Amtrak's Vermonter rolls south and has just crossed the state line into Northfield, Massachusetts where it gets on the Berkshire & Eastern's Conn River Line off of the NECR's Palmer Subdivision. In the lead is Amtrak P42DC 100, wearing the Midnight Blue 50th Anniversary scheme.
Once treated like a backwater with decrepit locomotives, cars and track, Massachusetts has become a star in the Amtrak constellation with electrification to Boston, service to Maine and an upgraded Connecticut Valley line.
The successor to the Montrealer, the Vermonter runs between St. Albans, Vt., and Washington, DC. Much of the northern part of the route runs along the Connecticut and White Rivers.