Amtrak news release, 10/31:
Amtrak Autumn Express Treats Passengers and Spectators to Great Foliage and Lasting Memories
Over 1,300 Tickets Sold for the Annual Fall Excursion Train
WILMINGTON – The 2016 Amtrak Autumn Express is in the books as more than 1,300 people took to the rails on two sold-out excursion trains October 29 and 30. Traveling through parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the unique and wildly popular trip gave passengers an opportunity to see parts of the Lehigh Valley not traversed by passenger trains since 1963. Hundreds of local residents and well-wishers also lined portions of the route to photograph and wave at the fourteen car train as it went by.
“The Autumn Express is the result of hard work and cooperation with our partner railroads, our operations staff and the many Amtrak employees who volunteered on their days off to work the train,” said Joe McHugh, Amtrak Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and a Lehigh Valley native. “But ultimately, these special runs are for the passengers who continue to support and make this train a success year after year.”
This year’s Autumn Express departed New York Penn Station, passing under the Hudson River and stopping in Newark, N.J. to accept passengers and transition from electric to diesel power. From Newark, the train headed west along the former Lehigh Valley Railroad, through the famous Musconetcong Tunnel, opened in 1875, and across the Delaware River en route to Bethlehem, Allentown, Reading and ultimately Harrisburg before returning to New York via Philadelphia and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
In total, the trip covered 371 route miles. This was the 4th consecutive year in which Amtrak operated the Autumn Express.
Lancaster Station