Departure Minus 3hr. And Counting

It's less than 3 hours now, before the train leaves. I've begun to check progress on the trains that I will take or could see. I toss and turn for part of the night, which is normal before I leave on any trip. Most things were taken care of last night, a couple different from most trips I've taken in the past.

First thing this morning, that is after getting out of bed, I cook and eat breakfast, check overnight email, and started on this blog entry. As I began this entry, around 7. That is something in my mind not on paper. Everything is together. I started washing dishes before breakfast. What I use at breakfast will be washed by hand before leaving. I still need to and will throw out the garbage before I leave. The apartment got a little messy, but over the weekend I got out the trash and did a little bit of dusting. And I ran the vacuum cleaner.

I am finishing up breakfast, then I will take my shower. At this point the time is 7:25. Train leaves at 10. I have 10 minutes to the train station, maybe 15.

Next Trip Approaches, Part 3

The return trip is equally full. I am doing what I tried to prevent, detraining too late or too early. After all the possible transfers, I decided to transfer in Baltimore. I thought about taking the train to Washington and taking a short trip, via MTA of Acela to Baltimore. Instead, I am opting for transfer in Baltimore, taking the time to see some Baltimore sites, two other stations are on the agenda. I than will take the Acela to Washington, where I will catch the Silver Star for home. The real reason for this transfer, in Baltimore is to take the Acela. I hope to visit Mt. Royal Station and Howard Street Tunnel, than on to Camden Yards and maybe a photo stop at Marquis de Lafayette Statue, Washington Monument, and Mount Vernon Place. Of course, I will do some videoing of MTA and commuter rail.

Next is to determine and get ready the stuff that I will take along. Being an overnight, the lighter. the better. The phone can work. However, I would prefer the DSLR. The phone has a delay between shutter and release. For family pictures, those pictures at church, or where a camera is too much, the phone is great. It is also good if only a few pictures are desired and carrying a DSLR would be a bit much. I prefer my camcorder for video. I rarely use my phone for these, or my DSLR for that matter. For general vacation or travel by car, I have no problem with the DSLR. As look ahead, most travel will be by public transit, not a lot of walking. I will take toe DSLR, at least speculating, at the present.

What about a tripod? I full tripod is two big and too heavy. For travel by car, it works fine. I could get a newer one. these are lighter and break down to less space. I do have a 6 inch tripod, which is very portable. Its lack of height is a question. I hand held all my early videos and do a fair job with it, still. Hand held video may be problematic as I like to look around and take other pictures as I take video. Besides, I need a good place to set up. I don't expect too much need for the tripod, so will hold on to that decision for the time being.

I was thinking about getting another larger memory card. I was looking though the camera bag and found another, same size card. I will take plenty of power, I have 14 hours of camcorder batteries. I sill carry my phone extra batteries.

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Less than two days before boarding the northbound Carolinian, I am planning to take my tablet with me in addition to the phone. The Jet-pack will give me Internet between public WiFi. I've had the itinerary finished and on my cloud drive, for a while. I even put a directed link on my phone. I still have a few things to test out and should get that done today. I will take all my cameras without the big tripod. I will use the six inch for any place that I might want,

I will take notes as I go, but I don't think that I will do any posting, while on the road. But, we will see. Until than....

Next Trip Approaches, Part 2

My plans in Boston are less railfan and more tourist. I will ride the green line and may take video of its operation. I loved in Boston in the 1980's. There are many things I did not see in my one year in the area. And, of course there are many replacement attractions. I do have at least an hour of train watching. Many years ago, I was taking a tour of New England. This trip wasn't to include any railfanning, except for a few tourist railroads. I was coming across Massachusetts and was to bypass Boston and go south to Plymouth. I missed my exit and found myself, in all places, near South Station, where I parked to get my directions and got a few pictures:
I tried to find the same location or one better, through google maps. I did find better and a tourist site, as well: Rolling Bridge Park.

