Arrive To: CHECK IN: Please arrive at the Inn between 3:00-5:00pm. Check in at the front desk and then register with Road Scholar staff in the Main lobby. At this time you'll be given a welcome packet containing your name tag, up-to-date itinerary and other useful information. You will then have until 5:45 PM to settle into your room.

Dinner: Enjoy dinner at the hotel.

Evening: ORIENTATION: After dinner we will have our Orientation. This will provide you with information about the inn, program itinerary, instructors, venues and on site staff. We will ask participants to introduce themselves to the group. This is also a good opportunity to ask questions.

Lodging: Sheraton Hartford Hotel at Bradley Airport

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is served at hotel

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Enjoy a morning on the Essex Steam train and Riverboat. Essex Steam Train & Riverboat's 2½-hour journey begins at the historic 1892 Essex Station for a 12-mile, narrated round-trip into the heart of the unspoiled Connecticut River Valley - designated "one of the last great places on earth" by the Nature Conservancy. The steam locomotive pulls vintage coaches at 20 mph through the quintessential New England towns of Deep River and Chester. The picturesque countryside includes pristine meadows, a quaint farm, a millpond with waterfall, and trestles and bridges over rivers and creeks. A natural highlight is the undeveloped Selden Neck State Park, accessible only by boat. At Deep River Landing, passengers are escorted onto the Becky Thatcher riverboat for a cruise along the Connecticut River. The visual serenity of the river valley is on full display from Becky's multiple decks. The deep water, coves, inlets, marshes, wildlife, and rocky shoreline are all at once, simply breathtaking! Just as impressive are the historic sights including Gillette Castle, Goodspeed Opera House, and the Haddam Swing Bridge. Upon Becky's return to Deep River Landing, the steam train welcomes passengers for the return trip back to Essex Station.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant

Afternoon: PRESENTATION: After lunch we will have a program CT Trolley Museum. The Connecticut Electric Railway Association, Inc. is the owner and operator of the Connecticut Trolley Museum. Founded in October 1940, it is the nation’s oldest incorporated organization dedicated to the preservation of the trolley era. As a non-profit institution, its educational and historical aim is the establishment of a full scale operating street and interurban railroad system with the appropriate accessory equipment and buildings, to recreate an important phase of New England’s business and social life from 1890 to 1949. A three-mile round trip streetcar ride with an educational narrative is provided to the museum’s visitors during their visit. All work at the museum, except for one paid employee in the museum office, is done by volunteers. There are over 70 pieces or rail equipment owned by the museum, some of them dating as far back as 1869. This collection is made up of passenger and freight streetcars, elevated railway cars, interurban cars, service cars, locomotives (diesel and electric), passenger and freight railroad cars, and other pieces of miscellaneous railway equipment.

Dinner: Dinner is included at hotel

Lodging: Sheraton Hartford Hotel at Bradley Airport

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Green Mountain Railroad - Yankee Flyer Restoration Project-Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train

Breakfast: Breakfast served at hotel before departure for Lincoln

Morning: FIELD TRIP:Travel to the Green Mountain Railroad station in Bellows Falls, VT. Here we will meet with a local historian and tour a couple of their stock cars in the yard. The first railroad to operate at this location was called the Champlain & Connecticut River Railroad Co. in Nov. 1843. It later became known as the Rutland & Burlington Railroad Co. Construction on the “Island” at Bellows Falls began in Feb.1847. The rails were laid from Bellows Falls to Burlington in April 1849. Service between Bellows Falls and Burlington began in Dec. 1849. The original two-story station was built with native bricks from the brickyard of a local gentleman name Sanford Granger from Saxtons River in 1851. The station was destroyed in a spectacular fire in late Nov.1923 and was replaced soon after by the Rutland Railroad Co. to the present structure seen today.

Lunch: A lovely lunch is served at the Historic Hotel Coolidge. The Central Vermont Railway laid the first rails in early 1847 and, by the following year, the line stretched 25 miles north to Bethel. On June 26, 1848, Vermont's first passenger train began service between White River Junction and Bethel, and by 1849, the line extended 90 miles north to Burlington and 15 miles south to Windsor. The success of the Central Vermont from Burlington to Windsor prompted the rapid addition of other lines to this area, and soon White River became the most important junction in Northern New England. Colonel Sam Nutt, a successful riverboat captain, recognized the need created by the railways for first-class hotel accommodations in White River Junction. In 1849, he retired from the river, purchased the Grafton House in Enfield, NH (some 20 miles to the east), had it transported to White River Junction, and after a period of reconstruction, opened the Junction House. Named Hotel Coolidge in honor of Colonel John Calvin Coolidge. The father of President Calvin Coolidge, Colonel Coolidge was a frequent guest of the hotel, and his picture still hangs in the lobby, sternly surveying passersby. President Coolidge himself stayed on the first floor in Parlor Room A, preferring by reason of superstition to occupy an unnumbered room.

