Subway tiles and mosaics at the new LaGuardia Airport. Many New York landmarks are reproduced in tile, including the Pegasus constellation from Grand Central’s ceiling.

I always try my best to snag a window seat on the left side for takeoff, and the right side for landing, with my camera nearby. When it comes to capturing photos, there’s often a bit of luck involved—from the flight pattern to the amount of gunk on the window—but I find it interesting to survey the city from above. Due to its proximity to the airport, spotting Hell Gate Bridge is always a good bet. Other times you’ll find yourself paralleling the Hudson, with views of High Bridge Yard, Yankee Stadium, Central Park, and Manhattan’s skyscrapers. Other times you’ll fly over Coney Island, and spot Long Island Rail Road trains near Woodside.

Here’s a collection of some of my favorite photos taken in-flight, spotting the trains and tracks from the air. All have been captured within the past year, from at least six different flights through LaGuardia.

Reopening on September 25, 1980, the old railroad hotel was reinvented as the Grand Hyatt, now clad in a reflective anodized aluminum skin. The inside of the old Commodore was gutted and redesigned, but structurally the new hotel reused the bones of the old. Designed and marketed to a more luxury crowd, permitting higher room costs to cover the significant overruns during development, the hotel still faced some of the faults of its predecessor. To curb the ballooning costs of the project many elements were reused, including elevators, heating, and even plumbing. Thus the “new” hotel had the same slow elevators, no individual temperature controls, smaller sized rooms and bathrooms, and turn of the century plumbing.

Sixteen years later Donald Trump was no longer in the picture, having sold his stake in the hotel to Hyatt owners the Pritzker family. Shortly thereafter the Grand Hyatt began a renovation project in 1996, and was again renovated in 2011. That most recent renovation brought Awilda and Chloe, an art installation by Jaume Plensa consisting of two large white marble heads which seem like they’d fit in more with Grand Central’s Mercury than the Grand Hyatt. Today the Grand Hyatt remains closed, with operations suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is uncertain if the hotel will reopen again before demolition is slated to start in 2022.

After that date, we will enter a new era—that of Project Commodore, or as it will be known when complete, 175 Park.

10 Reasons why you’ll love the new skyscraper next to Grand Central

“Oh, great. Another skyscraper dwarfing Grand Central,” you say. The doom and gloom crowd of the railfan community have already made their pronouncement of distaste in the comments sections of various Facebook groups. Conversely, I think the future is bright—and for your consideration, I present ten reasons you might actually love 175 Park.

1. Nobody will really miss the Grand Hyatt

Hideous. Garish. Ruined. A darn shame. Destroyed. Damaged forever. Sacrilege. A travesty. An utter and inexcusable outrage. One of the Darth Vader buildings of New York City. These are all words and phrases that have been used to describe the conversion of the Commodore into the Grand Hyatt. The stately brick and limestone Commodore was one of many structures surrounding 42nd Street that created a uniform aesthetic whole, a neighborhood of buildings that all looked like they belonged together. The older Beaux Arts Terminal could still fit in with the slightly newer Art Deco Chrysler Building, but the drastic change in the material covering the Grand Hyatt created a stylistic dissonance in the Grand Central district, far beyond that of the similarly loathed Pan Am Building.

Nobody will miss the Grand Hyatt, except for perhaps Donald Trump. We can’t get the Commodore back, but finally the abomination on 42nd Street will be gone. As Commissioner Jeanne Lutfy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission stated during the recent hearing regarding 175 Park, “I’m not going to be sorry to see the Grand Hyatt leave this location.” Even if the replacement isn’t exactly your cup of tea, at least it will be well designed and actually attempts to fit in with the area.

2. 175 Park was designed to exist harmoniously with Grand Central

New York City’s zoning regulations require an advisory review to be issued by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for projects occurring in lots contiguous to Grand Central, judging the project’s “harmonious relationship” to the historic structure. At it’s core, harmony in this sense is simply whether Grand Central and the proposed building work and look good together—they don’t need to match in style to be harmonious. Ultimately, the majority of the LPC (voting 8-2) felt the two were harmonious, albeit through their contrast. During testimony some worried that the supertall 175 Park would simply dwarf Grand Central, yet Commissioner Gustafsson raised the point that the structure’s height was in fact irrelevant in terms of harmony. The building’s presence on the skyline has little to do with it’s harmonious relationship to Grand Central as the more important vantage is seeing the two together on 42nd Street, which would really only include the new structure’s base, which does convey harmony.

Being harmonious wasn’t always a requirement for Grand Central’s neighbors, however. As a nearly 60 year old building owned by a bankrupt company in the late 70s, the Commodore probably looked pretty dingy—or in Trump-speak, like a “welfare hotel.” As part of the negotiated tax breaks for the Commodore deal, Trump had the façade of Grand Central cleaned, and it is likely the Commodore needed a wash just as badly. Unfortunately, instead of a scrubbing the building was encased in aluminum, a reflection of the sentiments of developers of the era. Architecture critic Paul Goldberger described them as such: “cheap, simple buildings… [which] added little either visually or socially to the life of the city.” Little care went into the plan for the outside of the hotel and how it would fit into the fabric of the neighborhood, as that was never the intention.

