So long, Solari.

Last night the iconic Solari split flap display was removed from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station to make way for a new, ADA-compliant digital board. I spent the day documenting the takedown, and here is a collection of some of my photos from then, and from other days.

Visions of the Southwest

Over the course of this year I’ve been lucky enough to get a chance to ride quite the array of long distance Amtrak trains and see some of the most stunning vistas our country has to offer. There is simply no better way to see the great landscape of America than a journey by train. While I certainly find beaches and mountains beautiful, I’ve found myself most impressed by the rugged landscape of the American southwest, as seen on both the Sunset Limited and, most recently, the Southwest Chief. There’s just something about the striated red rock formations I find...

The Never Ending Journey, Part 3: Photos from 2018

Nearly six months later, I’ve come to set the record straight – I’m neither dead, nor has this site been shut down. I’m still out there (somewhere), traveling, with a camera in hand. Last month I logged over 7,500 miles on the train, saw a lot of cool places, and met some awesome people. Here are some photos I liked from along the way… New Orleans City of New Orleans crosses the Manchac Bridge City of New Orleans crosses the Manchac Bridge Sunset Limited crosses the Bayou des Allemands

2017 in Photos

As we find ourselves in the final hours of 2017, I thought it might be a nice time to look back at some of the more memorable photographs to appear on I Ride the Harlem Line this year. As you likely noticed, posts were few and far between this year, as things were again, rather busy. Despite that, we still adventured to the Beacon Line, Grand Central for Amtrak’s temporary return, and the new Penn Station. While some may find 13 an ominous number, I tend to find it lucky – so let’s take a look at the top thirteen...

A Farewell to Summer – Amtrak’s Return to Grand Central

Labor Day has come and gone, schools have started back up again, and we find ourselves in the waning days of summer. The much-hyped transit “summer of hell” has also finished – and many seem to think it was a lot more swell than hell. For anyone with an interest in trains, it was always going to be rather swell. Amtrak would be making a return to New York City’s cathedral of railroading, Grand Central Terminal, after being gone for more than a decade. We welcomed the Empire Service trains with both open arms and camera shutters. I caught the...

Hot fun, Late nights. Documenting Penn Station Renewal.

It may be hot, but down in the bowels of New York’s Pennsylvania Station it’s not really hell. Befitting the city’s well-known nickname, nobody here is sleeping at 2 AM – the renewal of Penn Station is a round-the-clock job. On the night of July 21st anticipation has been steadily building for the final placement of one of the many puzzle pieces of the station’s new track infrastructure. Switch 69B – everything is named numerically based on it’s position, with letters indicating the facing direction – is a massive piece of hardware that was assembled outside the station. In the...