Grand Central Centennial: The Parade of Trains

Allow me to preface this by saying that I wrote the vast majority of this last Sunday night on the long ride home, and I am not deliberately ignoring Friday night's unfortunate turn of events on the New Haven line, which is my home line of Metro North. It obviously sucks for all involved, and it is utterly miraculous that there were no fatalities. Healing thoughts with all who were affected, be it crew (luckily nobody that I personally know who works for the railroad was on either train), passengers, and first responders. (In case you didn't know: a Metro North train derailed and was struck by a train going in the opposite direction, and upwards of 60 people were injured.) All I have to say is that all of the FRA naysayers need to stick a sock in it, because if either train consist was comprised of the older cars, I doubt that the casualty count would be as small as it is. Also, I was on car 9310 on the way to the Centennial Parade of Trains, and it was one of the cars involved in the event. I'm a little creeped out to be honest.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming:

The program of events :)

Grand Central Terminal's centennial year is still being marked with special events, and last weekend was no exception. Sprawled across 4 tracks in the terminal, the Grand Centennial Parade of Trains was the largest assembly of privately owned rail cars in Grand Central Terminal. (Clearly it blew 2012's National Train Day display, provided in conjunction with Amtrak, out of the water, and last year's display was pretty impressive.) Actually, I wish Amtrak teamed up with Metro-North for this year's activities, since Amtrak did run out of Grand Central Terminal between its inception and 1991, when the Empire Connection was finished and all operations were consolidated to Penn Station - they're a part of the first 100 years of the terminal...but I digress. (I wanted to look at some Amtrak equipment, so sue me.)

I didn't go to the festivities Saturday - and Saturday was National Train Day, so revoke my railfan card plzkthx because obviously I suck ;) - but I did go Sunday. I'm glad I put it off a day, because some of the stories I heard about 2+ hour waits to see some of the equipment was DEFINITELY offputting. I got to GCT at 9:50am, met up with the person I was going with, and we pretty much waltzed right in. With the exception of an old Pennsylvania Railroad mail car, nothing on the 1st set of tracks was anything you could go on (with the exception of an M8 pair - which was the same thing I rode to GCT in so that wasn't a necessity to say the least) so that went pretty quickly. We waited in line for MAYBE 20 minutes for the Hickory Creek - which was present last year for NTD - but absolutely gorgeous and worth waiting in line for. Let me tell you, if I ever win the lottery, I'm going to charter a train with that on the end and ride it across the country...

Historically inaccurate? Yes.
Still a nice display, and it did used to run to GCT

I noticed that in the "aftermath" so to speak, of last week, people were criticizing the historical relevance of some of the stuff there, and the accuracy (protip: New York Central never actually had any FL-9's), but it is quite the undertaking to even put on an event like this, so I think everyone should be pretty grateful for what was offered for presentation. My only gripe is that the place that they procured the "New York Central" FL-9 (painted as such back around the turn of the millenium in celebration of the New York Central's 150th anniversary) does have a New Haven FL-9, but I hear rumblings that this silly painted one was in better condition to traverse the rails to get to New York. Oh well, I guess.

Overall, I think that the Pennsylvania Railroad post office car provided by the Danbury Rail Museum was probably my favorite of everything featured though.

Another nice touch was that New York City transit ran a train of old cars on the 42nd Street shuttle in conjunction with the event. As I posted back in December, I thoroughly enjoyed my first nostalgia train ride, so the shuttle was definitely a huge bonus in my book. The consist was an R-12, an R-15, and an R-33 from the New York Transit Museum. Again, it was a lot of fun to zip between Grand Central and Times Square (multiple times, because all the cool kids have to ride in each individual car) in the old cars compared to the relatively sterile experience of the modern-day stuff.

Below is a video of the view out the front of the R33 between Grand Central and Times Square - watch closely and you might see a cameo from a certain Railroad.net forum admin ;) Also, excuse the auto-focus issue. Phone does better quality video than still camera, but phone likes to auto-focus on things it shouldn't...


