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Announcing OTOL Atlantic Coast RailFest 2013


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 28 February 2013 - 09:43 AM

OTOL Atlantic Coast RailFest (ACRF) 2013 will be our next event. It will take place in several east coast locations, including northern Florida, Charlotte, Norfolk, and northern Virginia. While some aspects of this trip are not yet fully decided, the dates and venues are being presented now to allow people to begin making travel and hotel plans.

As always participants can (and some most likely will) either join the Fest in progress or leave us early. So individual travel may vary. Those coming from areas other than the Northeast will need to make further arrangements between their hometowns and the Fest start & end points. The tentative itinerary, along with some concerns about activities:

Sunday, July 14th


We will leave various east coast points on Amtrak's Silver Meteor (Train #97) for an overnight trip to Florida.

Monday, July 15th


Today's activities are by personal choice. Arrive in Jacksonville, and ride the Jacksonville Skyway people mover between downtown points. City bus will be required for travel between Amtrak station and downtown.

The scheduled time in Jacksonville from arrival of #97 until departure of #92 is 11-1/2 hours. Participants choosing to spend time in Jacksonville will need to plan personal activities on their own to fill the time. There are museums in the Southbank area, and one can walk along the riverfront walkways on both sides of the river. You also could take a city bus to & from the Jacksonville Beach resort area.

As an alternative, some may consider remaining aboard the Silver Meteor to a point in Florida further south from Jacksonville, and then returning north on the Silver Meteor (Train #98) to Jacksonville, thus shortening the dwell there before boarding the Silver Star (Train #92) that night. Or one can go further south in Florida, and then board the northbound Silver Star.

The final activity of the day will be taking Amtrak's Silver Star (Train #92) from Florida for an overnight trip to North Carolina.

Tuesday, July 16th


Our ultimate desination today is Charlotte, and our goals are to ride Amtrak's Piedmont and the LYNX light rail in Charlotte. To get to Charlotte from the northbound Silver Star, Amtrak will ticket you via Cary, NC. The dwell here between scheduled arrival of the Silver Star (Train #92) and Piedmont (Train #75) is 3 hours 42 minutes. Some could opt to go into Raleigh by ticketing the trip segments individually. A Raleigh dwell would be slightly shorter, at 3 hours 2 miunutes. Raleigh has a small first class lounge, and there are restaurants within 4 blocks of the station. Either way, there is the risk of a very late #92 missing the connection with #75.

Participants are warned there is no food service on the Piedmont other than spring water, soft drinks and vending machine snacks. We will try to schedule a quick, early lunch in Cary before boarding #75 if time allows.

Upon arrival in Charlotte, some time will be allotted to check-in at hotels and leave luggage. Then we will ride the LYNX light rail. Dinner location in Charlotte will be determined later; could be a sitdown place or fast food at the EpiCentre, which is adjacent to a light rail station.

Wednesday, July 17th


Our only very early day, a 7 AM departure from Charlotte on the northbound Carolinian (Train #80). We will ride from there to Virginia.

Herein lies another situation similar to that in Jacksonville, and also a choice of trains between Richmond and Norfolk. The legacy trip from Richmond to Norfolk would involve taking Northeast Regional #95 to Newport News, then a Thruway bus from there to Norfolk. With the availability of the new Northeast Regional train directly to Norfolk via Petersburg (Train #125), most may prefer going this way. Scheduled layover in Richmond between Trains #80 and #95 is 2 hours 40 minutes. Scheduled layover between Trains #80 and #125 is 4 hours 21 minutes.

There is a McDonald's within walking distance of the Richmond station, and several other fast food locations as well. Again, some could possibly fill the time by going further north in Virginia on the Carolinian (Train #80), and then riding back on Trains #95 or #125. Fredericksburg could be an option.

Arrival in Norfolk in the evening, earllier if arriving by Thruway bus, later if on Northeast Regional #125. TIDE light rail is available if needed to access hotel locations.

Thursday, July 18th


Official trips on TIDE light rail. Lunch at MacArthur Center mall food court.

Later, board Amtrak Thruway bus Norfolk to Newport News, and then Amtrak Northeast Regional (Train #66) to the Washington, DC area.

Friday, July 19th



Final day of the Fest. Optional morning activities in Washington, lunch at Union Station.

Ride VRE Washington, DC to Fredericksburg, VA, and then return on northbound Carolinian, Train #80.

Fest is over as we travel on Train #80, to various Northeastern points. Some may opt to detrain in Washington or other Northeast Corridor stations and complete their trips home on Saturday.

The homepage, with links to other needed information, very much resembles the above synopsis of the trip. The itinerary shows the goal times we hope to do each activity.

