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ACRF/Post-Fest thoughts


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 20 July 2013 - 01:57 PM

Once again we accomplished a very successful summer Fest event. Smaller group than usual, but I'm glad everyone who made it was able to do so. There is always a level of nervousness that connections could be missed, rendering at least some parts of the itinerary unattainable. But Amtrak and the host freight railroads cooperated. Given that there were heat related speed restrictions much of the week, we did not do poorly with our timekeeping. The worst overall Amtrak delay was #125 into Norfolk (one hour 25 minutes late), but the only downside to that was riding the new trackage east of Petersburg in the dark. Participants varied their activities along with the Fest. Some made the Fest a part of a longer cross country train trip, while our destinations and origins in Florida and North Carolina were not all the same. We conquered everything we set out to do, namely riding the Piedmont, getting the new trackage to Norfolk (and for some, the "old" trackage on the Newport News route was new to them as well), Jacksonville JTA Skyway, Charlotte CATS LYNX light rail, and Norfolk HRT TIDE light rail. Hope everyone is looking forward to the Rockies RailFest next summer. There seems to be a lot of interest particularly in Salt Lake City. We'll also come to decisions in time on what to do in the winter. Thanks again to everyone who came to the Fest for all or part of the events, and especially those who helped out in the planning and sharing of documentation over the week before the Fest began.


Kevin Korell


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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 20 July 2013 - 02:17 PM

ACRF BY THE NUMBERS =============== Most popular first name: Joe (2) Shortest last names: Joe, and Joe tied Longest distance travelled: Chris Wyatt Number of people who went wire to wire -- that is, any part of Train 97(14) to start, through any part of Train 80(19) to end: 4 Male: 10 Female: 2 By home state: NJ almost always wins --- 3 IL comes in second with 2 The other 7 people are the sole representative from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, and Texas. More numbers and superlatives related to mileage can be derived from Bill's Fest Amtrak mileage listing.


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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 July 2013 - 01:26 AM

MORE ACRF BY THE NUMBERS =================== Breaking participation down by day and events: Sunday: # of people aboard Amtrak #97(14): 6. 3 boarded at NYP, 1 at PHL, 2 at WAS. Monday morning: Of the 6 who arrived in Florida, 4 detrained #97 in JAX, 2 in WPK. Monday: 4 people rode the Jacksonville Skyway. Monday evening: Total # of people who were on Amtrak #92(15): 11. 1 boarded in TPA, 3 boarded in ORL, 2 boarded in WPK, and 5 boarded in JAX. Tuesday: Of the 11 on Train #92, 8 detrained at CYN, 1 detrained at RGH, 1 detrained at WAS, and 1 detrained at BAL. Tuesday: One of the 8 who got off #92 in CYN then took #80(16) to RGH. Tuesday: Total participants who rode Amtrak #75(16): 9. Of the 9, 2 boarded in RGH, 7 boarded in CYN. All rode to CLT. Tuesday evening: All 9 participants in Charlotte rode the LYNX light rail. 8 boarded at 3rd Street/Convention Center, rode north to 7th Street, and then turned around and rode the entire line south to the end. 1 boarded at Woodlawn joining us southbound. At the south end of the line, 2 left to have dinner there, while the other 7 returned north to Uptown, getting off at CTC/Arena. The first 2 returned Uptown after eating. Wednesday morning through early afternoon: 8 participants rode Amtrak #80(17) CLT-RVR. Same 8 had early dinner in Richmond. Wednesday evening: A total of 9 participants rode Amtrak #125(17). 1 boarded in WAS, 8 boarded in RVR. Upon arrival at NFK, 6 took taxis to downtown hotels, 3 took TIDE light rail to Newtown Road for hotels there. Thursday: Same 9 participants rode TIDE light rail, took Thruway bus #6066, and Amtrak Train #66(18) from Newport News. Of the 9 people on #66, 2 detrained at ALX, 6 detrained at WAS, and 1 remained on all the way to BOS. Friday: 6 people were involved in the VRE #301 & Amtrak #80(19) rides. 5 of the 6 were returning from previous days. All boarded VRE in WAS and rode to FBG. Same 6 were on Train #80 from FBG. 2 detrained at ALX, 1 detrained at WIL, 1 detrained at TRE, and 2 detrained at NYP. So therefore the peak involvement happened early, namely Monday night into Tuesday morning between JAX and CYN when we had 11 people on the Silver Star. How interesting would things be if people weren't continuously coming and going?


Kevin Korell


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#4 steve4031

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Posted 25 July 2013 - 11:14 AM

Spent 4 hours at work (2 hours yesterday, 2 today) and I've had enough. Ready for the next fest. And some points run.

#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 July 2013 - 12:14 PM

Ready for the next fest.

25 weeks until the winter one, roughly 51 weeks until next summer's trip.


Kevin Korell


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