First time in USA, dec on NYC, where to go???


mikeknuckey

mikeknuckey

Far away in Chile...
Hi friends, next winter, my wife and I will travel to USA, we'll travel on dec 23 to spend xmas on NYC an then we have from dec 25 till jan 02 to travel (from 02 till 08 we'll stay at nyc)
We want to visit Washington (museums), but I will love to visit some RR museum or something related to model RR (club, store, etc).

I've read something about Baltimore RR museum, its a good choice?? Did you know other nice place to visit? or a Railfaning spot to make photos???
Of course the idea its to travel by train.

It's going to be our first time in USA, so any help will be good for us. I cant wait to get there and see those giant (for us) locomotives.

Thanks!!!
 
In Baltimore is the B&O Museum as you mentioned. I've never been, but have heard good things about it.
http://www.borail.org/

If you do go to Pennsylvania, the Reading Railroad has a museum that is pretty cool. Only bad part is that they only offer rides from March to November, so you wouldn't be able to do that.
http://www.readingrailroad.org/

In Union New Jersey is a large HO scale club that is worth visiting.
http://tmrci.org/

AND, since you'll be in NYC for New Years, an absolutely excellent thing to do on New Years Day Jan 1, go to Coney Island beach. The Polar Bear Club does their annual run into the ocean at 1pm. Get there early and wear a bathing suit if you want to swim! Otherwise, walk down the beach to the water and take pictures of the thousands of people running in! Then head up to the boardwalk and go to Ruby's for a stiff drink to warm you up!
http://www.polarbearclub.org/
http://rubysbar.com/

Enjoy your trip to America! Let me know if you want any tourist suggestions about NYC.
 
I would say it depends how much time you would want to afford to it will drive some of your decision making.

About 25 minutes from JFK airport is TrainLand in Lynbrook, Long Island, primarily HO and O gauge with some N. In brooklyn is Trainworld, predominantly O last time I went. Not too far down in NJ is Atlas' HQ and Yankee Dabbler has a brick and mortar shop too although I've never been to either.

If you're short on time, Penn Station in Manhattan is pretty amazing. A quick NJtransit ride down to Newark may yield you some good freight vantage points of the intermodal facilities near Newark airport. If you have more time, as mentioned Steamtown in Scranton or Horseshoe Curve Park out near Altoona would be great places to visit. Horsehoe curve is definitely further away from NYC in central PA. You could also take a train out of Penn Station south to say Baltimore as you mentioned. A great hobby shop down there is MB Klein located north of Baltimore and easily accessible by light rail and a short walk (although it will be winter so a short taxi wouldn't cost much).
 
Hey bud, I'm about 25 minutes out from the Lincoln Tunnel. Christmas is a great time in the city!

As far as trains go, like mentioned above, Trainworld is in Brooklyn (personally I think driving in Brooklyn is a nightmare) but if you have a driver, that could be cool. Just keep in mind, it's not exactly around the corner from NYC. There used to be a really nice Lionel set up in Penn Station, I'm not sure if it's still there but it's definitely something to look into.

Other things include Rockerfeller Center to see the tree, Times Square, St Patrick's Cathedral, the U.S.S Intrepid--I'm not sure if you can visit it during the winter but even you drive up the West Side Highway past the ports you can't miss that beast! From the highway you'll be able to see a few cool things, especially that SR71 Blackbird.

If you're heading up the West Side Highway--get off at Canal St and head up a few blocks into Little Italy. It's much more quiet than Midtown but has a few blocks of great food and drinks, a beautiful church and they do a nice job of decorating for the Christmas season.

Lastly..you can always take a ferry over to the NJ side and do a pub tour in Hoboken NJ. There is a pretty active NJ Transit terminal there with some equipment that passes through as well. Also, this is a big one--Oak Island which is here in NJ. Is pretty much a rail fan's playground. You will see NS, BNSF, CSX even Canadian Pacific! They run down the NJ Turnpike but can be accessed through Newark and Elizabeth NJ. You will be less than an hour away from them in NY.

I hope this post helps. Actually I have been considering getting a better camera and scanner--so who knows if you end up in NJ, keep in touch maybe we can meet up and snap a few shots of some engines.
 
Thanks so much guys for your anwsers!

We still need to decide what to do between 25 and 02, we only know we'll stay at DC for at least 2 days to can see museums, and veterans monument.

For the time at NY, we buy a couple of "new york pass" to can get free entry to main atractions. We'll stay at Nyma hotel, to can walk all over the area of times square and only use buses to get the farest points.

