I have been getting many questions regarding what we may or may not be doing in January 2011. As some of you have correctly figured out, I am a little burned out from all of the work that goes into these Fests, including all the planning, the execution, and all the post-Fest activity that remains afterwards to update my web pages and then report on the event. At present there are 3 (maybe 4) yet-unpublished Fest reports from our events in 2010, in various stages of completion. You can see how there could be some hesitation in planning yet another one.

To address any concerns or assumptions, I'd like to present what is going through my mind about a potential January 2011 event.

When we last met in August of this year, we essentially "aced" not only the Long Island Railroad, but everything in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area. Save for any new starts, such as the HBLRT extension in Bayone, we no longer have any rail transit routes to ride for the first time as a group. That does not mean we cannot repeat anything. It is realized that between 2001 and the present, some of you may have missed some of our Fests.

The New YorkCity metropolitan area is not the only location being considered. Also possible are Fests in Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh & Johnstown) and North Carolina (mainly Charlotte). Following are some pros and cons of each choice:

1. New York City area

Again keeping in mind that anything future in the New York City/New Jersey/Connecticut area would be a repeat and thus geared to those who would be new to the lines we would ride, the only way to do this would be to hold a New York Request Fest. Based on requests from potential participants, we can hopefully put together a program of rail activities to fill up two days. These requests would have to be within reason. For example, a Port Jervis round trip (as we did in 2003) is no longer possible during winter daylight hours due to schedule changes.

Such a "Request Fest" would also work in other Eastern cities, such as Philadelphia or Boston. If one in the New York area is the chosen option, then those who have made to our events every year for the last decade may find things redundant. Our goals for a fun-filled day would remain the same, but the faces might be a little different than they were last time around.

2. North Carolina

Originally a 3-day event (including rail trips to and from the Northeast), it was expanded to 4 days when it became a possible candidate for a fest in the winter. This ensures that we can ride the Piedmont and Charlotte's light rail during daylight hours.

Pro: Charlotte offers a choice of many hotels, and they appear to be reasonably priced.
Pro: The midday frequency of the Piedmont that started this past summer ensures that we would be able to ride the entire trip in daylight, don't have to arise too early, or arrive at our destination too late.
Con: The current location of the Amtrak station is about a mile north of Uptown (Charlotte's term for "Downtown"). This would necessitate a taxicab or bus trip to get between the station and your chosen hotel. The #11 bus runs along Tryon Street in front of the station driveway.
Con: The Piedmont does not have a cafe car; food service is strictly vending machines. This would be an issue as the midday trip runs during lunchtime.
Con: This past summer, CATS discontinued the Charlotte Trolley due to budget issues. While the heritage trolley used the same tracks as the light rail line, it was a novelty. Without it, the only rail activity in Charlotte would be the light rail, which takes almost half an hour each way end to end. Because of the stretched out schedule, we would be involved in an "official" ride just about one hour of the day.
Some hotels in Charlotte claim to have shuttles that serve the Amtrak station, so perhaps those could be sought out if this option is chosen. Also, Amtrak is slated to move to a new intermodal transportation center in a few years, so that could be a reason to wait until then.

3. Pittsburgh

In planning, Pittsburgh was always considered to be a 4-day event (Saturday and Tuesday are strictly trips on the Pennsylvanian from and to Northeast cities). This is due to the nature of Amtrak's schedule. Both trains coming from the east get there late at night, and both going towards the east depart early in the morning. So 2 days would be dedicated to the area. One of the two is intentionally scheduled for Sunday, when the Pennsylvanian runs eastbound later. This allows for a side trip to Johnstown to ride that city's Incline, to bolster the experience of having ridden Pittsburgh's two remaining Inclines.

Pro: One reason to visit Pittsburgh very soon is that the Brown Line (formerly the 52 Allentown) is proposed to be eliminated by March 2011.
Pro: Pittsburgh does offer a lot of hotels, many within easy walking distance of the light rail lines and the Amtrak station.
Con: Pittsburgh is a very railfan-unfriendly city. There is no DayPass instrument. The complex fare structure on the light rail lines includes zone fares and surcharges based on the time of day.
Con: A fare increase will most likely take place by the time we would have this Fest, so the financial blow will be even worse. It is possble that one end to end trip during the rush hour could cost as much as 4 or 5 bucks a pop.
Con: While the extension under construction to the North Side is a good thing, the old Gateway Center station has been permanently closed, with all trains turning at Wood Avenue. A new Gateway Center station will open as part of the extension. We would therefore miss this section of the orginal subway.

