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OTOL Missouri-Texas RailFest 2017 Trip Report


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 02:18 AM

OTOL Missouri Texas RailFest 2017

July 15-22, 2017

 

 

 

Chapter 0: Introduction

 

The OTOL Missouri Texas RailFest 2017 event was born out of the desire to return to Dallas after our previous visit in 2005. Since then, two more light rail lines had opened, a second commuter rail line went into service in the area, a new modern streetcar opened in two phases, and the city's heritage trolley had its route extended into a downtown loop. And we also would get to experience a people mover system in suburban Irving.

 

To make the Fest into a full week, stops were also added in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas. The former had nothing previously, until May of 2016 when its downtown streetcar went into service. For St. Louis, the hope was that a new trolley under construction in the western part of the city would be ready by the time we visited, but unfortunately its opening date remained unknown at the time of this writing. We still would do our stopover there and ride the city's light rail, since one line hadn't been open yet when we had previously visited in 2005. Then for good measure, one day was added in Chicago to do a commuter rail round trip.

 

 Chapter 1: Preparation

 

Swinging into full preparation mode, with the announcement of this event, a homepage was created to give prospective participants all the information they needed to travel along with us. This included an ever-changing itinerary, subject to train schedule changes and late adjustments to our plans to visit each host city.

 

After the announcement, I was contacted by Jay Hadley, who we knew from previous Fests involving New Orleans and the Crescent train. He informed me that not only would he be in the Kansas City area, but also that his son Brian works for the RideKC Streetcar and would be willing to host a shop tour for our group. As the Fest and our visit to Kansas City drew closer, I kept in touch with Jay and Brian and we made arrangements for them to meet us and give the tour.

 

We also worked on dinner location possibilities for the group, deciding upon one in St. Louis and one of the two evenings in Dallas. Participants made their own hotel plans. As always, I documented everyone's hotel & contact information, as well as the sleeper accommodations on the three long distance Amtrak trains we would be riding.



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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 02:22 AM

Chapter 2: Getting to the Fest
 
Since the official start of the Fest would be on Saturday, most from the east coast set out on their westward journeys on Friday, with the exception of Dick McCauley, who left Florida on Amtrak's Silver Meteor on Thursday, before taking Friday's Lake Shore Limited from New York along with Alan Burden and his mother Grace. Kim and Mike Hammond had originally been set to take the Capitol Limited from Cleveland to Chicago. They switched to the Lake Shore Limited when it became apparent the Capitol Limited was severely delayed. They joined Dick, Grace, and Alan on that train, and the five arrived into Chicago about an hour late.
 
The segments of this report that follow in brown in Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 11 represent my personal travels before joining the Fest and after its completion.
 
My intent was to make the 8-day Fest part of a 14-day journey that would include a stopover on the way in Cincinnati to ride their new streetcar. The goal was to ride the streetcars in Cincinnati, Kansas City, Dallas, and Detroit in one trip. Because of this, I would depart a day earlier on Thursday, be in Cincinnati on Friday, and then very early Saturday morning depart for Chicago, thus making a same day connection like many others were to the Southwest Chief. My trip started out innocently enough, with Bill Magee meeting me in Cherry Hill to kick off my trip with the short NJ TRANSIT Atlantic City Line run into Philadelphia. He even took the spin with me into Philly, returning home later. (We would cross paths 6 days later in Dallas.) I took a Northeast Regional train to Washington, DC, and then the Capitol Limited overnight to Toledo, getting there early Friday morning. Then an Amtrak Thruway bus ride (really Greyhound) from Toledo to Cincinnati.
 
In Cincinnati, I explored the Cincinnati Bell Connector and walked around the city, before retiring to my hotel early to get a little sleep before the intended 1:40 AM departure of the Cardinal to Chicago. Things did not work out that way unfortunately, as the Cardinal ran into engine problems in West Virginia. The train, I found out, had sat in the same place for over four hours. With five hours dwell in Chicago, I figured I still had the chance. Sleep at my Hampton Inn did not come well (no fault of this great hotel repurposed from an old department store), with my worry about the train. I could try to rest a little longer, but eventually I would have to get up and go wait at the station.



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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 02:33 AM

Chapter 3: Saturday, July 15, 2017

 

Day One of our annual adventure began as almost everyone in our group travelled westbound to Kansas City.

 

Chapter 3.0: My adventures continue

 

I woke up around 3 AM, and by 3:30 I had checked out and ordered an Uber car to take me to the station. When I got to Cincinnati Union Terminal I found plenty of other passengers, some of whom were sleeping on the floor as they had been waiting all night. The ticket agents had been nice enough to provide pizza and soda for them earlier in the evening. They were good in keeping everyone up to date on the train's progress, and explaining that its engine had failed, and that it was being hauled by a freight engine which limited its speed. They kept giving us updated estimated times of arrival.

 

Around 8:25 AM departing passengers were finally taken down to the track level. The train finally limped in behind a CSX engine and began to do its station business. It departed at 8:45 AM, 7 hours 4 minutes late. This well exceeded the five hour leeway I had in Chicago, and I knew deep down that it was unlikely my connection would be held. I explored other options of getting to Kansas City, one being a Greyhound bus from Indianapolis to Kansas City, a scheduled 11-hour trip that would get there after midnight. Another option was trips shown as Amtrak Thruways but provided by another carrier, which would have gotten me to Galesburg to meet the Southwest Chief with very little time to spare if the bus was late. Either of those options was a big risk, and with the five hour ordeal from Toledo to Cincinnati fresh in my mind, neither option sat well with me. I would therefore stick with the Cardinal all the way into Chicago -- hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.

