Farewell to FL9 trip- your thoughts?

I was on the FL-9 trip as wel.l although I regret to say that I am HIGHLY DISAPOINTED that there were NO PHOTO RUNBYS AT ALL!!!! I think the trip could have been planned out a little better such as more photo runbys maybe a place to have a lunch break no eat on the train and possibly a slightly higher run in speed I understand the track we were on hasn't seen Passenger service in over 30 years. please people these are just my opinions the engines looked down right AWSOME to bad I wasnt able to hear the 5 chimes that well. I see the 2024 had its horns replaced there werent 5 chimes on it the last I can remember. I am VERY disappointed that we didnt go to Cornwall Bridge, Hatch Pond, Lime Rock etc... I hope they do have another FL-9 trip in the future other wise the trip to me seemed OK. Alright enough of my complaints. BTW were the FL9s repainted or just cleaned up they were very shiny looking.

GP10,

Good points you made. Last time I remember, 2024 didn't have a Nathan K5L, but a K2. I guess they just wanted to spruce up the sound a little bit for railbuff purposes! Personally, I wish the Leslie S-5 was put up there like the 410 and 2014 have. They gave the FL9's a good scrub down before they came out on this trip because they weren't repainted.

Joe

i loved every bit of it except the screaming trouser stains in the west cornwall photo line, but i already talked about them before lol..everything else was good....no..GRRRRRRRRRRRRREAT!

I think the trip was fantastic and won't nitpick over details. No fan trip is perfect for everyone, but this one came really close. Logistically, this took massive effort on the part of MN and we railfans really should be more gracious and not complain about small details of the adventure. In the grand scheme of things, this was one of the most impressive undertakings I've seen, easily on par with the job the MTA did with last year's NYC Subway Centennial. Count me as a very happy camper.

Now, if you want to discuss the rudeness of some photographers...

ok boys now play nice, don't show up here and with your first post start attacking people who have been here a while.
If you have a beef with someone do it in private msg or Email but not on a public forum.
both of you grow up.

Personal flaming will not be tolerated on this forum in any way, shape or form. ALL posts that were antagonistic have been deleted by the moderator - on more instance of this on this thread and the entire thread will be deleted. GROW UP boys & girls.

Kevin

Well i must say. I didnt mean to ruin the trip for sooo many people. for those of you who endured me the whole trip, and those who moved to other cars due to my irresponsible behavior, i do apologize. as a MTA METRO NORTH employee, that was irresponsible behavior. Other than that i had a great time. On Future Fan trips, i hope i can provide a more pleasant experience. This apology applies to the entire railroad.net site.


hope to see you all again soon. me and the misses both loved it and will do it again soon i hope.

THIS STATION IS ROWAYTON, U MUST BE IN ONE OF THE HEAD 6 CARS TO EXIT THE TRAIN.

MNRR PA Operator, I for one wasn't annoyed at all. I actually thought the few people around us appreciated your insight. I learned a lot from what you said during the trip, especially speed restrictions on certain areas of the line. Hope we'll meet again on future trips. Take care!

I noticed in the newspaper write up before the trip, they
had hoped a air chime could be applied. This didnt
happen and I wonder if anybody knows why.
It would have been an added treat.

onder wrote:I noticed in the newspaper write up before the trip, they
had hoped a air chime could be applied. This didnt
happen and I wonder if anybody knows why.
It would have been an added treat.

I think this was mentioned over in the other topic (the now un-sticky "announcement" topic), and the end result was that the air chimes just wouldn't work out with the engines. Still, the fact that they even tried says a lot about how much effort and care MN put into the trip.

MN operator,
Don't worry about anything. I gave this trip an A. No one is perfect. In fact, not everyone was behaving as they should have. Way to put together this trip.

Hello,

This is my first post and I wish to express my sheer delight and thrill of our recent trip aboard the "Farewell to the FL-9 " trip. While I only experienced my first rail-fan trip last year, in 2004, aboard the train crossing the Beacon/Maybrook Line, and subsequently traveled aboard the "Farewell to the ACMU's" as well as the Naugatuck trip - all of which I enjoyed immensely - this, by far, was my favorite to this date.

This comes for a number of reasons . I grew up in Sherman, Connecticut and excepting a siting of a Budd car at New Milford when I was around 5 years old, we never had passenger trains going up this far north. On my rare childhood trips into New York City from Danbury, and occasionally from Brewster, we always had the ever capable FL-9's escorting us into Grand Central Terminal. So, to bid a bittersweet adieux to my "Diesel friends", by having them take me up childhood rail tracks I never dreamt I would actually ride on - and this aboard historic cars - in addition to the spectacular scenery combined with the devoted attention of the Metro North crew, made for lifetime precious memories. How amazingly lucky we are to have such a dedicated Metro-North staff. I find it difficult to imagine there being a better metropolitan railroad anywhere.

With thunderous applause, very Sincerely, Tali

Wow, FL-9-Chic, your emotion in the post is inspiring.

Mr GP10- I disagree with your assessment. It would have been impossible to cover all the stops you mentioned in one day- the HRRC is not maintained for passenger speeds and there is no way we could have covered all that ground in a day with so many stops. Second, MN had to select stops for accessibility (250-300 people getting on and off a train is something to consider), not just scenic grandeur. Third, we only had partial sunlight at West Cornwall, how many dark shots of FL9's under gray skies did you want? MN Group Travel did an excellent job overall and the lack of photo stops was NOT a shortfall.

-otto-

With the stops we did, I already had taken about 200 shots. While Hatch looked very scenic, we were running behind and as they stated on the PA, a decision had to be made. I would have voted to stop, but I had driven to Stamford, so it really didn't matter to me. But, those people that were already either driving a very far distance, or had to make other connections, the elimination of the stop and arriving back at Stamford only a little late was appreciated. The simple fact that MN did a quick poll shows the dedication and time that they put in to make this trip the amazing success that it was.

Getting 300 railfans on and off at places where there is no station is a daunting task.