I Ride The Harlem Line

Wednesday Wandering: Hiking Hawaii’s Abandoned Koko Crater Tramway

For the past eight months I’ve been working for an engineering firm in the telecommunications industry, which has been an engaging new journey for me. It is interesting to note that today’s topic stands at a crossroads of both railways and communications, and of course involves another love of mine, travel. Due to the pandemic I haven’t had much chance to get away for fun in the past two years, but earlier this month I finally got to visit somewhere that’s always been on my list—Hawaii. Today’s wanderings take place about fifteen miles southeast of Hawaii’s capital Honolulu, on the...

Observations / Photos / Train Stories

Wednesday Wandering: Blocks of the Waterbury Branch

Some of you out there have been wondering if I still take train photos. While several of my more recent posts have been of a more historical nature, I am still frequently out snapping photos of trains. Many times the photos aren’t necessarily worthy of their own post, so I thought it might be fun to post some of them on Wednesdays, so you can all see where I’ve been wandering about. This past weekend I found myself dodging the raindrops and capturing the blocks of the Waterbury Branch. With the signalization project coming to a close not too far...

Photos

Up Close with Grand Central: Summer Edition

When you’re out taking train photos for over a decade, things are bound to change. You probably will end up upgrading your camera equipment somewhere along the way, and your workflow for editing photos changes when you learn new things, or take advantage of new software. And somewhere along that journey you may suddenly realize that some fundamental part of your aesthetic isn’t quite what it was ten years ago. For some reason I found myself fascinated with panorama photography (which maybe you heard about?) back when I started this site in 2008, but it’s a rare moment today when...

Observations / Photos / Train Stories

Hudson Line back on track… sort of

Last week’s Hurricane Ida brought massive winds and torrential downpours from Louisiana on up to the northeast, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. In New York significant flooding adversely effected our entire transportation system—making highways and railroads resemble something more like waterlogged canals. Stuck vehicles were abandoned up and down the Bronx River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway, and the entirety of Metro-North service was suspended.

Featured / History / Train Stories

The Railroad’s Raucous Arrival. White Plains: Part 1

Amid loud booms of celebratory artillery fire and the rousing tunes of a brass band, hundreds of onlookers jockeyed for a spot alongside gleaming rails, cheering and popping champagne corks. The crowd’s cries rose to a crescendo as the mighty iron horse cantered round the last curve and roared into full view, steam billowing behind her. The day was Saturday, October 26th, 1844, and at long last—thirteen years for the rails, nearly three hours for the train—the New York and Harlem Railroad had reached White Plains. The new station to which the train had arrived was a simple wooden affair,...

Observations / Train Stories

White Plains, Reflections

It has been nearly six years since I was a regular commuter on Metro-North. Though my origin point varied—starting off at Brewster, eventually moving to Goldens Bridge, then trying out Southeast, Pawling, and even Wassaic, and eventually finishing off with a reverse commute from Harlem—my destination point was always the same. White Plains. Earlier this month I visited the station, and it felt like I hardly knew the place. Gone were the yellow taxis with their interesting names—no more Desire of Nation or Very Fine Money Fishing—in their stead some run of the mill white taxis. There’s a bright remodeled...