Since group travel was mentioned.....possible Dawg train to Columbia, SC in 2012

[drail14me]

We're in the VERY early stages at looking at a possible Bulldog charter train to the 2012 South Carolina football game in Columbia. The train would probably originate in New Orleans with stops along the way in Slidell, Picayune, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Meridian, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Atlanta and a few others stops and would take us to Greenville, SC. We'd then bus to the hotel and game then back for a return train trip. Would probably leave New Orleans at 0700 on Friday arriving in Greenville, SC at 2300 on Friday night. Return trip would depart Greenville, SC headed home at 0430 on Sunday morning with final arrival back in New Orleans at 1932.Those are just tentative plans. Might leave a day early and come back a day later for more time in Columbia.

Cost right now, not a damn clue. Could be as low as a few $100 to a few $1000 per person depending on the number of people and whether we use Amtrak equipment or get private rail cars.

Right now, we're just trying to see how many might be interested and what input or ideas others might have.

 

[MaroonInNashville]

Todd Stennis at Amtrak. Maybe he can get a deal cut.

 

[drail14me]

Todd Stennis at Amtrak. Maybe he can get a deal cut.

Todd was the first one I called. He's working it from the Amtrak end. We just have to get an idea as to how many people might be interested. This could trip could be as simple as just a bunch of Bulldog fans getting tickets to ride the same Amtrak train up to as elaborate as chartering our own private cars. Again, it all depends on the interest.

 

[GloryDawg]

bd

 

[drail14me]

It would have to start at an Amtrak hub like New Orleans.Starting in Jackson would involve scheduling and switching cars between two trains and would drive the cost up. But, it's something that we will look into.

 

[Tds & Beer]

and would be jumping on in Hattiesburg and would most likely have a pretty sizeable crew with me.

 

[BehrDawg]

MSUs largest alumni base lives in and around the Jackson Metro area. For the sake of distributing the cost across more fans, I would certainly check into having a stop in Jackson, even if it originates in NOLA. If it stops in Jackson, count me and my family of 7 in.

Just my two cents

 

[The Peeper]

hotel because the scheduled one through here leaves noonish and gets to NO about 3:30. The return leaves there around 2:00 and gets back a little after 5:00. I've done that several times and its a good trip. Take your cooler, gallon of margaritas,etc on w/ you and kick back. Cell phone service all the way and plug ins for laptop, dvd whatever.

Edited to add that the train through Jackson only goes North to Chicago, doesn't go East. You can catch the East bound in Meridian but have to leave your car there....

 

[benatmsu]

If you're interested, pay the $30 it costs to ride the train from Jackson to NOLA. Amtrak doesn't run from NOLA to Jackson then East...

 

[rebelrouseri]

and trains. I guess the stuff running from Greenville is freight only.

Amtrack lines.

 

[shaschboy]

And how do you get a hold of Todd. We just took it from B-ham to New Orleans for Jazz Fest and it was a blast. I couldn't imagine if we took over the train.

 

[rem101]

Neither are far and it's cheaper than paying for a family of four to take a train at $25 each.

 

[rem101]

nm

 

[drail14me]

....there's always the chance that the game gets moved to a Thursday night.

As for getting in touch with Todd, he's a personal friend and MSU alumn.

 

[drail14me]

However, it would drastically raise the cost of the trip. To have it originate in Jackson, we would have two options.

First, if we went totally with Amtrak, we'd still have to go from Jackson to New Orleans then up to Greenville. This would add another day of travel on the front and back due to train schedules.

Second, we could charter a completely private train that could possibly take us from Jackson to Meridian then up to Greenville. However, this would jack the cost WAY up. Expect a private car to run about $5,000 per day and sleep about 8 people. Add to that the cost of the locomotive and crew.

We're going to try to work up some sample pricing options and post that info as we get it.