Announcing Southern California RailFest 2009 Options

[KevinKorell]

Aloha

Thanks for the Laff, I wonder Why so much concern for a easy task

Eric,

Believe it or not it is an important issue. If you bring a certain number of outfits, and do the laundry once, you end up running out again while aboard an LD train. Unless I've missed something, the Southwest Chief does not carry a coin laundry.

[jis]

Believe it or not it is an important issue. If you bring a certain number of outfits, and do the laundry once, you end up running out again while aboard an LD train. Unless I've missed something, the Southwest Chief does not carry a coin laundry.

Needless to say of course, Kevin will eventually provide everyone with a detailed list of how many outfits to take and the corresponding laundry schedule

[KevinKorell]

Needless to say of course, Kevin will eventually provide everyone with a detailed list of how many outfits to take and the corresponding laundry schedule

Yeah I've worked that out already. It depends on whether you want to do the laundry once or twice during the trip, and how heavy you want your luggage to be. There is also the variable of how many days each participant may be away from home, as it will vary depending on how long people will be participating in the fest, and whether they go by train with us all the way or choose to use the metal bird.

[Lightning]

As I already wrote Kevin, my attendance (would be my first fest) mostly depends on the opening of Sound Transit Central Link. I have been waiting decades for this service to materialize and wouldn't miss the inaugural weekend for anything, even the SoCal Fest. The projected date is July 3, but may be delayed. If anyone wants (or needs) to save a couple of travel days, you might want to consider flying to Seattle and taking the once (and hopefully again) magnificent Coast Starlight--only one night to LA--especially if you think you might not otherwise experience it.

[GG-1]

aloha

For this one I expect to be parrt of the western city's, YEA!

[tp49]

I really want to attend but for me it will be based on what's going on with work and who's on the Dodgers, Angels and Padres schedule . I'll have a better sense in about a month as to what I can do.

[KevinKorell]

Mark, I await your revised plans now that ST Central LINK is opening the very Saturday of our fest in California. Perhaps you can join us later in the week.

Eric, wherever your hometown happens to be, hope you can not only join us but carry your huge camera around and document our every move. At least you have a "second home" in the OC.

Tom, hope you can come down from Sacramento and join us. Regarding the ballgames, the Padres have a homestand against the Florida Marlins on July 20-22. The Dodgers have a homestand against the Houston Astros on July 16-19 and the Cincinnati Reds on July 20-22. The Angels will be on a road trip to Oakland and Kansas City during our time in California.

At any rate when you guys do decide what to do, please e-mail me with your plans.

This post has been edited by KevinKorell: Apr 21 2009, 05:29 PM

[Lightning]

Mark, I await your revised plans now that ST Central LINK is opening the very Saturday of our fest in California. Perhaps you can join us later in the week.

Kevin: I'll be riding the Central Link all weekend, so I won't make it to the SoCal fest. It's just the timing. I'll be looking forward to next year's Pacific Northwest Fest when I can finally meet you and the others. Sincerely, Mark

[WhoozOn1st]

Because I won't be joining the Fest until Sunday I hadn't done more than glance at the prior portion of the itinerary. On taking a closer look today, however, I see that the outbound Metrolink ride on the Ventura County Line is aboard train 111. This is the train that was involved in the cornfield meet with a UP freight on 9-12-08.

Festers (?) will be able to get a good look at the same situation, perhaps under the same weather conditions (clear skies), albeit earlier in the year than the wreck occurred (sun higher).

Outbound the train will be pulling. Unlike San Diego's Coasters, Metrolink has not (at least yet) blacked out the end windows, so riding in the last car and looking astern as the train departs Chatsworth will afford an excellent view of the wreck scene as the train rolls through what I call the Metrolink Death Curve.

With Metrolink 118 in push mode on the return from Moorpark, Festers can revisit the scene from the UP freight's viewpoint as it rolled out of the Santa Susanna Pass. This will be a little more difficult, because since the wreck Metrolink uses red ropes to block off the forward ends of cab cars when trains are pushing (What difference a rope woulda made on 9-12-08 is beyond me). You can still look forward, just can't get right up to the window.

This post has been edited by WhoozOn1st: Jun 17 2009, 12:46 PM

[KevinKorell]

I was eerily aware that Train 111 is the same run as the doomed train of 9/12/08. I had chosen this particular evening round trip long before the incident happened, as most future fests exist long on paper (or hard drive) long before we begin to plan in earnest.

No doubt some survivors of the horrific crash will be aboard our train, though I don't plan to bring back bad memories for them and ask if they were on the train on that fateful day.

Hopefully lessons have been learned from what happened, and we should have nothing to worry about as we take our round trip.