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OTOL Toronto RailFest Days 3, 4, 5, & 6


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 20 July 2004 - 01:17 PM

The OTOL Toronto RailFest 2004 event is now in the history books, right alongside so many other gatherings over the years.

All 13 of those involved had a blast as many of us rode every rail line possible to ride in the city of Toronto. Most of the segments that we missed for whatever reason were later picked up by impromptu after-dinner Fests not in our itinerary.

Those who left town on Monday's MAPLE LEAF out of Toronto had quite an adventure, as we were delayed a total of three hours by CSX freight trains, dark signals due to a thunder storm, the US Border Patrol, and even a ship.

Michael and I got off that train in Albany, past the time we should have been in New York City, stayed in a hotel and returned this morning. Unfortunately, Train 250 was not using Turbo equipment, but regular Amfleet I's. :angry:

Don't hold your breath, but a full report is forthcoming sometime. :blink:

Edited by KevinKorell, 20 July 2004 - 07:28 PM.


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#2 jis

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Posted 20 July 2004 - 05:20 PM

After arriving at Penn Station a little under three hours late, I managed to dash across onto the 12:43am NEC NJTransit train and got off at Newark Penn Station, from where I took a cab home. The last Midtown Direct from NYP, which I had planned to take had already departed NY Penn at 11:45pm causing my budget for the trip to be somewhat enhanced by the taxi fare instead of the NJTransit fare. But made it back home safe and sound around 1:25am. Jishnu.

#3 RailHaRRy

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Posted 22 July 2004 - 04:59 PM

As Fest participants know, on 7/19 I intended to get off #64 in Syracuse (SYR), have dinner there, perhaps ride the LRV there, then take #49 to Chicago. But with #64 already 3 hours late as we approached Rochester (ROC), I (and Brad Smith who had a similar itinerary planned) detrained there. I understand that #64 did get to SYR before #49, but not with much time to spare. Meanwhile I had a Standard Bedroom reserved on #49 and feared it would be given away. So I ask the station agent in ROC to call SYR and ask the agent there to alert the conductor about my situation. The ROC agent did that, and I heard him do it. BUT, when I boarded #49 the crew was just about to give away my room (and had no other available rooms). Whew. Anyway, I was not at all surprised to learn that the SYR agent never contacted the conductor; actually I'd have been surprised if he had. More later about my travels to and from Toronto in a report to be posted on our web site along with other Toronto Rail Fest reports.
Regards, HaRRy, San Diego
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#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 22 July 2004 - 06:01 PM

As Fest participants know, on 7/19 I intended to get off #64 in Syracuse (SYR), have dinner there, perhaps ride the LRV there, then take #49 to Chicago.

Had you made it to Syracuse, you would not have been able to ride the "LRV" (actually a commuter rail line operated with a Budd car) because OnTrack does not operate on Mondays or Tuesdays. :(

I understand that #64 did get to SYR before #49, but not with much time to spare.

Well, 283 was in Syracuse just before we got there (the two trains passed adjacent to the mall parking lot). Your Train 49 was in Utica when 64 got there, and in fact both trains did their station work at the same time. A replacement conductor came off 49 at Utica to ensure that 64 would make it to Albany without the conductor that boarded in Niagara Falls outlawing.

So your "time to spare" in Syracuse would have been roughly twice the time it takes one train to go from Utica to Syracuse, or about two hours. That might still have given you enough time to take a cab to the mall for a quick dinner before returning to the station.


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#5 RailHaRRy

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Posted 23 July 2004 - 03:11 PM

One more item about my return trip. #49 was about 25 minutes late in Rochester when I boarded, but in fact we were only 11 minutes late (i.e., officially "on time") in Chicago. Some sort of record for the Late For Sure Limited. :lol:
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#6 jis

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Posted 26 July 2004 - 05:33 PM

One more item about my return trip.  #49 was about 25 minutes late in Rochester when I boarded, but in fact we were only 11 minutes late (i.e., officially "on time") in Chicago.  Some sort of record for the Late For Sure Limited.  :lol:

If you are lucky enough not to get tied into NS knots around Elkhart/South Bend, and you were less than 45 mins late into Indiana, this unusual thing does happen. Each time I have been delayed unreasonably on a Westbound LSL it was because of a delayed arrival (> 1hr) into Indiana and then getting tied into NS knots in the Elkhart/South bend area.




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