6 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

After my third (of many) preview trips to Philadelphia, I can now report the following:

• Our Saturday dinner will be at 30th Street Station, not at the airport. Most eateries at the airport are beyond the security checkpoints. I deleted the airport food court from my food page.
• We will take an evening R1 round trip to the airport anyway, but I have called it a "Moonlight Exursion" since it definitely will be after dark. This will be entirely optional; those who don't want to do it can leave us at 30th Street Station.
• For anyone who wishes to stay near the airport, a Marriott on the airport property is adjacent to the Terminal B stop on the SEPTA R1 Airport line. Very convenient.
• Many of us from out of town will be staying in Center City, and we're working on the most suitable location. As always, everyone is free to stay wherever they wish.
• Some might prefer eating at the Reading Terminal Market rather than the Gallery food courts. I have added a list of restaurants and food stands to my food page.

Tomorrow is the big day, the announcement from NJ TRANSIT that has been as guarded as the "Who Shot J.R." episode of "Dallas". We should know by this time tomorrow the debut date and new name for the SNJLRT.

However, I have been leaning towards just going with my "Alternative B" itinerary, even if SNJLRT is going to open soon. The reason is that my all-SEPTA option offers a lot more rail riding, with more variety of modes. It also gives me a place to leave my luggage on Saturday and means I don't have to pay to park in Trenton. The thinking here is that SNJLRT, or whatever it's called after tomorrow, might make a better Fest activity in the warmer months, when the RiverLink ferry is running between Camden and Philadelphia. That would eliminate our doubling back to Walter Rand TC to catch PATCO over the bridge.

But I would like to leave this up to the majority of those who will be involved. If you are participating in the Fest, would you rather ride the SNJLRT together (in one direction), or remain closer to Philadelphia and do other things (such as the 10 trolley line Overbrook-Center City and the 102 Sharon Hill trolley) ??

Stay tuned.... Updates in the near future will be posted here.

[KevinKorell]

Well, now that the, er, River Line (zzzzzzzzzzzz) has a name and an opening date (2/15/04) we can safely go with Alternative B, which means hello to Overbrook and Sharon Hill, and goodbye to Trenton, Camden, and Fox Chase. There will be other Fests in the Philly area when we will hit all those places.

Obviously the River Line will make it possible to only have to ride the SEPTA R7 in one direction, which is perfect for a future Fest.

[BillMagee]

In planning for the Phillyfest, you might want to consider using the Philadelphia visitor website for accommodations.

Over the last two years, the city has offered a very successful program of two nights for the price of one at a wide selection hotels in the city and surrounding burbs. The “Philly Overnight” package is offered at almost all the area hotels and requires check-in on Friday or Saturday nights. Free parking is included. Typical rate for a good center city hotel (Crowne Plaza, 18th & Market; Radison Warwick, 17th & Locust; Latham, 17th & Walnut) is $160 for two nights which makes the cost per night a pretty reasonable $80 (plus tax).

Check the website for details HERE.

One note of caution: The fest is taking place over a holiday weekend. A number of hotels have already sold out the packages for that weekend, so whether you book a package or just a room directly with the hotel, lock-in your reservation as soon as possible.

[KevinKorell]

Here are the latest developments regarding the OTOL Philadelphia Area RailFest 2004 event. (My apologies if some of this repeats what was mentioned above, but this matches what is being sent out in e-mail.)
[*] As you should now be aware, NJ TRANSIT's River Line will not be going online until February 2004, which means it won't be open when our Fest takes place. Therefore the "A" alternative is gone from contention (and my website) and we will follow the "B" alternative, which now becomes the only working itinerary.
[*] A trip to Philadelphia International Airport at the end of the Saturday Fest has been added, but it has been made "optional" (as all portions really are) and called a "Moonlight Excursion" since this trip will occur after dark. In addition, since almost all restaurants at the airport are now beyond the security checkpoints, we cannot eat dinner at the airport, so that option has been removed from my Food page. We will have dinner at 30th Street Station's food court, which has an excellent selection of eateries.
[*]In place of PHL Airport, I have added a new section to the Food page, listing the food stands and restaurants at Reading Terminal Market. This can be an alternative to having Saturday lunch at the Gallery food courts; however keep in mind that we will only have about an hour to eat before the next train, and walking the extra two blocks round trip will take some of that time.

