new england trains and fall colors

Individual arrivals to Boston either by plane or train and transfer to the 3 star Comfort Inn & Suites Logan International Airport. The evening at your own leisure. The Chelsea station of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is less than 2 miles from our hotel. You can catch a Fast commuter train to downtown Boston if you choose.

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After breakfast at our hotel we transfer to the near-by Chelsea station of the MBTA to catch a mid-morning commuter train into North Station downtown Boston. This station was the main passenger train hub for the former Boston & Maine Railroad. After taking some extra time to photograph the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passenger trains at North Station we will then begin our Boston city tour.

During our city tour we will visit the historic North End then visit the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house, explore Copp's Hill Burial Ground and learn about the "Spite House", the "Brink's Job" robbery, and the Great Molasses Flood. Stroll through the cobbled streets near Faneuil Hall and learn about the Revolutionary War. Visit historic Beacon Hill, the Back Bay, Fenway, and travel through the new and vibrant Seaport District and along the beautiful Boston Harbor. Mid-afternoon we return to our hotel and relax for the evening.

🍽 breakfast

Boston MBTA Commuter Train

George Washington Statue in Boston

After breakfast and hotel check-out we return to the MBTA train station and board an outbound train for the 20 minute ride to Salem which is known as the “Witch City”. Founded in 1626 Salem is one of the oldest settlements in New England and well known for the famous witch trials of 1692. Beyond witchcraft this settlement was a powerhouse of international seaport and maritime trade. There is plenty to see and do here .

Salem Harbor has shaped the city’s identity for centuries, serving as both a scenic waterfront destination and one of the most important centers of international trade in early America. Stretching north and south of Salem, the harbor played a major role in Salem’s rise as one of the busiest ports in the colonies and early United States.

In 17th-century colonial Massachusetts, witchcraft was defined under English and Puritan law as a crime and a witch was viewed as an active agent of Satan working against the Christian church. During the Salem witch trials more than 200 people were accused. Some of the points of interest you can visit while here are; The Witch House of Salem, Salem Witch Museum. The Salem Witch Walk, and The House of the Seven Gables.

🍽 breakfast

Downtown Salem

Salem Harbor

Early afternoon we return to the MBTA train station and board another train that will take us to the end of the Rockport line. Rockport, Massachusetts is on the tip of Cape Ann, located about 40 miles northeast of Boston. The Rockport Harbor is home to the iconic red fishing shack known as Motif #1, widely considered the most-painted building in America. This New England village has one of the oldest active art colonies in the country, featuring dozens of independent galleries, boutiques, and the Rockport Art Association and Museum. This seaport village was Incorporated in 1840 after growing out of a fishing village and a major hub for high-grade granite production during the Industrial Revolution.

Late afternoon we travel by road from Rockport to Newburyport a distance of 28 miles following the scenic Atlantic Coastline. Upon arrival we continue a few miles north into New Hampshire for our lodging at the 3 star Holiday Inn Express located in Seabrook.

The Harbor at Rockport, Massachusetts is very scenic and a classic New England scene

After breakfast at the hotel we check-out and will return south for a few miles to Newburyport in Massachusetts and spend the morning hours exploring this colorful seaport town located on the southern bank of the Merrimack River. First settled in 1635 as part of the Newberry Plantation before officially splitting off and incorporating as a separate town in 1764. This Atlantic seaport town Flourished as a prominent 18th- and 19th-century shipbuilding, privateering, fishing, and foreign trade settlement. It is renowned for its preserved 19th-century Federalist-style brick buildings downtown, originally built by wealthy clipper ship owners and maritime merchants. This is home to local boutiques, art galleries, and community hubs like The Tannery, alongside historical locations such as the Custom House Maritime Museum and more.

🍽 breakfast

Beautiful Newburyport,
Massachusetts on
the Merrimack River

After enjoying an early lunch we depart at around noon and head north to Dover, New Hampshire where we will board Amtrak’s northbound “downeaster”. This train travels over a 145-mile route between Boston, Massachusetts and Brunswick, Maine. Amtrak has five daily round trips scheduled that serves 12 New England communities. This service began on December 15, 2001 and has become one of Amtrak’s most popular routes.