4. Do nothing

Having no Rail Fest in January 2011 is always an option. As I said at the start, I would not be heartbroken if we didn't have any Fest at that time. But perhaps some of you have come to expect them at that time. I would just as well not have to worry about standing outside in frigid or snowy weather. If not enough interest is shown, Option #4 can easily be invoked.

The above has no bearing on other plans, such as next July's Southeast RailFest, visiting Atlanta, New Orleans, and Memphis, and featuring Amtrak trips on the Crescent and City of New Orleans. Hopefully past business will be cleared up by then and we can look forward to another great summer event. Of course this is no official announcement; it is pending my vacation time being approved. More than likely it should be known for sure by mid-winter.

Meanwhile, I hope to announce something regarding January by around Thanksgiving, so you can begin making your plans to attend (or not). What happens then is up to YOU. If you favor Option #1, please state your choices for what we should do. Primarily this is up to those who have not been to every Fest or have never ridden particular rail lines. The more interest is shown, the more likely we avoid the dreaded Option #4.

New York or any east coast city for a request Fest would my first choice. Outside of nyc, Philly would be an interesting choice

Here's another option to throw out there... an Amtrak excursion between New York (or other east coast cities south of there) and either Hartford, CT or Springfield, MA.

This could be done in one day up and back, with a couple hours off for lunch in either city, and still get back at or close to nightfall. I noticed that right now if one takes a train other than the Vermonter, one can travel each way for a base coach fare of $27 (NYP-HFD) or $29 (NYP-SPG), less your 10% AAA/NARP discount. With the required change of trains at New Haven between a Northeast Regional and a Shuttle, that's a relatively cheap 200 base AGR points in either direction, 400 round trip. That assumes we stay away from the 14x-series trains, which would provide a one-seat ride and thus you would only get the 100 base AGR points each way for the same money.

It could also be done by leaving later on a Saturday (1 PM from NYP gets you to either city well before dark), staying over, and then leaving SPG or HFD on Sunday mid-morning.

This of course would be the only thing we do, but it's just a thought and it requires a minimum of planning (except for hotels, which are a little easier to come by in Hartford than Springfield).

I don't know if anyone would consider this a worthwhile trip, but it's something that a few people haven't done yet.

If we do those "Request Fests", we could definitely switch it up each time, maybe New York this year, Philly the next, Boston or Washington the next, etc.

New York is also getting rid of its day pass at the end of this year. I do not know if previously-purchased Fun Passes could be used until their expiration date, or if they have to be turned in, or if they get converted to regular Metrocards with the value of the pass stored on them. All I could find is that the pass is being "eliminated."

If they can be purchased before Dec 30 and used until their expiration date that could be a case for one last NYC subway-based fest.

Nice thought, John. However I believe that the last few subway-based fests we had, the Fun Pass didn't work because the total costs of our entries into the system didn't surpass the price of the pass.

I like the sprinfield option. Was actually looking at the Vermonter a week or so ago. Interesting ride but a long day in amfleet coaches to the end of that line.

What kind of equipment runs on those shuttle trains?

When I took the shuttle run to and from Hartford in May 2010, it ran with a diesel (P-42) engine and only two (or maybe three) cars. Amfleet and a 96XX cab car so it can reverse without being turned around.

The 96XX cab cars date back to the earlier Metroliner days. Inside with the refurbishments of the past several years they resemble Amfleet I coaches (except for the cab itself).

A Vermonter round trip (overnight of course) was once one of my Future Fests, but I took it off the table because the pickings are very poor for hotels in St. Albans, VT. There's a La Quinta about a mile east out by the freeway, and downtown (but still requiring a taxi ride or very long walk) is an Econo Lodge and another non-chain motel. Also going to St. Albans would be more appreciated in warmer months when it may still be light when the train gets to its destination.

At least with turning at HFD or SPG there is a choice of trips and it can be worked out to take advantage of the shorter daylight in winter, whether we do a one day round trip or stay overnight.

If the timing worked out I would vote for a New York request fest. Obviously I am a pretty new face, so there is a lot of things I haven't covered with the group.

I rode down to North Carolina in August of 2009 and its a long ride, with Amfleet I equipment. It was roughly a 9 dollar cab ride from the train station to the hotel we stayed at downtown.

And it's the younger new faces we aim for, and those who didn't make it to the events between 2001 and 2003. But if we do plan things based on those suggestions, it sort of behooves those making the requests to be present at the resulting Fest.