Here are the Amtrak trips you would need to reserve:
  • Sunday, July 14th: Origin city to Jacksonville on Train #97 or further south in Florida.
  • Monday, July 15th: Jacksonville (or other Florida origin city) to Charlotte on #92, changing to #75 Tuesday, July 16th most likely in Cary, NC (or forced by separate reservations at Raleigh)
  • Wednesday, July 17th: Charlotte to Norfolk via Train #80 to Richmond-Staples Mill, and then either #95 + Thruway 6095, or #125 to Norfolk. Forced with separate reservations one could travel further north in Virginia.
  • Thursday, July 18th: Norfolk to Washington, DC area via Thruway bus #6066 to Newport News, then Northeast Regional #66.
  • Friday, July 19th: Fredericksburg, VA to destination city on Train #80.
Hotels will be needed in the following locations:
  • Charlotte, NC: Tuesday, July 16th, 1 night, checkout on Wednesday, July 17th
  • Norfolk, VA: Wednesday, July 17th, 1 night, checkout on Thursday, July 18th
  • Washington, DC/Northern VA area, Thursday, July 18th, 1 night, checkout on Friday, July 19th
This will be updated as our plans solidify and we agree on the best options to fit our needs.

For now, please send me an e-mail just whether you plan to attend, and what days or parts of days. Contact information such as cell phones and chosen hotels can come in a few months, much closer to the event when we reach that phase of the advance planning.


Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 28 February 2013 - 01:52 PM

Some of the various possibilities were discussed during a recent Sunday Chat session, however for everyone's benefit I will review here the points of concern and a possible decision on the part of participants. That is not to say we can't split up and do whatever is comfortable for each person. We've had "simul-Fests" before! Please feel free to address any of these points here so that all can benefit from the discussion.

Jacksonville



JAX layover is 13-1/2 hours from 97 arrival until 92 departure. Only if one stops there and lays over there, can they partake of the Jacksonville Skyway. Alternatives if you don't wish to go to JAX would be to ride further south into Florida and then return on 92 ---- or return on 98 to JAX and then take 92 later. Winter Park was suggested as a turnaround point, and Orlando would work too although there is much less to do or eat in the Amtrak station vicinity.

Cary vs. Raleigh



Amtrak will ticket you via Cary when transferring between the Silver Star and Piedmont, however some may wish to extend to Raleigh, provided time allows. Extending would require separate ticketing for each train.

Richmond



Again Amtrak will ticket you via Richmond-Staples Mill when going from the Carolinian to either of the trains to the Tidewater area (95 or 125). Some may wish to force a longer trip by ticketing their segments separately. Possibilities are Fredericksburg or Quantico, however if #80 is delayed there is the possibility of a missed connection. Ashland is not possible, as all trains do not stop there. One could remain on #80, and then take #95 or #125 later from one of these stations, or for another tier qualifying segment, board #95 back to RVR and then #125 RVR to NFK. Remember that the further you go from RVR, the more risk you put yourself in at missing your connection should CSX foul things up. One item to consider is that laying over in Richmond allows some time to eat off the train, as opposed to the same type of cafe meals aboard the trains for lunch and dinner.

Everyone may have their own preferred plans, so even if majority chooses one option, that does not mean everyone must abide. We could have smaller groups visit Jacksonville while others venture further south, and likewise for the Cary and Richmond transfers where people could travel further north to make the same trains but cut down on dwell time. Keep in mind too that a train could be severely delayed, which then reduces the alternatives to one, assuming the connection is even still made.


Kevin Korell


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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 01 March 2013 - 10:04 PM

Please post any general questions or observations about the Fest in this topic, and then if I feel it warrants its own thread, I'll create one and move it. Already one has been started specifically for the Amtrak trips.


Kevin Korell


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#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 04 March 2013 - 12:18 AM

Just a reminder again, please e-mail me if you plan to participate in the Fest, and what days if not all. If you mentioned it in Chat or social media or text, please do it again this way so I can keep everything together. Later on in June & early July I'll do the contact listing and will ask for your hotel plans at that time. Meanwhile, it would be helpful if you put in the subject line of the e-mail whether it is about you coming to the Fest or your hotel and contact info so that I can find them later. Also many people are already making Amtrak reservations and booking hotels. With regard to Amtrak, so that we can finalize reservations and not have to worry about changing them, we should settle soon what we're doing in Florida on the 15th, and Virginia on the 17th. I think taking #125 from Richmond to Norfolk is probably unanimous. but we need to determine whether anyone wishes to venture north of RVR to kill some of the time. We can also agree that we don't necessarily need to all do the same thing. Some might wish to dwell longer in one place vs. riding out and back increasing their travel costs. Regarding Cary, I'll make that the official transfer point since that is how Amtrak will ticket you unless you are fancy with your own reservations and really want to go to Raleigh. I looked at Florida tonight, and it is possible that a middle ground can be reached between spending 13 hours in Jacksonville, and going south of there. If we were to remain on the Silver Meteor (#97) to Winter Park or Orlando, we could turn and take the northbound Silver Meteor (#98) back to Jacksonville. The dwell in ORL is 40 minutes, and WPK 1 hour 25 minutes. Of course delays are always possible, but the next station north Deland, yields almost 3 hours wait, which is probably too long. #98 would get you back to JAX at 4:48 PM. Since #92 leaves JAX at 10:57 PM, you still have over 6 hours (assuming everything's on time). That should be more than enough time to take the bus downtown, ride the Skyway, have dinner at the Landing, and return to Amtrak by bus. Something to consider.....