From here I would walk to Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. I omitted other places from my proposed travel and added other things, including Boston Commons and head out to Landmark Center, which I missed in past trips, a mall created from and old Sears warehouse. Here are a few other things to see and back to Prudential. I have been there a couple of times. I decided to catch this after dark and get some night view of Boston from the Observatory. Back Bay will be last as I will head hone from there.

Next Trip Approaches, Part 1

I have train tickets in hand. Well, not literally in hand, In the older days, you would go a station and have the clerk do up you ticket which was a slip of paper with the information on it. Eventually these were computerized to give you a printed ticket. Than online ticketing began. You would order and pay for your ticket, online than go to the station to print out the final copy. Now you have etickets that come as attachments to email and you just present your phone with the ticket showing and the conductor scans it. So my eticket is at hand, on my phone.

I choose as my first transfer, north, Fredericksburg. Richmond has the Amtrak station too out of the way, with no public transit directly to the station, You have to walk to a computer stop that is limited in times and frequency of buses. Besides, I drive to Richmond, twice a year, to visit friends and just hang out. Alexandria would be a nice place, but I have toured most, except for old town. I did discover an new landmark. But it might be better to see that, outside of a layover. Washington would be good and plenty to see. Again, it is a place I have seen many times either having parents living close, many years ago, transferring trains there, and taking day trips in and out.

I can walk down to to river in Fredericksburg and take pictures of trains crossing the bridge. Even from the platform, I can take pictures, and mostly in daylight. This means that I will be taking train 80, Carolinian leaving Cary 10:02 am and arriving in Fredericksburg at 3:06 pm, providing it is on time.

I will be boarding Train 66, Northeast Regional at 7:57 pm which will go overnight to Boston and arrives there at 7:58 am. This give another advantage of using Fredericksburg as a layover, time. 66 leaves Washington at 10:10 pm or Alexandria, VA at 8:55 pm. That is very late in DC and late in Alexandria. Alexandria closes the station at 9, so if the train is late you have to sit in the dark on an cold platform. Getting on earlier, means settling in, getting a bite to eat and a long nap before arriving in Boston for a full day of sightseeing and rail watching. (to be continued)

Decision: Boston, Out and Back, Add Transfer and Layovers

It seems that instead of going to Chicago, this trip, I will go out and back to Boston. The first out and back that I took was to Boston, I was living near Hamlet, NC. Only one train went north, The Silver Star. The Amtrak website will schedule it, with a 7 1/2 hour layover, in Washington, DC. Currently I am living near Raleigh, NC. In addition to the Silver Star, I now have the Carolinian. Their stops are different, north of here, even though they have the same route and destination. Neither train, go direct to Boston. In route I need to transfer. The Carolinian has a 5 hour layover. I could spend a lot this time, touring sites and watching trains. However, I have spent a lot of time in DC, so train watching is a bit old and the last trip (back in the summer) was a monument tour. The train, I would connect, begins in Newport News VA, both north and south. It comes through Richmond, via Main Street Station,

From the Silver Star, I would transfer in Richmond and Alexandria in addition to Washington. The Carolinian would add Fredericksburg, to the list. I looked at all three possible layover, looking at what I might do. Both trains continue north and transfer could be there. On the northbound, the transfer would be middle of the night, a bit late. On the southbound, it would be too early.

Even though there is nothing withing walking distance of Fredericksburg station, and no public transit, there is the river bridge which would be good to get video. Besides, the Virginia Railway Express commuter trains come trough. So! This becomes the northbound transfer. It is not so good for the southbound, however.

I considered Richmond, VA. The NE Regional continues to Newport News, Va, passing the old Main Street Station. I lived in Williamsburg, VA about 35 plus years ago, and would take the Colonial through Richmond on to Washington. At that time, Main Street Station was out of use and deteriorating. For a while, it was converted into a novelty mall and finally reopened as an active station. I have been by and in the reopened station, once at Christmas. It is a beautiful station, even decorated at Christmas. I could leave the train and take city buses back to Staples Mill Station to board the Star, home.

