Low Tide and Lobster: A Day at Old Orchard Beach

Taking the Amtrak Downeaster from Boston North Station to Old Orchard Beach Maine. It would have been great, but they canceled the midday 11:25 am train so we had to drive. Still, enjoyed steamers, scallops, lobster, the big wide beach at low tide, the nightlife of singer songwriters and rides flying in the air. A fun carnival atmosphere stayed at the Beach Motel.

Our journey today on GoNOMAD explores the challenges of traveling from Boston to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, particularly when the cancellation of the midday train disrupted our plans to take the Amtrak Downeaster.

Instead of the anticipated train ride, we opted to drive, that, while practical, shifted our experience. Despite this setback, we found joy in the local cuisine, indulging in steamers, scallops, and lobster, and relished the expansive beach at low tide.

The vibrant nightlife, featuring talented singer-songwriters and thrilling old-time carnival rides, added to the excitement of our stay at the Beach Motel.

We also discuss the broader context of New England's rail service improvements and future developments, highlighting ongoing projects that aim to enhance train travel options in the region.

The story also details the proposed Lunatrain, a sleeper service between New York and Boston as well as the additional trains added to the Hartford Line between New Haven and Springfield MA and the newest commuter rail, from Boston South Station to New Bedford and Fall River MA.

Episode Transcript

(00:12):
Today on Go Nomad, we'retaking the trade domain More trains
and more stops for NewEngland's railroads.
In 2025 we had a grand plan.
It involved heading intoBoston and taking the 11:25 down
Easter Amtrak train up to OldOrchard Beach, Maine.
It was a great idea and allthe times worked until track improvements

(00:32):
meant that the 11:25 train forBoston was cancelled with the next
train not arriving until 55:40pm Nope, we couldn't do it.
We decided to do the sensibleyet less sexy things Drive.
Sadly, it seems it's just notthat easy to take the train instead
of driving up to Maine.
These disruptions were part ofa massive tie replacement project.
Over 130,000 railroad tiesalong 124 miles of track are being

(00:56):
swapped out to keep the downEaster running for many more decades.
Our cheap hotel in Oob, theBeach Hotel and Suites, was a seven
minute walk from the Amtrak station.
We could have walked thereready for a beach day.
We even brought our big beachbeach chairs.
The location is the only thingI'd recommend about this small hotel,
small rooms and no sidetables, but an inexpensive way to

(01:17):
enjoy the town of Old Orchardbeach, which is always a hoot.
Train service in New Englandis increasing, even in the Trump
era.
So far anyway.
Plans are underway for anovernight train with sleeping cars
from Boston to New York,similar to the sleepers that are
becoming popular in Europe.
In the fall.
2026, Maine will add a newstation building to its proud down
Easter train service servingthe small coastal village of Wells.

(01:41):
Wells is undergoing an $11.8million transformation as its Amtrak
station, part of its broader$32 million Wells Improvement Project,
gets improved and enlarged forthe new year.
The goal to allow simultaneousboarding and deboarding and to raise
the platform to the heightthat's needed for Amtrak.
This will expand the scope ofan already impressive main train

(02:04):
service, which has served 10million passengers since its debut
in 2005.
And there talk about expandingit to Rockport.
Today the trains travel 145miles from Boston's North Station
to Brunswick, Maine.
There are now eight dailytrains on the route.
Wells is the first town inMaine after you cross the border
from Dover, New Hampshire in2026, they're adding more trains,

(02:26):
including one that arrives inPortland, Maine before 8:00am now
that's a game changer.
In the coastal cities of NewBedford and Fall River, Massachusetts,
train fans are thrilled withtheir new daily commuter rail service
to Boston south station.
It took 20 years, $1.1billion, but it's here.
These double decker trainswill travel the 37 mile route three

(02:48):
times a day.
And there's also frequentweekend trains.
It's been 65 years since thesetowns were last served by train service.
The trip from Boston down toNew Bedford or fall river takes 90
minutes and a fare is $12.25with seniors riding for just six
bucks.
If you're in the military, apolice officer, or if you're blind,
you can ride for free.
A few months ago, the line wasforced to use buses for some of the

(03:10):
route due to employee issuesand it made everybody look bad.
But the French operator Keolishas been able to staff the trains
on weekends so far this summer.
Down south, the Hartford lineis getting a $25 million boost and
here's what's expected.
They're adding an extraweekday round trip between New Haven
and Hartford to fill in thispesky three hour midday gap.

(03:30):
On weekends, some of thetrains will extend to Windsor Lock
station and a weekday trainwill now stretch from Windsor Locks
to Springfield, Massachusetts.
They're also ramping upcustomer service hours at Hartford
Union Station.
And finally, they're buildingon the funding from 2020 by tossing
in two extra weekday trainsbetween New Haven and Springfield.
This Flyer, this Valley Flyerhas been a complete success, with

(03:53):
ridership numbers increasingevery year.
This bodes well for keepingthese and the above mentioned rail
travel routes running fordecades more as we catch up to the
rest of the world withrailroad transportation.
Now let's take a big, big stepforward to consider an audacious
idea from Philadelphia's MikeAvena called the Luna train.
Mr. Avena has some ambitiousplans for fancy train travel.

(04:15):
He's starting off by lookingat routes between Boston and Washington,
where Amtrak's already up and running.
He's got an eye on building abrand new fleet of sleeping cars
with horizontal full beds andsmall compartments.
According to Mr. Ovena,Dreamstar, the sleeping car serviced
in Europe that crosses thechannel between England and France,
is all about a luxuryexperience, really top notch stuff.

(04:37):
We want to have it have wideappeal but still be affordable for
folks.
So it's got to be new, no old retrofits.
He's also borrowing a pagefrom Europe's Nightjet Mini Cabins,
calling them a solid exampleof a budget friendly option.
We want it to have a wideappeal but still be affordable for

(04:59):
folks.
And it's got to be new, no old retrofits.
He's also borrowing a pagefrom Europe's Nightjet Mini Cabins,
calling them a solid exampleof budget friendly option.
He's keen on the mini cabinsthat are perfect for solo travelers
at a fair price.
Travelers aren't stuck payingfor two beds like they would in an
Amtrak roomette for familiesand groups.

(05:19):
He's cooking up biggercompartments that will be private.
No sharing with strangers.
Read more about these excitingnew developments in rail travel on
gonomad.com.