I want (madly) to make a trip by train, and I've searching for a "not too long" trip, like may be Chicago from Washington... what do you think about amtrak sleepers??? did it worth the cost?

Regards.
 
AMTRAK runs the Northeast Regional from Boston Mass to Washington DC. It stops in NYC at Penn station so it is easy to board it at Penn station and ride it down to Union station in DC. Not a long trip so I wouldn't recommend any extra fare tickets, just the basic coach fare will be fine. Union station is quite impressive as is Penn station. Quite a lot to see in both locations. Enjoy your visit.
 
I've never been, but isn't Horseshoe Curve within a few hours drive of NYC?
http://www.railroadcity.com/visit/world-famous-horseshoe-curve/

And then theres the Strasburg Railroad Museum in Pennsylvania as well.
http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/

and the Strasburg Railroad.
http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/

and you can stay at the Red Caboose Motel while you're in Strasburg exploring Amish Country.
http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/
http://www.padutchcountry.com/index.asp

The B&O Museum is in Baltimore, Maryland and its close enough to the Baltimore Inner Harbor that you can shop and dine at the Inner Harbor (and tour the USS Constellation at the Maritime Museum) before or after your B&O museum visit.
http://baltimore.org/article/baltimore-inner-harbor
While you're in Baltimore, you might want to stop by MB Klein Hobby Shop, a favorite on line model train vendor's store.
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/

It looks like you'll miss The Great Scale Model Train Show while you're in Baltimore as the winter show is scheduled for Feb 7th and 8th. But if you're still here in February, its worth the visit. http://www.gsmts.com/index.htm

When visiting DC, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is the most popular museum on the Mall in DC. But its worth the trip to the Virginia suburbs to see the Smithsonian Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum, which has a lot of vehicles too large for the museum in town. The Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum has a space shuttle, a SR-71 Blackbird, a Concord SST, the Enola Gay, and much more.
http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center/

The only Smithsonian that I believe has trains is the American History Museum on the Mall. Theres also a few cars and trucks on display in the American History Museum, along with other artifacts of American culture and history. The Smithsonian Castle building (the oldest structure on the mall) might also have a steam engine on display, though its been many years since I've been there. Besides the Smithsonian's several museums. The National Zoo in Washington, DC is also worth a visit if that sort of thing is of interest. There are several other museums, besides the Smithsonian museums and galleries in Washington, DC, depending on your interests (Spy Museum, Crime Museum, Holocaust Museum, etc).

Other points of interest within a couple hours drive of Washington, are Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (if American Civil War history interests you) and Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Forest starting in Front Royal, Virginia (not far from Virginia's wine country).

Since I mentioned museums for trains, planes and even ships, I figure, I'll also mention the AACA (Antique Auto Club of America) Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (not far from Baltimore and only a two hour drive from Washington, DC). http://www.aacamuseum.org/
 
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Well, I can't believe no one mentioned Grand Central Station.... At Christmas time we take the train to Penn Station (which is a misnomer, Penn Station was torn down in 1963 and replaced by Madison Square Garden. All that is left are the malls to get to the underground train platforms), anyway we do our Christmas shopping at Macy's, and the other stores working our way down 5th Avenue to Sacks towards Rockefeller center. Then swing over to Grand Central. It is called Grand for a reason, and worth visiting. One of the most beautiful stations in the world in my opinion. We then work our way back to Penn Station get on the train and go home.

Thinking back to Penn Station, the railyards for Penn Station were at 33rd Street and 11th Avenue. Don't know if anything is left of them.

On a side note. Personally I always go by where Tesla's laboratory and Tesla street used to be, just to remember the man who invented the 20th Century. I understand they have put up a new sign there (40th Street and 6th Avenue).
 
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Thanks so much again friends!

We are less than two months for travel up there... By now, we know we'll have near 5 days to travel and visit the area of Philadelphia, couse we think we'll stay at least 4 days at DC visiting the museums.

I've allready buy the Amtrak tickets from NY to DC for dec 25. Are there any other local RR to make trips from Washington to Philadelphia or the museums area???
I'm thinking if it will be realy necessary to rent a car or just make it by train.

Regards
 
You can certainly take Amtrak to Philly from either NYC or D.C. also, from there you can take Amtrak to Lancaster PA - Strasburg is nearby with the Strasburg RR, PRR museum, national toy train museum, etc
 
You can take the Light Rail, MARC train from DC to Camden Yards in Baltimore. You can connect to the MARC train from the DC subway. http://mta.maryland.gov/marc-train

DC has great public transportation and when I last rode the DC subway, about 10 years ago, it was immaculately clean I was amazed!

