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Fest update 10/3/08


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 October 2008 - 05:33 PM

Here is an update of the Boston "T" Party RailFest 2008 event, which will open 5 weeks from today.

In the past few days, I have gotten a few more e-mail confirmations that people will be attending, and I have updated the guest list accordingly. Please, if you would like to attend but have not already done so, contact me by e-mail and let me know whether you can join us on Friday, Saturday, or both days.

Those who have researched hotels have found that as is typical in New England, hotel rates are quite high for the dates in question. You may find things more reasonable in such places as Worcester and Lowell, but when you factor in all of the rail round trips you will need to make between there and Boston, it may pay to splurge a little for something closer to the city.

You may find that our Saturday travels seem redundant. The Commuter Rail Newburyport and Rockport Lines are one and the same as far as Beverley Depot. Unfortunately, the timetable is not convenient for people to ride one line, and then switch at Beverley for the other. So it's going to be 2 complete round trips in one day over the same trackage between North Station and Beverley.

If our Saturday activities seem to be overwith early, we may wish to do a "moonlight" run on the Matappan trolley. Many of us have not ridden it since it was closed for over a year while its stations were refurbished. This could take place before or after dinner, which itself has been left open to discussion in person. Regardless of when we might take this trip, keep in mind it will be dark in at least one direction.

I took a fact-finding advance trip to Boston earlier this week. High on the list was to check out the restaurant choices around North Station/TD BankNorth Garden. With the demise of the elevated Green Line came the demise of some of the food establishments along Causeway Street. However, new ones are slowly replacing them. Inside North Station, a few new places have opened utilizing the expanded waiting room. The updated listing is here.

Another thing I checked out was Bowdoin. I rode the Blue Line segment between Government Center and Bowdoin on an old, dilapidated 4-car Blue Line train. That exercise did not take up too much of my time. Assuming that the entire fleet of new cars (in 6-car configuration) is not deployed in the next 5 weeks (thus resulting in the closure of Bowdoin), we will detrain at an island platform, and then board the same train we just got off after it runs around the loop.

Finally, I checked out the area around Prudential Center, site of Friday's dinner. Because this mixed use complex sits just beyond the point where the "E" Green Line splits from the trunk line, there are many different means to access this area. The Prudential station on the "E" line has direct access to the complex, but it is on the opposite end from the food court. The Hynes Convention Center station on the trunk line ("B", "C", and "D") is a closer walk to the food court, albeit outdoors. The Copley station, served by all 4 Green Line branches, also requires a walk outdoors and is a little bit more of a walk. Finally, one can walk from Back Bay Station, through the upscale mall Copley Square, and then into Prudential without ever going outside by using passageways under and over the streets.

Our itinerary will be subject to slight change later this month when the general timetable updates become known.

Further updates to follow!

Edited by KevinKorell, 03 October 2008 - 06:02 PM.


Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ





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