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New, fresh thread following completion of our Winter 2019 event, which took place technically in the Spring. Time to discuss what is next, based on similar discussion here on the board.
At this writing, visits to the cities of El Paso, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Fort Worth, Milwaukee, Detroit, Toronto, and Montreal are all fair game as they either were never visited before, never visited before but have newly started transit lines, or have been visited before but have transit lines that opened since we were there last.
And so I had two ideas for the Summer 2019 event. One would be a return to Canada to visit both Toronto and Montreal, riding streetcar, subway, and commuter rail lines that were not available during the 2004 and 2006 Fests. In addition, a return to Canada would make for one more use of the passport I obtained in 2010 before our Vancouver visit; they are good for 10 years so this would be the last year of its validity. In addition, side trips to Waterloo Region (Kitchener) and Ottawa could be part of this, but those are pending the opening of new light rail lines that at the present time have not yet gone into service. Being further to the north, Canada could still be done at our conventional summer Fest time in mid-July.
The second idea was to go back to Texas once more (and side trip to Oklahoma). This trip would take in the new streetcars in El Paso, TX and Oklahoma City, OK, the new TexRail commuter rail in Fort Worth, and also include a stop in Little Rock, AR to ride that city's existing streetcar. I had also included a stop in St. Louis to do the Delmar Loop Trolley, but I have backed off that thought as there's enough to do already. St. Louis could be part of yet another Fest that might focus on the Midwest and also take in streetcars in Milwaukee and Detroit. Given that this group is getting older and has been through a few uncomfortable Texas summers, I would not do such a journey in July but would rather opt for Spring or late Summer/early Fall.
Among the regulars who were present at the recent New York-Massachusetts RailFest, we had a discussion over dinner in Rochester. Since our Winter RailFest had been postponed to March, a meet in May would have come too soon. The month of May might also be bad for me with all the personal responsibilities on my plate. Our discussion favored the Canada idea, but continuing to do so in July.
There are possible Future Fest itineraries on my personal website, but they need to be refined so please don't make any plans yet. GO TRANSIT in the Toronto area, for example, is greatly expanding its service next week, and with it comes not only different destinations for midday trains but also new train numbers.
So as of now, we can expect a Canada trip in July of 2019, Boston in January of 2020, and likely a longer trip based on the Texas Eagle and Heartland Flyer in probably May of 2020.
I will start a Fest specific thread for the Canada trip separate from this general one, so please direct that discussion there.