Train No. 683 departs Dover at 1:20pm and arrives in Portland, Maine at 2:25pm. Upon arrival in Portland we will first check-in at the 3 star Holiday Inn Portland-By the Bay. After getting our rooms you will have the rest of the afternoon and evening to explore the city.

The Downeaster Passenger Train

Portland, Maine is the largest city in Maine and is located on a peninsula overlooking Casco Bay. Settled in the early 1600s and formally incorporated in 1786, named after the English Isle of Portland (and famously the namesake of Portland, Oregon). A blend of rugged maritime heritage and a modern, nationally renowned culinary. Home to a historic and active working waterfront that supports commercial fishing and marine industries in the maritime trade. The Old Port District is known for its cobblestone streets, 19th-century brick buildings, boutiques, and nationally recognized restaurants.

After checking out of our hotel we will visit the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum which features the state's historical two-foot gauge railway equipment. The museum collection features historic two-foot narrow gauge rail cars, and unique artifacts from late 19th- and early 20th-century Maine railways. Additionally the museum includes original steam and diesel locomotives, historic cabooses, and the rare Rangely parlor car.

Train rides operate over a scenic 3-mile roundtrip, 40-minute journey along Casco Bay and Eastern Promenade Park. We will enjoy a ride on the first train which departs at 10:00am.

🍽 lunch

The Maine Narrow Gauge Company and Museum at Portland, Maine

After our narrow gauge train ride we will transfer to the Amtrak depot and board Downeaster train 681 departing at 11:25am and arriving in Brunswick at 12:10pm. Before we depart Brunswick by highway we will grab some lunch then travel by road to Boothbay Harbor. We will first visit the famous Boothbay Railway Village Museum.

This museum recreates a rural New England town from the mid-19th through mid-20th centuries and includes a train ride on vintage passenger coaches pulled by an authentic 100-year-old, coal-fired steam locomotive on a narrow-gauge track. The museum also features over two dozen relocated and preserved historic buildings—including a town hall, a fire station, a blacksmith shop, a schoolhouse, and a post office—furnished with period artifacts. Also a collection housing more than 60 vintage cars and trucks dating from 1902 to 1962, showcasing early automotive engineering and design and a massive, highly detailed operating model train layout depicting 1950s and 1960s railroading in Maine.

After our museum visit we will continue to the downtown area of Boothbay Harbor, Maine for hotel check-in at the 2 star Fisherman’s Wharf Inn which is located right over the water of the bay. After getting our rooms the rest of the afternoon and evening are yours to enjoy this classic New England seaport town.

The Boothbay Railway Village Museum in Boothbay, Maine has
something for everyone's interest. Trains, Cars, Old
Buildings, and a Model Railroad - next 3 photos

You will have the morning hours to explore colorful Boothbay Harbor before we check-out and depart town. We will travel just 21 miles north to the small village of Alna. After getting some lunch at a local restaurant we will spend several hours at the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum.

This is in the heart of the famous Maine two foot gauge rail system. The original railway began in 1894 as the Wiscasset and Quebec Railroad, built to connect Wiscasset's wharves northward into central Maine. Reorganized later as the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway, it served the rural Sheepscot Valley carrying passengers, timber, and freight until it closed during the Great Depression in 1933. Founded in 1989, a group of dedicated volunteers re-laid tracks along a 3.5-mile stretch of the original historic roadbed in Alna to restore operating steam locomotives and vintage rail equipment.

We have arranged to operate our own private charter steam pulled train over the current rail system including photo run-bys.

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Roster of Steam Locomotives

1. No. 7: 2-4-4: Forney built by Baldwin in 1907. This locomotive is being rebuilt

2. No. 9: An original 0-4-4T Forney steam locomotive built by the Portland Company in 1891, which is fully restored and operational.

3. No. 10: A 0-4-4T steam locomotive built by Vulcan Iron Works in 1904 that is currently under restoration.

4. No. 11: A brand-new replica of a 2-4-4T Baldwin-style Forney locomotive being constructed from scratch by museum volunteers.

After spending several hours on this railroad we depart Alna late afternoon for the 1 hour drive to Lewiston, Maine and check-in at the 3 star Sure Stay by Best Western.

