Hi All, I just moved from Long Island to Beverly Hills Florida and I want to go to York. I'm not sure which airports to leave from and go to. Hopefully another Florida member can help as I haven't missed a York in over 15 years.
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You could take the autotrain out of Sanford (roughly 2hrs from you) …to Lorton Va. (roughly 2hrs from York). It runs daily and you get to bring the car.
If you are going to fly, BWI is typically the easiest airport to fly in and out of. It's about a 2 hour drive from their to York considering some traffic and depending on which way you go.
@Lenny J posted:Hi All, I just moved from Long Island to Beverly Hills Florida and I want to go to York. I'm not sure which airports to leave from and go to. Hopefully another Florida member can help as I haven't missed a York in over 15 years.
Happy to hear someone escaped LI. Where were you?
I'm with Jessee, the Autotrain is a nice ride and you would have your own car on the other end to fill up at York. Dont want to be bouncing all those purchases from a rental car to baggage check, etc. 😀😀
A third vote for the AutoTrain! I live in Virginia not too far away from Lorton so that's how we travel to Florida. It's a nice ride and you will arrive in the morning with some sleep. I would also recommend a roomette.
Hi Lenny,
Travis and I will miss you on the bus and RMLI.Best wishes on your new digs in Fla.One of my coworkers was planning on retiring in two years and moving to Fla.He put his house on the market just to see what was offered and it sold in five weeks .Two people got in a bidding war and he ended up getting 20k more than his asking price.Now he's in Fla working till retirement.
JohnK
I-95 north to Baltimore, I-695 around Baltimore to I-83 north to York.
If you fly and plan to get a rental car, check first to make sure one will be available (make that an affordable rental car is available). There were some crazy high prices for rentals not too long ago.
Tampa to BWI on Southwest.
Another vote for the AutoTrain to Lorton, Va., two hrs. from there to York beats oh so many hours on I-95, that plus putting your York treasures in your car instead of trusting baggage handlers at the Airport...
Allegiant flies direct from Tampa, Sarasota, and Orlando (Sanford actually) to MDT…Harrisburg, PA. Frontier also flies direct Orlando-MDT.
Harrisburg is an easy, twenty minute drive to York. MDT also has rental cars inside the terminal, not miles away like BWI. The drive from BWI can be a traffic filled mess, and two hours is optimistic unless you arrive late at night.
Tom
Another vote for the Autotrain! I love it!
@Love trains posted:Another vote for the AutoTrain to Lorton, Va., two hrs. from there to York beats oh so many hours on I-95, that plus putting your York treasures in your car instead of trusting baggage handlers at the Airport...
^^^^ This is the key point. If you fly, you have to either ship it, check it, or restrain yourself enough to fit it in a carryon. Autotrain sends your car from the fair to your door without too much risk of damage.
Considering the cost of the autotrain and the time it takes, why not drive and just make a stop along the way? It'll certainly be cheaper.
@FlyPlanes-PlayTrains posted:Allegiant flies direct from Tampa, Sarasota, and Orlando (Sanford actually) to MDT…Harrisburg, PA. Frontier also flies direct Orlando-MDT.
Harrisburg is an easy, twenty minute drive to York. MDT also has rental cars inside the terminal, not miles away like BWI. The drive from BWI can be a traffic filled mess, and two hours is optimistic unless you arrive late at night.Tom
Ditto. I live in York. Unless you want to fly Southwest (BWI only), Harrisburg is much closer and no traffic.
Bob
Don't forget the price to rent a car if you don't bring yours with you. 
@Love trains posted:Another vote for the AutoTrain to Lorton, Va., two hrs. from there to York .......
That 2 hours is only true between 2-5 am,
Oh Lord! I grew up in Fairfax county, my family still owns land in Lorton Virginia, and I still drive up to Fairfax at least once a month.
You guys have for gotten to tell him that between the hours of 6 am to 10am, and from 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm, the traffic in Fairfax is virtually at a standstill, even bumper to bumper on I-95, I-66, and all secondary highways and roads. It is now rated as a worse traffic area than trying to drive in Manhattan, NY. It could easily take you two hours just to get out of Virginia traveling north, even if you stay off I-95 and try using the Fairfax County or Prince William Parkway.
If you try to leave Lorton during those hours, you can count on 4 hours to get to York! And a migraine headache! :-)
For God's sake, take a plane to Pennsylvania and rent a car!
Mannyrock
Thank you all for your ideas, I leaning toward taking the plane. RSJB18 we live in Beverly Hills. John K I hope you and Travis take the bus so I will see you for breakfast at Round the Clock Diner! Lenny
Places you don't want to go. Anywhere near DC on I95. Average speed of 20 mph for at least 3 hours. IMO, Mike CT. We did a winter vacation to Colonial Williamsburg, several years ago, late January. Return trip was cross country via I77/64 to western, West Virgina/Virgina, and then home to Pittsburgh.
