should avoid at all costs or always try to grab a seat on?
I have rode on the Nightowl before, but that was several years ago (2013 I think), and I remember the experience being decent to good, but I'm not sure if that has changed, or if I got lucky that one time I was on it. I also remember it had the split cafe/business class car, which although I don't mind, I favor the full-business coach because of its lack of noise and the amount of space it offers.
I should also note that I'm not referring to the "Nightowl", a train Amtrak formerly operated that followed an identical timetable as the present-day Nightowl, but had Viewliner sleeping coaches.
Anyways, I'll get to my main area of discussion. I'm thinking about heading down to Trenton, NJ for a full day of railfanning and returning home late at night. I'll be leaving from New Haven, CT which the first train of the day is the Nightowl, which departs at 12:50 AM and arrives at Trenton at about 4:30 AM.
I noticed that in general, the Nightowl trains usually take longer between any two points on the Northeast Corridor (+30 Min). I know that they SOMETIMES use diesel locomotives, but I'm not sure how often, and if they don't why would the travel duration be longer? More importantly, for those who have been on it how well was the experience? Were the trains packed, very loud, bumpy, etc? Is it a train you should avoid at all costs or always try to grab a seat on?
I have rode on the Nightowl before, but that was several years ago (2013 I think), and I remember the experience being decent to good, but I'm not sure if that has changed, or if I got lucky that one time I was on it. I also remember it had the split cafe/business class car, which although I don't mind, I favor the full-business coach because of its lack of noise and the amount of space it offers.