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London to New York flight advice

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jamesontheroad

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Problem is the return leg I don’t want to travel overnight I can’t sleep on a plane can anybody find me any suitable flights? Best I can find is New York to London and getting back at 10pm but it’s not ideal as I need to get back upto Edinburgh. Staying in Washington or Boston is options for me or another city.

There are only a handful of eastbound daytime flights, because of the poor fleet utilisation and poor connection opportunities at either end.

(A plane that leaves an east coast US city at 8AM leaves too early for lots of inbound connections from other cities; and arriving at 7PM or so in the UK is too late for lots more onward connections).

I haven’t checked in a long time, but I think your only options for daytime flights from North America to the USA are BA BOS-LHR; American ORD-LHR; American, British Airways, Delta, United, and Virgin Atlantic from EWR or JFK to LHR; Air Canada from YYZ-LHR and United IAD-LHR. Some of those may have been discontinued.
 
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BJames

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London to New York was a nice flight both ways the last time I did it, which was a few months ago on Virgin. I'm surprised that you want to break this up.

There are only a handful of eastbound daytime flights, because of the poor fleet utilisation and poor connection opportunities at either end.

(A plane that leaves an east coast US city at 8AM leaves too early for lots of inbound connections from other cities; and arriving at 7PM or so in the UK is too late for lots more onward connections).

I haven’t checked in a long time, but I think your only options for daytime flights from North America to the USA are BA BOS-LHR; American ORD-LHR; American, British Airways, Delta, United, and Virgin Atlantic from EWR or JFK to LHR; Air Canada from YYZ-LHR and United IAD-LHR. Some of those may have been discontinued.
You can fly with Virgin during the day, but the time difference means that you'll be arriving back in London at around 8pm... not too bad for this time of year, bit different in the autumn if you don't like night flights. I personally enjoy night flights, but I know it's not everyone's thing.
 

Gadget88

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My plan may be

Edinburgh to reykjavik 5 hour lay over before next plane 6 hours to New York

Stay 4 nights at a hotel in JFK fly back to London on a 747 BA flight which I seen on flight tracker can do it in 5 hours 30 to 5 hours 45 is this right? Then stay in a London before getting train back to from Kings cross to Edinburgh. Would this work? I worked it would be at least a Grand vs the usual package holiday price of £500 each but it gives me more room on the way back to move around and I avoid the dodgy plane food and can avoid being on a flight 7 and a half hours?

Is JFK easy enough to commune to the city centre?
 

cactustwirly

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My plan may be

Edinburgh to reykjavik 5 hour lay over before next plane 6 hours to New York

Stay 4 nights at a hotel in JFK fly back to London on a 747 BA flight which I seen on flight tracker can do it in 5 hours 30 to 5 hours 45 is this right? Then stay in a London before getting train back to from Kings cross to Edinburgh. Would this work? I worked it would be at least a Grand vs the usual package holiday price of £500 each but it gives me more room on the way back to move around and I avoid the dodgy plane food and can avoid being on a flight 7 and a half hours?

Is JFK easy enough to commune to the city centre?

I'd probably book a BA flight from Newark (EWR), it's a Boeing 777 which is a bit nicer than a 747.
The plane food on BA is actually pretty good.
 

Bald Rick

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My plan may be

Edinburgh to reykjavik 5 hour lay over before next plane 6 hours to New York

Stay 4 nights at a hotel in JFK fly back to London on a 747 BA flight which I seen on flight tracker can do it in 5 hours 30 to 5 hours 45 is this right? Then stay in a London before getting train back to from Kings cross to Edinburgh. Would this work? I worked it would be at least a Grand vs the usual package holiday price of £500 each but it gives me more room on the way back to move around and I avoid the dodgy plane food and can avoid being on a flight 7 and a half hours?

Is JFK easy enough to commune to the city centre?

Well, if you’re doing 6hrs from Iceland to NY, it’s not that much more of a stretch to do 7 1/2hrs. As a former anxious flyer myself (due to travel sickness), I found that once you get over 5 hours, it doesn’t make much difference.

Delta fly direct Edinburgh to JFK in 7h30, and they are pretty good (they also fly direct from Glasgow).
It would save you about an hour ‘on plane’ time, 6 hours journey time each way and several hundred quid on plane and train fares (not to say expensive coffee at Keflavik).

747s are the fastest commercial airliner in the sky, but there’s only a knot or two in it. They can come east in 5h30 (a Norwegian Dreamliner did it in 5h13 last year), but they will need a very significant tailwind. 6h-6h30 in the air is more typical and it can be more.

