Ah, yes – another bit of snow. Except this time I was actually able to go out and take a few photos of trains in the snow. Hopefully this snow will not be nearly as bad as the previous blizzard, but it is always good to look at Metro-North’s Guide to Winter Weather just in case. And yes, this time that link as serious – as opposed to my completely fake Preparedness Posters I posted the other day.
After day 1′s crappy weather, the sun on day 2 was quite pleasant. I won’t lie though, in the mountains it was pretty damn cold. My hands were seriously like cold icicles from holding the camera and taking pictures. I had a date with the alpine slide and a crazy zip line down the mountain, before heading to the summit for photos…
I also visited the train station at White River Junction for a few photos, before heading to some antiques place my dad was interested in seeing. There is a museum at the station, the New England Transportation Museum, but I knew it would be closed. They did have a restored engine outside that I was able to see. There was also a scenic train ride, but it didn’t really fit into our schedule.
Best part of the day? Vermont cheese samples everywhere. Cheese, om nom nom.
Yesterday’s stormy weather played havoc on the trains and roads… perfect weather for the start of my fall roadtrip. Most of the stops I had planned (some of the old Harlem Stations) were postponed until Sunday, and perhaps the things I planned on Sunday will be cancelled. But determined to make the most of the situation, we headed straight up to Vermont where the rain was a bit lighter. Consulting the GPS for a restaurant around lunch time I noticed a place called “Bennington Station Restaurant”. I must say, the stop redeemed the day’s terrible weather.
Bennington Station, a station along the Rutland Railway, was built in 1897 and designed by architect William C. Bull. The style of the building is Richardson Romanesque, the same style I’ve previously mentioned when visiting Chatham. The outside is constructed of blue marble quarried in West Rutland, however with the rough finish of the marble, it resembles granite.
The inside is beautifully furnished with wood, and consists of a dining room and lounge. The food was great, and I definitely suggest a visit if you’re ever in the area!
Yesterday was a pretty great day. On the platform in White Plains at around 5:45, the sun was shining. And all the riders that had formerly been hidden in waiting rooms and other dark places, came out to enjoy the sunlight. I was seriously amazed at how many people were out and about. Of course I had to take pictures.
I also passed out a bunch of cards. At times this was really hard for me. I’m not exactly sure what people think I am like based on what I say in this blog, but I can be incredibly shy at times. When you ride on the train you have a routine. I take the same train, and generally sit in the same seat. And you cross paths with other folks that also have routines. When I see these people often, it isn’t too hard to just go up to them and have a chat. But just going up completely cold, to a person I’ve never seen before, and handing them a card. Well it is a little hard. I was deathly afraid someone was going to totally reject me. I will admit I got a lot of funny looks. But there were also people that really enjoyed it. I even encountered the guy who runs the site TrainJotting and gave him a card. This is only the second time that I’ve been recognized by someone because of my blog. Too funny.
As for this morning, it was a little bit chilly, but it is supposed to be another good day. I haven’t seen any St. Patrick’s drunks yet, but I expect to see that tonight. I did, however, see the guy I refer to as Johnny. He was standing in front of the White Plains station and kept asking people walking in and out whether they wanted to see a baby hawk. He kept pointing. “It’s right there, look!” He pointed to the area over the door where the pigeons enjoy roosting. I only saw pigeons, no hawks. I figured he was joking, because after that he said, “There is a leprechaun up there too! And he was this tall,” as he motions to show that the aforementioned leprechaun was about a foot in height. I got Johnny to produce this amateur sketch:
If you happen to see the leprechaun, please let me know.
Valhalla was slammed by snow this morning, enough for my work to close at 1pm. I headed over to Valhalla station to take the 1:27 train back to Goldens Bridge, and while I waited for the train took a bunch of pictures. And did something I haven’t done in a very long time. I made a snow angel. On the platform.
I figured this would be an opportune time to post a bunch of the pictures I’ve taken during the snow. Some of the pictures I know I’ve posted before, but I added them all to a nice new gallery called Winter on the Harlem Line. I have a lot more photos which I’ll be scrounging up and adding to the gallery when I can.
This morning’s weather has already turned out to be rather wet and crappy. Many wet people, some of which forgot their umbrellas and looked like drowned rats, dripped on me during the ride in. But if you happened to be in White Plains this morning, several folks braved the horrid weather to pass out Nescafe coffee to the commuters. Unfortunately it was only packaged instant coffee, not cups of the stuff, but hey, it was free. And free stuff always cheers everyone up.
However, the weather is supposed to get worse, this rain turning into snow. Some have been calling it a Snowicane. The Snowpocalypse. Snowmageddon. The Weather Channel refers to it as February’s Fury. I urge you all to visit the grocery store and purchase several gallons of water, in case you somehow get stuck in your house and can’t come out. And most importantly, throw your hands in the air and begin panicking. Seriously now, Snowpocalypse? The supposedly respectable news sources use these terms, and I think it is a joke. I hardly consider myself a reputable news source. I could see me coming up with this junk, along with some fake pictures of pigeons pulling streetcars. But when the “real” news does, I just have to laugh.
As of right now Metro-North is running on a regular schedule with few, if any, delays. This may change as the day wears on, so if I hear anything I’ll let you all know. I’ll be tweeting…
Due to the snow this morning a lot of people ended up leaving work early. I ended up getting a ride to Hawthorne from a coworker. I don’t normally visit that station, just in the few exceptions that snow has caused shuttle bus issues. Unlike what I am used to in Goldens Bridge, a good portion of the platform in Hawthorne is uncovered. So by the time I got there, there was at least an inch of snow covering over everything. Of course I took the opportunity to take some photos as I was waiting for my train.
And when the train passes by, who do I see with his head poking out the window? Peter, the conductor who used to be on my evening train who I haven’t seen in a few months. We caught up on our amusing train stories, and observed an odd woman wearing pajamas sitting a few seats away from me.
There is this crazy guy at White Plains that I nicknamed Mr. Chicago, because he talks to himself and will out of the blue just shout out, “The train to New York is late! … Because it had to stop in CHICAGO, HAHAHA!” Anyways, this woman could totally be his sister. They even look alike! Apparently she liked my hat, but the pompoms bothered her. She kept asking me, “but what are the pompoms for?” She waddled off the train in Katonah, at which point Peter asked me if I knew her. I had never seen her before in my life. Just one more of those interesting and odd people that I encounter on the train…
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
