While I was in Toronto I had the chance to visit the busiest train station in Canada, Union Station. It is a great example of the Beaux-arts style (like Grand Central) in Canada. Via Rail, Amtrak, Ontario Northland, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) all operate trains out of the station (and in the case of the TTC, Streetcars as well). Construction on Union Station was completed in 1920. It was designed by Ross and Macdonald, HG Jones and JM Lyle, and opened in 1927.

The central area of the station is called the Great Hall, and is quite beautiful. I must admit, though, I am biased… it pales in comparison to Grand Central. I would have loved to take more photos of the station, but with the G20 Summit approaching security was being heightened, and I was asked to not photograph any more. The first photo is the one that I got in trouble for. Though I think it turned out pretty nicely, so it was worth it. In hindsight, I was rather dense to start taking photos right in front of the security office.

Stretching above the streets from Union Station is a Skywalk, which extends to the convention center, and close to the CN Tower and Toronto Railway Heritage Center (which I’ll be posting pictures of soon). Other than being a pretty cool looking walk way, the Skywalk also extends over the railroad tracks, so it is a nice vantage point for photography. All in all I really enjoyed Toronto, and I’d highly recommend visiting Union Station and the Railway Heritage Center for anyone in the area. And once the Summit is over, I’m sure the cops will not be quite as strict regarding photography.

Evidence that my mind has been entirely corrupted by horrible marketers and their abysmal catch-phrases, I want to say that I was pleasantly surprised with Pleasantville station (this is one notch up from saying “Flip Out!” in an advertisement for a flipbook which I unfortunately created yesterday). Seriously though, the little station in the middle of the Harlem Line has character – a lot of which has to do with the Arts for Transit piece there. The station is easily accessible from the attractive green area in the center of the village. Part of the reason it differs from many of the other area stations is the fact that the platform is lower than the neighboring streets. As opposed to walking up a set of stairs to a vestibule above the tracks, the larger than usual vestibule and waiting area sits at street level, and you instead descend a set of stairs to the platform.

Installed in 2002, Pleasantville’s Arts for Transit piece, titled Almost Home, is the newest located on the Harlem Line. The work was a collaboration between Brooklyn-based artist Jane Greengold, and Vietnamese-born and current New York resident Kane Chanh Do. Both artists work in sculpture and installation art. Almost Home consists of twenty-two bronze chairs, sixteen of which are in the upper waiting area, and six on the lower platform level. A book also rests on a ledge in the upper part of the station, a bronze replica of a copy of the Reader’s Digest… though admittedly I would never have had any clue of what it was supposed to be, had I not researched the piece for this post. Apparently Reader’s Digest was originally printed in Pleasantville, and so the book is representative of that historical link.

Although I can’t say I’ve seen all the Arts for Transit pieces on the Harlem Line, Almost Home really is my favorite so far. Not only is it visually attractive, it is functional part of the station. Conceptually, the almost home theme is intriguing to me. As a commuter, besides my own home and work, I spend a good deal of time on the train or at the train station. At times the train station feels like a second home to me. There are times when I think some artist’s statements are complete BS, but in this case I think Do and Greengold describe their piece quite well:

In this suburb of New York City, we have re-created, in bronze, chairs likely to be found in the homes of the commuters who use the station, bringing some of the comforts of home out to meet the riders, making the station almost like home, and reminding riders that they, too, are almost home. Because the chairs look so life-like, so much like wood and upholstery fabric, they create a humorous, trompe l’oeil effect.

After coming back from Japan I posted a bunch of pictures of some of Japan’s decorated trains. Although they seem far more common there, we do get some decorated trains here in New York City every once and a while. One of my recent favorites is the adorably cute Bronx Zoo themed train. I caught up with the train several weeks ago in Grand Central, it was running as the shuttle between there and Times Square.

If you happen to take a ride on one of these trains, be sure to look up at the ceiling. It just might make you smile. I nearly missed it myself, guess I wasn’t too observant that night. But look up, a giraffe will be staring back at you. After seeing this train I totally want to go to the zoo!

