Last Thursday there was a great little reception at the Transit Museum Annex in Grand Central to mark the opening of the exhibit Where New York Began: Archaeology at the South Ferry Terminal. It also served as the unveiling of the store in the Annex, which had been closed since January for renovations.

I must admit, the redo of the store is quite attractive. The lighting is quite nice, and I do like the added touch of the glowing blue along the bottom. So for you people that like to shop, I’m sure you will enjoy the store a lot more than before

As for the exhibit itself, I do recommend you take a visit. Especially because it is free. Everyone likes free things. Plus it gives you an interesting look into the history of the city. When I hear the word archaeology, I tend to imagine this foreign concept of studying ancient and distant relics, like mummies. But this is archaeology that is in our own backyard, under something so modern as a subway station. It seems an odd coincidence that the artifacts found under a subway station highlight a time when transportation itself was far more difficult… and when “The Battery” referred to a place where guns were kept, as opposed to the park where the tourists tend to go.

In fact this is the area of the city where Cornelius Vanderbilt got his start, before he ever thought about getting into railroads. Vanderbilt, of Dutch heritage, ran various ships in New York Harbor, at times even ferrying materials for the government to build defenses for the War of 1812 in the vicinity of the Battery. (After reading a biography about Vanderbilt, I could probably say way too much about the man, but I’ll save that for Friday). Many of the artifacts unearthed were Dutch in origin… in fact the Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr. Gajus Scheltema, was in attendance.

A photo taken by one of the fans of the blog, that would be the Consul General on the left, and me on the right

Anyways, enjoy the photos I took at the event, and if you do get a chance, be sure to check out the exhibit for yourself. It is located in the Transit Museum Annex in Grand Central Terminal, and it will run until July 5. (And as previously mentioned, it is free).

If I haven’t said it before, I think it is pretty cool that MTA has been embracing social media, and the various agencies have twitter accounts. There’s MTA, Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road, New York City Buses, New York City Subways, MetroCard Promotions, and the NY Transit Museum. The Transit Museum seems to be the newest of the bunch. A little less than a month ago, the museum sent a tweet, giving a little sneak preview of the new exhibit opening in the Annex in Grand Central, which has been closed since January:

How long does it take to make exhibit mounts for 100 ceramic sherds? Our preparators will know soon.

Why exactly were they making exhibit mounts for ceramic sherds? It doesn’t much sound like something transit-related. But in fact, all of the objects on display in the new exhibit do in fact relate to public transit… they were all excavated from under the South Ferry subway station. I’ll let the museum take it from here:

Construction in New York City is always complex, but it raises particular concerns when it cuts through the most archeologically rich section of town. In February 2009 a new South Ferry subway station opened on the southernmost tip of Manhattan, a place where environmental, historical, and commercial interests collide. In order to build the station, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was required to conduct an archeological review and excavation. This provided an extraordinary glimpse into the very place that the modern city has its roots, and the basis of an exciting new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum. Where New York Began: Archeology at the South Ferry Terminal will be on view at the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store from March 18 – July 5, 2010.

In addition to unearthing portions of the city’s early infrastructure, excavations yielded over 65,000 artifacts, including ceramic sherds, shells, coins, tobacco pipes, and architectural materials. These pieces document 400 years of city life and embody the cycle of building, razing, and rebuilding that is a hallmark of New York City. Over 100 of these objects will be on view along with historic maps and photographs, and field images and video of the archeologists at work.

This also marks the grand reopening of the museum’s retail store, which features a dynamic new design, new fixtures and lighting to better showcase the Museum’s unique product mix.

The museum is going to have an opening for members on the 18th, which I will be attending. I’ll be sure to take lots of photographs, and post them up!

Starting on January 19th, and continuing into March, the Transit Museum’s Annex in Grand Central Terminal will be closed for renovations. New fixtures and lights will be added in that time, a redesigned store, as well as a new exhibit. The reopening date in March has not been announced yet. When I hear anything about the reopening of the Annex, I will let you all know.

If you need to purchase any transportation items or gifts from the museum, you can either visit the museum’s main location in Brooklyn, or purchase items online at transitmuseumstore.com.

Anyone who normally uses the museum to redeem a TransitChek, or a Commuter Check for a MetroCard, there are several alternate locations you can use during this time period:

TransitChek

Commuter Check

In regards to TransitCheks for Metro-North, some people have written in saying that the additional ticket window closures will make it difficult to cash their TransitCheks. Now I have never done this, but a few friends of mine have, and claim this is acceptable. Use your monthly ticket from the previous month on the morning of the first day of the new month. Tell the Conductor that when you arrive at your destination (Grand Central) you will be purchasing a new monthly ticket, since you need to purchase the ticket from an actual person. My friends insist that you are able to use your old monthly on the first day of the new month, only for the morning ride. Has anyone else done this before? Is doing that considered acceptable?

You may not know it, but across the globe there are several working cats that reside at train stations. One of the most famous is named Tama, she is the “Super Stationmaster” at Kishi station in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In New York we too have a “working cat” – you can call her the Subway Cat. Her name is Sadie, and she resides at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn.

When I first encountered Sadie I was downstairs at the museum taking photos of all the different subway cars. When I entered the money car they have on display, I saw a cat lounging on one of the shelves. I leaned out the door of the car and shouted to my friend, “Hey! Get over here now! There’s a cat inside this car!” I must admit I was surprised, as I wondered where the cat came from. But then I noticed a tag on the collar, which read “Sadie, Transit Museum”. Sadie was adopted from a shelter by the museum, and is not the first feline resident. Previously there was a cat named Token. Token disappeared one day (one museum employee I talked to is convinced Token was just taken home by somebody, as opposed to disappearing on his own). Sadie stays at the museum, though on long weekends or holidays she goes home with one of the employees.