The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum has
done a wonderful job of rebuilding the railroad to look
like the clock has been turned back in time - next 3 photos

The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum will also allow our group to step
back in time by one hundred years and experience the way it reall was - next photo

After breakfast at the hotel we travel westward for the two hours to North Conway, New Hampshire. We will arrive around 11:00am and will first visit the Conway Scenic Railroad depot, rail yards and workshops. Also the North Conway Model Railroad Club has their layout in the old Boston & Maine freight house. We will make a stop here to view this model railroad.

After visiting the model railroad the group will be released to go get some lunch prior to the departure of the Mountaineer excursion at 1:30pm.

🍽 breakfast, dinner

An Excursion Train Departing North Conway With Two Of The Conway Scenic
Railroad F Units Painted For The Boston & Maine

We board the Conway Scenic Railroad’s Mountaineer excursion train and our group is in Dome Car Class for the best possible view. The Mountaineer offers a supremely scenic 4 hour rail journey through the Mount Washington Valley, and over the majestic Crawford Notch gateway. This route is the historic Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad, following the winding Saco River, crossing the dramatic Frankenstein Trestle and Willey Brook Bridge, and climbing into the White Mountain National Forest and return.

Conway Scenic Railroad's Mountaineer Excursion In The Crawford
Notch Area Of The White Mountains Of New Hampshire During The
Height Of The Fall Colors - next 3 photos

Upon arrival back in North Conway around 5:30pm we will transfer to our hotel and check-in at the 3 star Quality Inn North Conway.

After breakfast at the hotel we check-out and travel north into the White Mountains to the Base Station of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. We are booked on the 10:00am train going up to the top of Mt. Washington. Completed in 1869 The Mount Washington Cog Railway, is the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway and uses both steam and biodiesel powered locomotives to carry tourists to the top of the mountain. Its track is built to a 4 ft 8 inch gauge, which is technically narrow gauge as it is 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) less than a 4 ft 8 1⁄2 inch standard gauge by the major railroads of the United States. It is the second-steepest rack railway in the world with a maximum grade of 37% with the average grade at 25%. The railway is approximately 3 miles long and ascends Mt. Washington’s western slope, beginning at an elevation of 2,700 feet and ending just short of the summit at 6,288 feet. The roundtrip takes 3 hours which includes 1 hour at the summit.

When we arrive back at the Base Station a steam power train will depart and go part way up the mountain. Steam no longer operates all the way to the summit. You will be able to see and photograph the 1:00pm steam power train departing Base Station.

🍽 breakfast, lunch

Spectacular views from the Mt. Washington Cog Railway Train - next photo

Most Trains Use Diesel Power But There is Still Some Departures Using Steam Power

After enjoying our time on this cog railway we stop for lunch at a near-by restaurant before we continue to explore the spectacular White Mountains. After lunch we travel west to Franconia Notch State Park.

Franconia Notch State Park is located in the heart of the White Mountain National Forest. Franconia Notch is a spectacular mountain pass traversed by a unique parkway which extends from the Flume Gorge at the south to Echo Lake at the north. For eight miles the highway winds between the high peaks of the Kinsman and Franconia mountain ranges.

The highway will exit Franconia Notch State Park near the town of Lincoln, New Hampshire. Hotel check-in at the Quality Inn & Suites Lincoln. After getting our rooms and freshening up we will transfer to the near-by Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train for a journey winding through the Pemigewasset River Valley in the White Mountains onboard vintage 1950s passenger cars with elegant table settings, and full-service dining. The dinner train is due back into town at 7:00pm.

Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire

We Will Have a Wonderful Dinner on the Cafe Lafayette
Dinner Train - next photo

After a lite continental breakfast at the hotel we check-out and depart at 8:00am and travel south to the village of Campton where the Bump Covered Bridge is located.

The Bump Covered Bridge is a single-span Queenpost truss structure with traditional wooden framing. The original bridge was built in 1877 and rebuilt in 1972 after the original framing rotted.

A few miles to the south is the Blair Covered Bridge crosses the Pemigewasset River and is 293 feet across two spans. A rare, surviving Long through-truss with added arches. The first bridge at this site was built in 1829. An arsonist burned it down in 1869. The current structure was built in 1870 and major historical restorations were made in 1977 and again following damage from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

🍽 continental breakfast, lunch

We Will Visit the Bump Covered Bridge

We Will Visit the Blair Covered Bridge

We then continue on into the town of Meredith which is located on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Here we board the Fall Foliage Special which departs at 11:00am for a five hour roundtrip journey to Plymouth. At Plymouth passengers are treated to a lunch at the Common Man Inn & Spa. Arrival back in Meredith is scheduled for 4:00pm.

