Just in case of a situation where we might not have our planned trains running, we should think about possible alternate ideas in case we cannot do what is on the itinerary. The service suspensions announced today for this Saturday 1/7 in Virginia are food for thought; but hopefully the weather will be better the following week. With regards to the Cardinal round trip on Sunday 1/15, we will watch the performance of both 51 and 50, and we can expect to proceed as long as things are not cancelled or severely delayed in either direction. However backup plans should be considered beforehand. If 51 is very late but 50 is on time, perhaps getting off at Culpeper (the stop before) could be an alternative. If 51 is close to schedule but 50 is very late, Charlottesville is a nice walkable town (weather permitting) but if anyone is in a hurry to get back to Washington or other points going home, there is a Thruway bus CVS-WAS in the afternoon that one can book in conjunction with a train trip.
Of course if weather does cause the Cardinal or the Saturday trains any problems, there could be impacts on other routes as well.
Thoughts??