 

Chapter 3.1: In Chicago

 

Participants for the first element of the Fest, our trip on the Southwest Chief to Kansas City, met in Chicago's Metropolitan Lounge. Those arriving on the Lake Shore Limited were joined by Steve Weagant and his girlfriend Rosalyn Winston. Jishnu had flown in from Florida, and met the group in the lounge as well. Some went out to have lunch together while waiting. All were mindful of my plight, hopeful I would somehow make it, and also willing to wait a while if Amtrak had decided to ensure the connection would be made. A few talked with Amtrak staff in the station hoping to hear even a small possibility that the Southwest Chief would be held, but nobody seemed hopeful and said it was a management decision. The Cardinal would not be the latest train from the east coast that day; the Capitol Limited showed up eight hours late so anyone on that train would have missed the connection as well.

 

Chapter 3.2: Amtrak Southwest Chief, Train #3(15), Chicago, IL to Kansas City, MO

 

The Southwest Chief departed Chicago exactly on time at 3:00 PM with the group of eight aboard. While that was a perfect number for dinner to fill two tables, they opted to take two different seatings in groups of four. The first group was finishing dinner just as the train crossed the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, IA. They were able to step off the train at that station to get some fresh air. The same four later met in the lounge car and passed the remaining time over conversation and snacks. Before they knew it, the train was crossing the Missouri River and coming into the Kansas City area. Arrival was at 10:05 PM, six minutes early.

 

Chapter 3.3: My adventures continue

 

When I got the final word that the Southwest Chief had indeed departed Chicago on time, it was time to invoke a Plan B. Since I had decided there was no way I was going to get to Kansas City, the only real option was to rejoin the group in St. Louis when they got there Sunday night. The remainder of Saturday and all of Sunday, therefore, would be made up of last minute planning. The first thing I did was to cancel my reservation on the Southwest Chief. Since the ticket scanning process aboard that train had not yet been completed, I was able to cancel the entire sleeper reservation and get a voucher for the full amount of the fare I had paid. Getting an affordable last minute reservation in Chicago would be next to impossible, so I decided that since I would eventually be headed for St. Louis, I could stay somewhere on the way where it would be cheaper.

 

Enter Springfield, where I knew there was a Doubletree property near the station. I reserved a room at the Doubletree - President Abraham Lincoln at what I felt was a very reasonable rate. Then, to get there I booked a Lincoln Service train from Chicago to Springfield for that day's 5:15 PM trip, and then the first Lincoln Service train for Sunday morning from Springfield to St. Louis. These fares were paid utilizing part of the voucher I had just received. Later, I would also cancel my trip on the Missouri River Runner, also made impossible by my not getting to Kansas City.

 

My Cardinal finally arrived into Chicago at 3:58 PM, 5 hours 58 minutes late, and 58 minutes after the Southwest Chief had departed. In the station, it was a good thing that I had not played the victim and sat on that train reservation, because the line at Customer Relations was full of other misconnects from my train and was thus very long. Had I waited to plead my case and hope for restitution, I would have missed my Plan B train and had to wait longer in Chicago after all the trouble I had getting there. Lincoln Service #305 left on time, lost a little time down the line, but got to Springfield on time at 8:39 PM. After being mostly awake and worried the night before in Cincinnati, I slept well in Springfield though wishing I was really in Kansas City.

 

  Chapter 3.4: End of Saturday's activities

 

Fest participants took taxis or hired cars to one of several hotels. People stayed at either the Hilton President, Marriott Downtown, or Curio Hotel Phillips. And sitting empty was a room at the Hampton Inn-Downtown, for which I was a no-show. I fought for and eventually a month later got a full refund.



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#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 02:38 AM

Chapter 4: Sunday, July 16, 2017

 

The second day of MTRF featured the RideKC Streetcar, and ended with an Amtrak trip from Kansas City to St. Louis.

 

Chapter 4.1: Meeting in Kansas City

 

Dick had left the group the night before, having only come along on the Southwest Chief. He would return to Chicago on the eastbound Southwest Chief today, and eventually travel to Wisconsin and then back to Florida. Chris Wyatt, who had flown into Kansas City the night before, would be joining the group today. Rosalyn had decided to remain at her hotel room rather than take the streetcar tour. Kim, Mike, and Steve left the hotel, walked to a streetcar stop, and rode to Union Station. They were met there by Misty Robinson (who had taken an overnight bus from St. Louis), and Jishnu.

 

Chapter 4.2: RideKC Streetcar, Union Station to River Market North

 

Together they boarded the first "official" ride of the RideKC Streetcar, which left Union Station at 9:58 AM. Along the way, they were joined by Grace, Alan, and Chris, who opted to board closer to their hotels for the northbound trip. The group of eight arrived and detrained at River Market North at 10:13 AM. There, they were met by Jay and Brian Hadley, as planned. Those who needed transportation rather than walk the three blocks to the streetcar shop were driven, while the others walked.

 

Chapter 4.3: RideKC Streetcar, Facility Tour

 

Brian gave a very comprehensive tour of the shop, showing how the cars are maintained and dispatched. Of interest was a map showing the position of all the streetcars currently in service along the route. He and his father spoke about some strange things people do along live streetcar tracks. The tour was over around 11:30 AM, after which some either walked back to their hotels or to have lunch.

 

Chapter 4.4: RideKC Streetcar, River Market North to Union Station

 

This segment was not done all together as a group, as folks opted to relax and then make their separate ways to Union Station whenever they were ready. Jay would not be joining the group on this evening's Amtrak trip nor the St. Louis activities; however he would travel to St. Louis the following morning and rejoin the group before departure on the Texas Eagle. The rest of the group had reconvened at Union Station by 3:00 PM, an hour before the eastbound train's scheduled departure time.

 

Chapter 4.5: My adventures continue

 

While the group was involved with the RideKC Streetcar travel and tour, I was working on making my way to St. Louis. After checking out of my hotel, I walked back to the Springfield Amtrak station to await southbound Lincoln Service Train #301 to St. Louis. This train left Springfield two minutes late at 10:17 AM, provided a smooth uneventful ride, and arrived into St. Louis at 12:03 PM, which was 17 minutes early. Unlike missing Kansas City, I was in St. Louis ahead of the group by more than 9-1/2 hours.