Afternoon: PRESENTATION: Travel to Lincoln, NH where we visit members of the Flying Yankee Restoration Group for a presentation on their magnificent train. The mission of the group is to enable present and future generations to celebrate a unique piece of American technology - to understand how it was developed in response to a national and regional need, and how its technology continues to be innovative and world class, even today. They hope to enable youngsters, parents, neighbors, and guests from all over the world to again understand and experience the enormous impact that railroading has had on northern New England. They hope to reawaken them to the richness of our small, downtown centers that were generated by railroading, and enable them to experience first-hand what "quality-of-life" has meant for generations in northern New England; And finally they hope to allow people to read, experience and reconsider the impact railroads have had on America, particularly northern New England's culture and history. Travel to the hotel for check into the resort

Dinner: This evening we board the Café Lafayette Dinner Train for an experience you will long remember. The "Granite Eagle", originally built for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad, operating from St. Louis Missouri to San Antonio Texas in the mid 1950's on the "Texas Eagle". She was then acquired by the Illinois RR and run on train #1, "The City of New Orleans". The unusual dome car was purchased in Pittsburgh Kansas in the late fall of 1995. It was brought across the United States by rail and restored in the engine house of the Hobo Railroad during the winter of 1996. Leslie, Lance and their two chefs, Doug Trulson and Scott Buckland along with a friend Tom Sabourn, made the impossible happen; taking only six months to rebuild exterior steel, design and restore the interior, install new windows, and give this magnificent car a royal blue and white paint job, then renaming her the "Granite Eagle".

Lodging: Comfort Inn & Suites

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is included at the resort

Morning: LECTURE: This morning we will enjoy a lecture by Conway Railroad Historian, Ben English. FIELD TRIP: Today with travel with our historian to the Conway Scenic Railroad. We ride the Conway Scenic with Ben doing the narration to Crawford's Notch. Enjoy a box lunch on board. The Conway Scenic Railroad is a heritage railway in North Conway, New Hampshire. The railroad operates over two historic railway routes: a line from North Conway to Conway that was formerly part of the Conway Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and a line from North Conway through Crawford Notch to Fabyan, New Hampshire that was once part of the Mountain Division of the Maine Central Railroad. The Conway line is owned by Conway Scenic and the Mountain Division is owned by the State of New Hampshire. Russ Seybold is owner and president of the Conway Scenic. The railroad's main terminal is located in historic downtown North Conway in the Mount Washington valley. The station complex has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.

Lunch: A box lunch is served on the train to Crawford Notch.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Ride to the summit of Mount Washington aboard the Cog Railroad and visit The Cog Railway Museum which offers antique photographs depicting the construction and early years. Since, 1869, the Mount Washington Cog Railway has been climbing to the top of New England. Powered by diesel and coal-fired steam locomotives, the Mount Washington Cog Railway is an engineering marvel. Please remember that weather can be quite extreme at the summit during all times of the year.

Dinner: Dinner is served at the resort

Lodging: Comfort Inn & Suites

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Full breakfast is served at hotel

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Travel to Meredith, NH for a morning program at the Lake Winnipesaukee Railroad and meet with their historian. Following the presentation we journey along Lake Winnipesaukee. Enjoy a box lunch along the journey. Enjoy a nostalgic scenic excursion along the shores of the lake. We travel between Meredith and Lakeport always within view of the lake. The railroad line was built in 1849 before any development occured on the then remote lake. We travel through the front yards of many resort homes. Once part of the Boston & Maine Railroad that brought tourists to the lake for summer vacations from the late 1890’s to the 1950’s. Weirs Beach was a busy summer resort with many fine "Grand Style Hotels” lining the shore of the lake.

Lunch: Lunch on board the train.

Afternoon: EXCURSION: This afternoon, as we make our way to Plymouth, MA we visit the city of Boston and enjoy a historical tour of the city before continuing to our next hotel.

Dinner: Dinner is included this evening at a nearby restaurant.

Lodging: Holiday Inn Falmouth

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast is served at hotel.

Morning: PRESENTATION: Morning program on Cape Cod History by author Jim Coogan. Please be sure to look up Jim's book, Cape Cod Voyage FIELD TRIP: Later this morning, we travel with Jim to the town of Hyannis where we will board the Cape Cod Central Railroad for a scenic narrated journey through the salt marshes and cranberry bogs of the Cape. The Cape Cod Central Railroad has three locomotives, and generally uses two on each train in a pull-pull configuration due to a lack of convenient switching locations. ALCo RS-3M #1201, nicknamed "Lulubell," was originally built in May 1951 for the New York Central Railroad as locomotive #8246. It has also served Penn Central, Amtrak, Connecticut Central, and Providence & Worcester railroads. EMD GP-7 #1501, along with its sister engine #1502, was originally built in 1952 for the Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay railroad. The 1501 recently emerged in a new paint scheme identical to sister railroad Massachusetts Coastal's paint scheme. The engine is now in service on Cape Cod Central trains. Sister 1502 has not run in several years and a return to service is not likely in the foreseeable future. Enjoy a box lunch along the way.

Lunch: A picnic lunch is served aboard the train.

Lunch: PRESENTATION: We disembark the train in at the Barnstable Station, site of the Cape Cod Central Railroad Historical Association. Here we meet with local railroad historians. Following the presentation we continue with Jim as he tells us much more of the Cape's fine history.

Dinner: Dinner is included

Lodging: Holiday Inn Falmouth

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast included at hotel

Morning: Travel to Bradley Airport and then hotel in Windsor Locks. We will arrive at the airport between 11:30 and 12:00, then back to the hotel between 12:00 and 12:30.

Meals Included: Breakfast