Talk:Clamdigger (train)

Cape Cod usage

Amtrak also applied the Clamdigger name to the Saturday-only seasonal Providence-Hyannis train. I've made note of it in the Cape Codder article but it should probably be mentioned here. Mackensen (talk) 16:31, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I've got a laundry list of improvements to make to the article. I've dug up some old articles, and grabbed a couple shots of the short-lived Groton station. Good work on the Cape Codder, by the way. You've probably seen it, but Belcher's end-all be-all MBTA history has a Cape Cod service history at the very end. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 17:55, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

Discontinuances

Baer refers to a "resumption" of New Haven–New London service on January 13, 1972. I find this strange because there's no reference in either that document or the 1971 document to it having been discontinued. There's no reference in Wood v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation to a service disruption, and Amtrak (by the sounds of it) was enjoined from discontinuing service from December 29, 1971 onward. Additionally, Thoms puts the final discontinuance date at January 31, 1972 (Monday) vice Baer's January 28 (Friday). Both seem plausible. Mackensen (talk) 22:30, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

• January 28 last run confirmed and added. Mackensen (talk) 22:37, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

That's a not-uncommon issue with stations and services when we're dealing with secondary sources. Some seem to go by the last run/stop (Baer), while others go by the first run/stop not performed (Thoms). I do think you're right about there not having been a brief discontinuance first - I probably misread one of the sources I added a while back. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 22:59, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

It's definitely in Baer, so you read it correctly. I'm still looking for confirmation. Mackensen (talk) 23:02, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

Here's what I'm seeing in Newspapers.com:

• A cluster of stories from November 12, 1971, about the train running until the end of the year while Amtrak and Connecticut kick around the funding issue
• There's a restraining order issued on December 29, setting a hearing for January 6 and ordering Amtrak to keep it running until then
• Blumenfeld extends the order on January 7 for another 10 days
• Blumenfeld rules against Connecticut on January 19, but extends the order a few days while the state appeals
• Amtrak says on January 23 that the train will run the rest of the week and that "no decision has been made"
• Amtrak says on January 24 that they're discontinuing the Clamdigger at the end of the week but that the Yankee Clipper (UAC TurboTrain at the time) will start stopping at Old Saybrook.
• Clamdigger makes its final run on January 28

Mackensen (talk) 23:12, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

July 1971 timetable

I've read over [1] and sure enough East Lyme and Niantic are listed for No. 403 but not No. 402. That has to be a misprint, right? Otherwise you'd have two stations with westbound service only, unless there's some category of service I'm forgetting about. Mackensen (talk) 23:24, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

Well. This is a fun conundrum. That indicates westbound service only, yes - which is a thing that's happened on occasion but seems unlikely here. SLE currently stops at Stratford and Milford eastbound only for no obvious reason, although obviously it's not the only service at those stops.

Interestingly, past-me seems to have thought that East Lyme and Niantic were separate stations. WOOD v. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORP. also indicates that - but neglects to mention Old Saybrook. That timetable only lists one stop for the two. The December 15th and 24th articles by the New London Day (I'm biased, but The Day was my hometown paper so I tend to trust it) only lists Niantic as a stop. I think it's a safe bet that there was only one stop - Niantic - between New London and Old Saybrook, and that it lasted until the end of service. I can check my 1963 NHYH&H timetable in about an hour; if that doesn't list an East Lyme stop then it's highly unlikely one was added between then and 1971. Pi.1415926535 (talk) 00:10, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

I've got a 1958 timetable here in my collection. "East Lyme and Niantic" is in fact a single station. Regular service was 402/401-67, with some weekend variations plus a Friday-only service by the through train Seashore (40) eastbound and Cabana (35) westbound. My Official Guide (June 1963) puts it 44.0 miles (70.8 km) from New Haven. Mackensen (talk) 00:23, 14 July 2016 (UTC)