Short lived, temporary and seasonal stops

[WBG Station 1935]

The Pottery Flag Stop

A little piece of Williamsburg history that I was not aware of. Though I do remember getting dragged to the old Williamsburg Pottery every weekend when family came to town or mom and dad wanted to landscape.

 

[Shanson]

The only current seasonal stop of which I am aware is East Glacier MT. After the Glacier Park Lodge closes for the season (September 24, 2023), Browning MT becomes the station stop until the following May.

If there are others, I would love to know of them. Oh, yeah, Winter Park?

 

[PVD]

NYS Fairgrounds outside of Syracuse opens just for the State Fair.

 

[trainman74]

If there are others, I would love to know of them. Oh, yeah, Winter Park?

Fraser-Winter Park is served all year. (There's also a Winter Park Resort bus stop, which is also served all year -- the resort does offer year-round activities, including an alpine slide track that I have personal experience with.)

 

[PVD]

They are probably thinking of the Ski Train not the Zephyr.

 

[alanh]

Williams Jct., AZ was an off and on stop. First established in 1960 when the transcon was rerouted north of Williams, it closed when the Phoenix and Grand Canyon trains were discontinued in 1969.

Amtrak operated a stop 1999-2017 as a connection to the Grand Canyon RR. The middle of the night times and the need to operate a shuttle into Williams sunk it.

 

[jacorbett70]

I would say Port Kent NY, but I think the pandemic killed off the seasonal ferry from Vermont, which in turn killed off the seasonal stop. Also, if the Adirondack only runs September to May, to allow for CN heat issues during the summer, then there won't be a seasonal stop opportunity anymore.

Old Orchard Beach on the Downeaster is seasonal in nature, if not in terms of actual service.

 

[Willbridge]

The Oregon State Fair was provided with a stop in 2017. 537 passengers were counted. The site still shows on Google maps, where there is a stub siding that was used for exhibition trains. This may have only been done with Thruway buses since the site would not work well with ADA requirements.

Map code = XX5Q+XQ Salem, Oregon

 

[trampy]

The North Carolina state fair has a seasonal stop - NSF.

 

[Literalman]

Franconia-Springfield in Virginia was a short-lived stop. It might have lasted a few years, with only the Night Owl (maybe not called that at the time) stopping there, as I recall).

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

Old Orchard Beach on the Downeaster is seasonal in nature, if not in terms of actual service.

Old Orchard beach is a seasonal stop only served May through October. It is also not served by the first Eastbound train of the day (680 or 690).

Old Orchard Beach station

 

[dlagrua]

Williams Jct., AZ was an off and on stop. First established in 1960 when the transcon was rerouted north of Williams, it closed when the Phoenix and Grand Canyon trains were discontinued in 1969.

Amtrak operated a stop 1999-2017 as a connection to the Grand Canyon RR. The middle of the night times and the need to operate a shuttle into Williams sunk it.

The Williams AZ stop could have been convenient for connecting to the Grand Canyon RR that would take you right to the South Rim where the hotels are very close by. The problem as I see it was that the timing of the Amtrak and Grand Canyon RR didn't coincide. The Williams SWC stop was also too far from downtown Williams and had no services or even a shelter. If you wish to visit the Grand Canyon by train today you can arrive at Flagstaff, AZ late in the evening, walk two or three blocks to the Marriott Spring Hills Suites, spend an overnight and have Enterprise Car Rental deliver an auto to you in the morning. That how we did it.

 

[thully]

For a while, some Amtrak trains made stops at Coaster commuter rail stations (Sorrento Valley, Encinitas, Carlsbad Poinsettia and Village) on some Pacific Surfliner trains, in conjunction with cross-honoring tickets. This was to offer additional train options to Coaster passengers. After a couple years they dropped the additional stops, though they still cross-honor some Coaster tickets on Surfliner trains. I think there were also some Metrolink stops in Orange County the Surfliner used to stop at and does no more as well…

On the Wolverine, there was a Greenfield Village stop that was only served for tour groups. This went away when they opened the new Dearborn station, which has a bridge connecting to Henry Ford/Greenfield Village (though I’ve heard that is usually locked…)

 

[PerRock]

On the Wolverine, there was a Greenfield Village stop that was only served for tour groups. This went away when they opened the new Dearborn station, which has a bridge connecting to Henry Ford/Greenfield Village (though I’ve heard that is usually locked…)

The bridge is always open, as it provides access to the other platform. There is a gate off from the south-side platform into Greenfield Village; which is locked. They'll unlock it & pick up your group in an old bus to drive you to the main entrance if you make arrangements with them.

 

[TinCan782]

For a while, some Amtrak trains made stops at Coaster commuter rail stations (Sorrento Valley, Encinitas, Carlsbad Poinsettia and Village) on some Pacific Surfliner trains, in conjunction with cross-honoring tickets. This was to offer additional train options to Coaster passengers. After a couple years they dropped the additional stops, though they still cross-honor some Coaster tickets on Surfliner trains. I think there were also some Metrolink stops in Orange County the Surfliner used to stop at and does no more as well…

Which is interesting because the Pacific Surfliner (for some trains) recently added the Metrolink stops of Burbank-Downtown (BBK) and Northridge (NRG) on the Ventura County Line.
The "Rail 2 Rail" program is still in place.

 

[TheVig]

NC State Fair NSF October 14th 2023. Coach sold out between CLT and RGH. RGH to NYP has plenty of coach availability. We are traveling that day from CLT to NYP in Business Class. Booked a few months back. We didn't pay $600 for our tickets.

 

[TheVig]

NC State Fair NSF October 14th 2023. Coach sold out between CLT and RGH. RGH to NYP has plenty of coach availability. We are traveling that day from CLT to NYP in Business Class. Booked a few months back. We didn't pay $600 for our tickets.

View attachment 33921

Here's the current availability if you get on in RGH to get to NYP. The additional Piedmont we added earlier this year has made doing a day trip from CLT to NSF more doable by train.