JFK to New York (Manhattan, or indeed most of the city) requires use of the “Airtrain” (an airport fast metro) to either Howard Beach for Subway Line A, or Jamaica Centre for Lines E, J or Z, or the LIRR to Penn station. You’ll have to buy separate tickets for each leg. Which way you go depends on where you are staying in New York.

I'd probably book a BA flight from Newark (EWR), it's a Boeing 777 which is a bit nicer than a 747.
The plane food on BA is actually pretty good.

A recent report from someone very close to me on a transatlantic BA777 disagrees strongly about the food!
 

cle

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London has the only daytime flights. Nothing to Dublin or rest of UK. Or Iceland for that matter, which is annoying, living here. And mainland Europe is an hour later, so falls out of the sweet spot.

BA, Virgin and UA (Newark) have ones around 8pm - but I'd do BA to stay within T5, and hustle to the last EDI flight at around 9pm, with hand luggage. Those flights mostly arrive early, so you'd likely have 90 mins, easy.

Gatwick has later ones, but no daylight NYC flight. That or the sleeper are your options.
 

Shinkansenfan

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Is JFK easy enough to commune to the city centre?

Not really.

All but one of the hotels near JFK will require a hotel shuttle bus to take you to AirTrain JFK (or to a public bus route), then travel onwards via the Long Island Rail Road or via the subway (of which according to MTA statistics 1 in 5 trains are delayed). Thus, you could easily spend 1.5+ hours for each way for a hotel shuttle bus to AirTrain to LIRR/subway journey. If your hotel shuttle bus connections are poor, your journey time will be longer.

If you stay at the newly opened TWA Hotel adjacent to Terminal 5, you can walk directly to AirTrain.

If seeking to save $$$, consider staying at major hotel chains in Long Island City (one stop by subway from Manhattan) or in Downtown Brooklyn.
 

Gadget88

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I see you can fly from Iceland to Boston in around 4 hours 50 is this an option? I believe a daily train ride to NYC is only three and a half hours? Given I am more a fan of the train would I prefer this? Boston to london is still six hours on the way back though. Or is Washington a better option?
 

Bald Rick

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I see you can fly from Iceland to Boston in around 4 hours 50 is this an option? I believe a daily train ride to NYC is only three and a half hours? Given I am more a fan of the train would I prefer this? Boston to london is still six hours on the way back though. Or is Washington a better option?

Boston is closer.
 

cactustwirly

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Cool is it a good option for a day visit to New York? How is airports links to NYC? Or is it better to go from city centre

It's quite a way from New York, I'd say a good 2-3 hours.
Maybe fly to Boston, then Amtrak to NY? Then stay in Brooklyn?

In terms of Airport links you have JFK, which is either Subway (50 mins) or LIRR (20 mins) to Jamaica, for the air train to JFK.
Or to Newark you have a direct NJ Transit train to the Airport (30 mins)
 

DelW

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It's around 4 hours by train between Boston and New York city, a bit less on Acela Express, a bit more on Northeast Regional services. Acela are European style high speed sets dating from early 2000s, NERs are Amfleet loco hauled coaches dating from the 1980s (and with very small windows).
 

ac6000cw

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My plan may be

Edinburgh to reykjavik 5 hour lay over before next plane 6 hours to New York

Stay 4 nights at a hotel in JFK fly back to London on a 747 BA flight which I seen on flight tracker can do it in 5 hours 30 to 5 hours 45 is this right? Then stay in a London before getting train back to from Kings cross to Edinburgh. Would this work? I worked it would be at least a Grand vs the usual package holiday price of £500 each but it gives me more room on the way back to move around and I avoid the dodgy plane food and can avoid being on a flight 7 and a half hours?

Is JFK easy enough to commune to the city centre?

I don't know the reasons you need to keep the flight legs as short as possible, but having flown to & from the US a couple of times via Keflavik on Icelandair (to Boston and Washington DC), I'd opt for direct flights on more modern/larger/more spacious twin-aisle aircraft every time e.g. Boeing 747/777/787 and equivalent Airbus planes (and the 787 'Dreamliner' is a better passenger experience than the older aircraft, based on my one flight on it).

Nothing wrong with Icelandair, but it flies mostly single-aisle 757's (plus 4 twin-aisle 767s), and Keflavik is quite a small, modern, airport in a barren lava field 50 km from Reykjavík, with very little to do except read a book/eat/drink between flights (there is a place nearby with hot spa bathing pools, but it's not cheap AFAIK). When I came back from DC, I had enough time between planes to go to Reykjavík and have breakfast followed by a guided walking tour, but honestly unless you're really into Icelandic history and culture, a few hours is plenty of time to explore it.

