Amtrak POV Cab Ride at 125mph | Keystone Service Train 645 | Trenton to Philadelphia in Real Time

This video shot aboard a Budd Metroliner Cab Car in Amtrak Service, shows the front view of Amtrak Keystone Service Train 645's ride between Trenton Transit Center in Trenton, New Jersey, and the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in real time.
Originally I had intended on capturing a POV video of the train's trip between New York Penn Station and the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia in real time. But an off duty crew member deadheading in the same car between NYC and Trenton forbade me from doing so. Later I was able to capture the ride between Trenton and Philadelphia because ironically the on duty crew members were relatively more understanding and respectful of what I do.
Please excuse the fact that the image quality of this video is less than ideal. In a way it looks almost like footage from the past and it's almost monochromatic. This was because the the view to the front of the train was shot through 4 layers of tinted windows (#1 the window on the externally attached metal plate on the front of the cab car; #2 the window on the front door of the cab car; #3 the window on the driver's cab's swing door; and #4 the window on the sliding door on the front end of the passenger cab) on the front end of the Metroliner Cab Car. The windows were rather dirty and had numerous pieces of debris stuck on them. I suspect at least some of them were probably made of polycarbonate rather than glass as they had become scratched up and discolored due to age. Also considering the speed a Metroliner Cab Car could reach in service on the Northeast Corridor and how flat the front window is, I suspect whatever objects and debris had impacted the window over the years would inevitably leave a mark.
Also, you might notice the visible vibration and audible wind noise as the Cab Car rushes ahead at speed on the corridor. The combination of wind noise, the rush of air seeping through the Cab Car, and the vibration of the Cab Car's structure that you can feel through the floor as I stood in the aisle were unlike anything else I had experienced onboard a train.
Circa March 2022. This video was recorded in full HD and at 60FPS.
I've time stamped moments when the train made stops at stations and when the train passed by points of interest (Unfortunately I'd probably miss a good deal of those as we were moving pretty fast at times):
0:00 Intro
0:08 Title Card
0:13 Beginning of the POV Cab Ride segment as my train stands by and is ready to depart Trenton Transit Center
0:35 Departure from Trenton Transit Center
0:42 Train moving forward
1:32 Passing NJ Transit commuter train in the opposite direction
2:01 Crossing the Delaware River on Morrisville-Trenton Railway Bridge
2:44 Passing under the tracks to NJ Transit's Morrisville Yard
3:19 Start of high speed running on the Northeast Corridor
5:17 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Levittown station
7:26 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Bristol station
8:54 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Croydon station
9:54 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Eddington station
10:34 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Cornwells Heights station
11:50 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Torresdale station
12:39 Passing under i95 freeway
13:27 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Holmsburg station
14:03 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Tacony station
15:09 Passing SEPTA Regional Rail's Bridesburg station
16:40 Approaching Frankford Junction
20:17 Passing North Philadelphia station
23:09 Passing Amtrak track maintenance crew
24:00 Approaching zoo interlocking and passing near Philadelphia Zoo
25:35 View of Philadelphia Museum of Art from across the Schuylkill River
27:01 Passing a northbound Amtrak Train departing from 30th Street Station
27:25 Approaching 30th Street Station
27:51 Entering 30th Street Station
28:00 View of the lower level platforms of 30th Street Station as my train slows
28:33 Train stopping & End of the POV segment
28:49 Disembarkation from the train
29:03 A quick external view of Amtrak Budd Metroliner Cab Car unit 9646 I had ridden in
29:09 Another external view of Amtrak Budd Metroliner Cab Car unit 9646 I had ridden in
29:15 A quick view of the main hall of William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
29:33 Thanks for watching! Subscribe?

Пікірлер: 36

  • @whereisthedollar
    @whereisthedollar Жыл бұрын

    Much greater appreciation of the twists and turns in this part of the NE RR corridor. Especially, from the Engineer perspective at Bridesburg and Frankford turns where there have been accidents.

  • @whereisthedollar

    @whereisthedollar

    Жыл бұрын

    Don't know if 9646 is the original number. But that cab convert dates back to the Penn/Central days, wow.

  • @NortheastTrainMan
    @NortheastTrainMan6 күн бұрын

    I watched this video quite a bit over the years. I had to come through and applaud you for not only filming this steady, but for incorporating chapters. As far as filming goes, I mean, it boils down to the discretion of the crew. Some are against it, others are more lenient. They don't owe us railfans anything, other than courtesy and getting us to our destinations safely. Even if the person was off duty, they're still an employee at the end of the day.

  • @cats0182
    @cats01822 жыл бұрын

    That old PRR Mainline was just made for high speeds.

