Vermonter and Palmer Backup

[Tracktwentynine]

I'm going to be traveling with my family on the Vermonter next month, and I have a question about the reverse move at Palmer.

I know the train has to change directions at Palmer to continue north. What I am unsure of is if the train makes another reverse move beforehand at Springfield. I ask because my father absolutely cannot ride backwards. He gets motion sickness.

So, after Palmer, does the train run "backwards" all the way to St. Albans?

If so, are the coaches used set up like those on the Keystone where half the seats face one way and half face the other way?

If the train does run backwards and the seats all face the same direction, is there any solution other than having him move to the cafe car for the last 5 hours of the trip?

Thanks!

 

[The Davy Crockett]

There is only one change of direction, which is at Palmer.

The coach cars I've seen are all 'half and half,' with a 'foursome' in the middle of the car. BC is fixed 2x1 seating, which I believe generally runs 'backwards' north of Palmer.

So ride coach, switch seats at Palmer, and no problem!

 

[SubwayNut]

The Vermonter is also generally farely empty north of Palmer, it has more cars than it needs since it becomes basically another NE Regional south of Palmer that has much higher ridership than its branch line in Vermonter

 

[battalion51]

During the warmer months the Vermonter runs with a cab car and one engine. South of NHV the cab car is right behind the electric, and the Cafe/Business Class brings up the rear. At NHV they'll cut off the electric and tie on the diesel to the rear, with the cab car leading NHV-SPG-PALM. At Palmer the Engineer will switch ends while the Conductors are handling switches and the engine will lead the remainder of the journey. Most of the time the seats are set up 50/50 in terms of directionality. So unless for some freak reason the train is sold out, just grab your seat check and switch seats when you get to Palmer. They do wye the set every night in St. Albans, so the engine will always be leading on the NECR and cab car leading on CSX/Amtrak.

 

[FreeskierInVT]

On recent trips the Vermonter has been quite full up until White River Junction, guessing about 50-60% full. The seats are all 50/50 in the coach cars and they usually make an announcement about switching directions after leaving the Springfield station. The times the conductor doesn't make an announcement there are a lot of confused people wondering why the train is suddenly travelling in the opposite direction.

If you travel during the holidays expect the train to be nearly sold out south of Essex Jct/Burlington.

 

[Tracktwentynine]

Thanks everyone, for your advice.

There will be 4 of us, and we're boarding at New Carrollton (2nd stop), so hopefully, we'll be able to snag a group of 4 seats at some point.

Trip is in mid-September. North on a Friday, south on a Monday.

 

[FreeskierInVT]

I got on at New Carrollton once and was able to grab the last group of middle seats with a few friends. You'll probably have the best luck in the front-most coach car since it seemed to be the least busy at that point in the journey.

 

[battalion51]

The first coach at NCR (also the cab car) is also the most likely to empty out during the journey since its furthest from the cafe and has the extra "noise" factor north of NHV. Might work out to your advantage...