For those staying in hotels in Center City, this might be where you can have dinner on your own on Friday or Sunday.
[*] Now that the itinerary is more certain, a Costs page has been added. The cost of each trip segment is analyzed, and prices are listed for adults, seniors, and children. In addition, a page was added to show how SEPTA's DayPass can be beneficial to you for Saturday if you are going to be with us all or most of the day.
[*] For those of you from outside the Philadelphia area who will need to stay in the area, a Hotels page has been added as well. Alan Burden has done extensive research on affordable and convenient hotels in Center City and near the airport, and the results are presented here.

As Bill Magee mentioned above, it is advised that if you are planning to stay in a hotel in Philadelphia, you make your reservation as soon as possible, as the good rates could be gone soon since this is a three-day holiday weekend.

It's never too late to get your name on our guest list. Anyone is welcome to join us. Please e-mail me and let me know if you can join the group on Saturday, Sunday, or both days.

Please keep in mind that there will be two rather long walks on Saturday, in Sharon Hill and Overbrook. They are respectively roughly ten blocks and about six blocks. The walk down Chestnut Hill between the two rail stations there is about four blocks. This promises to be a fun and educational (and healthy!) day on the rails!

[KevinKorell]

As an addendum to my discussion of transit costs, I have already received in the mail from SEPTA's Museum Store, my DayPass. It took just two days to get here. So it's never too early to order it -- better early than doing it late and then not receiving it before you have to leave for the Fest in Philly. Those of you in the area should get one in person whenever you can when the lines are not bad.

[BillMagee]

One other option for those in the area is to buy a weekly SEPTA Transpass for $18.75. This pass on weekdays is only valid for the City Transit and Center City and Zone 1 Regional Rail, but on weekends and holidays the Transpass is good everywhere on SEPTA: a true SEPTA system pass. $18.75 will cover all your rides on both days of the Fest. Besides the cost savings, needing only one pass for all rides will save time as well. However, there is a catch. The weekly Transpass is valid from Monday through Sunday (actually, until Monday 2am). So that's OK: one pass will cover both days. But, each week's pass is sold beginning on Wednesday of the week prior to the valid period, and sales for that week stop on Tuesday of the valid week. To use a SEPTA Transpass for weekend Fest rides on Saturday 1/17 & Sunday 1/18 (the last two days of the valid week), it must be bought no later than the Tuesday prior to the Fest (1/13). And, weekly passes are only sold at SEPTA sales locations and are not sold via internet. So, it’s a great way to save time and money (over $20 less than using the Daypass), but you have to buy the pass in person from SEPTA no earlier than Wednesday, January 7 and no later than Tuesday, January 13. A very good deal if you can get to a SEPTA sales location. With SEPTA, life is never easy.

Edited by BillMagee, 21 November 2003 - 07:08 AM.

[KevinKorell]

I've analyzed our total costs, and Bill does raise a valid point here. I added up all of our costs for Saturday and Sunday, transit and Regional Rail, and the total comes to $47.35. So if we have "anywhere" privileges with the weekly Transpass for just for $18.75, it appears to be a good discount. The requirement to purchase this pass in a limited period of time in advance of its validity can be overcome, if somebody in the Philly area can volunteer to pre-purchase the Transpasses, and then they get paid back the day of the Fest. The DayPass I already purchased and received I can always use some other time for my own "Fest". Meanwhile, I also added up the price for kids, and the total comes to $13.85, which is several dollars less than the TransPass price. So it would still be most beneficial to pay-as-you-go for the kids, so bring plenty of coins and one-dollar bills. Any other comments on this?