We've taken the AT 6 times. Traveling I95 from NY can be harrowing to say the least. As to the DC traffic, I guess we've been lucky. Never hit any major delays on either side (495). On one trip we met a family that were supposed to be on the previous SB trip, They made the mistake of going THROUGH DC. Got stuck in major traffic and missed their train.
The train usually arrives in Lorton around 9-10 AM, if they are on time. By the time you get your car you would be hitting the road mid-day so the odds are the traffic around DC would be bearable.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Considering the cost of the autotrain and the time it takes, why not drive and just make a stop along the way? It'll certainly be cheaper.
Maybe even two stops - take it easy and enjoy the trip.
@Mannyrock posted:Oh Lord! I grew up in Fairfax county, my family still owns land in Lorton Virginia, and I still drive up to Fairfax at least once a month.
You guys have for gotten to tell him that between the hours of 6 am to 10am, and from 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm, the traffic in Fairfax is virtually at a standstill, even bumper to bumper on I-95, I-66, and all secondary highways and roads. It is now rated as a worse traffic area than trying to drive in Manhattan, NY. It could easily take you two hours just to get out of Virginia traveling north, even if you stay off I-95 and try using the Fairfax County or Prince William Parkway.
If you try to leave Lorton during those hours, you can count on 4 hours to get to York! And a migraine headache! :-)
For God's sake, take a plane to Pennsylvania and rent a car!
Mannyrock
Coming in from the west, I had no idea that the traffic in these areas was so crazy. If you rent a car, remember that you'll also pay through the nose to ship stuff back home unless it's small enough for carry on.
I concur.....2 hours from Lorton to York in mid-day is overly optimistic!
Peter
I'd still recommend driving. It will be far cheaper, you'll have your car when you get there, and you can stop anywhere you like if you need to stretch your legs.
We compared air fare/ rental car to Amtrak and it was about a wash (New York, La Guardia, to Orlando). Amtrak is sneaky with their pricing too, the later you book the more expensive it gets (guess that's true with the airlines as well).
I still think having one's own car at York would be best.
Reality check...If you have been to York for 15 years in a row consider skipping it.
I just read every post in this thread. Nothing is worth that aggravation. As the years roll on, driving anywhere near DC is an exercise in parking on the Interstate.
Like a fool I just did an I-95 trip to the tourist trap in Colonial Williamsburg. A bicycle would have been quicker. We returned North using the DelMarVa peninsula. A tad longer but way quicker!
Buying any train thing at full retail, including shipping, would be a considerable savings over York when all costs are tallied.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I'd still recommend driving. It will be far cheaper, you'll have your car when you get there, and you can stop anywhere you like if you need to stretch your legs.
I agree.
Plus you can carry all of your goodies without the cost of shipping too.
Did you meet any train fanatics in Florida? A ride with train friends is always fun, and the costs can be shared
I can attest that the above horror stories are true of those attempting to reach York from the south via the Washington and Baltimore Beltways, other than in the middle of the night.
The fastest and reliable method of going to York from Lorton is to have an EZ Pass on your car, specifically:
a. If on-time, train gets in around 9 am. Priority off-loading gets you going by 10 am.
b. E-Z pass 95 North
c. E-Z pass 495 - towards Tysons Corner
d. 270 N in Maryland
e. Rt 15N near Frederick MD to Gettysburg (opportunity for sightseeing!)
f. Stay on 15N to either PA 234 east or Rt 30 east to York (haven't seen much difference in either routing with no construction)
This routing is typically less than 2 1/2 hours.
Rental cars are still pricey. In June I booked a rental car for a week for $1100. My sister-in-law insisted that I drive her new car instead. So I cancelled the rental and put a $2300 dent in her car. If you have to rent, do it, don't let a friend or relative loan you a car. 
Personally, I'd take my own car, either driving all the way or using Auto Train. Of course, for me, it's a great distance to get there (1700 miles) from the Texas Panhandle, and, once there, I would not want to miss any opportunity to see as much northeastern railroading as practicable, and, for that, you need a car. It may not be as interesting for you, as that's where you are from.
I am going to attend Fall York 2022, and will drive all the way, combining it with Strasburg and Steamtown, and any working Alco or Baldwin diesels I can find.
And that includes taking the 2-lane roads across Pennsylvania's Juniata Valley, as suggested by Neal Schorr.
York may be the destination, but it's going to be part of a journey instead of a trip. There's a lot of railroad track out there between Forida and York, and you can choose which to follow if you also want to try a journey from Florida.
Life is short.
May be, just may be, our life long love affair with the personal auto may be wain-ing.
