Toronto to Hartford

[DaveKCMO]

in the final planning stages of my cross-country rail-only excursion and i've made some edits that are generating some new dilemmas.

situation #1: i cut the number of days in LA so i could work in an overnight stop in SLO to visit hearst castle. i really don't want to rent a car. anyone know the score on public transit in san luis? hearst is 43 miles from SLO and there's a county bus that goes there, but i don't want to risk missing my 3:43 PM departure to PDX the same day (the earliest arrival -- 12:45 PM -- from LA the previous day would still only allow a half-day to do the tour). should i just scrap this altogether and go straight to PDX?

situation #2: the detroit-windsor border crossing. i have a friend near ann arbor who has offered to drive me across the border (cars again, yuk!). is there a transit alternative, say, from the detroit amtrak station?

situation #3: i removed a stop-over in montreal and am leaving canada at toronto with the next stop-over as hartford. what is the best route and what is the fastest route? i am interested in stopping in buffalo overnight to see their old terminal and ride their light rail system, but it's not a required stop in the grand scheme if the scheduling won't work. skipping buffalo would allow me two nights in hartford.

should i go:

a. TWO-BFX-NYP-NHV-HFD, or

b. TWO-BFX-SPG-HFD

your thoughts on any of the above would be much appreciated! for some background, this is a 21-day trip using the NA rail pass that starts in KCY and ends in BOS.

 

[The Metropolitan]

Regarding #2:

http://www.citywindsor.ca/000600.asp

http://www.citywindsor.ca/001209.asp

I have no idea how this works (customs-wise) but it certainly seems interesting.

Regarding #3:

I'd probably be tempted to stay the night in Buffalo and then catch the train (#48) straight (ok, cross platform transfer) to Springfield. The one catch is that the LSL stops at Depew but not Exchange St. There is a #6 bus that NFTA runs to the Depew Station from Downtown that would likely get you there in time for your train (with any luck, not TOO much time {i.e. 48's OTP})

 

[battalion51]

If you take Regional 280 (which leaves at the ever popular 4:35 AM) you can get down to NYP around Noon time and catch 176-476 to Hartford. With 48/448's less than stellar on time record this is the route I would go. Your odds of catching 48/448 and connecting to a Southbound Shuttle aren't very good.

 

[gswager]

Answering to situation #1: It's very interesting to see Hearst Castle, too rich for me to live. Fifteen years ago, there's no bus to San Simon (where Hearst Castle is), but now is. Here's the schedule from San Luis Obispo to San Simon. It's in acrobat format.

From what I see the schedule, the only way is taking half day tour. The stop from SLO government center to Amtrak station is pretty far, so you'll have to transfer to another bus. It may be about 30 minutes walk. From Cal Poly Union Center to station is about 30 to 45 minutes walk, following along the track.

In San Luis Obispo where I used to live for 2 years, attending Cal Poly State University, the public bus is excellent due to heavily used by Cal Poly students. Here's the website of San Luis Obispo busses.

Other things to explore if Hearst Castle is not feasible are checking out downtown SLO and 300 years old mission.

 

[Trogdor]

In Detroit, you can take the #53 Woodward bus towards Downtown to connect with the Windsor Tunnel Bus.

While the Amtrak station isn't in the best of neighborhoods (though I can't really think of any "best of" neighborhoods in Detroit), as long as you're making the connection in daylight and stay aware of what's around you, you should be okay. The stop is just across the street from the station.

 

[mkellerm]

In Detroit, you can take the #53 Woodward bus towards Downtown to connect with the Windsor Tunnel Bus.
While the Amtrak station isn't in the best of neighborhoods (though I can't really think of any "best of" neighborhoods in Detroit), as long as you're making the connection in daylight and stay aware of what's around you, you should be okay. The stop is just across the street from the station.

On the Windsor side, you may need to connect to the #2 bus unless you want a fairly good hike from downtown to the station in the Walkerville area of the city (it is about a mile and a half). My biggest concern would be making timely connections if you are arriving in Detroit on 350 at 2:35 (if it is on time) and departing Windsor at 5:30 on 78.

 

[DaveKCMO]

i decided to eliminate the SLO stop and continue through BFX-NYP to get to HFD. i'm still toying with the detroit-windsor connection. thanks for the help!

 

[Sam Damon]

IMO, your best bet from Detroit-Windsor is to have the friend take you across the border.

I once (in 1985, that is!) did Windsor-Toronto from Detroit after visiting with family in the Detroit area. After looking at the train departure times, and the various public transit options available to me, I got my sister-in-law to run me across the border.

Far less hassle. I seem to recall having about a good half hour before the VIA train left, as I think I bought my tickets at the Windsor station. That was back in the days before I knew enthusiasts needed to keep consists, etc., etc. Of course, now, getting across that river to Windsor, who knows?

 

[MrFSS]

IMO, your best bet from Detroit-Windsor is to have the friend take you across the border.
I once (in 1985, that is!) did Windsor-Toronto from Detroit after visiting with family in the Detroit area. After looking at the train departure times, and the various public transit options available to me, I got my sister-in-law to run me across the border.

Far less hassle. I seem to recall having about a good half hour before the VIA train left, as I think I bought my tickets at the Windsor station. That was back in the days before I knew enthusiasts needed to keep consists, etc., etc. Of course, now, getting across that river to Windsor, who knows?

The last time I went Detroit to Windsor by car, several years ago, it took almost 3 hours to get over and past customs, etc. We have learned to go way north of Detroit and cross at smaller places that don't have as much traffic.

 

[DaveKCMO]

We have learned to go way north of Detroit and cross at smaller places that don't have as much traffic.

any recommendations?

 

[MrFSS]

We have learned to go way north of Detroit and cross at smaller places that don't have as much traffic.

any recommendations?

Take I-94 north and exit east on 26 mile road to Marine City. There is a ferry across the river and you come out well past Windsor. We are usually going to visit friends in Chatham, so don't need to be anywhere near Windsor. Only a suggestion and its been several years since we did it. But, we drove right up to the ferry boat and were across in 15 minutes. Things could be different, now.