And if you're visiting NYC, stay as close to downtown as you can afford - it's the 'city that never sleeps', and staying reasonably in the thick of it is part of the experience (but be careful about cheap hotels - they're cheap for a reason, usually tiny rooms with paper thin walls in inconvenient/noisy/slightly dodgy areas). Don't worry about hotel breakfasts - having breakfast in a proper, traditional, 'diner' is one of life's nicer experiences, preferably sitting at the counter where you can watch your proper hash-browns and eggs 'sunny side' or 'easy over' being cooked on a big griddle, as the cook skillfully juggles multiple orders.
 

Iskra

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Having just come back from holiday in Maine, the V.A flights to / from Boston were excellent, (and day time flights home too !)

Last time I flew VA from Manchester to Vegas and return I thought they were poor. The aircraft was dirty- the consoles above our heads were covered in dust all along the length of the cabin and the flight attendants weren't exactly friendly or going out of their way to give good service. On the return flight they rushed the food and bar service, turned out the lights and then hid for the majority of the flight. A shame, as my childhood memories of them on flights to Orlando made me think they were amazing. Like VTEC, they failed to live up to their advertising hype.

I've got BA to Miami and return in January which I'm looking forward to.
 

LAX54

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Last time I flew VA from Manchester to Vegas and return I thought they were poor. The aircraft was dirty- the consoles above our heads were covered in dust all along the length of the cabin and the flight attendants weren't exactly friendly or going out of their way to give good service. On the return flight they rushed the food and bar service, turned out the lights and then hid for the majority of the flight. A shame, as my childhood memories of them on flights to Orlando made me think they were amazing. Like VTEC, they failed to live up to their advertising hype.

I've got BA to Miami and return in January which I'm looking forward to.

I have to say, bar one trip, when we were transferred to a Delta flight after the 787's were grounded, and were not advised until a couple of days before the flight, I have never had a bad trip with Virgin, however....B.A only done one trip with them, it was to and from LAX in 2017 outbound was OK, but the return was abysmal, down to the point of almost calling us 'liars'! we had prepaid and booked seats, only to find they had given them to someone else, and when we said we did not want any food, in a gruff miserable voice told us, and the rest of the cabin (it was loud) that 'there would be nothing else to eat until we got to Heathrow' ! Not only did we book the seats, but advised them more than once before the holiday that a family member was disabled, and they put her in the most inaccessible seat they could find ! Have a flight with BA in October, as VA don't fly to where we are going, not overly looking forward to it, but willing to give them another chance !
 

Iskra

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I have to say, bar one trip, when we were transferred to a Delta flight after the 787's were grounded, and were not advised until a couple of days before the flight, I have never had a bad trip with Virgin, however....B.A only done one trip with them, it was to and from LAX in 2017 outbound was OK, but the return was abysmal, down to the point of almost calling us 'liars'! we had prepaid and booked seats, only to find they had given them to someone else, and when we said we did not want any food, in a gruff miserable voice told us, and the rest of the cabin (it was loud) that 'there would be nothing else to eat until we got to Heathrow' ! Not only did we book the seats, but advised them more than once before the holiday that a family member was disabled, and they put her in the most inaccessible seat they could find ! Have a flight with BA in October, as VA don't fly to where we are going, not overly looking forward to it, but willing to give them another chance !

My previous experience on BA has been 2 excellent journeys (Leeds-Bradford-London & London-Orlando) and the rest 'just okay.' There were special circumstances for the excellent service on the 'excellent' two flights that got us treat like royalty (we gave up a seat on the domestic flight for a BA Air Hostess who turned out to be on our next flight). It has been a while since I flew BA so I'm looking forward to flying with them and seeing how they measure up these days.
 

longhorn

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Just got back from Europe and yes heading west is about hour or hour and a half longer. Best advice, buy some noise cancelling headphones, preferably Bose QC35IIs or the new 700 series. Bring you some railroad reading material, make sure to get a window seat ( I am also an aviation enthusiast) and just enjoy the trip.
 

Bald Rick

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Having just come back from holiday in Maine, the V.A flights to / from Boston were excellent, (and day time flights home too !)

Last time I flew VA from Manchester to Vegas and return I thought they were poor. The aircraft was dirty- the consoles above our heads were covered in dust all along the length of the cabin and the flight attendants weren't exactly friendly or going out of their way to give good service. On the return flight they rushed the food and bar service, turned out the lights and then hid for the majority of the flight. A shame, as my childhood memories of them on flights to Orlando made me think they were amazing. Like VTEC, they failed to live up to their advertising hype.

