I wish there would be some form of establishment of hard core railfanning on the NEC. I.e SEPTA silverliner IV and V’s specials to New York Penn station, special throuhway commuter service from NYP to Philly with Arrow III’s, same for SEPTA, Philly to NYC locals perhaps skipping more stops with NJT SEPTA and NJ PA Amtrak joint agreements. NJT Arrow III’s have been spotted en route to Philly during special occasions like the Thanksgiving Specials Holiday express by Amtrak, but no SEPTA MU have been spotted en route to NYC, perhaps because SEPTA’s Silverliner IV’s lack bathrooms for the longer run from Trenton to NYP. It would be like an unbelievable thrilling scene for a rail fan to see SEPTA equipment north of Trenton to NYC. Just seeing the SEPTA’s equipment and paint scheme colors north of Trenton is a treat. Even observant people who are not rail fans will be shaken if they spot such a rare situation.
In 1970, by arrangements with Penn Central, the New York-based Electric Railroaders’ Association ran an MP-54 trip form NYC-Penn to New Canaan and New Haven, Indeed, because of the New Canaan branch;s single track, the MP-54[s subsituted for the regular two-car shuttle of 4400-serries "washboars: for the one round-trip. This was possibly the ony time mu MP-54’s were on the Hell Gate Bridge.
Around 1989, the Sunrise Chaper (LI) of the NRHS ran a trip from Jamaica using LIRR diesel equipment, ex-mu Pullman-buuilt coaches, with a road-switcher on one end and an ex Aksi FA cab-car on the other over the Hell Gate to points on the New Haven and even to Brewster -and back. This required the cooperation of LIRR, Metro North, Conn DOT, and Amtrak
These things can be done. Join one of the railfan groups in the NE, Railroad Enthusiast, NRHS, ERA, become active, and you will get the needed jhelp to organize the trips you want.
There are several boards, Allaboard, which cater to the special interests you mention. Some are geographic designations, some railroad designations, some are broad and general with pages to the specifics of which you speak. There are other magazines’ pages as well as groups and blogs, etc. Yahoo has several groups addressing specific railroads and specific localities; so does Facebook and I assume others…Bing or Google what your looking for and follow the prompts. I have my Ridewithmehenry activity which is about riding and using the rails, subways, buses, light rail, ferries, and our own feet to ride mainly in and around the NYC area and hoping to get to more Philadelphia area riding; we try to do it once a month. No, not into the nitty gritty of some of the aspects you mention, but it is a part of the RWMH experience. We ride the commuter roads, Amtrak, light rail, subways, and will make connections via bus or walk as needed. I like to plan and execute the trips, making the connections to and from. Others like to see what history has left in its path, how the present presents itself, and see what the future is planning; or like to take stock of the equipment and power, the frequency of service, the architecture of the railroads and the neighborhoods and industry. Scenery is always changing by season and by construction and destruction. In effect each gets out of it what they want. ALthough we drive two to three hours from Binghamton, NY to NJT stations, we invite anyone to join us enroute for all or part of the day…the only charges are the transportation fares and what it costs you to feed yourself! Yes, RWMH has a Facebook page along with many other rail oriented special interests.