Did someone let the nutter bus loose today? Was the local asylum giving out day passes? We had some delightful numbskulls today getting in fights on speakerphone in the waiting room, and an amusing man wearing a New York Times badge that was having difficulty hearing on his phone. Of course when you have difficulty hearing, the only solution is to stick your finger in your ear, find the nearest corner, and go stand facing the corner while resting your head against the wall for support. Can you hear me now?

I like to read and mumble. And then get on my speaker phone and get into arguments, which I am sure everyone loves to hear!

I can’t stand some people’s UGGly boots, but there are some that just make no sense to me at all. These boots are so hairy it looks like an old, brown poodle died on each of your feet.

Every time Santa Claus Man treks up the stairs at Goldens Bridge, he thinks in his mind, ‘I can reach the unreachable star!’ because just going up a flight of stairs when you are that drunk might as well be climbing Mount Everest.

Ah, good old Sleeper Kid. I have to give him credit, at least he isn’t trying to eat and sleep at the same time any more.

I have no pictures for this one, so instead, I will leave you with a story:
This week marks the return of this rather large and obnoxious woman. She rode the shuttle bus last year, and then all of a sudden disappeared. Honestly, I had hoped she got fired. I guess she didn’t, because now she is back. Maybe she just rides the bus in the winter for some odd reason. I don’t really know. Either way, she is dead set about being the first person to get on the bus. She can and will push aside any other person in her way to be the first person on the bus. As witnessed this evening, if she is sitting in a seat and there is another open seat right next to her, her fat ass is not moving an inch. Our building complex now has two shuttle buses, but for the longest time we had only one. Before we got the second bus, extra people would have to stand in the aisles if there were not enough seats. Now that we have two buses, people that don’t fit in the seats on the first bus are required to wait five minutes or so for the other bus to come around. Tonight there was an extra seat on our bus, but because fat ass didn’t want to move her butt, that person had to stand in the bitter cold until the other bus came around. And then she had the audacity to laugh about how cold it was outside, and that she couldn’t have waited another minute out there. When someone said to her that there was one more seat, she said, “Who gon’ fit dere?” If someone can’t fit there next to your fat butt, maybe that is your cue to go on a diet? For the record, as I am sure I will get a flame from someone about that, I do not have a problem with fat people, but I do have a problem with assholes.

So last week I posted my brilliant idea of what I would do the next time someone came to me in White Plains begging for money… that was, make them work for it. If they wanted money, I’d give it to them, if and only if they sand or danced on camera. In fact the same man returned, the one I was referring to in that post, again asking for dollars. And thus began my evening in White Plains yesterday.

Dollar man was looking for a dollar, and I said that I would give him one if he danced or sang. I even pulled the dollar out of my pocket. I later said that I’d give it for doing just about anything, including telling a joke. So I turned on the camera, and told him to tell his joke. But he got shy, pulled his hat over his eyes. I said oh well, turned off the camera, and put the dollar back in my pocket.

Certainly by now everyone in the train station was watching this exchange between the man and my friends and I. So the man tried a different tact: “Miss? Did I say that you look very pretty?” Unfortunately I wasn’t giving out dollars for compliments, but it certainly got the room to burst into laughter. But of course, he wanted that dollar bad. And so he finally agreed to “tell a joke” on camera. I put that in quotes because he claimed that he said something funny, but I certainly didn’t hear it. But I told him I was feeling generous and that he could have the dollar. After all, I did get something semi-amusing to write about.

Later on before I got on my train, the man, who told me his name was John, wanted to thank me and shook my hand. He also wanted to know what my name was, and if I was single. In retrospect the idea of asking beggars to perform on camera was rather amusing. In practice however, I don’t think I’ll be doing it again. Either way though, I am probably going to hell.

Despite growing up in Connecticut, about halfway in between Waterbury and Danbury, both New Haven line branches, I’ve only been on the New Haven line once. It was always easier to cross the state border and get on in Brewster, or Southeast (then Brewster North). I’ve never been to New Haven’s Union Station, although I’ve certainly driven by it. But I can certainly relate to the current New Haven train riders that are now fighting for the last Solari departure board in use on Metro-North. I don’t quite know why, but I really loved the Solari board that used to be in Grand Central when I was very young. I remember standing under the Solari that was for Amtrak in Penn Station many years ago when I took my first ride on Amtrak, going to Florida with my grandmother. I even remember the board in use also in Penn Station for the Long Island Rail Road, under which everyone would stand waiting for the information on their trains to flip up, and when it did, would race like marathon runners to their tracks. I remember all these, but today, they are all gone.

Most unfortunately, the New Haven Independent reported yesterday of the plans to remove the Solari board from New Haven’s Union station, and replace it with an LCD at some point next year. The article is full of comments, and people that want to save the board. A commenter going by the name of Erin brings up a good point:

My two cents: if the Solari sign is hard to maintain, use the $5 million it was going to cost for LED signs as a reserve fund to fix the Solari sign if ever needed.

I really do love these boards, and I would hate to see it get one more of them taken down. It ought to be kept for its historic nature, it is the last of its kind on Metro-North, and one of the few left in the United States. If the sign is going to get removed, I would love to see someone, like the Transit Museum, acquire it and put it on display. Considering the board is in Connecticut, however, I am unsure if it would even be considered for it to go to the New York Transit Museum, even though Metro-North is represented by the museum.

Though the fight is on to save the board. A group has been made on facebook called Save Solari, and there is also a page on SeeClickFix. As for me, I do believe a photography trip is in order, especially if the unfortunate happens, and the board is taken down.

