I've been a train nut since college when I frequently rode the old Erie Lackawanna in NJ (later Conrail) with the old rail cars with catenary wires and rattan seats - similar to the old Green Line cars on the T in Boston. On vacation took the narrow-gauge railroad from Durango to Silverton CO and collected rail spikes. Back to the present and my recent trip on the Amtrak Downeaster and Northeast Regional. The line is closed for repairs from Haverhill MA to Boston so they provide a bus to North Station. If you've been on the Expressway during rush hour you know what that's like. Once there you have to take the Orange Line (recently reopened after a shutdown, another story) to Back Bay station. Departed Exeter NH at 6:30 am and arrived at Newark Penn Station at 2:30 pm, could have driven in less time.