Here is a slide show of the pictures I took, again, like last year I'm angry at how they came out. My camera lacks in the "performing well under low light" department.


Did you go to the Grand Centennial Parade of Trains? What was your favorite of the equiment displayed?

Tuesday Video: Ooh Pretty...

Apparently Amtrak's shiny new Siemens ACS-64 electrics for the Northeast Corridor are what all the cool kids are talking about as of late, so I feel compelled to offer my two cents worth.

Personally, overall, I like how they look, but I kind of hope the flag is a show piece - I'm all for national pride, and hell, Amtrak is America's railroad, but I do think it's a bit on the obnoxiously large side.

See what I mean?

Then again, I suppose a little flag under the window like on Metro-North's dual modes would look a bit off...

I still think this is more along the lines of the size they should go for with the flag though.

Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing them in service when I adventure down to the New Haven main line. I hope they're a worthy replacement for the AEM-7's and HHP-8's (although from what I hear regarding the latter, that shouldn't be too far of a reach) - because push comes to shove (harhar - totally unintentional, actually) - who cares what these things look like, as long as they work properly, right?

What do you think about the new locomotives?

Wordless Wednesday: As Seen This Weekend

Danbury, CT - Metro North Station - 5/5/13

Breaking the whole "wordless" thing: Obviously as the terminus of the Danbury branch, trains don't come barreling out of nowhere here - however, this moron still is asking for a traumatic amputation. Just saying.

Tuesday Video: Harlem Shake on the Harlem Line

Someone sent this to me on twitter on Saturday night.

The station display says Williams Bridge - so therefore, Harlem Shake on the Harlem Line  = mind blown. Or stupid things amuse me. Either way...

Impressions.

Believe it or not, Saturday was my first time riding Amtrak ever. I've photographed enough of their trains that you'd think that wasn't the case, but quite honestly I've never had the need to ride Amtrak. BF insists on driving to both Philly and Boston, who wants to pay twice as much from New Haven to Penn Station on Amtrak when you can ride Metro North, and the damn Crescent both arrives and leaves from the area in which my parents live down South at completely inconvenient times (4:45am arrival and 11:30pm departure, anyone?) although comparably priced to flying.

One of my twitter friends, Liz, is a writer, and she was having a book signing for her first novel published in paperback, but it was all the way down in New London. (By the way, totally un-train-related, but you should check her out. Her website, which I linked to, details all of her projects, like "Sade on the Wall", which is what she was signing, and a weekly serial on Kindle - called "Sandpaper Fidelity", which I am terribly behind on, but strongly recommend, as what I've read is fantastic...anyway, end of promo - haha) Quite honestly, I really didn't feel like driving all the way across the state, so I decided to take the train from New Haven to New London. (It would have been even more convenient if I could have had a decent connection from the Waterbury branch - but that's another rant about shitty frequency for another time - as is the fact that Shore Line East doesn't run past Old Saybrook on the weekends...although apparently that's going to change soon - because that would have been cheaper than Amtrak, but anyhoo...)

Having been contained to Metro North commuter rolling stock - ranging from the shiny new M8's, diesel sets, and the crappy duct taped tin can M2's - so getting on a non-commuter passenger train was a bit of an experience.

These were my 10 prevailing thoughts upon embarking:

1. Holy shit, this train is clean.
2. Aren't Amfleets like 40 years old? They don't look it like the M2's!
3. I hope my phone stops being a turd and loads my e-ticket.
4. An HHP-8 is the loco - hope it doesn't crap out... (I've heard stories...)
5. Oooh comfy seat.
6. Hmm, I could see myself riding coach to South Carolina if I could get it cheap enough...
7. Forget reading for an hour...I'm totally going ADD and soaking everything in.
8. Heh, they scanned my ticket on an iPhone. (Yeah, my phone was a turd and didn't load my e-ticket...but that's why I printed a hard copy at the QuikTrak kiosk in case...)
9. Wow, the PA sucks - it sounds like the conductor is whispering for Old Saybrook...okay now I can tell the Amfleets are 40 years old.
10. Dammit, we're in New London already? LE FRIGGIN SIGH.