The other evening in the White Plains train station my good friend the crazy coat guy was creeping around the waiting room. He was sporting the earrings and big fat chains that day, as well as his green purse, which must be his favorite, since he’s always had it ever since he started experimenting with women’s purses. As he is stalking around, my friend who is a bit afraid of the guy walked away. She’s convinced that there is going to be one day that the guy is going to snap and either push someone off the platform, or push someone down the stairs. And I certainly wouldn’t put it beyond him. And he has in the past just randomly started yelling at me, so he certainly creeps me out.

While this is going on some other random guy swoops in and says to us, “Don’t be skurred! He’s a little slow, but he won’t hurt you! I see the man every day here.” Well yes, I do too, but I wouldn’t go so far to say as he wouldn’t hurt anyone. As the man walked a few steps closer to inform us yet again to not be “skurred” I could quite clearly smell the alcohol he was drinking from a plastic cup. Right man, I trust you. He then informs us, “if he had done anything, I would have beaten him up for you girls.” I’m sure that would end well.

Oh look at that purse!

If you are a New Yorker and you don’t recognize the name Chesley Sullenberger, you may be living under a rock… Captain “Sully” was the pilot that landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River after a bird strike earlier this year. If you’re interested in having his pilot’s hat, which I must admit looks way cooler than my MTA Conductor’s hat, it is now available on eBay. It is even autographed! The proceeds from the auction benefit Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, CA, and Lockwood High School in Oakland, CA. The winner will also get a personal note from the pilot and his wife. Unfortunately, it was not the hat he wore during Flight 1549, and he won’t be delivering the hat personally (just make a flyover upper Westchester, thanks! We have plenty of reservoirs for water landings too!)… come on New Yorkers, show your love for Captain Sully by placing a bid here. The auction ends on Monday December 14 right before noon.

I’ll trade you one conductor’s hat for one pilot’s hat? It is a good trade, I swear!

What a craptacular day this has started out as… Quite snowy and wet. Goldens Bridge had a bit of snow in the morning, but by the time I was walking to the train station, it had turned to rain. White Plains didn’t seem to have much snow, but it was rainy and a lot more windy. I got bored and took a few pictures of the delightful weather.

The platform was slippery as hell, I’m surprised I didn’t see anyone fall on their ass!

Our train when it arrived was covered in snow

Despite the weather, the trains always seem to be reliable. I suppose that is why I am sitting here at work, and none of my coworkers who drive have arrived yet… Though I must admit, I was rather amused watching too many people running around White Plains with collapsing umbrellas.

Schadenfreude

Riding along the Harlem Line this morning and yesterday, I still see a bit of snow all around. So in honor of our first real snowfall this year, I’ve changed the header image of the site to reflect the change in season. Gone are the following leaves, and big fat snowflakes are their replacements. Just to ask in general, but do you find that trains get more delayed in the fall, with the leaves on the track, than in the winter due to snow? I’ve taken the train in some of the biggest snowstorms with no delays. Anyone else have experience with this?

In other news, I am posting up my pictures that I took at the Holiday Fair in Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall. Not the highest quality, since they were taken with my cell phone, but you get the idea of what the fair looks like. It is certainly something cool to browse around if you have a minute waiting for your train, or are in Grand Central already. I’m not the most wealthy person on the planet, so a lot of the things are rather high priced for a person like me. But I must admit, last year I had been eyeing this hooded sweatshirt with a cat face and ears, but I couldn’t afford it. Conveniently the people selling the shirt last year are back again this year, and I bought it. What do you think?

The one thing really cool about the fair is how diverse it is. African art, prints of New York and other New York themed crafts, Christmas ornaments, Dog-themed items (the “Fleas Navidad” Dog bandana cracked me up), gorgeous hand-crafted books, jewelry, clothing, hand-blown glass, and lots of other interesting items. Plus, there may be entertainment as well. When I was there a trio of young women were playing strings, and they were pretty damn good. I filmed a brief portion of their performance, and will be posting that later on this week. For now, enjoy the pictures of the Holiday Fair!

Celebrate the holiday season with the New York Transit Museum’s annual Holiday Train Show. On a two-level 34-foot long layout, Lionel trains travel through a miniature Manhattan to the North Pole. A new Long Island Rail Road train joins Metro-North, New York Central, and Pennsylvania Railroad cars on the elevated track, while New York City Transit’s R-27 subway cars run below. Vintage Lionel trains from the Museum’s collection are also on view.

If that description doesn’t give you a good idea of what this great show looks like, check out the video. The other day I did promise you all a video of the show, so on my lunch break today I stitched up a few of the clips I took. Enjoy the video, and be sure to check out the show in Grand Central. It runs until January 18th.

Here is a video in HD I took the other day when I was in Grand Central, a portion of the Laser Light Show that is going on for the holidays. It is pretty cool, but not much to rave about. Check it out on the way to do something more worthwhile, such as viewing the Holiday Train Show.

One of the many things I did yesterday in the city was to take photographs of the Holiday Train Show at the Transit Museum’s Grand Central Annex. I’ve always loved this show, and it is a major favorite for young children. The detail always amazes me… you definitely need to kneel down to see the “underneath” where the subways go by, and little people wait on the platform.

Anyways, enjoy the photos. The show will run through January 18, so there is still plenty of time to get down to Grand Central and take a look. It is a nice thing to see for the whole family, but I especially recommend it for all the little railfans.

Additional note: I’ll be posting video of this event soon! You can always subscribe to your new YouTube account!