Metro-North announces Fall Railfan Trips

i bought my tickets yesterday for the naugatuck flyer. MN Jim, do you know if this trip will def happen or is there still a chance it might be canceled?
i will be coming from Long Island with my GF, we will be taking the 6:39am train out of merrick (soooooo early!) we will arrive in penn station at 7:30 then probably take the subway to 42nd street and then either the shuttle or the 7 train from times square to Grand Central, the train leaves GC at 8:30, i think we will have enough time.

also, i would like to go on the FL9 trip in october (not first class) if i wait until october to buy those tickets do you think the train will be sold out? the only reason i want to wait is so i can save up some more money.

i also can't wait for the Croton-Harmon open house. it seems like MNRR seems to cater to railfans a hell of a lot more than the LIRR. the LIRR does nothing.

When is the Corton-Harmon open house & how much will it cost? A thing I find cheap about the FL-9 trip is that you have to eat the food MNR provides you.

The open house is Saturday October 15, 2005.
and it is FREEEEEEEEEE

LIRailfan79 wrote:The open house is Saturday October 15, 2005.
and it is FREEEEEEEEEE

Okay, I was just checking because these people at strappies told it was 45-75 dollars.

LIRailfan79 wrote: also, i would like to go on the FL9 trip in october (not first class) if i wait until october to buy those tickets do you think the train will be sold out? the only reason i want to wait is so i can save up some more money.

Last year I bought my tickets for the Beacon Line trip at the last minute, and I didnt have any problem. I almost didn't go because I thought it would be too late for sure, I'm glad I decided to call anyways because it was a great time. But this is a totally different trip so you never know.

I'll try to give everyone advance notice if it looks like the trip will sell out before sales are scheduled to close (midnight Sunday, 10/16/2005). If we're not sold out by then (and I'll be surprised if we're not, given sales so far), then we'll do phone sales until the Thursday before the trip.

All that said, buy your tickets as soon as you can. I'm sure this trip will sell out, and you don't want to find out the hard way.

Jim

Probability of me going on this trip is 100 over 100. I am looking forward to this trip especially the rare trackage and chatting with the rest of the railfans. I will certainly miss the cab units but they have seen their days in regular commuter operations. I will try to wear something with railroad themed interest.

So far so good in my savings, $39 in less than 2 weeks, at this rate I can go to the FL9 trip & maybe even go to the Open House also.

What is the Houstatonic right of way like?

Their right of way is in fair shape, CDOT helped HHRC with ties and upgrades a few years back but HRRC keeps track speed lower than need be.
Their track class by FRA standard is good for about 40 mph passenger but HRRC keeps it at 25 and 10 mph for all trains.
It makes for a very long and slow trip.

Appearantly the track is now excepted track due to gauge widening ???

As has been reported elsewhere (damn, word travels fast - we kept this a HUGE secret even internally at MNR, in case it fell through. Dutch's post is dated 1 minute later than the customer e-mail that went out, and that was the first anyone breathed of this to anyone not directly involved!!), the Farewell to the FL9 trip has been rerouted over the Berkshire line to Canaan. We're very excited about this change, although it makes it a much more difficult trip for us, logistically.

We're in the process of finalizing the schedule (departure times from GCT and Stamford in the AM will NOT change), and we'll be out inspecting the line soon, to decide where to make our photo stops.

If you've already purchased your tickets, please look for the e-mail (if you haven't received it, please check any spam filters, etc., to make sure you're receiving mail from MNR). YOU MUST REPLY TO THE E-MAIL OR CALL TO CONFIRM YOU WILL STILL BE ON THE TRIP. Your confirmation is the only way we have to know you're aware of the change in plans - we don't want any surprises on October 23.

Jim

RPM2Night wrote:Are there still tickets left? I'm considering attending.

Yes, there are. As of 5 PM tonight, the coach seats were about 50% sold, and there were about 5 first class seats remaining. We believe that with the change in itinerary, the remaining seats will sell quickly.

Jim

I'd better get my @$$ in gear and get the tickets then lol.

any word on which engines will be used? ....or who the engineer will be?

No on both questions. Won't know the crew until day of the trip - there are rules about who gets called for a job. :)

Jim