  • @opencirclefleet
    @opencirclefleet2 жыл бұрын

    *Timestamps* *Amtrak Northeast Corridor* 00:14 Trenton Transit Center (Amtrak: Limited Acela Service, Vermonter, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Palmetto, Northeast Regional; NJT Commuter Rail: Northeast Corridor Line; SEPTA Regional Rail: Trenton Line; NJT River Line; NJT Bus: 409, 418, 600, 601, 606, 608, 609, 611, 619, 624; SEPTA Suburban Bus: 127) 02:02 *Morrisville-Trenton Railway Bridge* 02:29 _CSAO Morrisville Line and NJT Morrisville Yard Leads Split_ 05:20 Levittown (SKIPPED) 07:27 Bristol (SKIPPED) 08:15 _Connection to Bristol Industrial Track Splits_ 08:56 Croydon (SKIPPED) 09:57 Eddington (SKIPPED) 10:35 Cornwells Heights (SKIPPED) 11:52 Torresdale (SKIPPED) 13:29 Holmsburg Junction (SKIPPED) 13:32 _Bustleton Industrial Track Merges_ 14:04 Tacony (SKIPPED) 15:10 Bridesburg (SKIPPED) 17:11 _Frankford Junction (Atlantic City Line and Delair Branch Merge with Northeast Corridor)_ 20:24 North Philadelphia (SKIPPED) 20:41 _SEPTA Chestnut Hill West Line Merges_ 22:29 _Delair Branch Splits_ 23:56 _Zoo Interlocking (CSX Harrisburg Subdivision/High Line, Amtrak Northeast Corridor, Amtrak Keystone Corridor, and SEPTA Central City Commuter Connection Interchange)_ 26:53 _LEFT: Penn Coach Yard_ 27:56 William H. Gray III 30th Street (Philadelphia) Station (Amtrak: Acela, Vermonter, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Northeast Regional; NJT Commuter Rail: Atlantic City Line; SEPTA Regional Rail: All Lines; SEPTA Rapid Transit: Market-Frankford Line and Subway-Surface Trolley Lines @ 30th Street; SEPTA City Bus: 9, 12, 21, 30, 31, 42, 44, 49, 62, LUCY; SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125; Martz Trailways; Megabus: M21, M23, M29, M30, M31, M32, M34; NJT Bus: 313, 315, 316, 414, 417, 555)

  • @sclm046
    @sclm046 Жыл бұрын

    Enjoyed the ride!

  • @gosudoyourself
    @gosudoyourself Жыл бұрын

    I had no idea Metroliners were still in service in 2022! Evidently Amtrak yanked out the motors and started using them as cab cars for locomotive-driven trains in the late '80s? Anyway, thanks for posting this video and for adding timestamps. Excellent content.

  • @twitch1965
    @twitch1965 Жыл бұрын

    Ah man, that brings back some memories from college and grad school days - Bristol to 30th and back to Bristol!

  • @PGHammer21A
    @PGHammer21A2 жыл бұрын

    This is the POV that would sell a LOT of passenger travel and does - why don't passenger trainsets mount a 4K camera in their noses and run the feed over onboard wi-fi?

  • @Shuotography

    @Shuotography

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think Amtrak do have video cameras mounted on the front end of their trains. They seem to function like dashcams that records the footage should an accident or incident take place. Videos of incidents such as the 2015 derailment at the Frankford junction came from those. The quality of those cameras seem kind of iffy though, and they're certainly not used to provide a video feed for the enjoyment of passengers and railfans alike. I do hope that before Amtrak can ever get their hands on better cameras, they should first clean the windows on the trains. I actually shot my video in full HD rather than 4K and processed the footage aggressively because the amount of dirt and debris on the windows. Had the video been shot in 4k it's just gonna show more of the dirt.

  • @mikelowery5741
    @mikelowery5741 Жыл бұрын

    What’s the maximum speed for work zones and what indicates that they are past that point?! Sorry for the dumb question😅😅😅

  • @Shuotography

    @Shuotography

    Жыл бұрын

    That, I'm actually not sure. I didn't ask the engineer in the cab about it.

  • @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999

    @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999

    Жыл бұрын

    The engineer will have a timetable of speeds with him work zone speeds can be as low as 10 up to about 50 to 60 MPH depending on a number of factors, some work zones speed is track speed 100 to 125mph. As for the engineer knowing when he is clear some work zones will have a Green R sign or they know their train is so many feet in length and can judge base off that.

  • @suffolknorthernry.4244
    @suffolknorthernry.42443 ай бұрын

    Enjoyable throwback - rode Penn Stn to Hbg every few weeks in '02-'03. However, nowhere near 125mph - made it a bit disappointing instead of just cool. You might consider taking that out of the title. Thanks

  • @NortheastTrainMan

    @NortheastTrainMan

    6 күн бұрын

    Nice, pre-cab car days. I'm sure the engine change is Philly made it a bit longer. The top speed on the stretch of track in the video is 125, so of course the train wasn't traveling at that speed the entire video. There's curves & other factors. Like, the train isn't going 125 at Frankford Jct or Zoo Interlocking. Plus, it's zoomed in, it's going to look slower than how fast the train is actually moving.

