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Announcing OTOL New York Area RailFest 2018


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 23 November 2017 - 02:26 AM

Announcing New York Area RailFest 2018 (NYRF)

 
Our next Winter event will be the OTOL New York Area RailFest 2018, which will go by the acronym of NYRF.  Weekend dates will be Saturday, January 13th and Sunday, January 14th.  As usual this will be over the Martin Luther King weekend,  which usually works out well for everyone -- and hotel rates in the city usually remain reasonable.  We might be able to throw in a Friday night activity if enough people wish to do it, and on Monday if enough are in the city and want to ride more trains, that is possible as well.
 
The goals of this Fest are as follows:

  • Ride subways throughout the Bronx and upper Manhattan (re-living much of what was done during the AppleFest 2002 event 16 years ago)
  • Visit newer stations in lower Manhattan (Fulton Transit Center and World Trade Center Oculus)
  • Ride the Second Avenue Subway
  • Ride some Amtrak and MTA Metro North, utilizing both Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal

Much of the planned activities have been done before, but by a far different group of people as we have lost and gained members over the years.  

 

For those who might ask, what happened to plans for Boston this time around?   Two issues have surfaced to work against Boston.  First, it has been confirmed with the Downeaster's operating agency, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) that the building of Royal Junction Siding in Maine, which would allow all 5 round trips to travel to & from Brunswick, will not be completed until the end of 2018. This would prohibit us from making a day trip up to Brunswick and back with a decent layover time (it is now too long and would get us back well past dinnertime).  The second issue is uncertainty over the work being done on the commuter rail Fairmount Line, which I also felt was ready for us to ride once more as it has been improved including brand new stations.  As things turn out, a station at Blue Hill Avenue is still under construction, which sometimes necessitates terminating and originating trains at an intermediate station with substitute bus for the outermost stations. A new timetable just went into effect on November 20th, and while it does say that trains will operate over the entire line most weekends, there is still a possibility that work being done can require last minute bus substitution. Rather than take that risk, and coupled with the Downeaster issue, New York was chosen for this time around. Hopefully by January 2019, the Royal Junction Siding will be completed, and the station work on the Fairmount Line will be further along making full rail service more certain.  Of course the Fitchburg Line extension to Wachusett will still await us.

 

This is the homepage for this Fest.  An easy link to the itinerary (which always remains tentative until we set foot on the trains) is here. Note that late announcement of weekend service disruptions might require last minute updates.  Transit cost pages will be forthcoming.

 

Other needed pages pertinent to this Fest will be done within the next few weeks. 
 
So far this is what most participants will need:
 

Amtrak

  • Your own travel plans need to be made to get you to and from New York.  Some may choose to fly or get to/from the area by means other than Amtrak.
  • The "official" trips on our itinerary include Train #283 New York City to Croton-Harmon, and Train #165 New Rochelle to New York City on Saturday.  Discounted "Saver" fares may still be available on some trains.
  • Any other Amtrak trips you choose to make within the area, such as on Friday or Monday.

Hotels

  • Hotel(s) of your choice within the New York City/North Jersey area. Remember you will need to allow enough time to travel to the start point at Herald Square on Saturday morning or at Penn Station Sunday morning. So you therefore may wish to stay in the area beginning Friday, January 12th.

Meals

  • Breakfasts are usually at one's hotel and eaten on one's own before they arrive at the Fest initial meeting point.
  • Lunch on Saturday will be somewhere in the general area around Penn Station.
  • Dinner on Saturday will be part of the Metro North/Amtrak run to New Rochelle, namely Texas Roadhouse about one block from the station.  They should have something that appeals to everyone.
  • Lunch on Sunday will be in Harlem, in the area around Lexington Avenue/125th Street.  There are many chain fast food locations in the area.
  • Dinner on Sunday for those who have not yet gone home may be determined by whoever remains together by that time.

To attend, all you need to do is contact me BY E-MAIL to let me know you are attending, and please state Saturday, Sunday, or both.   I cannot accept any other means (such as chat mention, board post, phone call, etc.), as all my information needs to be kept in one place.
 
Fest information tends to play to 2 audiences because some parties do not regularly visit this board.  I will send out one e-mail to past Fest participants and those who frequent this board, and then from that point on, all updates regarding NYRF will be posted here only. It is up to those interested to visit this board to get important updates as they will inevitably happen.
 
Closer to the event, a confidential contact list will be created as has been done in the past, to be able to call one another should an emergency or other sudden change of plans arise during the Fest weekend. The list will also contain everyone's hotel plans, which will be known by then. Please do NOT send me hotel plans at this time, as other elements of the weekend are still being put together. When ready to put out the list, I will let you know when to e-mail me your information.
 
In the coming days, earlier threads of interest about NYRF 2018 will be moved to this forum.  More updates to come!



Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 23 November 2017 - 03:21 AM

Just some extra notes to elaborate on the proposed itinerary:

 

The walking distance is no more than a few blocks in the area through the Oculus and to Fulton Transit Center.  I would expect from past experience that rather than just passing through both stations underground (which can be achieved via the Dey Street connector tunnel), people will want to see the areas at street level as well. The Oculus should be appreciated too from the outside as well as walking through it.  Likewise, please let me know if you think we need to come up to the surface at 96th Street/2nd Avenue at the end of the 2nd Avenue Subway, or just turn around and go back. The entire line is underground.

 

The PATH trip, which is between two New York City points via Jersey City (and 1 transfer), was just done so that we arrive into the World Trade Center and can walk across the Oculus in one direction.