I've got BA to Miami and return in January which I'm looking forward to.

I have to say, bar one trip, when we were transferred to a Delta flight after the 787's were grounded, and were not advised until a couple of days before the flight, I have never had a bad trip with Virgin, however....B.A only done one trip with them, it was to and from LAX in 2017 outbound was OK, but the return was abysmal, down to the point of almost calling us 'liars'! we had prepaid and booked seats, only to find they had given them to someone else, and when we said we did not want any food, in a gruff miserable voice told us, and the rest of the cabin (it was loud) that 'there would be nothing else to eat until we got to Heathrow' ! Not only did we book the seats, but advised them more than once before the holiday that a family member was disabled, and they put her in the most inaccessible seat they could find ! Have a flight with BA in October, as VA don't fly to where we are going, not overly looking forward to it, but willing to give them another chance !

My previous experience on BA has been 2 excellent journeys (Leeds-Bradford-London & London-Orlando) and the rest 'just okay.' There were special circumstances for the excellent service on the 'excellent' two flights that got us treat like royalty (we gave up a seat on the domestic flight for a BA Air Hostess who turned out to be on our next flight). It has been a while since I flew BA so I'm looking forward to flying with them and seeing how they measure up these days.

I’m with @swills here. I used to fly BA regularly, and have been to Australia and trans Atlantic with them as well as Europe and domestically. They started going downhill in the early/mid 2000s, completely screwed me over in 2004 (with appalling customer service) and I vowed never to use them again. Long haul since I’ve been exclusively VS (hopefully I will be using Cathay at some point soon...)

Mrs BR had cause to use BA transatlantic a few weeks ago, as she has a shorter memory than I do / doesn’t bear corporate grudges. On her return she swore blind she’s never using them again.
 

hooverboy

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Just got back from Europe and yes heading west is about hour or hour and a half longer. Best advice, buy some noise cancelling headphones, preferably Bose QC35IIs or the new 700 series. Bring you some railroad reading material, make sure to get a window seat ( I am also an aviation enthusiast) and just enjoy the trip.
yes.

1)5 hours odd flight you need to have some material to keep you entertained for sure.
ok most flights that duration or longer will have on demand film catalogues,plus news/music and so on, but it never hurts to keep a few bits and bobs spare.

2)yes to window seats(my preference..but different strokes for different folks)

3) try and find out the seat plan of your aircraft......DO NOT take the rear seats.(the seats don't recline fully and you'll get backache)
if you suffer from travel sickness then avoid the aisle seats, and look for a row situated over the wings(or thereabouts), that is where you'll feel the least amount of bumps.
you get the most effect of turbulence at the back of the plane

4)if you are incredibly tall/lanky then opt for the seats by emergency exits, they have extra legroom
 

MarcVD

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Note that emergency exit seats are almost always among the first to be reserved, and that lots of Airlines now require an extra payment to reserve them.
 

RichJF

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If you want a left-field solution, fly to Lisbon & then fly to New York.
TAP Portugal fly their brand new A330neo from Lisbon to JFK & if you are nervous this plane will have the latest tech, safety system on board. Plus it's an Airbus & given the current political climate Airbus will instill you with more confidence. Lisbon to JFK w/bound is about 7hrs

UK-Dublin then New York. From Dublin Aer Lingus fly the A330-200 & Delta the 767-400 (both widebodies).

Having said that I flew United from London to Washington Dulles in 757 (narrowbody) in 2014 & it was THE BEST transatlantic flight I've ever had.
 

krus_aragon

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Note that emergency exit seats are almost always among the first to be reserved, and that lots of Airlines now require an extra payment to reserve them.
My strategy, as a lanky, long-legged individual, is to take an aisle seat instead, and keep the under-seat area in front clear for my feet.

Being in an aisle seat also makes it easier to get up and stretch your legs (or go on a walk to the toilet) whenever you feel like it.
 

ChiefPlanner

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Just booked a little treat holiday - late September - out Heathrow to NYC (JFK) and back from Boston - looks like Delta flights on a Virgin brand. Got a free upgrade to "Virgin Delight" - more legroom and quicker checking in etc. Purpose of trip started off just to see the 100 year old subway trains doing normal fare operation in Brooklyn over a weekend ( TfL please note , normal swipe fares - not £50+) - basically Brighton Beach to Kings Highway on the BMT - 1100 to 1600 . Staying in Brooklyn , just happens to be yards from the NYCTA Museum and the nearest station has the R32 trains in normal service - then train to Boston , car to explore the area and home via Boston.