  • @OgaugeTrainsplusslotCars
    @OgaugeTrainsplusslotCars2 жыл бұрын

    Nice👍♐♐♐♐♐♐♐

  • @derekonxbox
    @derekonxbox2 жыл бұрын

    I once read somewhere (i think it was a forum?) that passengers weren't allowed in the Metroliner cab cars? Is that not the case

  • @Shuotography

    @Shuotography

    2 жыл бұрын

    During my train ride down from New York to Philadelphia, they did not lock the door on the back end of the cab car. I got into and rode in the cab car the whole time and I wasn't asked to leave. Most of the passengers in the cab car seemed to be deadheading train crews though, with most of them NJT employees that got off in Trenton. Unlike them, the Amtrak crew actually didn't mind my filming. Later in the day, during my return trip from Philadelphia to New York, the Metorliner Cab Car on the rear end of the train was locked and passengers couldn't access it. So I don't know if there's a official policy on barring passengers from accessing the cab car, and if there is, I don't know how strictly and consistently enforced it is.

  • @NYLifeInNJ

    @NYLifeInNJ

    2 жыл бұрын

    I usually ride in the Metroliner Cab Car whenever I take the Keystone. Perhaps it's the case that almost every time I did it was either during the rush hour when the train is extremely packed or in the middle of the day during the weekend when it's also somewhat packed. Never had a case where the cab car was locked.

  • @stripervince1
    @stripervince1 Жыл бұрын

    You passed 10 dragger detectors, silence. Got your radio turned off?

  • @Shuotography

    @Shuotography

    Жыл бұрын

    I rode that train on the passenger side of that partition door and had no radio in my possession. The engineer in the cab probably had a radio though. I just didn't hear anything from it.

  • @rikardlalic7275
    @rikardlalic7275 Жыл бұрын

    Very nice, but with all respect not looking mote than 100mph at most.

  • @Shuotography

    @Shuotography

    Жыл бұрын

    To be fair the 125mph is the top speed the train could reach during this trip, not the speed I could confirm that it had indeed reached with myself on board.

  • @3985uprr
    @3985uprr2 жыл бұрын

    I see more of the car interior than I do of the railroad. You should zoom in to eliminate as much of the interior as possible

  • @Shuotography

    @Shuotography

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the suggestion. I actually ended up with the composition I got because the camera I used for this only had a 24-70mm equivalent lens instead of something with more telephoto reach. It wasn't completely zoomed out but it was pretty close. So I figured it might look better if I kept the outline of the front window in frame instead zooming in a little more only to cut off the upper and lower bits of that window. Obviously it would've been better if I was allowed to set the camera up a little closer to the front of the train the way we could on some commuter trains. But the engineer didn't allow that.

  • @3985uprr

    @3985uprr

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Shuotography I have shot a lot of septa Silverliner 5 head end rides and I was an acceptable distance from the window I didn’t have to zoom all that much and got a decent shot

  • @Shuotography

    @Shuotography

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@3985uprr Yeah I've watched some of your videos shot on board the Silverliner 5. Those are nice. In comparison to the silverliner 5s, the Budd Metroliners are set up pretty differenty, since they keep the passengers further back from the front end of the cab car. I could've used some digital zoom or cropped the footage, but then that would probably degrade its quality. I didn't wanna do that because the raw footage I got was in pretty rough shape due to the dirty windows I shot it through. Plus the Metroliner seems to shake and bounce at speed, so zooming in will exaggerate that. Obviously moving forward I can always try to set up a similar video differently and see how it goes. Thanks for your input.

  • @michlo3393

    @michlo3393

    2 жыл бұрын

    The problem with zoom is it eliminates the sense of speed in the video. You could be doing 100 mph but the video will make it look like you're crawling.

  • @ronaldsummons6100
    @ronaldsummons610011 ай бұрын

    Perhap the window should be cleaned for better views.

  • @NortheastTrainMan

    @NortheastTrainMan

    6 күн бұрын

    possibly, but do know that the most important window is the engineer's, not the center one this was filmed from.

  • @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999
    @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999 Жыл бұрын

    The keystones are limited to 110MPH

  • @Tsukuyomi456

    @Tsukuyomi456

    Жыл бұрын

    That's only between Harrisburg and Parkesburg, on the Northeast Corridor they're permitted to do 125mph

  • @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999

    @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999

    Жыл бұрын

    @Tsukuyomi456 ohh when did they change that? Or is it only when the cab car is leading on the NEC? I have yet to ride the Keystone into New York and see 125, that's why I'm curious?

  • @Tsukuyomi456

    @Tsukuyomi456

    Жыл бұрын

    @@RyanHatterer-Ryanns999 I'm not certain, but I did confirm it last month when I took the keystone from Harrisburg all the way to New York Penn, my speedometer app did clock 125 for a good bit of it. Alas I do not recall which way the train was oriented. In the future Amtrak does want to upgrade the Keystone Corridor to 125 mph where they can, and I can't wait for that!.

  • @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999

    @RyanHatterer-Ryanns999

    Жыл бұрын

    @Tsukuyomi456 I agree with that the Keystone can be upgrade in some spots to at minimum 120. I'll have to definitely check next month, I go up to NYC monthly for business thank you

  • @kingofthelight8260
    @kingofthelight826010 ай бұрын

    Ride from the a$$ view going backwards.