And if you don’t believe the Pennsy, it looks like the Central seems to think that Santa will take a visit to all the overnight trains tonight. So who are we to disagree?

Wishing all readers of I Ride The Harlem Line, whoever you are, if you’re still out there despite my lack of posting for the past few years, a very happy holiday and new year.

However you want to call it – the old New York Central Building, the Helmsley Building, or 230 Park – it looks gorgeous at night. While Grand Central’s light show ends tomorrow, the lights here are year round. Similar to the lights on the Empire State Building, the show can change colors for various holidays or other events. Over 700 individual lights were added to the building, and lighting designer Al Borden was hired to create a night time lighting scheme for the building. As the building is designated as a landmark, none of the lighting was permitted to “compromise the building’s architectural integrity.” Thus all light sources had to remain hidden, and none could be drilled into the building’s surface.

 
  
 
 

Of course, one can not pass up the opportunity to take more photos of Grand Central’s light show and exterior on an abnormally warm winter evening…

 
  
 
 
  

I figured I’d wrap up this post with a look at this year’s holiday card for those that didn’t receive it. The front features Mount Kisco station, and the unique station mileage sign that graces the building on the track side. The sign lists the original length of the Harlem Division – from Grand Central to Chatham in Columbia County. Astute viewers will note that the station view is visible through the window of an M8, which on a few days this year were actually in revenue service on the Harlem Line.

Happy holidays everyone!

Behind the scenes: a Textilene scrim hangs in each window pane, onto which LED lights are projected. The windows on the west wall contain over 350 window panes, so setup was a daunting task. I wasn’t quite sure if walking behind the setup would be visible from below, so I didn’t!

The light show that you see each night, starting at 5 PM and continuing to 11 PM, is a collaboration by several groups. Sponsored by Toshiba, the show was designed by Michiru Tanaka, a lighting designer that has worked with Toshiba on several lighting projects. Bestek Lights brought the concept into the real world with LED light fixtures, and fabricated everything required to hold the lights. All of that work had to abide by landmarks preservation guidelines, as well as safety guidelines, since behind the window panes are walkways used by employees.

Concept rendering of the light show (left), and lighting designer Michiru Tanaka in front of her creation (right, photo by Charles Norfleet).
 
President of Bestek, Van Allen Rice, experiments with different fabrics for the light show (left), and the control setup for the light show (right). Photos via Bestek.

Because the window panels are a major source of light in the main concourse during the day, one of the requirements for the installation was that it could not block the sun. After several trials, it was decided that Textilene scrims would be hung in each window panel. The scrims would allow the LED light to be reflected onto it for the show, but would also allow sunlight to pass through during the day. Below each scrim is a Stagebar 54, a light fixture that contains 54 LED lights in five colors – red, green, blue, amber, and white. A total of 354 of these fixtures were installed to create the grand effect you see in the show.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to see the light show yet, you have until December 26th to check it out (which is definitely worth it). The thirty minute shows run continuously from 5 PM to 11 PM each night. Note that you can see the show from inside the main concourse, as well as from outside the building on Vanderbilt Avenue.

 
  
   
 
  
 

When it comes to the worst day to ride Metro-North Railroad, it is usually a tossup between New Year’s and St. Patrick’s Day. Both involve large crowds of people that have imbibed a bit too much. Most years I think St. Patrick’s is the clear winner (or loser, perhaps?), because when it falls on a work day you have a combination between the regular commmuters and the drunks, and it usually isn’t very fun. After all, I’d rather not step over passed out revelers, or in pools of vomit while heading home after a long day at work, thank you very much.

Thankfully, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a weekend this year, so there will be no clashes between commuters and partiers. Though if you’re feeling brave and looking to go to the parade, Metro-North will be offering extra trains, sans adult beverages. Alas we’re not cool enough to get a special holiday timetable like the one above, but oh well. Either way, we wish all the Irish… and the people pretending to be Irish a happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Obviously, the above is photoshopped, but for veracity’s sake, below you’ll find the original advertisement – which is not at all for Valentine’s Day. The main concept it depicts is traveling in between the “heart” of cities, as the railroad does. With the mention of no “stormy skies” the ad seems to reference commercial air travel – to which the railroads were steadily losing passengers. While most railroad stations are more towards the center of the city (especially the case with Grand Central in New York), many airports are far outside it. Unfortunately, most people would rather take a short flight than a long train ride, even if they had a nice amenities, accommodations, and food on a train.

Happy holidays to all our readers, and a very Merry Christmas for those who celebrate it! For those that are into history, be sure to check out this post of holiday Harlem Line timetables, and this groovy Penn Central holiday suburban schedule. Penn Central may be despised by many, but they certainly put out some interesting timetables.

Despite the holiday, today is of course Tuesday, and our final Hudson Line Tuesday tour will be posted, though likely later on this afternoon.

This year’s holiday card is inspired by a 1943 New York Central ad

Inspiration:

Check out the full ad and other vintage winter and holiday ads

Starring:

I was going to photoshop Santa getting patted down by the TSA for this – then I realized I didn’t have to, it had already happened for real. Needless to say, the TSA is why trains, and not planes (forget about those reindeer!), are the preferred method of transportation for Santa Claus this Christmas.

Extra Holiday Trains

Metro-North will of course be offering additional trains for the upcoming holiday, starting on Friday afternoon and continuing on Saturday and Sunday.

Permut looks to expand the Port Jervis Line

Metro-North President Howard Permut was the railroad’s Vice President of Planning before landing his current gig… so he’s got a pretty good sense of where and how things ought to be improved. Not only is he eyeing the New Haven Line for big improvements, but he’s also looking at service West of the Hudson. On his wish list is a second track on the Port Jervis Line, and a connection to Stewart Airport.

Improvements at Cortlandt to be finished soon

The train station upgrades at Cortlandt, which included new parking and amenities, are almost done – though slightly behind schedule.

Transit-based development considered in Mount Vernon

This week the city of Mount Vernon released a new comprehensive plan with suggestions for improvement. Suggestions included expanding Bee Line Bus service in the city, and further developing the areas surrounding the Mount Vernon East and West stations.

Construction of the Henry Hudson Bridge in 1936

Henry Hudson Bridge turns 75 this week

On Thursday the Henry Hudson Bridge turned 75 years old… and there was no way I could resist posting that old construction photo from 1936!

Rail Outlook 2012

Progressive Railroader has an interesting piece on thoughts for passenger rail in 2012, with thoughts on various transit systems across the country, including Metro-North.

A Look to Tappan Zee From Hastings, painting by Kent Patterson

Retired Metro-North employee, now artist, to have show in Briarcliff Manor

Kent Patterson worked for Metro-North for 37 years as a yard and train master, but in retirement has turned back to an old love – painting. Prominent in his work are the trains and scenery he worked with for so many years. His paintings will be on display in Briarcliff Manor, and are certainly worth checking out.

Photos from Santacon

Buzzfeed has an amusing collection of 22 photos from NYC’s Santacon, which was last weekend. And of course since it was in New York City, some mode of public transportation is involved. Who knew that Santa rode Metro-North?