 

The in-and-out of Grand Central Terminal in 25 minutes is a tight connection; should it be evident we might miss it with the first train being late, we can always turn at Harlem-125th Street since the lines overlap.

 

Time allotted for dinner in New Rochelle from train arrival to train departure is 2 hours 9 minutes.  Two years ago in Poughkeepsie this proved to be enough time, and we had some to spare.  The walk in New Rochelle between train station and restaurant is no more than 5 minutes each way, possibly less.  If we end up not making the Amtrak train, there is always Metro North to return to New York City.  If you are heart set on Amtrak, or need it to return to another point to the south of New York City, the next train after 6:49 PM is 90 minutes later at 8:19 PM.



Kevin Korell


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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 31 December 2017 - 07:16 PM

I have double checked Amtrak times with the December 19th Empire Service and Northeast timetable releases, and so far no changes.  However, there should be another timetable change coming effective January 8th with the Penn Station work, and that is still before our Fest so our itinerary will bear confirmation again once the schedule is made public.

 

The regular (non-holiday) Metro North timetables are supposed to remain in effect until March 17, 2018 so no changes are expected.



Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 31 December 2017 - 07:40 PM

To expand on the walking distance between New Rochelle train station and Texas Roadhouse, here is a link to Google Maps.   Note the station building in the lower left, and the. We can walk to the north end of the platform, ascend stairs to North Avenue (somehow marked as "81" on the map), walk about a block east to the first traffic light, then turn left and walk north on the left side of Huguenot Street (marked as US 1) about another block to the restaurant.

 

The intent on Saturday morning is to arrive at the World Trade Center on PATH, walk through the length of the Oculus (at sub-ground level), then go up a series of escalators to street level and exit by Church Street.  We then can walk one block on either Fulton or Dey Streets to Broadway, and enter the Fulton Center from Broadway, making our way to the 4 5 lines.  There is a passageway between the two under Dey Street, but then we won't get to appreciate the architecture of either facility as seen from the street. Google Maps of the area.

 

I am assuming from lack of response that nobody needs to go up to the surface at 96th Street at the current end of the Second Avenue subway.  If it's really cold, understandably nobody would want to.  If somebody must see the neighborhood at street level, there's 13 minutes to run up, poke your head outside, and run down again.



Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#5 steve4031

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Posted 02 January 2018 - 11:11 PM

Thank you for the updates. Looking forward to it.

#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 07 January 2018 - 09:46 PM

So here's the good news regarding the itinerary.  There are no changes to Amtrak trains 283 & 165 for Saturday with the new 1/8/18 timetable.

 

The bad news is that the MTA threw me its usual last minute curve on weekend construction projects, which will result in cutting out two trip segments (one  round trip) on one line in the Bronx.  Here is the background:   Due to the weekend-only closure of the Clark Street tunnel between Brooklyn & Manhattan for repairs, the 2 and 3 lines have not been running between the two boroughs on Saturdays and Sundays.  The 2 and 5 swapped termini in the Bronx so that the 2 goes to Eastchester/Dyre Avenue and the 5 goes to Wakefield/241st Street.  The 5 also took over the 2 route and the 4 took over the 3 route in Brooklyn, and then the 2 terminates at South Ferry while the 3 ends at 14th Street.  That was the scenario up until this weekend since the Fest was announced.

 

On our particular Fest weekend, here is what is now happening.  The line to Dyre Avenue (between East 180th Street & Dyre Avenue) is totally OUT for a signal modernization project, and is being bustituted.  Keeping the above weekend changes in mind, the 2 is now covering its regular route to Wakefield/241st Street, while the 5 will not operate at all north of 42nd Street/Grand Central. The 4, meanwhile, is running local instead of express in Manhattan, presumably to allow the 5 to relay on the express tracks and change tracks at 42nd Street/Grand Central.   What this all does is it changes the scheduling of the 1, 2, 4, and 5 trains with all the rerouting and extra sharing of local tracks.  So there are minor changes throughout the Sunday itinerary.  Aside from eliminating the Dyre Avenue line because we're not coming to New York to ride buses, the change means we will start in the morning about 1/2 hour later than before, and some trip segments will take longer than they did originally.  Lunchtime and post-lunch travel is not affected, except that the first train from 42nd to 34th on the 7th Avenue line is now a 1 instead of a 2.

 

This also has minor effect on Saturday, as the train we likely would take from Fulton to 14th Street will be a 5 instead of a 4.  The Q trip on Second Avenue subway is largely unaffected, except a shorter wait for it by 2 minutes at 14th Street/Union Square.  Going from 96th Street to Penn,  If it is raining however, we could change trains at Times Square to the 1 2 3 line to avoid having to walk outside from Herald Square.

 

Revised itinerary (always tentative)!



Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#7 steve4031

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Posted 07 January 2018 - 10:48 PM

As always I appreciate your efforts. Bout ready to pack.

#8 pennyk

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Posted 08 January 2018 - 06:11 PM

As always I appreciate your efforts. Bout ready to pack.

ditto



#9 shanghai

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Posted 09 January 2018 - 10:47 AM

I too great appreciate your fine efforts to plan and execute the OTOL Fests.



#10 KevinKorell

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Posted 12 January 2018 - 08:59 PM

With a flash freeze being predicted by some local TV stations over Saturday, we might take the option on the Q train on the way back from 2nd Avenue/96th Street to Herald Square, to instead get off at Times Square and take the 1 2 3 line one stop to Penn. This would eliminate the long walk on 32nd Street outside in the cold. Making the change at Times Square brings us physically into Penn Station.   We'll decide on the Second Avenue subway segments of our day, what to do.



Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ





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