In other news, I am totally getting my act together with the rest of my pictures from Japan, and the more recent ones from Toronto. I got in trouble taking pictures in Toronto’s Union Station, but also had the opportunity to visit the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre, which was great fun (well, not the part with the cops, or as my brother called them, Canadian Bacon). I liked the trains, my brother liked the beer. The old railway roundhouse now serves as a beer brewery, and of course they have samples for visitors. It helps if I tell you that my brother is only twenty – not quite drinking age in the US, but old enough to drink in Canada.

Nestled in a lush carpet of green grass is a station on the Upper Harlem called Tenmile River. As to be expected, the name derives from a river of the same name. The station was completed and opened by Metro-North in 2000, along with Wassaic. In the New York Central and Penn Central days there was another station at this location, called State School. That station was closed in 1972, when service north of Dover Plains was discontinued. Tenmile River is the second to last station on the Harlem Line, and 78 miles from Grand Central. Similar to most Upper Harlem Line stations, Tenmile River is in a very rural area. Despite this, many of the stations find themselves close to or on the main road of Route 22 – Tenmile River seems to be the most isolated. But with the gorgeous grass and the recently built station platform, Tenmile River may be one of the more attractive stations on the Harlem Line.

As a bonus, here is a panorama of the former station Kensico. I have mentioned Kensico before, but hadn’t posted a panorama yet. I would have liked to get one at a different angle, but there were a lot of people there for a funeral.

Ensconced in the woods of Pawling, NY along Route 22 lies a small wooden train platform. It is one of the two smallest stations on the Harlem Line, and unlike most other Metro-North stations, it is not meant for commuters. Appalachian Trail is a train station for hikers. Like Mount Pleasant, it is not much of a station. There are no ticket machines, and few trains stop only on weekends and holidays. The station was constructed by Metro-North in 1991, for a cost of about 10,000 dollars. As one would expect, the station is located along the approximately 2,178-mile Appalachian Trail, which extends from Georgia to Maine. For the city-dweller looking for a break, it provides a great getaway. Across Route 22 the Appalachian Trail cuts through the Pawling Nature Reserve. The Reserve boasts over 10 miles of trails for hikers of varying skill levels, and is the home for at least 77 different species of birds. Although most of the Upper Harlem stations are rather rural, if you really feel you need to get back to nature and away from city life, this is the place to do it.

Yesterday the Transit Museum had a great nostalgia ride with the Lo-V’s. It was great fun, and I took a lot of pictures. But I was certainly jealous of some of the cameras some of the other folks had. My pictures may not be the most spectacular, at least in comparison with some of those awesome cameras, but I did my usual thing of taking panoramas, and had a lot of fun doing it. I’m not going to be verbose this evening (shocking!), as I think the pictures can just do all the talking. Enjoy!

The Transit Museum puts on tours like this every once and a while, so if this looks interesting to you, you ought to check out their events calendar.

I don’t want to be an ass in saying this comment, but really, I wonder how trains function in the United States. Commuter trains and subways, like the ones in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Chicago, and other places across the country make sense to me. They are practical, and they don’t take too long. By the time I was twenty, I had been to the city a million times, all by train. We never drove. Driving took probably around the same time as the train, and you didn’t have to worry about parking, and tolls, and traffic. Taking the train is not too expensive, as well. It just makes sense. I can count the number of times I have gone to the city by car on one hand. And the first time was when I was twenty.

But how does Amtrak work? I’ve only been on Amtrak twice, going to Florida and back with my grandmother that has a minor phobia of planes. I’ve thought of taking the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, but that is only because I like trains, and I think it would be cool to ride what was once known as “The Water Level Route.” But other than having a phobia of planes, and being a railfan, why would I want to take Amtrak? Searching up prices, I can get a round trip flight to Orlando for July 4th for $193. That ride takes two and a half hours. Or, with Amtrak, I could ride for twenty-two hours, and pay a whopping $423. Why would anyone want to pay more than double for a trip that takes more than seven times as long? In Japan I took the bullet train to Kyoto, which in terms of time and price is very close to flying. Close enough to compete, anyways. But then that just goes back to the usual argument that the US wanted their Interstate System, while other countries, especially Japan, concentrated on rail.

