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[KevinKorell]

Our trip from Utica to Toronto on Amtrak Maple Leaf Train #63 is the topic for this thread, as well as arrival into Toronto.

[KevinKorell]

Day 2 of our TRF event is over.  It began in Utica, where we walked from our hotel to the Amtrak station. Bruce left us and went back east on an Empire Service train about an hour before ours.  Three of us went west on the Maple Leaf towards Toronto.  Our train left Utica at 12:16, 13 minutes late.  The stop is one of few in New York State that still has low level platforms, so the dwell time could have been reduced a little.   Soon after departure we were informed by the crew that there were heat related slow orders across the rest of the state, so we would be losing time as we went along.

 

Between Rochester and Buffalo, those slow orders were lifted as the temperature had gone down. But the damage was done as we ended up about 55 minutes late by the two Buffalo stations.  In Buffalo we were handed our declaration forms to fill out for the CBSA border inspection process.  We were joined by Mike Hammond boarding at Buffalo Exchange Street, again bringing our travelling party to 4.At Niagara Falls, we made our New York stop and then crossed over the border into Canada. 

 

We had to detrain with our luggage and answer the CBSA's questions. All of us passed. Then we had to go around the building and enter the station to wait with originating passengers to re-board.  Once on the train we took the same seats we had before.  And despite the train arriving so late, with its VIA Rail crew aboard we departed at 6:10 PM, on time.

 

The jog through Ontario, roughly 2 hours, went quickly.  We were only a minute late into Toronto Union Station, arriving 8:07 PM. So ended our intercity travel for the day. But the adventure was not over.

 

Now we had to find our way through the maze that is Union Station, looking for Presto machines to buy our fares for the next three days.  Once we found them, then we had to figure out how to use them.  Nevertheless, we made it to the intended UP Express train at 8:30 PM, matching our itinerary.  We got to the airport at 8:55 PM.  Now we had to figure out the airport and where to go to get our respective hotel shuttles.  It was quite a walk, and then a wait once we got to the pickup location. By 9:30 PM we were all safely in our hotels and prepared to rest after a long day of travel, knowing the Fest is 1/3 over but there is still plenty more to do!

[KevinKorell]

Fest itinerary updated showing actual times for Monday & Tuesday travels.