I tend to agree that this should be done in the summer. Also I probably will wait until new coaches come out with bigger windows.

OK well so far with the responses I've seen, here is where we stand for January.

• It's agreed Pittsburgh is out due to weather concerns and its fare issues.
• The feeling is generally lukewarm about Charlotte as well, at least for January. The weather would be anything but lukewarm unless we happen to get very lucky with abnormally mild weekend. And as constructed to include a night in Raleigh, hotels are not plentiful there. For those who suggested Charlotte, it was not on the top of their list of venues.

Which brings us back to the Northeastern megalopolis. What do people want in the greater New York area?

• I have not seen any positive feedback on a suggested Amtrak trip to Hartford or Springfield. St. Albans was suggested to take in the entire Vermonter route, but my concerns about that are documented in a previous response in this thread. A same day turn has not yet been ruled out; as I indicated the fares are not too bad. I will work out a potential itinerary for this in the days to come.
• ACES. It is possible to do a day all-ACES round trip on either Saturday or Sunday. The Atlantic City-bound morning ACES trains run at the same times either day (9:16 AM departure from NYP), but the return trips are different. Saturday's is later than Sunday's. Either one would work if we agree on returning to New York, since we traditionally have dinner in or around the city on the Saturday of the fest, while on Sunday we prefer to disperse and get back to our lives at home.
  
  Or, we could do ACES one way, and the NJT Atlantic City Line the other way. With ACES reduced to $29 for coach class, a one way trip back to New York involving the regular NJT ACL and Amtrak would be a LOT more money. To go the route of ACY-PHL-TRE-NYP on NJT, SEPTA, and NJT again would cost a total of $25.50; one would need to change trains twice and you only save several bucks doing it this way.
  
  However this opens another option to do ACES on Saturday, and then something in the Philadelphia area on Sunday, staying in PHL overnight. This of course means bringing luggage along for the entire excursion. One could then return to the New York area on Sunday after whatever we do in Philly.
• Since we already have done a lot of LIRR lately in January and August of this year, I looked at potential MNRR lines we haven't done in a while. For aforementioned reasons, Port Jervis is out for the winter, but it's possible on a weekend when the weather is warmer and the days longer. Waterbury was done earlier this year, and we were in New Haven a year before that. We also did the entire Hudson Line within the past couple of years, and in recent memory went up to Wassaic on the Upper Harlem Line. That would leave the Danbury and New Canaan Branches, which we last saw back in 2003. Daylight is shorter in January than it is in October when we did this last, so probably one of the two branches would be possible.

And that is where things stand for now.... hopefully we can arrive at a decision by the end of next week.

Kevin,
I am interesed in the Springfield trip first and aces 2 nd, and phl 3rd. Based on your most recent post. Of course I am open to other ideas too.

Here's an interesting concept to kill 2 birds with one stone. If we did an overnight Springfield run (Saturday up, Sunday back), we could also do a New Canaan Branch trip first on Saturday morning.... we'd just get on Amtrak in Stamford. It might work coming back too on Sunday afternoon -- get off Amtrak at STM and the rest of the day Metro North.

That is a possibility. But that would mean hauling luggage around from hotel to hotel to hotel for Friday Night, Saturday night,and then Sunday night back in NYC.

I quickly looked at trying to do Springfield and New Canaan and back to NYC in one day, and that is not possible to do in day light for the entire trip.

Has the group ridden the New Canaan Line? If not, they it makes since to do it officially before doing something else that has already been covered. I am intrigued by the Springfield ride too. Plus one would pick up 400 agr points with that trip.

On an un related note, is it possible to pick agr points on ACES?

OK in the last few hours I've sat down and worked up some projected itineraries that result from putting these ideas out there. You don't know how difficult it was working on it standing up!

First, here are the ACES options. The chart in yellow represents a Saturday all-ACES round trip. The one in light green is a Sunday all-ACES round trip. It's identical to Saturday, except that the return trip is earlier. The chart in light blue is a trip we could take one way on ACES either Saturday or Sunday to Atlantic City, and then come back on the conventional AC Line to Philadelphia. If it's Sunday we disperse, and if it's Saturday we could stay overnight in Philly then do some SEPTA on Sunday. Or the daytime Amtrak suggestion for New England could originate in Philly Sunday morning instead of New York.

A Springfield day trip is on the green chart here. You can see at the bottom some pros and cons. Importantly is that we have no time to grab lunch (35 minutes doesn't cut it, and I fear a situation similar to Waterbury where Downtown is closed for the weekend.