That sort of demonstrates my mind-set when I think about trains. There are some times when I read about their history, that I am completely and utterly baffled by how important they once were. Rail was the way that products and people were transported. And during World War II, trains were an integral part of the war effort. The New York Central operated personnel trains, mail trains, equipment freight, and even hospital trains. An average of two million troops per month were transported over the NY Central system during WW2. I always love looking at old advertisements, so today I have a collection of old New York Central magazine advertisements from the war years. Each advertisement depicts a different scene or use for the wartime trains: from riding the 20th Century Limited, to troop trains, to the fully equipped surgery suite on an army hospital train.

It is interesting to note that part of the reason why we have the Interstate System today can be attributed to the war. President Eisenhower pushed for the Interstate System, especially after experiencing the German autobahn while he served in World War II. He had also been associated with the Transcontinental Motor Convoy which drove from Washington DC to San Francisco, and took sixty-two days. That sort of puts it in perspective, how roads in between cities were back then. Today if you drove non-stop and managed to avoid traffic, you could drive that in two days. Sixty-two days, no wonder why people took the train!

Hey, Metro-North? Did somebody fall off the platform in Goldens Bridge recently? I was surprised to notice when I got off the train this evening the platform was covered in new, yellow paint. Atop the paint, stenciled in black, were the words “Watch the gap.” There were just… so many of them! I don’t think I’ve seen a station with this many, that close together. In Japan the train platforms have markings where the train’s door will open. Wouldn’t that have been cooler to paint on the platform? Really though, did someone fall off? I bet it was Sleeper Kid. I always worried about him. He’s always drunk, or stoned, or something in between, teetering precariously close to the edge of the platform…

But then again, here I am judging someone I observe on the train. Someone, who wishes to remain anonymous, told me a story today. They told me that they no longer judge people they see on the train. Because really, you’re only viewing just a minimal slice of their life. You don’t know what is up with them. Maybe they’re having a bad day. Or they’re sick. Or they have early stages of dementia. I was told the story of a person, who from here on I will refer to as David. My friend, who rides a particular train every day, noticed David. David sort of smelled like alcohol, and was carrying two large cups of some sort of liquid, which my friend assumed to be alcoholic. When the conductor came by to collect the tickets, David kept trying to set down the cups, and searched every pocket for his ticket, to no avail. He tried to speak, but just kept mumbling unintelligible words. My friend watched the exchange. The man appeared to fall asleep, or perhaps pass out. The conductor tried to wake him up, and he began searching for the ticket again. By now the conductor, and everyone else, assumed the man to be highly intoxicated. I’m not sure if David ever managed to find his ticket. But eventually when he got off the train, everyone watched him stagger out onto the platform. And then they watched him fall down the stairs. By that time the train was in motion, there really wasn’t anything they could do.

Fast-forward a few days. My friend sees David on the train again. David has bruises all over, his face is discolored and purple. His hand is wrapped in a bandage. This time David is coherent, and talks with the conductor about what happened the last time he rode the train, and how he fell down the stairs. The conductor asked him what had happened, and why he fell. The man pulled up his sleeve, revealing a medical bracelet. He said that he is diabetic, and that day on the train, he was going into diabetic shock. He had the juice for the sugar, but was having difficulties walking, let alone drinking. Let’s just say that my friend felt a little bit like an asshole, having judged the man as a drunk, when in reality he was pretty much going into a diabetic coma, right there on the train.

I’ll try and be a little less judgmental the next time I see somebody like that on the train.

And just as a final note, I wanted to let you all know that Commuter Nation is having a little contest… you can win up to a year of free commuting, which of course is pretty awesome. Especially if you are in one of those places that will be seeing a fare increase. I’d love to suggest Commuter Nation to my work, so I could get my ticket a little cheaper, but they want to know who the benefits manager is for your company. Is it a little bit sad that I don’t know the answer to that question? The one I knew, well, she got laid off. Ouch.

