12 replies to this topic

[jis]

Yes I was aware that there are no hotels in the vicinity of the St. Albans station, and that is why the hotel listing I have for SAB is out of the ordinary, since none of the hotels fit the criteria of being near a train. Listing is here.

If I am to believe the taxi driver, I would take the Cadillac Motel off the list, unless you want people to re-experience the hotel in Braintree. OTOH, I suppose people should be given the choice to try it out. Amtrak crew stays at the La Quinta. The Econo Lodge is fine too. I stayed there.

[KevinKorell]

Although there was no organized discussion at the OTOL Florida Fest regarding what we are doing in the future, some of us did talk individually. Here are the plans for the next year. Accent on the word "plans", since things can change between now and then.

Friday-Saturday, August 22-23, 2008: Garden State RailFest 2008 (NJT Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, & Atlantic City Lines, SEPTA R3 Elwyn)

Friday-Saturday, November 7-8, 2008: Boston "T" Party 2008 (MBTA Blue Line to Bowdoin, Red Line to Alewife, and the Newburyport, Rockport, Fitchburg, and Worcester Lines)

Friday-Saturday-Sunday, January 16-17-18, 2009: Metro New York RailFest 2009 (AirTrain Newark, NJT Raritan Valley Line, Shore Line East, MNRR Hudson and New Haven Lines)

Based on some conversations I've recently had with some of you regarding Boston and New York, the following changes have been made:

• Lowell Line round trip has been dropped from BTP 2008. The connection time after arrival from Rockport was too tight. Ending the entire Fest before 4 PM will allow people to leave town on Northeast Regionals 167 or 169 that evening. Riding this line would have been at dusk anyhow, with the return trip in darkness. Lowell Line (which we have covered as far as Wilmington south of the cutoff for the Wildcat branch) will be done on a future visit to Boston.
• Hempstead Branch trip has been dropped from MNY 2009. The connections from Metro North to the #7 subway at Grand Central and from the #7 to LIRR at Woodside were too tight. However in its place, we will instead take advantage of the new Shore Line East service on weekends between New Haven and Old Saybrook. Hempstead Branch will be done on a future visit to the New York area.

Again very TENTATIVE, what I would like to do at this point over the next 6 or 7 years 5 months is reflected on a Fest Calendar.

Edited by KevinKorell, 04 September 2008 - 11:45 PM.

[KevinKorell]

Tentative dates for SoCal Fest 2009 are Wednesday, July 15 through Tuesday, July 28 (total 14 days)

Based on research after the Florida Fest took place, and the realization that we could get shut out of any RailRunner riding if we arrive late into ABQ on a Saturday, I have created a whole new itinerary that is bascially two days earlier (made necessary by the thrice-weekly nature of the Sunset Limited). The alternate plan would have us in ABQ on a Thursday, which would give us Friday morning as a makeup if we missed riding on Thursday. Also I was not 100% definite on the service offered on Saturdays, particularly on the new extension to Santa Fe. There will be no Sunday service on the existing or extended RailRunner.

Option 2, the alternative schedule for now, is becoming increasingly popular the more who have seen it. This version would begin on Monday, July 13 and run through Sunday, July 26 (still 14 days).

What this does to California is to shift things ahead 2 days as well. We would now arrive into LAX on a Friday, and then the only scheduled activity (in case we are a few hours late) is a round trip on the Ventura County Line to Moorpark. What I had for Sunday before, I left on Sunday on the alternate itinerary, because the San Pedro cars run on weekends, as does the Metro and the bus between Long Beach and San Pedro. Because Saturday and Sunday do not contain as much Metrolink service as weekdays, two round trips had to be made expendable. What was eliminated from this trip were rides on parts of the 91 Line and parts of the Orange County Line. The 91 Line is duplicated by the Southwest Chief from Los Angeles to San Bernardino, and the Orange County Line is duplicated by Pacific Surfliners from Los Angeles to Oceanside. So you'll get that trackage on Amtrak but won't ride commuter rail over some portions. And when riding the IEOC line, we will ride it in places where it covers parts of the 91 and Orange County lines too.

I have also juggled San Diego around a bit so that we do most of the riding of the San Diego Trolley in the morning of the following day rather than the day we arrive. Only the Bayfront segment of the Orange Line, which encircles downtown San Diego, remains on the first day's schedule. I figure somewhere in the Gaslamp District we can find a place to have dinner. In addition, I switched our SAN departure on the Pacific Surfliner from 12:00 Noon to about an hour and a half later. This would put us at Los Angeles Union Station for a more comfortable waiting time in the first class lounge. And should we be severely delayed coming up from San Diego, there is always Fullerton rather than dog-legging into L.A.

You can compare the two itineraries here: http://pages.prodigy...n/itinsocal.htm

Edited by KevinKorell, 14 August 2008 - 01:03 AM.