I decide to do something even more exciting. I decide to get of the NE Regional in Baltimore and take the Acela to Washington and take the star from Richmond. Ticket are had and I am awaiting for the date. It may be a cold trip but a good one.

Thoughts on Transfer in Boston

As I mentioned before, I began thinking about a trip to Chicago. The natural transfer would be Washington, but it would require an overnight because there was to little time between connections without the overnight. I thought about Boston as transfer, after an overnight to Boston. I would have four hours before the train to Chicago would leave. I thought about a little train watching. I had looked at a good location to watch trains coming out of South Station. I had stood at the end of the platform, in previous trips. I looked on the map and found a park in perfect location. I expanded on that to include the Tea Party Ship and Museum. I had overlooked that in my various trips into Boston. That would cover a portion of the layover. I began to think about just an overnight to Boston, with layover on the way.

I expanded my visit to Boston. Unlike the other plan, less emphasis was placed on train watching and more on other places of interest. Of course, I could not go to Boston without some looking at the commons and walking through it. I than noticed that this track would come close to the Chinatown gate. This expanded the track. When I live in Boston, 35 years ago, I worked near Copley and Prudential. My vacation to Boston, 7 years ago, included the Prudential Observation. It seems, in the time I live in Boston and the several trips to Boston, I never spent any time In Brookline. I did take the green line to Forrest Hills and to Boston College, although O have very little memory of what I saw. So I thought about touring or seeing some of Brookline with time spent at the Landmark Center, in particular.

I should take the rest of the trip in less scheduled format and end up in Prudential tower for a night time view of Boston. Still to be decide is the return, from South station or Back Bay. The criteria to such decision would include time. There is only 6 minutes difference so I would not board a great deal earlier at South Station. The next would be comfort of the stations and the surroundings, still, no difference. As I recall, I am near Copley and Prudential at Back Bay. Not much at South Station, a little like Union in DC. It would be to dark too do much train watching. Besides, I would be too tired at that time, after a full day of touring.

Next Trip, Continuing

It has been a bit since I took my last trip and posted anything. It was a hot summer with the heat lasting into the fall. I am, only now thinking about trips. I spent the hot days doing another hobby, genealogy. I did get to my favorite watching spot a few times and post them on YouTube. I have three plans for Florida excursions. One the north Florida, the other to south Florida and one to that includes both. I have a Philadelphia excursion as well. This includes historical sites as well as trains. The one that I am thinking more about is my metro north trip. It is a trip to NYC and walking to sites in Manhattan. I include a park called High Line. It is an abandoned elevated freight line, turned into a park. I would like to take a trip to Metro North to see electrics. I think that Sanford would be ideal.

I got fixated a bit on a Chicago trip, with a side trip to Memphis (to see the hanging monorail). I looked at the various routes, 6 to be exact. One was discarded due to the amount and kind of layover (Washington to New Orleans to Memphis). From the transfer  in Washington, there are two ways to go. Another was via Philadelphia through Pittsburgh with a transfer in Pittsburgh and a run through Horseshoe Curve. Finally, Boston was a good option. The out, via Boston, was the only route that required an overnight stay. There was a problem with the return, however.

I got obsesses with the Boston layover. It was not to become too much a train watcher's stopover. I finally broke down and revised the Boston out and back, with less train watching as in the first draft. I still have some things to think about. Washington is a long and late layover. when I did the Boston out and back a few years ago, I did the layover in Alexandria so the layover was not so late. I took the subway around Washington, to see all sorts of things, associated with railroading. Most, I have done in the past and might not want to do that again. I could do that again, there are four locations to transfer but with drawbacks to all. Richmond is in a early connection but nothing nearby and little to do near the station, except for train watching. The same is said for Fredericksburg and there is not a waiting room.