Hour-Long Train Delay Caused by Cold Weather

The cold weather on Thursday morning was the culprit for delays on the MBTA commuter rail on the Newburyport line through Hamilton-Wenham station.

Thursday morning’s bitterly cold temperatures have been blamed for delays along the North Shore commuter rail line that exceeded an hour in some cases. Train 154 left Newburyport at 5:50 a.m. headed to Boston when it experienced a dynamic brake failure at 6:09 a.m. at the Rowley station. The train was scheduled to arrive in Hamilton-Wenham station at 6:09 a.m., headed to North Station. But it ended up being about an hour late. Two other trains behind it, train 156 that was scheduled to leave Newburyport at 6:30 a.m. and train 158 that was supposed to leave Newburyport at 7 a.m., both all experienced delays. Both trains were scheduled to pickup passengers at Hamilton-Wenham station at 6:49 a.m. and 7:19 a.m., respectively, and both of those…

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Component Causing Stuck Train Gates Has Been Replaced

Drivers were waved through railroad crossings while the gates were down last weekend because of

A component along the railroad tracks that was “acting up” during Christmas weekend has been replaced and the problem is now resolved, according Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. Police in both Hamilton and Wenham had to stand by at the Bay Road crossing in Hamilton and Larch Row in Wenham last weekend because the railroad gates were getting stuck down, even though a train was not coming. “The problem has been fixed and we don't anticipate the replacement component causing any of the same issues,” said Andrea Wheeler, a spokesman for MBCR, which runs the commuter rail system. Railroad gates sometimes come down inexplicably in the winter because of road salt, but the only time local roads have been salted recently was on Monday, after…

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Broken Train Engine Caused Tuesday Morning Delays

A train engine that broke down on the rail line north of Hamilton on Tuesday morning caused delays that lasted through rush hour.

A commuter train engine that broke down between Newburyport and Ipswich caused delays for commuters during rush hour on Tuesday morning. Train 158 left Newburyport headed to Boston on time at 7 a.m. But somewhere between Newburyport and Castle Hill in Ipswich the engine broke down, according to Andrea Wheeler, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which operates the commuter rail system for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. That meant train 158 did not arrive at Hamilton-Wenham station on time. After that, North Shore trains were delayed – ranging from seven to 16 minutes – until about 9 a.m. Five inbound trains and two outbound trains from North Station were affected on Tuesday morning. Three of those …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: July 8

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Friday, July 8. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Weather: It will cool off on Friday, with temperatures in the 70s. The downside? It will be cloudy with a chance of showers. 2. Tornado Relief: MBTA commuter rail riders have a chance between now and July 20 to help victims of last month’s tornadoes in western Massachusetts. The operator of commuter rail - Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad – plus the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army began a Tornado Relief Drive on July 6. Train riders from Hamilton-Wenham station can make donations at the North Station information counter. Specifically, they are asking for bottled water, canned food, non-perishable food, toiletries and sheets, which will all be delivered to …

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Robert Gates

3:45 pm on Friday, July 8, 2011

Here is Patch's coverage from Florida of the Shuttle launch this morning. I will never forget the day I was in Mrs. Rondo's class at Wilkins Elementary School watching the Challenger explosion. It was one of my first memories of a true national tragedy. I later came to find out that one of our neighbors was the brother of the captain Rick Hauck who lead the first Shuttle launch when the program …   more ›