 

After being allowed to check-in early at the Curio St. Louis Union Station, I went for an impromptu hour and a half ride on Metro St. Louis Metrolink. While the participants of this Fest would be unable to ride the Delmar Loop Trolley since it was far from opening to the public, I decided to take a look at its progress by getting off Metrolink at the two stations where it interfaces with the Delmar Loop Trolley route. Each stop was only about 10 minutes to look at the tracks and surrounding neighborhood and then return to Metrolink. I also rode Metrolink over the Mississippi River into Illinois, turning at Emerson Park and also alighting at the East Riverfront station to take a classic selfie with the famous Arch in the background across the river.

 

Back at the Curio, I enjoyed their lobby light shows, as well as another fire & water show behind the hotel under the old Union Station train shed. My day was capped off by dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, also right behind the hotel.

 

Chapter 4.6: Amtrak Missouri River Runner, Train #316(16), Kansas City, MO to St. Louis, MO

 

Meanwhile in Kansas City, our group of railfans noticed that the equipment of Train #311, which would be turning as their #316, had not yet arrived. Boarding did eventually happen, and the Missouri River Runner departed Kansas City at 4:11 PM, just eleven minutes late. On board were Misty, Grace, Alan, Kim, Mike, Rosalyn, Steve, Chris, and Jishnu. There were a few meets along the way with freight trains, but the train still did well as far as Jefferson City. Beyond there, the train started to experience slow orders which added further to its delays. It reached approximately 45 minutes late at one point. Closer to St. Louis, the group started to notice lightning in the sky, indicating possible weather issues for getting to their hotels. The train pulled into St. Louis Gateway Station at 10:24 PM, 44 minutes late.

 

Chapter 4.7: End of Sunday's activities

 

Kim and Mike were staying at the Marriott Grand. Car service brought them where they had to go. The other seven were bound for the Curio, and they got there either by hired car or taking Metrolink one stop.

 

I really wanted to go to the train station to greet the people I should have been travelling with. But then came the lightning and a heavy squall of rain that changed my mind. I did not wish to walk in that weather, nor make a run for the light rail to travel one stop and get wet again. While the rain did let up by the time the train arrived, I decided to meet the majority of our group at the Curio hotel near the check-in desk as they trickled in from the station. Finally my alternate and planned trip plans had come together and I was with the group!



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#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 02:44 AM

Chapter 5: Monday, July 17, 2017

 

Monday we rode the entire light rail system in St. Louis, and then ended the day aboard our Amtrak train that would take us from Missouri to Texas.

 

Chapter 5.1: Meeting in St. Louis

 

Ten people would be involved in today's rail activities. The eight staying in the Curio Union Station Hotel were met there by Kim and Mike, and then the ten of us began our walk to the Metrolink light rail station behind the Union Station complex.

 

Chapter 5.2: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Red Line, Union Station to Lambert St. Louis International Airport, Terminal 1

 

Our first segment of the day was the Metrolink Red Line towards the airport. Since we obtained our fares for the day quicker than expected, we ended up leaving 20 minutes earlier than called for in our itinerary. Therefore we departed from Union Station at 10:16 AM. It was an uneventful trip west until we arrived at the end of the line at the airport's Terminal 1 at 10:45 AM. This being a scheduled rest room stop, we had 22 minutes planned layover here which we did utilize rather than heading right out again.

 

Chapter 5.3: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Red Line, Lambert St. Louis International Airport, Terminal 1 to Forest Park/DeBaliviere

 

Our next run would be returning eastbound on the Red Line part way to Forest Park/DeBaliviere in order to transfer to the Blue Line. We departed at 11:07 AM. While a shorter trip segment, it seemed much longer as it was quite eventful, and in a bad way. There was a person on board who was under the influence of something that caused him to use language and do things with his body that can't be repeated here. Not only did we feel uncomfortable in his presence, but by coincidence he also got off with us at the same stop at 11:26 AM. He was reported to employees, so hopefully they took care of the situation as he left the station area. We had a ten minute wait here for the next Blue Line train.

 

Chapter 5.4: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Blue Line, Forest Park/DeBaliviere to Shrewsbury/Lansdowne/I-44

 

We left Forest Park/DeBaliviere at 11:36 AM, still running 20 minutes ahead of our itinerary. Because of this, I made a last minute decision to alter our plans. Originally, we would have gone to Brentwood/I-64 first for our lunch break, and then later we would continue outbound to the end of the line at Shrewsbury/Lansdowne/I-44, then return all the way from there towards our other afternoon activities. Instead, we would ride out to Shrewsbury/Lansdowne/I-44 first, and then make our Brentwood/I-64 lunch stop on the inbound trip. This would allow us to get more light rail riding under our belts in the morning before lunch. Indeed we rode through the entire branch on this trip segment, arriving at Shrewsbury/Lansdowne/I-44 at 11:53 AM. We had a six minute layover here, during which we changed to an inbound car across the platform that would be leaving next.

 

Chapter 5.5: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Blue Line, Shrewsbury/Lansdowne/I-44 to Brentwood/I-64

 

This trip left at 11:59 AM, and lasted just four minutes. When we got to the Brentwood/I-64 station, it was just about the time it would have been had we started riding on schedule and followed the original plan of stopping there first. Regardless of how we got there, it was time to eat!

 

Chapter 5.6: Lunch in Brentwood

 

Most of the group took a moderate walk to have lunch at Lion's Choice, a fast food place indigenous only to Missouri with predominantly roast beef sandwiches. Others ate closer to the station. After lunch, we walked back to the Brentwood/I-64 station. Here, Rosalyn left the group by car service to return to the hotel; she would join us later at dinnertime. That left nine of us to continue our Metrolink travels the rest of the day.

