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Announcing New England RailFest 2013


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 18 November 2012 - 04:20 PM

Officially announcing New England RailFest 2013 event, which will take place over the MLK weekend in January. The dates are January 18th and 19th, which are a Friday and Saturday. Nothing yet has been developed for Sunday the 20th. The group may be smaller by then as some people start for home, but enough still in town may still wish the make the weekend more worthwhile.

The past two winter Fests in the New York/Connecticut and Philadelphia areas have been by request. Sunday can take on that element as well, given the new faces in the group who may wish to do something that they didn't get to do in the Boston area when we had Fests in 2002, 2007, and 2008. Anything is fair game, from trolleys to heavy rail to commuter rail to Amtrak. I'll start a separate thread on potential Sunday activities where you can list your suggestions.

Here is the tentative itinerary as it stands now. Certainly it can be refined within the next 2 months. The NERF homepage with other useful information is here.

As mentioned earlier, while the new trackage of the Downeaster to Brunwsick is enticing, it would involve either a 5+ hour daytime layover, or staying in Brunswick, Freeport, or Portland overnight. Given the early darkness of Winter, and potential cold, snowy, and/or windy conditions, I think this would be enjoyed more if we did it at a later time (in warmer weather). A much shorter Downeaster trip as far as Wells is possible with a 40-minute turnaround. And we would board the Downeaster at Anderson Station in Woburn, with a 40-minute turnaround after the Lowell run, since time would not allow us to go all the way back to North Station.

I will extract and move previous discussion involving the NERF event to this forum, so it can be viewed in one place.

Meanwhile, with two months to go, please start looking at hotels in the Boston area, at very least for the nights of Thursday 1/17, and Friday, 1/18. You may also wish to extend things to Saturday night 1/19 as well. My current intentions are to remain in town Sunday night as well, going home Monday morning.

Please also e-mail me your intentions to participate (or not), and which days you will be with the group (including potentially Sunday 1/20.... how many people are there may determine whether we do any group activities that day). The only way I will add your name to the guest list is via e-mail, so it can be kept all in one place. This disqualifies posts to this board, Chat, personal messages via the board, phone calls, text messages, social media, and any other ways you find to communicate. For those who don't have my e-mail address, you can still do it via the board by clicking on my name in any of my 41,000+ posts, and then "send an e-mail".

Finally a disclaimer. While officially announcing the dates, everything remains tentative until the moment we set foot on and off those trains. Should plans have to be changed at a late time, I don't want anyone to lose money on non-cancellable reservations. So please make your arrangements accordingly. As we learned recently from Sandy, events can happen that alter our lives and the transportation providers' abilities to operate. Weather is not controllable, and while we have been lucky so far over the past 12 years of Fests in January, remember that it IS Winter, it IS New England, and severe conditions could change the course of our plans. Closer to the time I will compile an emergency contact list so that if things change at the very last moment we can communicate.


Kevin Korell


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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 18 November 2012 - 04:33 PM

Boston restaurants near train stations
Boston hotels near train stations


Kevin Korell


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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 22 November 2012 - 03:14 PM

Just as a suggestion to some, if a Thursday evening stay in addition to the other nights is problematic, you could make your way into Boston on Friday. You would miss the Kingston/Plymouth Line turn, which has been done before, but you could take a Regional or Acela that would get to Boston before 1:40 PM or Providence before 2:54 PM to join us on the Wickford Junction trip.


Kevin Korell


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#4 nashscan

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Posted 25 November 2012 - 09:49 PM

unfortunately the cost of transportation and lodging has prevented me from attending this year. Hope everyone has a great time.
Preston from Nashville

Nashville needs Amtrak!

#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 07:20 PM

Itinerary has now been updated to accommodate 2 things we have discussed for a few weeks.

For Friday, it appears that all are in favor of taking Amtrak Regional #137 from Boston to Providence. We will then take MBTA from Providence to Wickford Junction, and then MBTA all the way from Wickford Junction to Boston. What was the "alternative itinerary" is now the only one. This does not mean you can't still take MBTA all the way if you wish.

And with several options of what to do on Sunday, and based on the fact that all but 2 of the current 18 people on the list will be able to participate at least part of that day, the option to do all rapid transit activities has been chosen. This will give those who need to leave Boston sometime on Sunday the opportunity to do at least some of the group activities before going their separate ways. The options to ride commuter rail would not have allowed them to do this.

The Sunday all-transit option, which involves riding all available branches of the Red and Green Lines, has now been appended to the main itinerary.

So in review, you will need get fares for the following Amtrak trips (in addition to your personal travel) if you haven't already reserved them:

Friday 1/18/13: Northeast Regional #137 BOS-PVD
Saturday 1/19/13: Downeaster #693 WOB-WEM
Saturday 1/19/13: Downeaster #694 WEM-BON

Within the next day or so, the fares page will be up so you can plan on how much you will spend on commuter rail and rapid transit during the Fest.

Edited by KevinKorell, 19 December 2012 - 07:28 PM.


Kevin Korell


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#6 steve4031

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 10:21 PM

If I'm coming up on 2154 I need to get off at providence to avoid a right connection. I think back bay is cutting it close.

#7 AlanB

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 10:40 PM

Steve, You could also look at Route 128, that would increase the connection times by about 40 minutes I expect over BBY.
Alan,

Take care and take trains!

#8 KevinKorell

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Posted 19 December 2012 - 11:08 PM

If I'm coming up on 2154 I need to get off at providence to avoid a right connection. I think back bay is cutting it close.

Really. It's the right connections I try to make.

But the fare's the same to BOS, BBY, or RTE, so it won't matter where among those stations you need to connect. And I suspect you'd pay for Boston anyhow even if going to PVD to get your 750 points.


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#9 steve4031

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Posted 20 December 2012 - 02:51 AM

Obviously I meant a tight connection. It would be about 8 minutes. Ticketed to Boston. Of course Part of me wants the most time on the acela. How much is a regional ticket bby-providence?

#10 KevinKorell

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Posted 20 December 2012 - 11:41 AM

Same as BOS-PVD. Depends on when you book it and what's available. I think the advance time for the $11 tickets has expired, so now it's $15, minus AAA or NARP discounts. It could be higher at the last minute.


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