Camden station is in front of the old B&O freight warehouse that is now apart of Oriole Park at Camden Yards (baseball stadium) From there it is less then 1 mile to the B&O Museum. The B&O was the first common carrier railroad in America. If you have time I recommend seeing the B&O's Ellicott City station too, it is a satellite location of the B&O Museum.

Enjoy your trip!
 
You won't need to rent a car until you go to rural PA. Everywhere else has good public transport to go where you want safely.
 
bigB said:
You won't need to rent a car until you go to rural PA. Everywhere else has good public transport to go where you want safely.
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As someone who lives in the middle of Pennsylvania, I agree.

You can get to Lancaster/Strasburg on Amtrak, and from the station to where you need via taxi. You can also get to Harrisburg on Amtrak if you wanted to take a look at Enola Yard, e.g. Harrisburg is "end of the line" as far as electrified track goes, and Amtrak trains past there are MUCH less frequent and convenient. Much as it pains me to say it, you cannot rely on rail transit North or West of there.

So if you want to go to Steamtown in Scranton (north), or to Horseshoe Curve in Altoona (west)... You'll be needing a car for sure.

You might -want- to get a car even for Lancaster/Strasburg/Harrisburg as a convenience. Lancaster/Strasburg it about an hour from Philadelphia by car, and Harrisburg about 90 minutes.

If you do go to the Lancaster/Strasburg area, I highly suggest dinner at Bube's Brewery in Mount Joy - another town in the area. Well worth it. Make reservations early, they are often sold out.

I've lived in Southeast/Central PA a very long time, so please do feel free to post or PM me with any specific questions you may have about transit, lodging, food, etc.
 
Thanks so much again.
Now I will take the map and see how can I make it by car.

Any other intresting place to visit in the area???

Regards
 
Quick word of advice - the passenger railroads in America mostly do not run on time. The reason is that most rails are owned by freight companies and Amtrak pays them a fee to use the lines. That being said, the freight companies put priority on their trains to get through first. This puts delays in the passenger lines as they almost always need to wait for a freight train to go by first. In some areas, passenger lines do exist. I know that in New York, you can catch the Metro North RR (to upstate, and surrounding areas), or the LIRR (out to Long Island), or the PATH (to Jersey) and those all use their own rail lines. On those lines, schedules actually mean something and the trains can travel at pretty consistent speeds. Once you move out toward Pennsylvania, it could be very different.

Allow yourself some extra time when planning. If the schedule says you're getting to Harrisburg at 3pm, just know that it could actually end up being 5pm.

I'm not trying to down talk the passenger system here. I just don't want you to be upset about it when it does happen.
 
bklynman01 said:
Quick word of advice - the passenger railroads in America mostly do not run on time. The reason is that most rails are owned by freight companies and Amtrak pays them a fee to use the lines. That being said, the freight companies put priority on their trains to get through first. This puts delays in the passenger lines as they almost always need to wait for a freight train to go by first. In some areas, passenger lines do exist. I know that in New York, you can catch the Metro North RR (to upstate, and surrounding areas), or the LIRR (out to Long Island), or the PATH (to Jersey) and those all use their own rail lines. On those lines, schedules actually mean something and the trains can travel at pretty consistent speeds. Once you move out toward Pennsylvania, it could be very different.

Allow yourself some extra time when planning. If the schedule says you're getting to Harrisburg at 3pm, just know that it could actually end up being 5pm.

I'm not trying to down talk the passenger system here. I just don't want you to be upset about it when it does happen.
Click to expand...
The northeast corridor, from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia, new York and Boston, and west to Harrisburg is usually quite timely. Amtrak owns those tracks.
 
A day trip from NYC with out the need for a car, would be the Danbury Railroad Museum, in Connecticut. The train goes to Danbury from Grand Central Terminal. Not sure if it involves a cross platform transfer or not in maybe Stamford. I'd guess the trip is about 2 hours each way. The museum is in the old station,adjacent to the commuter station. They have some old equipment in their yaed, mostly from the New Haven, and New York Central. Their gift shop I've found to be pretty good. I'd check its schedule before I made the trip, so you don't find it closed the day you visit. Good luck!
 
Hi Guys
We're still planing our trip, but kind of afraid watching the news and the snow storm, I mean; if we rent a car to move arround must be a 4x4 or a semi.

This week we'll know our scheudle and I'll post to know your comments.

Regards
 
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