As most of you know by the Newsletter that was mailed, NARP is having its annual New England Membership Meeting in Springfield on the 19th. In addition to Jim Mathews and Timothy Brenan as speakers, Mayor Sarno of Springfield will stopping by during the meal to offer greetings. The Mayor was a major player in getting the Springfield Railroad Station restored and has been pushing for additional rail service from Boston, New Haven and St. Albans/Montreal. In addition, NARP is proud to announce that tours of the station will be included as part of the meeting. One tour for early birds will be at 9:30 AM (for which you should contact Tom Girsch for more information) and the other will be immediately after the formal part of our meeting at the Sheraton Springfield Hotel.

You are probably interested in going, but unsure of how to get there. To take rail requires an overnight in at least one direction (and for those of you who want to make an extended vacation, Tom has arranged for a special rate at the hotel). For those of us in Rhode Island, there are only two other viable choices, the bus (See Peter Pan for schedules) and to drive.

Therefore RIARP is organizing car pools from Rhode Island to Springfield. I have room for 3 others in my car. So let me know if you are coming and if you are willing to drive. From Providence to Springfield via Rte 146 and the Mass Pike is about 90 minutes. If you rather take the scenic route (Route 20) to avoid the tolls, it is about 1/2 hour longer. Based on the response I will try to pair (quad if you wish) everyone up. We might be able to arrange a car pool beginning in Newport. The hotel parking rate for day meetings at the hotel is $7.00. There may be other parking alternatives available.

New England 2017 Regional NARP Meeting - Springfield, MA | National Association of Railroad Passengers | Washington, DC