The overnight in Springfield proposal would take both days to accomplish the round trip, and involve hotel stays and most likely taxicabs as well. A simple Springfield round trip over the 2 days would use both blue charts on this page. If we want to stopover in Stamford in either direction and take a Metro North trip to New Canaan, we would use one (but not both) of the red charts on this page. If we did choose a New Canaan side trip, I think it works better if we did it on Saturday morning, then catch Amtrak in Stamford. Then on Sunday we can just head wherever we have to go on Amtrak and not worry about getting back too late.

Finally, the orange chart on this page is an all-MNRR day trip that would hit both Danbury and New Canaan. Note that the day would have to start at 8:07 AM due to the limited Danbury service, but we get back into New York well before dark.

All options involving New Canaan allow ample transfer time in Stamford; in fact that would be our lunch stop (2 to 2.5 hours) as we can walk to Stamford Town Center.

Steve, we kind of posted things at the same time. To address your latest message:

A New Canaan side trip only works with the overnight Springfield option. This time of year both cannot be done in the available daytime hours. And yes, it involves hauling luggage on the trains, including commuter trains (MNRR). A strike against that option.

As was mentioned before, we've already aced everything in the NYC area -- so we're having do-overs for the benefit of those who missed the first time around. New Canaan & Danbury we rode in October of 2003.

You can only pickup AGR points if you dropped them someplace. But seriously, no you cannot earn AGR points on ACES, despite Amtrak handling the reservation/ticketing. You cannot even get Amtrak discounts you may be accustomed to, such as AAA. On the regular AC Line, the train acts as a Thruway feeder to/from Philadelphia because Amtrak service once existed on the line. So you can technically earn 100 AGR points for your $10 NJT trip, however the trouble one has to go through, since it's not Amtrak lifting the ticket from you, to get the points credited usually isn't worth it. (I don't know if it's gotten any better since AGR came under Amtrak control.)

Kevin, As usual, these plans should be hung in the museum of modern art. They could stash a Picasso or two in the basement to make room. LOL.

I found a Marriott with reasonable rates, and Mike could get his employee discout. It seems to be close to the station. I do not know about the Hilton properties. I think if we do Springfield it would be more enjoyable to overnight there rather than do a same day turn. Then we could eat at regular times. Additionally, staying overnight, and combining the MNRR stuff makes the most sense on this too, and maximizes train riding.

If we don't overnight in Springfield, I think the combination of an all ACES trip to Atlantic City and the all day metro north would be the most interesting.

Why were you standing up as you did those plans?

If it's an art display, then you all had better check it out soon because it's a limited engagement. In just passing these ideas by everyone, I made temporary pages which will be eliminated (as will the above links) once a plan is in effect.

Only problem I could see with the all-CT day trip is the early start. If we did that one on a Saturday, folks could go up somewhere and stay in a hotel Friday evening (maybe Norwalk or Stamford) so they could join us later in the morning.

In the Springfield Overnight itinerary New Canaan option, there is also the possibility of starting from MET at 8:07 on ATK160 and arriving into Stamford at 9:48 and joining the group there. Someone like me would most likely prefer that to the jaunt across midtown from NYP to NYG.

There's an HGI hotel located across the I-91 freeway, next door to the Basketball Hall of Fame. I stayed there once before. But taxi is required, it's probably about a mile or so from the Amtrak station. One can get around by bus as well; the hub of the local bus system is at a terminal just a block from Amtrak -- though check the schedules for weekend service.

Unfortunatly I don't think my wife is going to let me go this year because I keep promising to take her to Texas to see family. I very much regret not being able to go.

ACES would be the easiest for me and also something I have never done although one of my first Amtrak trips back in 1990 was the old Atlantic City Express. I'm somewhat averse to the overnight option due to the cost vs. benefit. There is a 5:25 PM that could take me back from SPG to NY if I want to get over my fear of the dark

Good point! There is also a 7:40pm on weekends. That might be preferable for those that want to catch a decent dinner that evening. There appear to be many reasonable eateries around the Springfield station.
In fact if we do this trip. I think I will opt for that option. Yes it will be a looong day, but no point in losing almost an entire day just getting back from Springfield

I think we're talking about different things here. With the daytime option, if we get to SPG around 12 Noon, why would we be there until dinnertime? There's not much to do downtown especially on a Sunday. If we do want to look for lunch in SPG (and I'll have to look into whether the food court at Tower City is open on Sundays and perhaps call some other nearby restaurants just in case it's not), then we also have the option of taking the next train out, which happens to be the Vermonter #57, at 2:50 PM, arriving New York 6:25 PM. I'm not sure how we'd keep busy in SPG for 5 or even 7 hours. With #57 it's a one seat ride so you lose the extra 100 AGR points you would get by taking a Shuttle and changing in NHV.

