A list of sources used by this blog for various posts, by topic:

Harlem Line History
The Coming of the New York & Harlem Railroad, Louis V. Grogan
The definitive guide for everything about the Harlem Line. Available for purchase at the Danbury Railway Museum.

Cornelius Vanderbilt
Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Edward Renehan
Note: although a post was written about this book, an alternate biographer of Vanderbilt claims that much of the ideas put forward in this book are false. An Amazon review explains in detail:

Stiles compellingly demonstrates that two diaries Renehan claimed to use to support his most sensational claim, that the Commodore suffered from syphilitic dementia for the last decade of his life and was no more than a puppet run by his son William, are imaginary. Renehan’s tale is contradicted by everything we know about syphilis; he refuses to let anyone examine his copies of the “diaries;” he refuses to name the present owners of the diaries; and, oh yes, he is currently doing time in New York for having stolen and sold letters by Washington, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt belonging to the Theodore Roosevelt Association, of which he had been acting director.

Railroad Art
Travel by Train: The American Railroad Poster, 1870-1950
Michael E. Zega, John E. Gruber

Grand Central
Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Engineering, and Architecture in New York City
Kurt C. Schlichting

Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives
John Belle, Maxinne R. Leighton

Solari di Udine
Monocle Magazine, #13 volume 02 – May 2008
Perfect Company: Solari di Udine
Download article

I am so eagerly waiting for my WTF subway shirt. But it hasn’t arrived yet. So in order to console myself, (and in my boredom) I created some more amusing subway WTF-ness. Now not only can Metro-North hate me, but NYC Transit (I still love you, I swear!) can hate me too! And maybe even Parker Brothers, who publish the game.

Instead of Community Chest (what the hell is that anyways?), I opted to replace it with the “Service Change.” For pieces, I figured it might be amusing to throw in a delightful subway rat, and even a pigeon in there. If you bought the “extended version” of the game, there would even be a special “limited edition” Sadie the Subway Cat piece. Gotta market that stuff! And everybody loves cats!

As for the properties in the game, and how I determined where each of them belong, I used the 2009 Subway Ridership Facts & Figures. Blue, green, and yellow properties (the highest value) are the top subway stations, system wide. Red represents Manhattan, Orange is Brooklyn, Magenta is Queens, Light Blue is the Bronx, and the top subway stations for each (not counting any stations previously used). The Purple spots are the bottom two stations in the subway system by use. Instead of the four railroads typically used in Monopoly, there are the other MTA entities: Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road, Long Island Bus, and the other half of NYC Transit, the bus system. There are no “utilities” but instead MTA Bridges, and MTA Tunnels.

Oh, and in order for you to get thrown in jail, you are caught with a copy of the master key.

Back in December I had planned on being at the train station and handing out cards on the 24th, for all the other unfortunate people that had to work on Christmas Eve. I thought it might be interesting to just go up to random people and give them cards. Maybe it would make them smile. Unfortunately, I ended up being sick on that day, and I never went to work. So much for that plan…

But the whole idea of giving out cards stuck in my mind. And so I decided I was going to do it. For spring. Recently I read something about the Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy, which ended up influencing my final idea. One of the people involved in that group handed out dollars, but only if the person that got the dollar agreed that they would give it to yet another person. I wondered if I could do this in some way with cards. I give out cards, and I get other people to give out cards.

That was pretty much the thought process on how Project Sunshine came into existence. I decided I would give out a bunch of cards to people I see on the train, at the station, maybe even conductors, or the lady with the funky accent that sells tickets at the train station (if you’re reading this, I really like your accent!). Inside each card I give out, I would include yet another card in an envelope, with instructions for that person to find another person to give that card to. And in that card, there is yet another envelope, with a card for that person to give out. I’ve been calling the different cards first, second, and third generation cards, based on the amount of handling each card has gotten. The third generation cards are the last in the chain.

Roughly this is how it works. I give out a card to one person, but if it all works out, three people total end up getting cards.

So what do these cards look like? All of them have the same image, although based on whether the person ends up getting a first, second, or third generation card, the size is different. This is the image that is on each card…

I’m going to start passing these out on the trains today, the 16th of March, a few days before spring officially starts. The weather is supposed to be great and spring-like, so I figured it was about time. I will continue on the 17th, and on the afternoon of the 18th I will be in Grand Central also passing out cards. We’ll see how many I have left over and will go from there. I don’t really have the funds to be mass producing cards, but I’ve done what I can by scrounging up some old envelopes and recycling them (so if you have an envelope with a big white sticker on the front, that is why. Recycled!). I have a total of 60 first generation cards (total of 180 cards… I never want to stuff an envelope again!).

Each card will have the web address of “Project Sunshine” on the back, and I am hoping that people that receive the cards will be able to get online and make some comments. I am especially eager to see if there are any people that do actually get a third generation card. Honestly I am not quite sure how this is going to work, if people I give the cards to will actually give the card inside out to another person. But we shall see.

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?

Obviously not much help in navigating, this map gives the viewer the idea of how many people pass through the various stations on the Harlem Line daily, in a vague outline of the line. The bigger the text, the more riders that station has daily. A few stations have so few riders in comparison, thus they are impossible to see on this map. Grand Central is so incredibly large that it has been cropped in order to see the rest of the stations.

The little graphic designer in me made me do this map. I had fun. Thanks to the folks at the railroad.net forums that helped me find these statistics.

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.

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!

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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.