Amtrak Downeaster in Wakefield/Reading!? What!?

Due to construction this weekend at the MBTA's Mishawum station in Woburn, Massachusetts, the stretch of track between North Station and Anderson RTC is temporarily out of commission. As a result of this, the Amtrak Downeaster has been rerouted straight up the MBTA's Haverhill Line from North Station. Normally the Downeaster takes the MBTA's Lowell Line out of North Station, makes a stop at Anderson, and then ditches the Lowell Line for the Haverhill Line in Wilmington via the Wildcat Branch. This weekend's routing, though, throws all of that out the window, taking the train through Melrose, Wakefield, and Reading.

Shot 1: AMTK #90213, an EMD F40PH "Cabbage" NPCU, leads the Downeaster through Reading Depot. AMTK #9, a GE P42DC Genesis, provides power from the back. It almost seemed as though they were gonna stop here for a minute there, but... they didn't. As the train gets further away, you can see I-95 off in the distance. The tracks run right underneath it.

Shot 2: AMTK #197 pulls the Downeaster past Crystal Lake in Wakefield, with AMTK #90214 bringing up the rear. That switch you see there used to take trains up the South Reading Branch, through Lynnfield and Peabody, all the way up to the MBTA's Newburyport/Rockport Line in Salem. The other end of it, in Peabody and Salem, is still in service; but the end you see here, the Wakefield end, was abandoned in 2000.

Shot 3: AMTK #9 pulls the Downeaster along Ash Street in Reading, heading back towards Portland and Brunswick, Maine. AMTK #90213 loudly slams the rails as it brings up the rear. Its wheels have been worn unevenly due to frequent braking.

Shot 4: AMTK #90214 leads the Downeaster through the Wakefield Commuter Rail station, with AMTK #197 providing power from the back. This was my very first Amtrak sighting in Wakefield since the late '90s, when it wasn't uncommon to see AMTK GP40s powering Commuter Rail trains.

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