I want to start open discussion on the locations and trip elements being considered for our Fest this Summer. By this time last year the RRF trip and host cities were already known (if not announced yet), and thus some people had already made a number of Amtrak and hotel reservations based on possible travel days and weeks.
This is not yet an announcement of anything, as many details need to be worked out. Free time is less than what it used to be, and focus right now is on the Fest at hand that I depart for in 10 days.
For starters one thing almost certain is that we will pass through Chicago at some point or points. Thus those on the east coast would need to think about 1 or 2 nights in sleepers in each direction. In case some don't have enough AGR points and might need to purchase some, there is currently a 30% bonus promotion where one can get some "free" points with a regular points purchase. Thus for example paying the normal rate for 10,000 points would get you 13,000 points. See here for details.
Next, I can say that the Fest will be sometime within the second and third full calendar weeks of July, which would be the weeks that start with Sunday the 12th and Sunday the 19th. The exact days have NOT yet been determined since the venues and required trip segments are still unknown. It could start as early as Friday the 10th or end as late as Sunday the 26th when weekends are considered.
Now what exactly are the possibilities? First off there have been requests for Pittsburgh, which has long been put off because of their lack of a Day Pass fare instrument. They now have a loadable smart card that will still cost us a good bit, but at least we won't have to keep digging for change in our pockets to cover all the various surcharges that are built into PAT's fare structure. Pittsburgh is only an idea, and it would go hand in hand with another request to ride the Pennsylvanian via the Horseshoe Curve. It would not stand alone as a Fest but be a 28 hour stopover (one night in a hotel) since we would arrive on the Pennsylvanian around 8 PM one night and leave around midnight the next night on the Capitol Limited westbound. So this option would add one day to whatever else is decided upon.
Other place being considered are the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, to ride the two light rail lines as well as Northstar commuter rail. Out of Chicago, this would take three days to accomplish. One day westbound on the Empire Builder, two nights in hotels in St. Paul, one full day in the area to ride the above, and then one day eastbound on the Empire Builder back to Chicago. With this option comes dealing with the train's poor timekeeping and the news that BNSF will again be doing heavy construction along their transcontinental line.
Another choice being considered is Dallas, which would be a 10th Anniversary return visit after Eagle RailFest 2005. Whether we do this in 2015 however, hinges on completion of the Oak Cliff Streetcar and the downtown extensions of the M-Line. Both are scheduled to be done this year, but as we know from Washington, DC, dates can keep on slipping well beyond our expectations. If either one will ends up opening after mid-July, then we save this entire idea for another time.
A trip to Dallas would obviously be longer than visiting the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. And with it comes other opportunities that would we would not want to miss. Out of Fort Worth we could do the Heartland Flyer to Oklahoma City, stay there, and then come back the following day -- which adds another day to such an event (but it can be done in tandem with a ride on Trinity Railway Express between Dallas & Fort Worth). I also would want to do a 24 hour stopover in Little Rock to ride that city's RiverRail streetcar (which is very much similar to Tampa's TECO operation).
I haven't had the time yet to work out how long each of the above scenarios would take, or what days of the week would be best. Obviously some systems are better visited on weekdays when there is more service, but somewhere along the line we could encounter travel on a weekend as well. I'll post a number of potential itineraries when I get the chance to do so.
But at least this is a start so we can post our ideas and talk about it in person during the WARF event this month.
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