Tom Tee, I think you miss the York experience. It is not just buying trains. I have been able to talk to Neil Young, Mike Wolfe, the owners of GarGraves and many others not to mention the number of friends I've made over the years. York is not just trains. I will go just need to figure out the best way, it doesn't have to be the cheapest. Lenny J
It's probably too late for the organizers-that-be to consider arranging a scheduled limo service between Harrisburg and York. Even an enterprising Uber/Lyft-type service, perhaps...vetted and endorsed by EDTCA. It might even be a service that some of the area hotels/motels can arrange during an event like the York meet.
But, considering where you are departing from (Florida), I surely would vote for flying Allegiant direct to Harrisburg. That short 33-mile, 40-minute hop to York ought to be available without car rental...IMHO. When you have an event with a strong potential national draw like a York meet, you'd think that some timely limo service would be available. Yo, enterprising people of PA!?
And, I sure would rather spend the $$$ on trains purchases and shipping costs rather than an over-priced car rental. That's why UPS is there at the meet...to make it convenient for the folks not driving to York.
I was born/raised in D. C., with no family reason to return after 1984 when both of my parents passed away. In 2003 we drove from our home in Michigan down to Florida to visit my sister/b-in-law, timing it to go to York on the return trip. Yep, I-95. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER AGAIN...will I be that dumb!!
I even naively thought that getting to-and-through D.C. between, say, 10AM and 2PM would be the best time traffic-wise. WRONG!!
Little wonder that the family home within D.C...a leisurely 6-block walk to the nearest Metro station...purchased as a new-built in 1932 by Mom and Dad for the outrageous price of $12,500, sold in 1985 for the equally outrageous price of $187,500, is now currently in an area where comparable home values are >$1,000,000!!! Driving your own car in that city...at any hour of any day...is pure madness.
Just MHO, though...FWIW.
Good luck.
@Mike CT posted:May be, just may be, our life long love affair with the personal auto may be wain-ing.
Meet the Uber/ Lyft generation. Many of my kid's friends don't own cars and use the services to get where they need to go. I guess if you look at car payments, insurance, maintenance, etc it makes sense.
Lenny, Agree, the personal contacts are the large part of my attendance.
But that does beg a question, how many of these people do I call or who call me other than at shows or purchases. Do we even have one another's phone numbers? Does not seem to be really in depth friendships but rather just good to see familiar folks who are still alive. Kind of like the community organizations and church bodies with whom I gather. Sometimes I wonder just how close we really are to those we call our "friends"?
Just a quick follow-up for anybody who is coming from the South and wants to use I-95 going north.
Take I-95 until you get to Richmond, VA, then follow its beltway to the left and get on I-64 West. Stay on it all of the way until you hit I-81 North at the Waynesboro exit. (You will be in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley.)
Then take I-81 north all of the way up through western Maryland until you can take a major highway going east, through Pennsylvania, straight over to Harrisburg and York.
Assuming no tractor trailer wrecks on the way, you will will have an enjoyable trip, at high speeds, through some of the most beautiful farmlands and mountains in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
And, you will totally "go around" the incredible traffic problems of D.C. Baltimore, and Philly.
Hope this helps.
(P.S.- My brother and sister in law used to live in Florida, and would travel I-95 north all of the way up to Pennsylvania during Thanksgiving and Christmas. They had zero traffic problems. Why? Because they timed their drive to hit I-95 north in Richmond at 9:00 at night, and drove the rest of the way on I-95 north at high speed with no traffic, arriving at their destination at about 3 in the morning! When they arrived, the crashed into bed, and slept until about 10:30 in the morning, and seemed just fine. During the night drive, they traded off the driving at 2 hour intervals, while the other napped.)
Mannyrock
Do a 2 day drive, but do 90% to all of it on the first day. Drive for 15 to 18 hours. I know a number of people who drove straight through from FL to the northeast because of COVID last year (including me!). If there are 2 of you, its really easy. If it is only you, stop at a rest area for a "catnap" if needed, but plan on hitting DC around midnight. All of the above issues disappear.
Gerry
@Mannyrock posted:And, you will totally "go around" the incredible traffic problems of D.C. Baltimore, and Philly.
If you get to Phila on a drive from Florida to York, you are lost! 
Here is my route from South Florida north.
I-95 north to Charleston SC.
I-26 to Columbia SC. ,I-77 north thru SC. , NC and into Va. Pick up I-81 north thru Va., W Va., MD and into Pa. Then pick your route to York.
This beats the ride up I-95 to the Baltimore/Washington area. I-81 travels through the Shenandoah Valley so plan that leg (Va) during daylight hours. It's beautiful country.
The only negative thing of taking this route is that you will miss all the Pedro billboards on I-95 for South Of The Border...lol.
Henry,
I use to live in the Shenandoah Valley, in New Market, which is a small town right on I-81.
12 years ago, I had to drive home from Florida, and took the same route you outlined.
A really nice route, with smaller towns and hotels all along the way.
Mannyrock