My only thought on the way back was "WTF, I'M GONNA BE DEAF IN ONE EAR!" because there's a crossing next to the station in New London, so they obviously have to lean on the horn coming into the station. For one of the blasts, the locomotive was positioned just so in the station so that my right ear bore the brunt of a nice blast. Needless to say, after a few hours my ear felt normal again, so I guess I'll live!

Right before the eardrum abuse... :)

I'm glad to have crossed my first Amtrak trip off my list - as embarassingly recent as it was...

The Jewel in the Crown: City Hall Station

After half-heartedly wishing for five years (and finally shelling out for a membership to the New York Transit Museum last fall), This past weekend I got to go on the tour of the beautiful, but long since decommissioned City Hall Station.

Archway from the "platform" to the mezzanine area

City Hall station was the southern terminus of the original IRT subway. It was in service from the very first day of IRT service, October 27, 1904 and ceased passenger service after December 31. 1945. It was rendered obsolete for passenger service when the platforms at the Brooklyn Bridge station were lengthened to accommodate longer trains with center doors, which make for a pretty wide gap onto the platform. City Hall station is only a whole 200 feet from today's Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station and had some lousy ridership numbers, so they closed it. That doesn't mean that it sits there and festers though. Every downtown 6 train, which terminates at Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station continues through the loop to turn to make the uptown/Bronx-bound trip. If you have some time on your hands when you're in New York, ride the 6 train downtown to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall, more than likely you won't be kicked off the train (ignore Mr. Automated Voice man) so stay on ride the loop. When I did this, there was no tour going on, so the station wasn't lit and I literally had to press my face up to the less than sparkling clean window (ick...) to see anything. I seem to have lucked out when I rode the loop for hahas because my train didn't stop in the loop, but many do - so this is why I suggest doing it only if you have time on your hands...or you could become a member of the transit museum and pay to go on the tour - and you see a hell of a lot more ;)

Mezzanine skylight - and my favorite picture I took

Once upon a time there were plans to make the City Hall station an annex of the Transit Museum, but I believe those plans were scuttled post 9/11 out of concern for security, since obviously City Hall itself is right there above it. It's a shame they can't do that now, because I think the station would make a pretty cool annex - although I suppose the barriers they'd have to put up to barricade the museum from the trains using the loop would kind of detract from the atmosphere a bit.

For having been out of service for nearly 70 years, the station is still gorgeous. Skylights (which were tarred over in World War II to prevent German U-Boats from spying), chandeliers and 15 Guastavino arches...nothing you find in any of the other 468 stations in the New York City subway, that's for sure! The tile work is fantastic. The station was built to beautify the city, and I think it definitely fits the bill. I don't think a single one of my pictures do it justice - but do feel free to have a look! There is an embedded slideshow below. If you can't see it, the link to the set on Flickr is here. Below the slideshow is a video I took of one of the many 6 trains that went through the loop while we were on the tour. I had a great time on this tour, and if you're a member of the transit museum I strongly encourage you to get yourself a spot on this tour sometime. You'll love it.

Grand Central - Grand Centennial (A Recap)

On Friday, February 1st the MTA celebrated Grand Central Terminal's centennial. It was a day filled with loads of festivities and fanfare, and I was glad to have been there to take part in the fun!

Panoramic shot of the madness, including the "100" windows. Click to enlarge :)

Now there is a bit of debate as to the true centennial date, because the terminal didn't open to the general public until February 2, 1913.  February 1 was limited to the rich and famous. I guess that works for the centennial too, the ceremony included many rich and famous people. That, and it was probably easier for them to have the festivities on a Friday rather than a Saturday. (I'm sure a bunch of commuters would disagree, and you'll understand why later.)

Hi there Mr. President!

