I think we're on a frozen train, Miss Taggart

At 5:30 I boarded the Fitchburg train, which had left North Station at 5:20, at Porter.

The next stop was Waltham. Before we reached it, the train was stopped for an unusually long time. Finally we were told there were mechanical problems that were being looked at. The lights went out for about ten minutes as all power was cut so the mechanic could look under the train. They came back on again, but there was still no motion. Finally we were told that the next train would hook up to ours and push us.

The double-sized train proceeded at a slow pace. At South Acton, we were all herded off the train. It went back in the direction of Boston and presumably pulled onto a side track somewhere, and around 8:25 a third train, which had been following behind us, took us all on.

At 8:40, the train arrived in Ayer and I got off. Ayer to Fitchburg normally takes about 25 minutes, so figure it reached Fitchburg at 9:05. That's only a quarter of an hour short of the four hours it took a train to get from South Station to Worcester.

I'll say that the conductors were very helpful throughout, and kept us informed of what was happening.