For the winter in January 2018, my first choice would be a return to Boston. What would keep us from that is if they don't finish the double tracking project (supposed to be done later this year) on the upper Downeaster route allowing for ALL round trips to get to Brunswick, and thus permitting a trip for us to go up to Brunswick in the morning and back to Boston in the afternoon. MBTA related activity would include a ride on the Fitchburg Line, now that there is an extension to Wachusett. The other line which might be interesting to re-do is the Fairmount Line, which has seen new stations built and older ones renovated. It's a short line that runs only to Readville.
Second choice if Boston does not pan out this year would be New York. There's the Second Avenue Subway to 96th Street, and I also think it would be neat for those who have not yet seen them to walk through the Fulton Center subway station and the nearby WTC Transportation Center (also known as the Oculus).
As it is now Fall and about time to begin the planning process for January, my thoughts above still apply. While I favor a Boston RailFest as it would logically be next among the cities we usually visit on the East Coast in the winter, two things have recently come to light.
First, that double tracking project, known as the Royal Junction Siding Project, was expected to be completed by year's end. I've been bothered by the lack of any positive info, or for that matter, any information at all. It has been discovered however on the website of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (the agency that administers the Downeaster) that there very well may have been some date slippage. On this page is an update of status, and in the very last sentence it appears the project will not be done until sometime in 2018.
The second issue is the Fairmount Line, which has a few things going on. Currently, one of the aforementioned new stations (Blue Hill Avenue) is under construction. This necessitates bustitution of the southern end of the already short line beyond Morton Street. It is not known how long this situation will be in effect, but the station is not scheduled to open until 2019. Also, the entire line is supposed to be shut down on weekends starting next month (November) for PTC installation. It is not known how long that shutdown may last, but it's another reason for worry.
So that would leave, among my goals for Boston, only Wauchusett. We need therefore to look elsewhere and could do Boston a year later, provided things are in better shape the following year.
Once more as I mentioned above, there are a few new things in New York City to see, including the two nearby transit centers in Lower Manhattan, and the Second Avenue Subway. I have written a new New York Rail Fest that would take in those features, as well as PATH, Amtrak, and Metro North. The Amtrak and Metro North trips would be built around Saturday dinner outside the city as we did in early 2016. Finally, in a replay of 2002, a full day tour of the elevated subway lines of the Bronx.
So again, what I prefer and what might really happen may be two different things. A decision should be coming soon. At least you can have an idea of what either option might bring.
