I changed Pittsburgh to Pittsburgh & Johnstown, so we could get to ride the latter city's incline as well as the two in Pittsburgh. With the rescheduled PENNSYLVANIAN, the only way to do this is to backtrack between Pittsburgh and Johnstown twice, and it only works on a Sunday when Train 44 runs later in the day than Train 42. I also changed the portion of this fest that included the Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines, moving them to different days rather than trying to walk between the two (which I have learned is quite a long walk of more than a mile).
Newly added fests are:
- Upstate New York Fest (takes in Syracuse On-Track, which we missed riding on the way to Toronto RailFest 2004, and also a round trip on the Adirondack Scenic Railway.). Overnights in Utica and Syracuse; 3-day event.
- Philadelphia Area RailFest has been shuffled and put on the back of the deck following our event there in March of 2005. This will hopefully include the 15 trolley on Girard Avenue, as well as finishing up the various segments we have not ridden on the Regional Rail network. This will be a Friday-Saturday fest, most likely held in the summer of 2006 or 2007.
- Washington RailFest 2005 is the next fest after Eagle RailFest 2005. We seem to have agreed upon dates of August 26-27, which is also a Friday and Saturday. The reason for this is to be able to ride commuter trains on VRE and MARC, which do not run on weekends.
- North Carolina RailFest will include a trip on Amtrak's SILVER STAR to Raleigh, NC. Overnight there, then take the PIEDMONT to Charlotte, NC. In Charlotte, ride the upgraded Charlotte Trolley. Overnight there, then take the CAROLINIAN back to the Northeast.
- Southern Florida RailFest, by popular suggestion, has now been created. So far, it is just the Gold Coast, between West Palm Beach and Miami. We would ride both ways on the SILVER METEOR. The southbound trip would be from the Northeast to West Palm Beach. Then a short trip north on TriRail to Mangonia Park. Then south on TriRail Mangonia Park to Boca Raton. At Boca, dinner and overnight accommodations. Next day, complete TriRail, going to Miami Airport station. Then come back north on TriRail to the Metrorail Transfer. Ride Metrorail out to Palmetto, and then south its entire route to Dadeland South. Lunch at Dadeland Mall. Metrorail once again from Dadeland South to Brickell, where we enter the Metromover system. Ride the Brickell, Omni, and Downtown Loops, ending up at Government Center. Then Metrorail again Government Center to triRail Transfer. TriRail back to Boca, dinner and overnight there. Final day, participants could board the SILVER METEOR in Boca Raton. For those who want to get the entire route in, there would be time to take TriRail down to the Metrorail Transfer station once more, and walk over to the Amtrak station. This trip would last 5 days, including the round trip on the SILVER METEOR.
I am trying to figure out how to add stopovers in Tampa (TECO Streetcar) and Jacksonville (Jacksonville Skyway) to this itinerary, but with the recent rescheduling of Silver Service it makes things difficult, particularly in Jacksonville with unfriendly calling hours for the SILVER STAR (the train we would need to visit Tampa).