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#1 KevinKorell

KevinKorell

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Posted 18 August 2005 - 11:45 PM

Well it's just one week until Washington RailFest 2005 begins!

A few reminders:

If you have not already done so, please e-mail me your cell phone number, the hotel you will be staying at (if applicable), and the trains you plan to take to/from Washington. I will put this information together into a contact list that will be available only to those participating in this fest.

The Metro one-day pass for $6.50 is available by mail. I ordered and received mine within four days. It might be too late for you to try doing this now, but you can of course purchase a farecard of any value at any Metro station. Please do so before our fest travels so that you don't hold up the group.

For Friday, our itinerary calls for riding the Metro Red Line from Rockville to Shady Grove, and then returning to downtown. Somewhere along the way, most likely at either Rockville, Twinbrook, or White Flint, we will get off the train and have dinner together. This is of course optional; if you would rather go home or return to your hotel you can stay aboard the Red Line.

Please consult my restaurant guide for the areas around the Rockville, Twinbrook, or White Flint stations, or the White Flint Mall (about 2 blocks walk south of WF Metro station), and let me know where you would prefer eating dinner. No solid plans have been made yet, and they may not be until we get off the MARC train in Rockville. If Rockville is chosen, we would of course do this before getting on the Metro. A potential Twinbrook or White Flint dinner would be after riding the Red Line up to Shady Grove and then south to either of those stations. Please plan for any potential stopovers such as these when purchasing your farecard for Friday.

By now those who will be staying in hotels have hopefully made their reservations. If you haven't, please consult my hotel guide. It was recently updated with some Holiday Inn properties added.

If your name is on the participant list, and it does not belong there, please let me know so I can remove it. Likewise, if you plan to attend but I have not put your name on the list, now would be a good time to e-mail me with the details. If you are on the list, please let me know if you will be coming for the entire fest, or just parts of it. This way we will know how many people to expect during each segment of the fest.

There is some concern over VRE, given all of the problems they have been having on both lines with trackwork, new switch installation, and heat restrictions. We will continue expecting to make our round trip to Broad Run on the trains indicated on the itinerary. However, if for some reason there are serious delays on Friday, or the reverse peak trip is cancelled, we will have to alter our plans accordingly. One idea might be to scuttle to MARC trip, ride a later VRE train one way to Manassas (downtown, not Broad Run), and wait for the eastbound CARDINAL to come through (it does run on Fridays) for our return to Washington. There should be ample time for dinner in Manassas if we did this. Another possibility would be to ride the Fredericksburg Line only as far as Franconia-Springfield, and then return on Metro.

Michael and I are now reserved (and tickets obtained) for Acela Express #2107 on Friday 8/26 from Metropark to Washington. Our return trip will be on Metroliner #2208 on Sunday 8/28 from Washington to Metropark. Business Class on both trains.

As for meeting places, on Friday we should get together in the lower level food court of Washington Union Station for lunch. The food court is being refurbished, so it is hard to know what sections will be open for seating. We should meet around 12 noon on the eastern end of the food court, the end furthest from Metro and closest to the Mama Ilardo's Pizza and King Bar-B-Q, which are near the foot of the down escalator. Those who don't wish to join us for lunch can meet us instead in the seating area near Gates J & K, from which we most likely will be boarding our VRE train at 1:15. Meet us there around 1 PM, or on the train.

As for Saturday, we will be taking Metro from Union Station. If you don't want to meet us at Union Station you can join us at a station closer to your home or hotel. Contact one of us by cell phone to determine what train we are on and when we might reach your stop. For those who originate from Union Station, we will assemble between 9:15 and 9:30 AM on the concourse level in the area between Au Bon Pain and the B. Dalton Book Store. This offers us an easy, short walk to either side of the Metro station. Our first Red Line train is due to leave at 9:37, so we will begin heading for the Metro at 9:30. Anyone who does not have a farecard should purchase one before 9:30, either before or during our group getting together. Those coming from hotels who plan to meet at Union Station should plan accordingly to reach there before 9:15.

We are still going to have dinner at Golden Corral at the Boulevard At Capitol Centre near Largo Town Center Metro station. They offer a large, varied buffet and lots of good food. It will be a five-minute walk across two parking lots and through the outdoor mall to reach the restaurant.

Following dinner, some may choose to return home or to their hotels by remaining on a Blue Line train. For those who will be going up to New Carrollton, we will change at Stadium-Armory. Hopefully the crowds from the earlier Nationals game will have cleared by then. In New Carrollton, we have at least one person taking an Amtrak Regional train from that point. The rest who are returning to their homes or hotels will take the Orange Line back to Washington and then disperse at the stations of their choice.

Look for any further updates in the days leading up to next Friday.


Kevin Korell


OTOL Board Leader


Lakewood, NJ





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