Autumn Colors Express -- Who is going? (No one, it’s canceled)

Hail Fellow RailFans!

Was considering making the trip from New Windsor, NY to Huntington, WV to ride the 'Autumn Colors Express", and was curious to see who else was interested.

Pre-Covid a roomette from NYP->HUN was about $450 on the Cardinal, and it took 14 hours. Now, the same roomette is $278.

An interesting notion, I asked my Wife to come along, and she (kind-of) agreed to go if we flew. Research on hotwire.com shows it's a 10 hour flight with TWO stops, at $244. So, in this case Amtrak is competitive in a MUCH LARGER range.

Anyway, who is going?

Are there going to be Amfleets? (Sorry if this statement possibly discouraged anyone from attending)

Not sure. Best way is to look on their website. While the design is funky, there are plenty of details. I was considering, if the railroad.net members would be interested in renting a private suite on the Berlin, as the suites are sold in a block of FOUR tickets.

This looks nice but let's hope that we don't get any more waves to the point that this would be cancelled. i wouldn't mind riding this but I may be making other travel plans or nothing if the covid-19 comes back a lot.

Already have my tickets so I'll be going if they don't cancel it. Going to drive, though.

marco wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 12:00 am

An interesting notion, I asked my Wife to come along, and she (kind-of) agreed to go if we flew. Research on hotwire.com shows it's a 10 hour flight with TWO stops, at $244. So, in this case Amtrak is competitive in a MUCH LARGER range.

I'm back in the air and I'm astounded at how long it takes to get somewhere these days. The lack of flights and routes means travel between major cities like NOLA, Indy, Pitt, and Cleveland is no longer drive-competitive. This week I was in Southern Indiana and the time to drive to Indy, sit in TSA, fly to a hub, wait, and fly to Cleveland was so long, I could drive in the same time.

And Enterprise gave me an Escalade as a free upgrade, so that didn't suck. I'm not usually one for long drives by myself but these days I'll suffer it.

WashingtonPark wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:57 am Already have my tickets so I'll be going if they don't cancel it. Going to drive, though.

Which car did you choose?

When did they announce this?

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gokeefe wrote: ↑Sat Jun 13, 2020 8:59 am When did they announce this?

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Not sure however, first time I was on the website, I saw that one had to purchase a specific seat, and, I couldn't find the car diagrams. Called & left a message. Guy replied very quickly, and was very helpful. Seems the marketing machine is very sharp.

It's pretty far for me, however, all the "good" excursions happen outside of the North East, and time being what it is (was), it's time to take time to go on a long train ride. Actually, GETTING there is 14+ hours on the Cardinal, which by itself would be a fun ride, at $278 for the roomette.

marco wrote: ↑Sat Jun 13, 2020 12:45 am

WashingtonPark wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:57 am Already have my tickets so I'll be going if they don't cancel it. Going to drive, though.

Which car did you choose?

The Silver Palace Dome, in the dome. The problem I saw with the private suites was you have 4 people in a room and one window looking out on one side of the track. I would think on a trip like this you'd want as much viewing area as possible. Didn't go with the Cardinal because of departure and arriving times. Scheduled for Huntingdon arrival at 944pm and the train is almost always late. Last time I took it didn't get back into Philly until 215am.

Ah, hadn't thought of only one window. Am a big fan of railroad dining, so Berlin was considered, however, I see now that Berlin only has Breakfast & snacks all day, where as the next class up has dinner.. You also raise a good point as to connection times. Currently, each local commuter line from my area in Upstate New York, MNR in Beacon, and NJ Transit in Salisbury Mills get me to NY Penn much later than the Cardinal leaves, so I need an extra night in Manhattan to make the connection. Whew, times have changed, and perhaps the commuter schedule will be more favorable in October.

WVGazetteMail.com: Autumn Colors Express blindsided by cancellation of Hinton Railroad Days, but plans to proceed with fall excursions

Organizers of the annual Railroad Days festival in Hinton voted Tuesday to cancel the event for 2020, blindsiding operators of the Autumn Colors Express, who are planning to proceed with four round-trip rail excursions in October, with or without the event.

Dorothy Jean Boley, director of the Hinton Railroad Museum, confirmed Tuesday that the museum’s board of directors voted Tuesday morning to cancel the festival this year.

“We postponed it for this year because of all the guidelines we’ve been issued for festivals. We just can’t meet them,” Boley said, referring to COVID-19 guidance for fairs, festivals, amusement parks and rides issued by the Governor’s Office on June 5.
...

It turns out that nobody will be going. The 2020 Autumn Colors Express in West Virginia has been cancelled.


https://mailchi.mp/cece23669958/autumn- ... BLn2Ogisns

jhdeasy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:24 pm It turns out that nobody will be going. The 2020 Autumn Colors Express in West Virginia has been cancelled.


https://mailchi.mp/cece23669958/autumn- ... BLn2Ogisns

Sad to hear, but also wise.

Moderator Note: Topic title changed to reflect the cancellation.

This is not surprising. This would be a convention or fest... and you can safely assume if it's not virtual, it's canceled until the end of January 2021. Using a few examples here:

I was hoping to take a train up to Chicago for Midwest Furfest 2020, in December. Tight timing, but a possiblity... but they had to cancel on July 15th.

Another train accessible convention, Further Confusion in San Jose in late January, canceled on July 15th as well.

I'm keeping an eye on Fur The 'More, the last open anthro convention (IMHO), back in March before the region locked down. It may be the first one to be held... but I won't be surprised if Anthrocon in Pittsburgh (July) is the first.

The vaccine has to land first.