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Future Fests as of Summer/Fall 2016


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 08 August 2016 - 10:30 AM

Now that Pacific Coast RailFest is behind us, we once again look forward to what we can accomplish next.

With regard to Winter fests since that comes up next, I have been at a loss for what to do in January of 2017. Usually we have visited and revisited east coast cities taking in anything new since the last visit. There really isn't much new to do lately.

New York's MTA still thinks it will get the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway up and running by the end of 2016, but there is much skepticism about that happening given the delays that were encountered getting the 1-station Hudson Yards extension of the 7 line up and running.

In Washington, DC we do have the DC Streetcar finally available. Our group could do that, but given the issues experienced by Metro lately, there would not be much more within the Washington area to make a trip there worthwhile.

Boston we have done and even re-done the entire rapid transit system on our last couple of visits, and we have ridden a few of the commuter rail lines more than once.

Philadelphia's diverse SEPTA system has been done numerous times, and while the regional rail fleet may be back up to normal operations by then, planning anything there right now is still discouraging.

So I am certainly open to suggestions. We discussed a few possibilities on the most recent Sunday chat session. Most would involve Amtrak and potential locations in Virginia. There is a same-day Cardinal round trip possible from east coast cities to Charlottesville. This is possible around the weekend on a Friday or Sunday. It really is dependent on both Trains 51 and 50 being on or close to schedule. Other Virginia locations possible for a same-day turn would be Williamsburg or Newport News (65/67 south, 66 north). Richmond-Main Street would be a much longer dwell for the same trains, but an overnight stay is possible with hotels that pickup and dropoff at the station. For that, we could use 95, 83, or 99 south, and 94, 96, or 194 north. With the Charlottesville or overnight Richmond options, now a quick run on the DC Streetcar becomes possible if we board those trains in Washington since there are morning hours available.

There are other things we can do in the east. Charlotte and Atlanta have modern streetcars that did not exist when we were there last. Charlotte however is a little hard to get to in order to have daylight time to enjoy its streetcar, and certainly getting between those two cities is tough due to the poor calling times of the Crescent in Charlotte. At very least we should wait until a new Uptown station is opened in Charlotte to avoid dealing with the current location north of the city.

Moving to the warmer weather event, current thinking still favors a trip centered on a return to Dallas. We were last there in 2005, and at that time only the DART Red and Blue Lines existed as well as TRE to Fort Worth and the M-Line heritage trolley line. Since then, DART has added the Orange and Green Lines. There is a second commuter rail line between Carrollton and Denton called A-Train. The Blue Line was extended from Garland to Rowlett, and by the end of this year will also be extended on its other end from Ledbetter to University of North Texas. The M-Line was also extended closer to downtown Dallas and a multi-street loop was created as well. And then there is the Dallas Streetcar, whose first phase went into service last year to Oak Cliff, and is being extended by the end of this summer to the Bishop Arts District. I am uncertain whether there will be time for the Las Colinas automated People Mover, or whether that will even be worthwhile for us. Nevertheless there is plenty of rail to ride in the Dallas area!

I have entertained a few possible add-ons to a Dallas fest since by itself it would not fill up a full week. One would be a 24-hour stopover on the way back at Little Rock to ride their streetcar. Another would be a side trip on the Heartland Flyer to Oklahoma City (with a necessary overnight there). The problem with Little Rock is that the Amtrak station is not downtown, and thus late night taxi rides would be necessary. Oklahoma City itself is building a downtown streetcar due to open in 2018, so I would prefer to wait a few years to make that visit more worthwhile. The third add-on idea which would be most popular in my mind would be to take the Southwest Chief out of Chicago to Kansas City, stay overnight there, ride the new Kansas City Streetcar, take the evening Missouri River Runner to St. Louis, stay overnight there, ride Metrolink light rail trackage we have not yet done as a group as well as the new Delmar trolley, and then board the Texas Eagle in St. Louis to Dallas.

As for when that might be, many regulars in our group have expressed desire to move our Fests from July to a different month. We will discuss that in another thread. But especially with Texas (or maybe in the future Arizona or Florida), July is probably not the best time to visit from a weather standpoint.



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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 05 September 2016 - 02:48 PM

With regard to a potential Dallas-centered trip, it was discussed in Chat that at least one hotel does indeed have a shuttle to & from the Little Rock Amtrak station. I went ahead and added one day to the rough outline for the event, with a 24-hour stopover in Little Rock on the northbound trip and associated rides on the Metro Streetcar (formerly RiverRail). I also filled in times for the Bishop Arts District extension of Dallas Streetcar, now that the entire line has opened. Temporary itinerary is here. We still await opening of the Delmar Loop trolley in St. Louis and the Oak Cliff extension of Dallas DART Blue Line to University of North Texas (UNT), both of which will necessitate further adjustments.


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#3 jis

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Posted 06 September 2016 - 09:09 AM

This should not necessarily affect planning of the Fest, but at least for some of us it is difficult to take more than a week off, i.e. 5 week days. So a trip that is 9 days worth (5 day work week plus the two weekends at either end of it, Chicago to Chicago is ideal. However, if it is longer, as we all know all of us figure out ways of joining and dropping off at appropriate times to meet our own issues without impacting others.



#4 saxman

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Posted 11 September 2016 - 05:12 PM

The Little Rock station is basically in downtown, but it's not really walking distance to any hotels, at least if you have bags with you. If you do have to get a cab, I can't imagine it being more than $5-$10 to a hotel in the area.



#5 Sloan

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Posted 14 September 2016 - 10:44 AM

Buffalo, NY has a one-route  light rail system that includes a subway.  Regrettably all other rail attractions are not accessible by train including the Niagara Falls Whirlpool Aero Car and the Western New York Railway Historical Society.   :(  Sloan



#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 14 September 2016 - 11:32 AM

Buffalo, NY has a one-route  light rail system that includes a subway.  Regrettably all other rail attractions are not accessible by train including the Niagara Falls Whirlpool Aero Car and the Western New York Railway Historical Society.   :(  Sloan


We rode the NFTA Metro light rail in Buffalo in the summer of 2004 on the way to Toronto. At Niagara Falls there is also an Incline ride on the Canadian side of the falls, known as Falls Incline Railway.

I don't currently have any plans to return to this area however.


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#7 steve4031

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Posted 29 October 2016 - 07:37 PM

I could see a rt trip to Atlanta as a possibility. We could arrive in the morning and return that evening. For me, I could take 30 and meet the group in washington on 19.

#8 KevinKorell

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Posted 29 October 2016 - 08:01 PM

I could see a rt trip to Atlanta as a possibility. We could arrive in the morning and return that evening. For me, I could take 30 and meet the group in washington on 19.

 

 

They do have a nice new modern streetcar there.  It's always a possibility.  I've done the same-day turn before as one has roughly 12 hours in town assuming both Crescents are on time.   Hotel costs would be zero.



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#9 pennyk

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Posted 03 November 2016 - 07:39 AM

About this time last year, the January fest was announced.  Has it been decided if there will be a winter fest?  If so, are suggestions of location being accepted?  Is Steve's suggestion of Atlanta being considered?  The inauguration will be in DC on the Friday after MLK weekend, which may or may not affect hotel prices and availability in DC.

 

I recall hearing suggestions about Virginia and even heard a suggestion about Orlando.  The weather is certainly acceptable in Orlando in January, but there may not be much to ride.



#10 saxman

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Posted 07 November 2016 - 02:11 PM

I booked the Crescent for MLK weekend just because I had some vouchers that were expiring. I can easily cancel it though.






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