 

Chapter 5.7: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Blue Line, Brentwood/I-64 to Fairview Heights

 

After waiting for the next Blue Line train, one showed up at 1:25 PM and we boarded it. We found ourselves even more ahead of our itinerary. Besides starting our day 20 minutes early, while I had allotted a two hour break for lunch, we had only used one hour 20 minutes of it. That put us a full hour ahead. This would be the longest of our trip segments, taking 45 minutes to head back through downtown St. Louis, over the Mississippi River into Illinois, and to the end of the Blue Line at Fairview Heights. We got to the latter at 2:10 PM. The Red Line continues beyond this station, so we had an 11 minute wait here for the next one.

 

Chapter 5.8: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Red Line, Fairview Heights to Shiloh-Scott

 

At 2:21 PM we continued further into Illinois towards the Shiloh/Scott end of the line. The further one rides out on this line, there is less they have to see along the tracks. At Shiloh/Scott, we arrived at 2:41 PM and spent most of our 12 minute layover on board the air conditioned vehicle. At this end of the system, ours was the only light rail vehicle in the station so this would be our ride back to St. Louis.

 

Chapter 5.9: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Red Line, Shiloh-Scott to Laclede's Landing

 

We left Shiloh/Scott at 2:53 PM heading back inbound. Another uneventful ride took us back to the first station on the Missouri side of the river, Laclede's Landing. Most of us detrained here at 3:30 PM, still one hour early and now with time to kill before dinner. Steve, Kim, and Mike remained on board to head back towards Union Station so that they could pick up Rosalyn at the hotel. The other six of us walked through the Laclede's Landing district and went into in the nearby Lumiere Place. While nobody gambled at its casino, it gave us a place to sit, freshen up, and stay out of the hot sun until dinnertime. After a while we walked back towards our dinner location to wait in its lobby for Rosalyn, Steve, Kim, and Mike to arrive by car service.

 

Chapter 5.10: Dinner in St. Louis

 

Ten of us had dinner at the always reliable Old Spaghetti Factory, and while we have never eaten within their trademark trolley car, we were seated quite close to it. We had a good, filling meal, conscious of the fact that most of us had an Amtrak train to catch later that evening.

 

After dinner, those who had arrived by car service also left in that manner. We said goodbye to Rosalyn, who would be staying in St. Louis one more evening and then returning to Chicago on a Lincoln Service train Tuesday morning.

 

Chapter 5.11: Metro St. Louis Metrolink Red Line, Laclede's Landing to Civic Center or Union Station

 

The rest of us went back to Metrolink for a ride to one of two stops. Some rode to Civic Center to access the Amtrak station, while others stayed on one more stop to Union Station in order to return to the Curio and retrieve our held luggage. Those in the latter group then rode Metrolink back one stop to Civic Center to join the others.

 

At Gateway Station, we all met and sat in the small First Class lounge. Jay Hadley rejoined the group to ride south with us. Misty sat with us for a while before leaving to head home. That left nine of us in the lounge who would be leaving St. Louis shortly for further adventures.

 

Chapter 5.12: Amtrak Texas Eagle, Train #21(17), St. Louis, MO to Dallas, TX

 

With us watching electronically the status of the southbound Amtrak Texas Eagle, we knew it was just a few minutes late. We saw it arrive at the station platform, but it took a while for somebody of authority to come and get us to direct us to the train. When someone finally did, we all headed to the sleeper section of the train. Kim, Mike, Jishnu, Grace, Alan, Chris, Steve, and I were in the train's only regular sleeper, while Jay was in the transition sleeper. Jay was only going as far as Marshall, TX while the rest were headed for Dallas.

 

We left St. Louis at 8:06 PM, 11 minutes down. Not bad at all and certainly surmountable. There would be only one more station most of us would see before turning in for the night, and that was the new Arcadia Valley station in southern Missouri. We departed there at 10:25 PM, having slipped to 23 minutes late.

 

Chapter 5.13: End of Monday's activities

 

Monday ended with nine of us going to sleep aboard the Texas Eagle, with eight knowing that the longest and busiest portion of our Fest in Dallas was still ahead.



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#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 02:48 AM

Chapter 6: Tuesday, July 18, 2017

 

The fourth day of our week together saw us arrive in Dallas and begin riding the first of many light rail trip segments.

 

Chapter 6.0: Amtrak Texas Eagle, Train #21(17), St. Louis, MO to Dallas, TX (continued)

 

Most of us went to breakfast when the dining car opened at 6:30 AM. During our time there, we arrived in Marshall, TX half an hour early at 7:10 AM. As planned, Jay got off here. We sat there idle until our scheduled departure at 7:50 AM. We were early too into Longview, so we were allowed time off the train to stretch our legs. We left there one minute down at 8:29 AM. Mineola came next, which we departed at 9:37 AM, 12 minutes late. That left only our destination ahead of us. Would we get there on time or slightly late? Well, neither!

 

Through the magic of schedule padding, our Texas Eagle pulled into Dallas Union Station at 11:17 AM, 13 minutes early. That was a pleasant surprise. The eight travelers in our group detrained and were met on the platform by Ted Patchell. He had arrived the previous day on Amtrak's Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City on part of a longer personal journey around the country.  The nine of us headed into the station to plot our day. There had been some contingency plans in the back of my mind just in case we had been very late, plus I didn't plan much for this day anyhow with that possibility lurking.

 

Chapter 6.1: In Dallas

 

Mike and Steve left us to head for lunch and checking in at their hotel, the Renaissance Richardson. The other six of us, hungry for lunch, walked a short distance up the block to Cindi's New York Deli. After a good meal, we split up and went to our respective hotels to recharge and leave our luggage.