Every time I set foot in the terminal, the sheer size and the beauty of the main concourse never cease to amaze me. I'm still as dumbstruck (although for less time) as the first time I ever set foot in the place. Friday was no exception, although most of the awe for me this time was the centennial celebration. After disembarking from my early-ish Harlem line train, I was thrust into what was left of the rush hour (it was 8:30ish or so) with the added obstacle of nearly half of the main concourse being cordoned off. A stage was set up at the foot of the East Balcony (the one with the Apple Store if you're directionally challenged - or Metrazur if you haven't been to Grand Central in a while) along with a bunch of chairs to form a seating area for all the press and important guests. On either side there was space to walk towards the tracks, ticket windows, and passageways - but it was still a tight squeeze. As I mentioned earlier, this whole setup pretty much took up half of the main concourse. A row of TV cameras were directly abutting the information booth. In fact, I nearly walked into Howard Permut's interview with NY1, which was taking place directly behind the whole setup. Couple that with trying to stay the hell out of the way of the average Joe and Jane commuters (who I actually pitied, having all this extra nonsense to deal with in addition to the standard tourists stopping dead in the way of the flow of traffic to take a picture or twelve) trying to get where they needed to be with the added chaos and confusion. Things were kind of hectic! I have to laugh though, as people dashed around, you could hear snippets of conversations they were having on their phones and more than a few people said things to the effect of "There's something going on in the terminal today, but I dunno what!" Umm...Look up!? The east windows had 100 splayed across them, and there were only banners everywhere. Plus, the stage backdrop and the podium on the stage had the centennial logo on them. I can't fathom being that oblivious to my surroundings. I really can't.

Caroline Kennedy

The re-dedication ceremony was a long, but entertaining 2ish hours. The events opened with a mini-concert by the West Point brass and percussion band. (There's a video of them doing the national anthem at the bottom of the post.) The whole thing was emceed by Liz Cho, who works for New York's ABC affiliate, WABC. Speakers included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who spoke at length about former mayor Ed Koch (who passed away that morning) and his involvement with preserving Grand Central Terminal, Cynthia Nixon  of  Sex and the City fame, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, who was commisioned by MTA Arts for Transit to write a poem for the centennial, Caroline Kennedy, (who, aside from Cynthia Nixon was the only celebrity with whom I was familiar) who spoke about her mother Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy's role in saving Grand Central from the wrecking ball that took the original Penn Station. Howard Permut, who is Metro North's president spoke - and was presented with a ceremonial set of keys from a couple of Vanderbilt descendents (a crash course on the Vanderbilts can be found here) because apparently, the original set from 1913 has been lost. (Yes, really.)

Sarah Charness and her badass pink electric violin.

There were also some musical performances. Sarah Charness, who is an electric violinist who has played with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was probably my favorite. I can't find any video of her actual performance, so look her up on youtube. She was fantastic. Melissa Manchester, (who I have never heard of, but is apparently a Grammy winner) sung some solo stuff and performed with a choir of high school kids from the Bronx. If I were in their position, I'd have been shitting bricks. (I was in chorus back in the day, but if we had to do anything like this, I would have died.) They nailed it though!

There was also a cake wheeled out that looks like the clock on the information booth. Unfortunately, they didn't share it with everyone there for the ceremony, I hear it was for a fancy dinner being held that evening.

In Vanderbilt Hall, the New York Transit museum has a display called "Grand by Design", it will be there until March 15th and is open between 8am and 10pm every day. I definitely recommend checking it out if you have the chance. There are some really interesting artifacts, as well as information about what was to be if the New York Central and later, Penn Central had succeeded in demolishing the terminal  like the Pennsylvania Railroad managed to do with the original Penn Station. My favorite part of the display had to be the talking screens they had scattered throughout where you press a button and various people (i.e. Dan Brucker) tell you about the terminal. In the case of Mr. Brucker's thing, it did a huge disservice to his bold personality. It sounded like someone slipped him a few tranquilizers :(

Later in the evening, there were various musical performances, and a cool improv show where performers were up in the catwalks of the west windows shining lights. I have pictures, but that doesn't do it justice. Watch the video :)

Overall, it was a great day, and I'm glad to say that I was a part of all the madness! Happy Birthday 100th (and a week) birthday Grand Central! Here's to at least 100 more!

PS: Here's the West Point video I was babbling about above!