Kevin Korell


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#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 06 March 2013 - 10:01 PM

I've got 3 names so far including my own, so it should be a nice easy Fest to report on. Once again there are points of discussion that aren't happening. This is a group effort, and you've got to help me help you make this event go smoothly. If I end up making the final decisions myself, it may cause those who have already made travel plans to have to change them. Several choices were presented, and without your input on them it's impossible to gauge what people prefer to do. Some work on each potential participant's part is needed to see what you can do from both a financial and practical standpoint. I hope to see more interest in this by next week.


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#6 GG-1

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Posted 06 March 2013 - 10:31 PM

I've got 3 names so far including my own, so it should be a nice easy Fest to report on.

Once again there are points of discussion that aren't happening. This is a group effort, and you've got to help me help you make this event go smoothly. If I end up making the final decisions myself, it may cause those who have already made travel plans to have to change them. Several choices were presented, and without your input on them it's impossible to gauge what people prefer to do.

Some work on each potential participant's part is needed to see what you can do from both a financial and practical standpoint. I hope to see more interest in this by next week.

Aloha

Disappointing to read this. Only reason you haven't heard from me is the lack of money so it is unlikely I will make it, even though the cities are interesting.

Mahalo for your planing Kevin.

Eric

#7 KevinKorell

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Posted 07 March 2013 - 12:28 AM

Today's updates:
  • Created original participant list.
  • "Links" pages were created for Jacksonville, Charlotte, and Norfolk. One already existed for Washington, DC from previous visits. One of the links will take you to that city's Visitors Bureau, so you can get more information on hotels (outside the scope of those on my list), restaurants, attractions, and more.
Minor itinerary changes:
  • In Charlotte, moved dinner location from Carolina Pavilions to Uptown Charlotte based on information collected on advance trip. Adjusted light rail return trip accordingly.
  • Transfer point from Silver Star to Piedmont is Cary, NC only. Raleigh removed. Lunch in Cary added.
  • Changed calling times for Regional #66 at Newport News and Washington, DC to reflect train running later as of January 14th timetable change. Also added Alexandria, VA as a detraining stop for some who will be staying in Northern Virginia.
The next itinerary change will be removal of the Train 95 option via Newport News unless anyone indicates they wish to travel that way. Assuming all want to take the new Train 125 directly to Norfolk. Will make this change once more plans are known.


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#8 saxman

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Posted 07 March 2013 - 11:45 AM

I think I'd rather wait in Raleigh then Cary. Unless there is something to do in Cary. I've never been to Cary, and was only in Raleigh very briefly. For Norfolk, I'd rather ride the new train. I've done the Richmond layover before, and there is also a grocery store that has meals to go there. They also have wifi in the station from what I remember.

Edited by saxman, 07 March 2013 - 11:47 AM.


#9 KevinKorell

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Posted 07 March 2013 - 12:08 PM

I think I'd rather wait in Raleigh then Cary. Unless there is something to do in Cary. I've never been to Cary, and was only in Raleigh very briefly.

For Norfolk, I'd rather ride the new train. I've done the Richmond layover before, and there is also a grocery store that has meals to go there. They also have wifi in the station from what I remember.

The Wifi at Richmond-Staples Mill is not free, it can be purchased from the one vendor in the station who also sells small groceries and candy.


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#10 BillMagee

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Posted 07 March 2013 - 04:58 PM

I think I'd rather wait in Raleigh then Cary. Unless there is something to do in Cary. I've never been to Cary, and was only in Raleigh very briefly.

For Norfolk, I'd rather ride the new train. I've done the Richmond layover before, and there is also a grocery store that has meals to go there. They also have wifi in the station from what I remember.

That store is Martin's, formerly Ukrop's. It is right next to the Richmond Staples Mill station. The cafe in the store used to have great meals and sandwiches, some table seating, plus free wifi.

Our daughter went to the University of Richmond, and Ukrop's was her dining location of choice when she was tired of the on-campus fare (which was pretty much all the time). I have not tried it since it changed from Ukrop's to Martins, but it used to be a great place to get some better and healthier stuff than typical fast food offerings.




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