 

Our major host transit agency in Dallas would be Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Back in 2005, the entire Green Line and Orange Line were only in the planning stages. The Red Line was as it is now, and the Blue Line had run from Ledbetter to Downtown Garland, and was in the past few years extended on both ends to respectively UNT-Dallas and Downtown Rowlett.

 

During lunch I had gotten an e-mail from DART that there was a service disruption on the downtown trunk shared by all lines. I therefore walked to my hotel, the Homewood Suites Downtown. I suspect there were a few taxi or car service rides as well, since it was very hot outside. We also had participants staying at Hyatt Regency, Airbnb, and Doubletree Market Center.

 

Kim would spend her time in Dallas staying with family so she would not be involved in our transit riding. She would rejoin the group before our Thursday departure from Dallas. Eight of us, namely Grace, Alan, Ted, Jishnu, Steve, Mike, Chris, and I met at Union Station to do our scheduled activity for this afternoon, which would be riding to both ends of the DART Blue Line.

 

Chapter 6.2: DART Blue Line, Union Station to UNT Dallas

 

We departed at 2:58 PM southbound from Union Station on the Blue Line, first headed for the UNT Dallas endpoint. The existing line passes through some depressed neighborhoods, but beyond the former end of the line at Ledbetter it runs through a scenic wooded area on ties that look as new as they are. We arrived at UNT Dallas at 3:23 PM, one minute early. Another light rail vehicle was waiting across the platform to depart first, so we headed over to that one for our long ride to Rowlett.

 

Chapter 6.3: DART Blue Line, UNT Dallas to Downtown Rowlett

 

Now it was time for our longest light rail ride of our time in Dallas. We would be doing the entire Blue Line from one end to the other, scheduled to take one hour 12 minutes. We departed from UNT Dallas at 3:30 PM, and first retraced our previous travels to downtown Dallas. Then our vehicle continued northbound to Mockingbird, where the Blue Line splits off the others to run on its own once more. Along this section of the line, one stop we made was Lake Highlands, which was an infill station added five years after our last visit. After Downtown Garland, we once more were on "new" trackage as we rode to Downtown Rowlett. Arrival was 4:41 PM. There, we remained in the same vehicle for a ten minute layover.

 

Chapter 6.4: DART Blue Line, Downtown Rowlett to West End

 

Now heading back downtown, we departed at 4:51 PM. Another uneventful ride brought us back downtown. We arrived at West End at 5:31 PM, ending our long day together on the rails.

 

Chapter 6.5: Dinner in Dallas

 

Today, dinner would be on our own as we had agreed to eat all together on Wednesday. I went up to Mockingbird station with Steve and Mike to have pizza dinner at Campisi's Restaurant.

 

Chapter 6.6: End of Tuesday's activities

 

What a day! But the next one would be far busier, so it was everyone's task to rest up for the upcoming very long day of train riding.



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Posted 25 November 2017 - 02:56 AM

Chapter 7: Wednesday, July 18, 2017

 

A full day in the Dallas area included rides on light rail, the Personal Transit System in Las Colinas, and commuter rail as far north as Denton.

 

Chapter 7.1: Meeting in Dallas

 

Given the diverse hotel locations our group had chosen for themselves, it was decided to do a "rolling meet" with people boarding the same vehicle at various stations closest to their hotels, rather than taking the time to first meet at a single location. Since we would be riding the Orange Line first, we would make our ways south and west gradually. Mike and Steve took the Red Line from Richardson and then changed to the Orange Line at LBJ/Central. Ted boarded the same car at Pearl/Arts District, followed by Jishnu and me at West End, and then Grace and Alan at Market Center. That made seven of us for this outbound trip. (Chris was staying with family, and would join us later at the airport.)

 

Chapter 7.2: DART Orange Line, Various Dallas stations to DFW International Airport

 

The Orange Line, once it separates from the Green Line at Bachman, was completed in three different phases that opened in 2012 and 2014. We arrived at DFW Airport's Terminal A at 10:51 AM, right in tandem with our itinerary.  At the airport, we were joined by Chris, as well as Bill Magee, who had flown in the previous night and stayed nearby at Grand Hyatt - DFW Airport. This was a scheduled rest room stop, so some went inside the airport terminal. They reported that the walk to the nearest facilities from the light rail platform was fairly long. All did, however, make it back during our scheduled 24 minute layover.

 

Chapter 7.3: DART Orange Line, DFW International Airport to Las Colinas Urban Center

 

Now up to nine folks with the addition of our newcomers, we headed back inbound on the same vehicle that had brought most of us here, departing at 11:15 AM. We rode to Los Colinas Urban Center, getting there 11:24 AM. From the light rail platform we went upstairs to a connecting passageway that brought us to the Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System.

 

Chapter 7.4: Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System, Tower 909 to 600 Las Colinas Blvd.

 

The Las Colinas Personal Transit System dates back to 1989, yet to this day it is still is not an automated system. Humans must drive the vehicles along the two tracks, which serve four stations. The vehicle drivers are summoned by pushing a button at any station. Each track handles vehicles in both directions, but there can only be one vehicle on each track at a given time. The stations are named for the buildings that they are within. While both tracks go to the current endpoint of 600 Las Colinas Blvd., the branches to Tower 900 and Urban Towers are unique. There is a track bed for a third track that would connect these two endpoints, but it was never developed. Therefore one must change trains at the system's hub at Bell Tower/Mandalay Canal to do this movement. When the system was conceived, there were plans to have it totally encircle the Las Colinas office and residential complex. However, the right-of-way envisioned for the eastern half of the people mover was usurped by the Orange Line. An extension beyond 600 Las Colinas Blvd. may someday be built, to hook up with a future station that would include an infill Orange Line station and access to a proposed commuter rail line.

 

Our first trip segment started at Tower 900, the station that is connected to the DART Orange Line. We left there at 11:40 AM, heading for 600 Las Colinas Blvd. We got there at 11:47 AM, and went down one set of stairs and up another (some took elevators) to access the opposite track leading to Urban Towers.

