Have you ever seen these awesome time lapse videos the MTA has done on the LIRR? When I first saw them, I decided I wanted to try the same thing at some point on the Harlem Line. Yesterday I finally got a chance to try it, unfortunately not in HD (didn’t have a big enough memory card to do the whole ride in HD). The ride first starts out in Grand Central, and heads all the way to Southeast. We make all local stops north of White Plains, with the exception of Mount Pleasant. The hour and twenty minute ride has been condensed into a little over six minutes.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuUz6qUudKU]

Because I know a few of you more astute observers will find some issues with the video (signals? track?), I will say that this video was taken not from the cab, but from the rear of the train. The footage was reversed to make it appear like it was from the front of the train. This is my first attempt at a time lapse, and I think I’d like to try it again at some point. Perhaps in HD, and possibly from the front of the train, so everything doesn’t look wrong. But as a first attempt, I think this is a pretty cool way to see the Harlem Line.

7 Responses

  1. Eric R. says:

    What did you use for a mount? (You didn’t hand hold the camera, did you?)

  2. J says:

    This is impressive. Now we need one with local stops to White Plains. :-)

  3. Ken says:

    Fantastic. I wish my ride to Kisco was that fast every day.

  4. Tyler says:

    I’m jealous of your super-fast trains.

    This is my personal favorite for timelapse cab rides, shot on New Jersey Transit with a still camera in continuous shooting mode by a crew member, I believe. He used 4-second exposures as it’s a winter night. Very cool stuff!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al-8mgi_C_Q&list=FLLG1hY0Sv6RM

  5. mike says:

    thinking about it, you just replayed a five days a week, 30 year large part of my fathers life that has not changed a bit in the 45 years hes been gone……………thanks………….

  6. vito says:

    That was awesome. I loved it. . . especially the as the train ‘approached’ the level crossing in Katonah. Now we need a sound(um)track!

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