We will transfer from the train station to our hotel and check-in. The 3 star NASWA Resort is located right along the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Winnipesaukee Railroad Fall Foliage Special

We will have a leisure start to our day with check-out at 9:00am. Just a couple of miles from the hotel is Weirs Beach where we will board the M/S Mt. Washington for a Sunday Brunch cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee. Enjoy the area’s biggest brunch buffet while taking in the beauty of the lake during the fall colors on this 3 hour cruise.

🍽 lunch

We Enjoy A Sunday Brunch Cruise Onboard
the M/S Mt. Washington

Upon arrival back in Weirs Beach we will travel in a northwest direction towards Vermont. Our first planned stop will be in Bath, New Hampshire. In the Bath area are 3 covered bridges that we will explore.

1. Bath Covered Bridge: The Bath Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge over the Ammonoosuc River built in 1832, it is one of the state's oldest surviving covered bridges. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and underwent a major rehabilitation in the 2010s. At 375 feet and four spans, it is the longest covered bridge entirely within New Hampshire.

2. Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge: Crossing over the Ammonoosuc River joining Bath and Woodsville. Built in 1829 and restored in 2004, it is believed to be the oldest covered bridge in New Hampshire.

We then turn south and continue on into White River Junction, Vermont and hotel check-in at the 4 star Comfort Inn White River Junction.

The Bath Covered Bridge Over the Ammonoosuc River
Built 1832 in New Hampshire

After breakfast at the hotel we will explore some of the covered bridges that are close to White River Junction. You will have the choice to sleep in and enjoy a leisure breakfast or start your day earlier and visit some of the covered bridges. There are 4 covered bridges that are near to the town. They are:

1. Quechee Covered Bridge

2. Willard Covered Bridge

3. Taftsville Covered Bridge

4. Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge which is the longest in the entire country

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The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge is half in New Hampshire and half in Vermont and is
the longest Covered Bridge in the Country

We will then return to the hotel to check-out at 10:30am as we need to be at the White River Junction passenger train station by 11:00am. Amtrak train No. 55, the Vermonter is due into town at 11:37am. The group will board this train and ride south to Greenfield, Massachusetts arriving at 1:36pm. This train has a cafe car where you can purchase sandwiches and drinks. On this journey Passengers see dense New England forests, riverside vistas, and small historic towns.

Amtrak's Vermonter Passenger Train in the Connecticut River Valley - next photo

Upon arrival in Greenfield we transfer to our highway transportation and travel the short distance to Shelburne Falls. Here we will visit the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum. We have arranged to have our own private charter trolley take us for a ride. Trolley Car No. 10 built in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1896 is a rare survivor that served the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway. There is a Central Vermont caboose on display and the visitors center features historical photographs, videos, and railway artifacts.

After visiting the trolley museum we travel to South Deerfield which is only 30 minutes away and location of the vast Yankee Candle Company which is the largest factory of it’s kind in the United States.

We then return to Greenfield and check-in at the 3 star Hampton Inn & Suites Greenfield.

The Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

After a leisure breakfast at the hotel we will check-out and depart at 9:00am and head east towards Boston. An hour after departing Greenfield we will arrive at the town of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains stop here. We will wait trackside just east of Fitchburg to take photos of the first train which is due at 11:55am. The next train is due at 1:55pm. Then we will work our way east to the Littleton where there are many more trains. Littleton has scheduled trains either arriving or departing at 2:25pm, 3:01pm, 3:25pm, 4:01pm, 4:35pm 5:11pm, and 5:22pm.

The next train is No. 1436 departing Littleton and headed east into Boston at 5:48pm arriving North Station Boston at 6:47pm. The group will ride this train and be met at North Station for the transfer to the 3 star Comfort Inn & Suites Logan International Airport and check-in.

🍽 breakfast, lunch

After breakfast at our hotel we check-out and our New England tour ends. You can catch the shuttle to the airport or train station.

🍽 breakfast