 

Chapter 7.5: Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System, 600 Las Colinas Blvd. to Urban Towers

 

Our next conveyance left 600 Las Colinas Blvd. at 11:54 AM, made its one intermediate stop, and arrived at it destination at 11:59 AM. Already in 19 minutes we had aced the entire system, but we still needed to return to where we had started. We remained on board while the driver switched ends.

 

Chapter 7.6: Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System, Urban Towers to Bell Tower/Mandalay Canal

 

We were on our way in a minute, leaving Urban Towers at 12:00 Noon. We got to the transfer point, Bell Tower/Mandalay Canal, at 12:02 PM. We had to do the same thing here that we had done previously to change tracks; we had to go downstairs and come back up on the other side. One person needed to find a rest room, so we did not push the button to summon the next vehicle until he returned.

 

Chapter 7.7: Las Colinas Area Personal Transit System, Bell Tower/Mandalay Canal to Tower 909

 

The final segment of our exploration of the people mover system left at 12:12 PM, and by 12:14 PM we bid goodbye to this unique transit system. We then headed back through the elevated walkway to the Orange Line station.

 

Chapter 7.8: DART Orange Line, Las Colinas Urban Center to Various Dallas stations

 

We had just missed an inbound train, but the next one was the trip on our itinerary anyhow. This was a rough wait in the heat and humidity, as we were out there about 20 minutes. The trip that we did take was also running a few minutes behind schedule. We departed from Las Colinas Urban Center at 12:37 PM, and enjoyed the air conditioned ride back downtown. We got to the West End station at 1:06 PM, where some from our group got off for lunch, and then Akard at 1:07 PM where the rest of us detrained.

 

Chapter 7.9: Lunch in Dallas

 

Our break for lunch was on our own, as there are numerous places to eat along the streets and in subterranean food courts located in sections of the Dallas Pedestrian Network.

 

Chapter 7.10: DART Green Line, Various Dallas stations to North Carrollton/Frankford

 

Time for us to return to the rail for our afternoon activities. After an hour for lunch, we boarded a Green Line car at the stations we at which we had gotten off the Orange Line earlier. This trip left Akard at 2:05 PM, and West End at 2:06 PM. The ride was the same up to Bachman, and then new to us as we continued north of there. We rode up to the line's northern terminus at North Carrollton/Frankford, getting there at 2:47 PM.

 

Although the Denton County Transit Authority A-Train is essentially a continuation of the DART Green Line beyond Carrollton, the interface between the two is not at the northernmost Green Line station, but rather at the next station south, Trinity Mills. The two run parallel between Trinity Mills and North Carrollton/Frankford, although A-Train does not stop at the latter. So we would be returning one stop inbound to Trinity Mills. We had to cross the island platform for the next departing car; however we still had a 22-minute wait for its departure.

 

Chapter 7.11: DART Green Line, North Carrollton/Frankford to Trinity Mills

 

That 22-minute wait was for a two minute ride! We left North Carrollton/Frankford at 3:09 PM, and arrived Trinity Mills at 3:11 PM. We now had 18 minutes before our A-Train departure, but luckily the train was already there waiting for us. We crossed an island platform to the A-Train and remained cool aboard its diesel multiple unit (DMU) equipment while we awaited its departure.

 

Chapter 7.11: DCTA A-Train, Trinity Mills to Downtown Denton

 

Off we went at exactly 3:29 PM, heading northbound towards Denton. We passed by the North Carrollton/Frankford station we had been to earlier. The line alternates between single and double track, and all stations up the line have two tracks with an island platform between them. There is relatively frequent service in both directions on A-Train, and they are timed so that they meet on double track sections. Interestingly, on some parts of the line, the A-trains pass right-handed, while on others they pass left-handed.

 

Our train arrived at Downtown Denton Transit Center on time at 4:01 PM. The nine of us remained on board the same train, enjoying the cool air for our ten minute layover.

 

Chapter 7.12: DCTA A-Train, Downtown Denton to Trinity Mills

 

We now began our southbound trek back to Dallas, first on A-Train to Trinity Mills. We left Downtown Denton Transit Center at 4:11 PM. At the Highland Village/Lewisville Lake station, Chris detrained, leaving eight of us to continue onward. Our train got to Trinity Mills two minutes ahead of schedule at 4:41 PM. Being early was significant because there was an earlier run of the Green Line than we had intended to take sitting across the platform. We were able to board it, thus there was no wait out in the sun.

 

Chapter 7.13: DART Green Line, Trinity Mills to West End

 

Our Green Line train left Trinity Mills at 4:42 PM, 14 minutes ahead of our itinerary and destined to early for our dinner reservation. When we got to the Inwood/Love Field station, Ted left us to return to his accommodations for the evening. Seven of us remained, getting to West End at 5:20 PM, 15 minutes ahead of when we had expected to get there. Our official transit rides done for the day, we then walked around the corner to partake of dinner.

 

Chapter 7.14: Dinner in Dallas

 

We had chosen a convenient but rather pricey place, Y. O. Ranch Steakhouse. It is located within the West End Historic District. We all enjoyed the food and service, ending what had been a very fruitful day of transit riding. We said goodbye to Bill, who had only joined us for one day's activities and would be flying home in the morning. He took the Orange Line back to the DFW Airport.

 

Chapter 7.15: End of Wednesday's activities

 

Wednesday was over, but we still had another busy day ahead of us! We returned to our respective hotels looking forward to Thursday.



Kevin Korell


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Posted 25 November 2017 - 03:07 AM

Chapter 8: Thursday, July 19, 2017

 

Still more light rail awaited us, as well as a heritage trolley and modern streetcar. These filled out our last day in Dallas, followed by our boarding Amtrak to travel back to Chicago.