The 5:25 PM (#467) train that John mentions is on option on Saturday only. On Sundays only there is a 4:10 PM departure (#465) and the one Jishnu mentioned at 7:40 PM (#497). I can't see us having both lunch and dinner there, but I don't think the 7:40 PM train out of SPG is going to be comfortable for everyone given that you arrives into NYP 10:46 PM and then some first have to catch other trains (or continue onward to MET arriving 11:37 PM.

I think Kevin was looking for the cheapest itinerary that maximizes agr points. Jis and others are thinking about getting a meal. IMHO it might be possible to eat lunch and head back to nyc on a later train such as Vermonter. Iirc Kevin or somebody else noted that fares on the Vermonter are higher and only gets 100 points. I don't know how much more expensive the Vermonter is. But it would be nice to eat lunch in Springfield. I can do research on that.

Vermonter on Sunday is $75 OW SPG-NYP. Saturday is only $39, but I suspect precious few seats are assigned to the lower buckets for local travel, especially as it will be ski season.

Yeah the Vermonter is up there in price, in many cases more than double what the other trains cost. And with BC offered on that train I suspect some would go for that too, which inflates that fare even more. I was trying to keep things cheap and simple with just a round trip -- but to eat lunch means doing so either VERY early 160, or VERY late after we get on 163. Vermonter being a one seat ride would not get double the points for a one way ride to New York, but with the fare higher, a $75 fare would get you 150 points. Add in BC and you're closer to 200 points, but you're spent $95 instead of $29 to do so.

The Vermonter is significantly higher. A 9 am out of nyp does give time to load up on snacks and then eat a late lunch after 2. I could do that. Also we are more likely to get seats on the shuttles.

But wait. If you're going to be waiting until 2:50 when the Vermonter (#57) leaves SPG, why would you be worried about lunch after 2? With 2 hours 45 minutes in Springfield that's more than enough time to walk several blocks downtown, eat and walk back, or a sitdown lunch closer to the station if such exists.

Somebody really needs to research the availability of food in the area, as I don't want another "Waterbury" to happen. You may see a lot of restaurants on Google Earth and the like, but are they available for potential use on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and can they get us out in time to make #57 if we were to go with that idea?

Yes the food situation needs to be researched.

I was talking about doing the New Canaan turn in the morning then going to SPG arriving at 4 something pm and then catching the 7 something pm back to NHV and onto NYP/MET.

I did a quick search on google maps. There is a bus station a couple of blocks away that has a McDonalds and a Subway. There is a second subway several blocks away. Then there several sit down restaurants that I saw on yelp. Nothing to exciting. They are not chains, and there fore not predictable.

I guess I am not too excited about eating in Springfield. LOL. It could hardly be considered a day of fasting if one bought snacks in Penn, and then waited to eat on the train out of New Haven based on Kevin's original schedule.

OK well Jishnu presents sort of a hybrid between the two Springfield ideas, with elements of both the daytime trip and the overnight/New Canaan option. It could work too. I don't necessarily think that anyone is afraid of the dark, but it has been expressed before that the scenery seen from the train is a lot more pleasant when there's daylight. Arriving in SPG around 4 PM, and leaving around 7, in the month of January, it would be dark from shortly after arrival, and throughout the entire trip back. Keep in mind too that during some previous January fests, the sunlight was barely our only source of warmth if it was particularly cold. And this is, after all, New England.

All good points. I am not suggesting that the official fest itinerary be along those lines. I was merely suggesting is that this is what I would probably do, since for various reasons work related, it is preferable for me to be home on Sunday rather than away if I can pull it off. OTOH, it is easier for me to take Friday off. you see I significant part of my work involves working with folks in Israel Isn't globalization wonderful?

On monday morning, I spoke with Mike and discussed the various options. His preferences are the Springfield round trip, and the Metro north trips to Danbury and New Canaan.

of the 4 plans you drew up its hard to say if I have a favorite all of them look like a good time. I'd vote for a day trip to Springfield and then maybe the new Canaan Branch.

