As always participants can (and some most likely will) either join the Fest in progress or leave us early. So individual travel may vary. Those coming from areas other than the Northeast will need to make further arrangements between their hometowns and the Fest start & end points. The tentative itinerary, along with some concerns about activities:
Sunday, July 14th
We will leave various east coast points on Amtrak's Silver Meteor (Train #97) for an overnight trip to Florida.
Monday, July 15th
Today's activities are by personal choice. Arrive in Jacksonville, and ride the Jacksonville Skyway people mover between downtown points. City bus will be required for travel between Amtrak station and downtown.
The scheduled time in Jacksonville from arrival of #97 until departure of #92 is 11-1/2 hours. Participants choosing to spend time in Jacksonville will need to plan personal activities on their own to fill the time. There are museums in the Southbank area, and one can walk along the riverfront walkways on both sides of the river. You also could take a city bus to & from the Jacksonville Beach resort area.
As an alternative, some may consider remaining aboard the Silver Meteor to a point in Florida further south from Jacksonville, and then returning north on the Silver Meteor (Train #98) to Jacksonville, thus shortening the dwell there before boarding the Silver Star (Train #92) that night. Or one can go further south in Florida, and then board the northbound Silver Star.
The final activity of the day will be taking Amtrak's Silver Star (Train #92) from Florida for an overnight trip to North Carolina.
Tuesday, July 16th
Our ultimate desination today is Charlotte, and our goals are to ride Amtrak's Piedmont and the LYNX light rail in Charlotte. To get to Charlotte from the northbound Silver Star, Amtrak will ticket you via Cary, NC. The dwell here between scheduled arrival of the Silver Star (Train #92) and Piedmont (Train #75) is 3 hours 42 minutes. Some could opt to go into Raleigh by ticketing the trip segments individually. A Raleigh dwell would be slightly shorter, at 3 hours 2 miunutes. Raleigh has a small first class lounge, and there are restaurants within 4 blocks of the station. Either way, there is the risk of a very late #92 missing the connection with #75.
Participants are warned there is no food service on the Piedmont other than spring water, soft drinks and vending machine snacks. We will try to schedule a quick, early lunch in Cary before boarding #75 if time allows.
Upon arrival in Charlotte, some time will be allotted to check-in at hotels and leave luggage. Then we will ride the LYNX light rail. Dinner location in Charlotte will be determined later; could be a sitdown place or fast food at the EpiCentre, which is adjacent to a light rail station.
Wednesday, July 17th
Our only very early day, a 7 AM departure from Charlotte on the northbound Carolinian (Train #80). We will ride from there to Virginia.
Herein lies another situation similar to that in Jacksonville, and also a choice of trains between Richmond and Norfolk. The legacy trip from Richmond to Norfolk would involve taking Northeast Regional #95 to Newport News, then a Thruway bus from there to Norfolk. With the availability of the new Northeast Regional train directly to Norfolk via Petersburg (Train #125), most may prefer going this way. Scheduled layover in Richmond between Trains #80 and #95 is 2 hours 40 minutes. Scheduled layover between Trains #80 and #125 is 4 hours 21 minutes.
There is a McDonald's within walking distance of the Richmond station, and several other fast food locations as well. Again, some could possibly fill the time by going further north in Virginia on the Carolinian (Train #80), and then riding back on Trains #95 or #125. Fredericksburg could be an option.
Arrival in Norfolk in the evening, earllier if arriving by Thruway bus, later if on Northeast Regional #125. TIDE light rail is available if needed to access hotel locations.
Thursday, July 18th
Official trips on TIDE light rail. Lunch at MacArthur Center mall food court.
Later, board Amtrak Thruway bus Norfolk to Newport News, and then Amtrak Northeast Regional (Train #66) to the Washington, DC area.
Friday, July 19th
Final day of the Fest. Optional morning activities in Washington, lunch at Union Station.
Ride VRE Washington, DC to Fredericksburg, VA, and then return on northbound Carolinian, Train #80.
Fest is over as we travel on Train #80, to various Northeastern points. Some may opt to detrain in Washington or other Northeast Corridor stations and complete their trips home on Saturday.
The homepage, with links to other needed information, very much resembles the above synopsis of the trip. The itinerary shows the goal times we hope to do each activity.
Here are the Amtrak trips you would need to reserve:
- Sunday, July 14th: Origin city to Jacksonville on Train #97 or further south in Florida.
- Monday, July 15th: Jacksonville (or other Florida origin city) to Charlotte on #92, changing to #75 Tuesday, July 16th most likely in Cary, NC (or forced by separate reservations at Raleigh)
- Wednesday, July 17th: Charlotte to Norfolk via Train #80 to Richmond-Staples Mill, and then either #95 + Thruway 6095, or #125 to Norfolk. Forced with separate reservations one could travel further north in Virginia.
- Thursday, July 18th: Norfolk to Washington, DC area via Thruway bus #6066 to Newport News, then Northeast Regional #66.
- Friday, July 19th: Fredericksburg, VA to destination city on Train #80.
- Charlotte, NC: Tuesday, July 16th, 1 night, checkout on Wednesday, July 17th
- Norfolk, VA: Wednesday, July 17th, 1 night, checkout on Thursday, July 18th
- Washington, DC/Northern VA area, Thursday, July 18th, 1 night, checkout on Friday, July 19th
For now, please send me an e-mail just whether you plan to attend, and what days or parts of days. Contact information such as cell phones and chosen hotels can come in a few months, much closer to the event when we reach that phase of the advance planning.