 

Chapter 8.1: Meeting in Dallas

 

The last DART light rail segment yet for us to ride was the portion of the Green Line east of downtown Dallas. Another "rolling meet" would work out best for us, only in reverse order to the day before. Grace and Alan boarded the designated Green Line car first at Market Center, followed by Jishnu, Mike, Chris, and me at the West End and Akard stations. Six would be involved on this morning activity. Steve would join us later in the day.

 

Chapter 8.2: DART Green Line, Various Dallas stations to Buckner

 

We left Akard at 8:56 AM. This route, once it leaves the trunk line beyond Pearl/Arts District, winds by the Deep Ellum district and then around Fair Park. It then runs for a while next to Texas Route 352, and then finally transitions to another corridor adjacent to US 175 before ending at the Buckner station. We got there at 9:27 AM. We were a little ahead of our itinerary, which allowed us time to cross the platform and board the next inbound train earlier than intended.

 

Chapter 8.3: DART Green Line, Buckner to Pearl/Arts District

 

Four minutes later we were moving westbound again towards downtown Dallas. Another uneventful trip brought us to our transfer point of Pearl/Arts District at 9:58 AM. We detrained here to await the next train north to Cityplace/Uptown.

 

Chapter 8.4: DART Red Line, Pearl/Arts District to Cityplace/Uptown

 

This route is covered by the Blue Line, Orange Line, and Red Line. So whichever of those came first would be satisfactory for this trip segment. It happened to be the Red Line. We left Pearl/Arts District at 10:01 AM, and arrived at Cityplace/Uptown three minutes later. We then made our way up to street level to take our ride on the M-Line.

 

Chapter 8.5: DART M-Line Trolley, Cityplace/Uptown to Federal & Olive

 

The M-Line Trolley has a turntable at its Cityplace station, since the track here is a dead-end branch line off the loop through the West Village. Part of the show here before or after riding (or while riding if not boarding or alighting here) is to watch the trolley get turned around. A trolley arrived and after we watched it turn 180 degrees, we were invited to board. We left Cityplace/Uptown at 10:23 AM, which was 19 minutes earlier than our itinerary called for. We had ridden this trolley before, but it was a novelty for the area and it also had some new trackage at the other end downtown.

 

The downtown loop using parallel streets was put in not only to provide better service to other areas, but also to bring the trolley closer to a connection with DART light rail and to eliminate some "wrong way" running against traffic between the previous end of the line at St. Paul & Ross and McKinney Avenue. The new downtown layover point is at Federal & Olive, which is just one block from DART's St. Paul station on its downtown trunk line. We paused here at Federal & Olive at 10:46 AM for eight minutes, which I thought was a lot considering that the operator no longer has to change ends. Obviously this is their break time.

 

Chapter 8.6: DART M-Line Trolley, Federal & Olive to Cityplace/Uptown

 

Back in motion again, we continued on "new" trackage along Olive Street until we reached McKinney Avenue once more. We then returned to the Cityplace/Uptown station, getting there 11:15 AM. Our itinerary said 11:19 AM, so because of the longer than expected layover time at Federal & Olive, we were back close to schedule. The turntable show began after we had gotten off, and having seen it already we headed back to the underground DART station.

 

Chapter 8.7: DART Blue Line, Cityplace/Uptown to Union Station

 

Now planning to head to Union Station, we were limited to just the Red Line or Blue Line. Therefore, we first let an Orange Line car pass before taking the next vehicle to come, a Blue Line car. We departed from Cityplace/Uptown at 11:26 AM, and got to Union Station at 11:37 AM. Here, we had a bathroom break before we would continue the final phase of our last day in Dallas. Mike remained behind to eventually hook up with Kim once more, but Ted rejoined us, so we remained at six.

 

Chapter 8.8: DART Dallas Streetcar, Union Station to Bishop Arts District

 

About 1/2 block up Houston Street from Union Station, we found a Dallas Streetcar in layover awaiting its departure time. It would be leaving at 12:10 PM, which coordinated exactly with the Fest itinerary. The six of us were glad to sit there rather than waiting outside in the heat. We did indeed depart at 12:10 and headed right over the Houston Street viaduct into the Oak Cliff district.

 

One interesting aspect of this line is that it runs with battery power from Union Station and over the Houston Street viaduct, but under catenary from the Greenbriar stop to the end of the line. While stopped there, the operator temporarily shut off the streetcar and raised its pantograph. By 12:21 PM, we were at the end of the line at Bishop Arts District. Five of us detrained, while Chris said goodbye to us and returned on the same streetcar back to downtown Dallas.

 

Although the streetcar's Phase 2 extension to Bishop Arts District opened about 11 months prior, there was still a lot of construction going on around the station. We had to walk among barricades and mud to get to 7th Street to begin looking for places to have lunch.

 

Chapter 8.9: Lunch in Dallas

 

We ended up splitting and going to different places for lunch. When everyone had eaten and contacted one another that we were ready to go, the five of us met again and walked back to the streetcar stop. While a full two hours had been allotted for lunch, we did not use it all and were ready to call it a day in Dallas.

 

Chapter 8.10: DART Dallas Streetcar, Bishop Arts District to Union Station

 

After waiting a few minutes, we boarded a streetcar that arrived, and waited while the operator changed ends and awaited the end of his dwell time. We departed from Bishop Arts District at 1:48 PM, and arrived back at Union Station at 2:00 PM.

 

Chapter 8.11: In Dallas

 

With our rail activities in Dallas complete, it was now time to prepare to leave town. Most of us returned to our hotels to pick up stored luggage, and then we met again at Union Station to await the northbound Texas Eagle.

 

When we were all back at Union Station there were eight of us. Kim was back, and so were Mike and Steve. Ted, Jishnu, Grace, Alan, and I all returned within the hour. There is no first class lounge in Dallas, so we waited among all the other departing passengers. We knew by now that our Texas Eagle was running about 15-20 minutes late, which was not really a major concern.