Me too

It seems that the majority seems to favor a Springfield day trip. As mentioned before, it would be a 4-segment all day affair, with the middle foodless segment falling during lunchtime. 2:11 PM, the time #163 leaves New Haven, is the first access to food, and it's not the latest we have ever had lunch -- thinking back to White Plains, NY on our Harlem Line trip we ate closer to 3 PM. As Steve mentioned, one can stock up on snacks beforehand, plus there are vending machines in the SPG station as well.

Downside is that if we're going to have dinner together we won't be hungry so soon after potentially finishing lunch aboard the Regional train at 2:30 or so. With us getting back to Manhattan at 3:50 PM by the timetable, perhaps we could kill a couple of hours on subways. I'll take requests for those as well. The only one I recall seeing was the A up to Washington Heights and back.

I would prefer the Amtrak trip on Saturday rather than Sunday, as the former usually is a slower day and less likely to be crowded. (Read into that: I don't want to wait on line in the cafe car post-2 PM!! )

And in trying to keep this as economical as possible, I think the Regional/Shuttle combination in both directions is superior to the Vermonter, given the latter is almost triple the fare.

So what does that leave for Sunday? The all-day Metro North run out to Danbury and New Canaan is still a possibility, despite the quick revisit to Connecticut and riding the same trackage between New Rochelle and Norwalk.

Or we could do the ACES round trip on Sunday. I think I prefer Sunday here because of the shorter layover in A.C. Plus those of us who live in NJ could bail at Newark and go home.

One question though is, do we wish to spend $116 (minus discounts for the SPG trip) for the two days? Assuming we get $29 fares NYP-SPG and on the ACES each way, it adds up fast.

I've done the math on the Danbury & New Canaan Metro North option. Many factors are involved here, including Senior/Disabled fares, 5% discounts for WebTicket, etc. But consider that the full day's transit expenses as outlined would be approximately 24 bucks for adult tickets or about 15 bucks if using senior/disabled tickets. I'll work out a chart with the specifics soon. Some may wish to meet the group or split from it in Stamford, where one can take a direct Amtrak train to or from NJ points.

So there you have the money aspects.

Finally, I guess it's safe to cancel the "just-in-case" hotel reservations I have in Charlotte, NC for that weekend...

I will put my vote in on metro North. I think Mike would to based on our earlier conversations. I'll check with him later this weekend to confirm.

OK who did it? Somebody has already driven up the SPG-NYP bucket fare for 463/163 on the 15th from $29 to $39.

It was the NHV-NYP segment that got kicked up; 163 may be a popular train with the price going higher. SPG-NHV, a late lunch at NHV, then NHV-NYP on 135 is still $29.

Although I noticed it would be two hours and suppose little to do after eating lunch.

That's an interesting idea I didn't think of. I could think of worse places to spend 2 hours than a busy train station. (NHV) It would beat having lunch on the train, and we would get to NYP at dinnertime instead of having to kill some time in Manhattan as getting there before 4 PM is a little too early for dinner. Since we're splitting the trip anyway, does this alternative (463-135) agree with others?

Also I've started looking at steakhouses and family restaurants both in Manhattan and other boroughs, near the subway lines. I've seen a couple of places that might be reasonable.

What about an early dinner late lunch in new haven for the group meal on Saturday?

Nevermind my other post. I see you are thinking about dinner in another borough.

By the timetable, we would be in NHV from 2:05 PM until 4:11 PM if we did that. I'd expect that people will want to eat lunch towards the earlier part of that period. Then if we took 135 we get to NYP 5:45, at which time we would go straight to dinner. If it is in one of the outer boroughs it will take time to get there too. There also may be another option I found other than the Stage Door that is walking distance from Penn Station.

Does anyone else agree with this idea of stopping for 2 hours to have lunch in New Haven before taking another train (135) to Penn Station? Or would you want to take the immediate connection at NHV (163) and get to Manhattan earlier?

I'm flexible. If nobody else replies do it the way you want to.

Here's what a Springfield day trip with the lunch stopover at New Haven would look like.

Note that I've left in Metropark times just in case anyone wishes to ride through. I know there's at least 4 of us who might use this option either way. Obviously the whole gorup isn't starting or ending at MET, and in fact if we do a Saturday dinner we are definitely getting off in NYP. If anyone desires to ride through to or from Philadelphia, let me know and I can add those times in as well.

Now here's an updated Danbury/New Canaan itinerary. I've added optional Amtrak trips to Stamford in the morning and from Stamford in the evening, in case anyone wants to use Penn Station or ride through to Metropark. Note that Train #150 in the morning does not stop at MET. Again let me know if anyone wants PHL times added (though #150's calling time isn't pretty).