Last Wednesday was an absolutely beautiful day, the sun was shining bright, and it was quite warm. Instead of taking my normal route home, I opted for the scenic route. I got a coworker to give me a ride to Pleasantville station, not far from work and on his way home. From there I took a train to Chappaqua. And then after that I took a train to Mount Kisco. I photographed each of the three stations, enjoyed my time, and explored. If you happen to be like me, a person that doesn’t drive, Mount Kisco might be your cup of tea. And even if you do drive, you might still enjoy the area around the station. The old station building still stands, though there no longer is a staffed ticket window. Instead, an Italian restaurant, Via Vanti, occupies the space. There are quite a few restaurants close-by, however, and I opted for the less expensive dinner at Cosi. Hopefully I didn’t smell too bad. By the time I got there after wandering and taking photos at the three stations I was just a tad sweaty. But all in all it was a great photographic adventure, and I discovered each of the stations had something intriguing about them. Mount Kisco may have been my favorite out of the bunch, which may be why I chose to post those photos first. Either way, chalk another station up as completed for the Panorama Project!

As an added bonus, I have photos from a former train station: Thornwood. As part of the Panorama Project my goal is to also photograph former stations, though I am undecided whether they are deserving of their own posts as part of the “tour”. Instead I think the few former stations will be featured as “bonuses”.

Thornwood is located in between the current stations of Hawthorne and Pleasantville. The station was closed in the early 80′s when the Harlem Line was electrified past North White Plains. It was not an incredible loss, as anyone who used the station had the option to use Hawthorne, approximately one mile south, or Pleasantville, approximately one mile north. The sign on the front of the old station building says it is now occupied by the Thornwood-Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce. I didn’t see anyone inside the building, though it is possible they were hiding behind the windows and laughing at me as a took pictures.

Several of my train station companions who live in the Bronx refer to anything north of White Plains as “the bush.” Wassaic just happens to be the deepest part of “the bush” you can get to on the Harlem Line. It is the current terminus of the line. But of course, that wasn’t always so. By 1851 the Harlem Line stretched past Wassaic to Millerton, and by 1852 the line had reached Chatham, which served as the terminus until 1972. Penn Central abandoned passenger service on the line above Dover Plains in that year, an area that constituted about 36% of the Harlem Line. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that Wassaic was reopened for commuter use by Metro North. The new station was built approximately half a mile north of the previous station.

I’m very used to riding the train from stations located in the middle of the Harlem Line, which characteristically are quite similar. It is interesting to note how the track configuration plays a part in the design and aesthetic of each station. Whereas most stations I am used to have two tracks with an island platform, stations on the upper Harlem Line have only one track. Therefore the practically identical stairwell over the track is not required… and there is no vestibule that reeks of urine and cheap cleaning solution. The lack of the less-than-beautiful stairwell and vestibule leave the stations more open and aesthetically pleasing. Ramps rather than elevators meet the need for ADA compliancy. Maybe it is the openness of the stations that make them beautiful, but the rolling hills and carpets of green grass surrounding the area probably have a lot to do with it as well.

Wassaic is unique in the respect that it has a very nice Arts for Transit piece called Arrival, by sculptor Anne Huibregtse. Huibregtse’s pieces contain a similar subject matter: the bovine. And considering the history of Wassaic, the cows fit in perfectly. Gail Borden, the inventor of condensed milk, had a factory in Wassaic, and a good amount of freight that ran on the Harlem Line was milk. The bronze cows stand over the abundant green grass that is all too absent in stations more south on the line. Just the fact that they were made of bronze surprised me, in real life they looked quite natural, as if they were carved from large slabs of rock. It wasn’t until I searched for more information about the piece online that I found they were made of bronze.

I was surprised to note how many cars were in the parking lot with Massachusetts plates. Perhaps this is why the commuters of Wassaic are a special breed. As if the two or so hour train trip wasn’t enough, some also have a lengthy car ride to get to the station in the first place.

If you are looking for a diversion, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail begins in Wassaic, and you can walk or bike along what used to be the real Upper Harlem Line. That is pretty much it for this first Tuesday tour… each week I’ll be posting more photos of yet another station on the line… until I’ve visited them all.