But as I said, Sadie is a working cat. Sadie’s job description is rodent control. Though I’ve never been able to get a straight answer from anyone whether she has actually caught a subway rat before. Some people are disgusted by that. “She catches the RATS in the SUBWAY and you TOUCHED her?!?!” She has a bell on her collar, which apparently scares the rats away. If you go to the museum to see Sadie, be sure to note that she is grey and white. She is not brown. If you see something large and brown running around, it is probably a Sadie-size subway rat.

Upon a visit to the museum, I had this conversation with the ticket collector:
Me: So is the rat catcher around today?
Him: The what?
Me: The cat. Sadie. Is she around?
Him: (Laughs) She’s around somewhere, probably catching more Z’s than rats though!

Whether she catches rats or not (I have been assured that she has at least caught some pigeons though), Sadie has become somewhat of a mascot of the Transit Museum. In the gift shop you can purchase a stuffed cat, with her picture on the front of the package, that comes with markers so you can decorate her. If you ask me though, they ought to play up the mascot role a bit more for her. Maybe get her a mini cat-sized conductor’s hat to wear (yeah right). Or maybe even use her in some advertising, or the educational programs for children.

Supposedly the aforementioned cat, Tama, brought a million dollars into the local economy just by being cute, and encouraging people to ride the train. Hey Sadie, want to go save the W and Z trains? I hear the MTA could use a little money.

In other news, I continue planning my own trip to Japan in April. I will be posting my train adventures, and hopefully I will be able to go to Kishi station, and meet the “Super Stationmaster” herself!

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.

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.

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!

Wow, I am tired after a long day in the city… It will probably take me the next few days to go through all the photos and videos that I took, all of which will eventually get posted on here. I have a lot of pictures and video of the Holiday Train Show in Grand Central, photos and video from the Holiday Gift Fair, and a video of the Holiday Laser Light Show. For all these videos, I decided to make a YouTube account for this blog. There is nothing on there yet, but there will be shortly. If you are interested, you can subscribe to be notified when these videos are uploaded. But they will also be posted here.

But for now, enjoy the photos I took today at my tour with the New York Transit Museum of City Hall Station. Quite honestly, this tour was the reason why I became a member of the museum. And I had a great time. I took some video there as well, and I’ll post that at some point as well.

As an additional note, the Transit Museum will be running Holiday Nostalgia Trains every Sunday in December from 10am to 5pm. The trains will run in regular passenger service on the V line between
Queens Plaza & 2nd Avenue.

You’ve admired them sitting stationary at their home in the New York Transit Museum. Now Car No’s 100, 484 and 1575 are going for a spin! For the next four Sundays, these old friends from the 1930′s to 1970′s will be pulling in and out of V line stations. With luck and timing you can catch them!

Step in and enjoy the ceiling fans, padded seats and incandescent lights, all state-of-the-art back in the day. This Holiday Nostalgia Special will run on the V line, Sundays in December, between 10am and 5pm. For departure times and stations, please see below.

Happy Holidays from the New York Transit Museum!

For additional information about schedules, check out this information page.

The holiday season is fast approaching, and many interesting holiday themed events will be happening along the Harlem Line. The Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show opens tomorrow, which is accessible via Metro-North’s Botanical Garden station. Grand Central’s Holiday Gift Fair, located in Vanderbilt hall, opens on Monday. Starting on Wednesday the Transit Museum’s Annex in Grand Central will host their Holiday Train Show (please note that this will be closed on Thanksgiving). And of course, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held on Thursday. Of course, Metro-North has come up with some new holiday schedules, including additional trains, to help you get to these events.

Thanksgiving Metro-North Schedules

Thanksgiving Eve 11/25 extra early getaway trains will be offered, beginning at 1 PM. Because of decreased ridership in the PM peak, some trains will be combined or eliminated.

Thanksgiving Day 11/26 Operating on a holiday schedule with extra AM inbound service for those of you going to the Macy’s Parade. There will also be lots of late morning/early afternoon outbound service, and plenty of inbound evening service to get you back home.

Day after Thanksgiving 11/27 operating on a “Saturday” schedule with extra service during the AM and PM peak time periods.

For the most up to date schedule information, consult the schedule search on Metro-North’s website. Information for the Harlem Line’s Wassaic branch can be found here.

Regarding events, I’m trying to come up with a nice schedule of all varieties of events accessible by the Harlem Line. These events will be listed on the right side of the site. If you know of an event that I should mention, please contact me!

Honestly I don’t think I ever really thought about folding bikes before. I mean, I knew they existed, but I had never seen them before. That was until this guy started riding on my train. He always is wearing his bike helmet (though of course he could take that off on the train) and has with him a red folding bike. I always thought it was really cool. A folding bike actually comes quite in handy if you want to bike and ride the train. You are not required to have a bike permit on Metro North or the Long Island Rail Road if your bike folds up.

A few weeks ago when I had gone into the city I stopped at the annex of the Transit Museum in Grand Central, and I noticed that in the window they had two folding bikes as well, the Metro Bike. I snapped some photos, and only happened to come across them today as I was going through my old photos. So even though I know this may be old news for some people, I decided I’d post some of the pictures I took, and some from the web.

The bike isn’t too bad looking, though for me, a non-bike rider, the pricetag is a bit high at $299. But of course, folding bikes cost a bit more to begin with. Anyways, if you are interested in the Metro Bike, you can order it here.

For amusement, here is another Metro Bike. Or should I say, Metro Card Bike. Pretty cool, but I don’t think that folds up. :P