There are rail extras built in the plan - the Seashore Trolley museum and the Conway Valley Scenic railway , with accommodation cunningly planned for places of rail interest. (this will have to be compensated by trips to various quilt shops etc) .....be interesting to see how Delta performs. Any idea on plane type.

Amazing thing is how Brooklyn seems to have gentrified . 20 years ago there was not a single hotel there (bar flophouses / welfare rip offs) - looking forward immensely.
 

Bald Rick

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Just booked a little treat holiday - late September - out Heathrow to NYC (JFK) and back from Boston - looks like Delta flights on a Virgin brand. Got a free upgrade to "Virgin Delight" - more legroom and quicker checking in etc. Purpose of trip started off just to see the 100 year old subway trains doing normal fare operation in Brooklyn over a weekend ( TfL please note , normal swipe fares - not £50+) - basically Brighton Beach to Kings Highway on the BMT - 1100 to 1600 . Staying in Brooklyn , just happens to be yards from the NYCTA Museum and the nearest station has the R32 trains in normal service - then train to Boston , car to explore the area and home via Boston.

There are rail extras built in the plan - the Seashore Trolley museum and the Conway Valley Scenic railway , with accommodation cunningly planned for places of rail interest. (this will have to be compensated by trips to various quilt shops etc) .....be interesting to see how Delta performs. Any idea on plane type.

Amazing thing is how Brooklyn seems to have gentrified . 20 years ago there was not a single hotel there (bar flophouses / welfare rip offs) - looking forward immensely.

Sounds great Guv’.

Good few bars in Brooklyn. But don’t forget McSorley’s.

If you are flying Virgin to JFK, and are on the 1330 departure, you’ll be on one of their new A350-1000s, which start on the LHR-JFK runs on September 10th. Delta have the 1030 and 1730 slots, DL2 and DL4 respectively.
 

ChiefPlanner

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From the name, I'd have guessed that the latter was a lot closer than it is. :)

An stay at Kennybunkport sorts out the Seashore Trolley Museum , and it is a very decent place by the sound of it. Need to factor in the 0930 steam departure on the Mount Washington Cog Railway.
 

ChiefPlanner

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Sounds great Guv’.

Good few bars in Brooklyn. But don’t forget McSorley’s.

If you are flying Virgin to JFK, and are on the 1330 departure, you’ll be on one of their new A350-1000s, which start on the LHR-JFK runs on September 10th. Delta have the 1030 and 1730 slots, DL2 and DL4 respectively.

I think I reccomended McSorley's to you years ago , not to mention Strand Books on W11 Street. ! "time , time and time" ....Grand Central Oyster Bar is on the list.
 

Bald Rick

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I think I reccomended McSorley's to you years ago , not to mention Strand Books on W11 Street. ! "time , time and time" ....Grand Central Oyster Bar is on the list.

Indeed you did! And very good it was too. Heaving on a Monday afternoon. In return, the Ginger Man in midtown.
 

Shinkansenfan

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Purpose of trip started off just to see the 100 year old subway trains doing normal fare operation in Brooklyn over a weekend ( TfL please note , normal swipe fares - not £50+) - basically Brighton Beach to Kings Highway on the BMT - 1100 to 1600 . Staying in Brooklyn , just happens to be yards from the NYCTA Museum and the nearest station has the R32 trains in normal service - then train to Boston , car to explore the area and home via Boston.

There are rail extras built in the plan - the Seashore Trolley museum and the Conway Valley Scenic railway , with accommodation cunningly planned for places of rail interest. (this will have to be compensated by trips to various quilt shops etc) .....be interesting to see how Delta performs.

This year NYCT shifted the calvacade of historic trains from early summer to end September. September is generally a pleasant month to visit--can still be comfortable, and has lower humidity compared to summer.

It is good to ride these trains when you can. One never knows when these trains might be axed due to a budget cut, when maintenance or train operating staff retire (taking institutional knowledge along with them) or when something unusual happens, causing a sudden end of services.

For these rides, you board at Brighton Beach Station, then take a roundtrip ride to Kings Highway. Passengers are unable to alight until they return to Brighton Beach Station. There are several photo opportunities from along the lineside, generally from stations. As you mentioned, there's no extra charge to ride these trains. Ride as many as you wish.

Pro tip: when taking the train to Boston, sit on the right hand side of the train for coastal views. The coast won't be on view throughout your journey, but will pop up in parts. But when going over the Hell Gate Bridge (leaving Manhattan) sit on the left side for a view of Manhattan.

[Edited to eliminate erroneous reference to the Branford Trolley Museum in New Haven, when in fact it was the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine being discussed.]
 
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