 

Chapter 8.12: Amtrak Texas Eagle, Train #22(19), Dallas, TX to Chicago, IL

 

Around 3:40 PM, we were called outside to board the train. Ted would be riding on coach, while the other seven were aboard the sole regular sleeper 2220. The northbound Texas Eagle departed from Dallas at 4:03 PM, 23 minutes down. We soon made our dinner reservations as the lead service attendant came around. Our group of eight would fill two tables very nicely. We were at dinner already when we stopped at Mineola a little over half an hour late. We made up a little time by Longview, and then despite some freight interference, we left Marshall at 7:45 PM, just 14 minutes late.

 

Around this time we all noticed that we had a strong septic odor wafting through our sleeper car. It was strong, and at times burned the eyes. The crew was aware of it, but was unable to do anything about it. It was nice, therefore, to get some fresh air outside at the Texarkana station, where it was just about dark when we departed at 9:02 PM. And the last station stop I remember that night was Arkadelphia, which we departed from at 10:20 PM, 18 minutes off the advertised.

 

Chapter 8.13: End of Thursday's activities

 

Thursday ended aboard the Texas Eagle as we tried to get some sleep despite the horrible odor throughout our car.



Kevin Korell


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#9 KevinKorell

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 03:09 AM

Chapter 9: Friday, July 20, 2017

 

Day Seven saw us arrive back in Chicago in the afternoon, with no further Fest activities planned because of the unsure arrival time.

 

Chapter 9.0: Amtrak Texas Eagle, Train #22(19), Dallas, TX to Chicago, IL (continued)

 

As Friday began, we awoke to be first for breakfast. It was obvious that we were already in the St. Louis area and were approaching that major station. The Texas Eagle arrived there at 6:57 AM, 27 minutes early, while we were having our breakfast in the dining car. So there was no opportunity for us to walk outside this time. Unbeknownst to most of us, Misty had boarded the train in St. Louis in the coach section, and was sitting in the lounge car. Temporarily our travelling group was up to nine.

 

We departed St. Louis just one minute late at 7:56 AM. I noticed that we took a left before the MacArthur Bridge, meaning that we would be passing underneath the Arch and crossing the Mississippi River on the Merchants Bridge instead. When we left our first Illinois station, Alton, at 9:06 AM, we were 17 minutes down. That had to be attributed to speed limits on the Terminal Railroad Association trackage near the Arch. Things got worse by Carlinville, which we departed from at 9:52 AM, 37 minutes off.

 

In Springfield, our train had to make a triple spot to service all parts of the train, which was now carrying its St. Louis coach on the rear. The passengers who detrained during the last of those spots included Misty, who would return to St. Louis later on a Lincoln Service train. Our departure from Springfield was at 10:48 AM, 53 minutes late. The tardiness was similar up the line at Lincoln, Bloomington-Normal, and Pontiac, the latter of which we left at 12:28 PM.

 

Schedule padding exists for the northbound Texas Eagle at Joliet, and as such this train treats it as a discharge-only stop. We had somehow made up about 15 minutes of our deficit. We left there 1:31 PM, 35 minutes down. Only Chicago lay ahead of us. Arrival into Chicago Union Station came at 2:27 PM, 35 minutes late. The eight of us detrained, took a breath of the cleaner smelling air, and split up for the day.

 

Chapter 9.1: End of Friday's activities

 

Ted went to catch a bus to the next city on his trip. Steve went home. Kim and Mike went to the Marriott Suites in Rosemont near O'Hare International Airport, I went to Hilton Garden Inn Downtown-North Loop, and Jishnu, Grace, and Alan stayed at the Hilton Palmer House.



Kevin Korell


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Posted 25 November 2017 - 03:11 AM

Chapter 10: Saturday, July 21, 2017

 

Our final official day together featured one commuter rail journey between Chicago and Harvard.

 

Chapter 10.1: Meeting in Chicago

 

It was not much of a meeting, as we had thinned down to just two people by now. Only Mike and I would be making the Metra trip to Harvard and back. The rest who were still in Chicago had made other plans for the day. I met Mike at the top of the escalator at Ogilvie Transportation Center, and when our train was announced, we went to take our seats aboard it.

 

Chapter 10.2: METRA UP-Northwest Line, Train #701, Ogilvie Transportation Center to Harvard

 

This METRA route was chosen as it was the last one our group had not yet ridden together. Following this run, the only trackage our group has not ridden in our many visits to Chicago since 2003 is the branch off this line to McHenry. The latter is hard to get as its only out and back round trip happens very early on weekday mornings only.

 

Our westbound trip departed Ogilvie Transportation Center at 8:35 AM, five minutes late. Our trip was uneventful, but with our late departure and only 15 minutes scheduled dwell at Harvard had the train been running on time, I asked the conductor if the same equipment would represent our inbound trip. He answered affirmatively, reminding us that we still would have to detrain there and walk to the opposite side platform. We ended up arriving into Harvard at 10:27 AM, seven minutes late, and did exactly that.

 

Chapter 10.3: METRA UP-Northwest Line, Train #710, Harvard to Ogilvie Transportation Center

 

The delay to our equipment, however, also cascaded to its inbound trip, as it arrived behind schedule to pick us up. We left Harvard inbound on what was now Train #710 at 10:41 AM, six minutes down. The trip was uneventful, other than the fact that the train does do splendid weekend business, hence heavy boarding at each station that took a while. We finally got back to Ogilvie Transportation Center at 12:37 PM, two minutes late.

 

Chapter 10.4: End of Saturday's activities

 

MTRF was officially over once Mike and I arrived back at Ogilvie Transportation Center. We went for lunch at Arby's in that station's food court, then walked back to Union Station and the Metropolitan Lounge so that he could reunite with Kim.



Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ





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