In contrast, the team at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the designers of 175 Park, have thought a lot about how their structure will look next to Grand Central, and have taken inspiration from it’s design. Notably, the project team also includes Beyer Blinder Belle—the firm that worked on the restoration of Grand Central in the 90s—as an architectural and historical consultant. Any supertall skyscraper would inevitably draw the eye, but the underlying concept of this project is to be respectful of, and to complement, not compete, with Grand Central, building on the legacy of “Terminal City.” Though thoroughly modern in style, and intentionally so, SOM’s proposed design boldly addresses the constraints of the location (there are limitations on where the building can be anchored, due to the railroad infrastructure below), yet is also sympathetic to its famous neighbor in several ways.

Although metal will be used as a visible material in the new structure, it will sport a warm matte finish to more closely imitate the Terminal’s Indiana limestone façade, and prevent garish reflections. The contemporary look is fluid, more resembling woven fabric than a boxy collection of geometric shapes. A metallic lattice structure wraps the building, tapering and intertwining at the top to form an elegant crown, and separating at the base like a curtain to reveal the entrance. The design is symmetrical, mirroring Grand Central’s balance, and texturally riffs off of the Terminal’s Corinthian columns and mullion windows. The sculptural base of 175 Park matches the scale and proportion of Grand Central’s façade, and the interwoven mesh skin running the length of the building divides into two load bearing bundles to anchor the structure to the ground in front. At ground level the individual metallic strands of the bundle are fluted, suggesting Grand Central’s classical columns, yet remaining more slender than the originals as to to not overshadow their monumentality.

The two front metallic column bundles tie into a column base, which is subsequently anchored to a below-grade mega column. Their column bases will be obscured from view by flanking ramps, leading to one of my favorite parts of the new development…

3. There will be a great new place to wait for your train, or just hang out

Further continuing the theme of respect for Grand Central, the design of 175 Park allows the Terminal to finally stand on its own again. The exterior wall of the Commodore and Grand Hyatt rose straight up at the property line, crowding Grand Central. Pulling the footprint of the skyscraper back from the property line and tapering the base of the building allows the Terminal to breathe again, as well as introduces free space to be offered to the public. Appearing to be an extension of the plinth which holds up Grand Central and Park Avenue around it, the terraces also provide visual continuity along 42nd Street and further wrapping around Lexington Avenue.

Three terraces will surround the west, east, and north sides of the building, two sloping ramps will provide access to the terraces from the south side, and another set of stairs will enable further access on the east. The Chrysler Terrace, on the east side facing Lexington Avenue, will provide a brand new way to appreciate the art deco Chrysler Building. Sandwiched in between the new building and the Graybar is the aptly named Graybar Terrace, behind the skyscraper. The most notable of the three, providing a unique new vantage point to take in the Terminal, is the Grand Central Terrace on the building’s west side. Filled with greenery, art, and places to gather, each of the terraces will undoubtedly be a popular addition to the neighborhood—especially the Grand Central Terrace which now reveals the usually unseen east face of the Terminal. Combined, the three terraces will provide 20,000 square feet of public space for the community.

4. 42nd Street will be even nicer for pedestrians

Beyond the new views made available by the terraces, sightlines of Grand Central will also be improved for pedestrians along 42nd Street. The current boxy configuration of the Grand Hyatt blocks views of Terminal, with very little of the façade visible from the corner of Lexington and 42nd. The skyscraper’s reduced footprint and tiered structure yields an added bonus—revealing of more of the historic Grand Central. Furthering the effect is the skyscraper’s façade which features a cable net supported glass wall, allowing additional sightlines through the building to see even more of the landmark.

Though the enhanced visuals will certainly be appreciated by anyone walking through the neighborhood, the project also includes tangible improvements to make the lives of pedestrians better. The clunky overhang of the Grand Hyatt’s bar will be removed, no longer looming over the sidewalk on 42nd Street. The sidewalk in front of the building will be widened, and a new entrance will be provided for direct access to the subway to ease congestion. Two sloping walkways flank the entrance to the new skyscraper, providing pedestrian access to the viaduct level and the terraces, but will not take up any portion of the current space on the sidewalk.

5. It will bring light to formerly dark, claustrophobic places

One of the perks of Grand Central’s design, and a bonus for pedestrians on foul weather days, is its interconnectedness with its neighbors. The stature of the Commodore was certainly elevated by the fact that a visitor never had to step foot outside after getting off their train, one just simply walked through the connecting passageway and straight up to the hotel. Although those links still play a major part today—joining Grand Central to Lexington Avenue at multiple points, and 42nd Street through the hotel—they aren’t all as beautifully designed as the Terminal. Despite being in more of an art deco style, the Graybar Passage is a fitting connector, featuring intricate chandeliers, high ceilings, with even a mural on part of it. Meanwhile, the Lexington Passage isn’t terrible, but its low ceilings have a foreboding quality that fails to fit with the majesty of Grand Central.

Thankfully, adjustments have been planned for the passageways that connect the current Grand Hyatt to Grand Central. Ceilings will be raised, and natural light will be allowed to shine through. Pulling the skyscraper back from the property line has been mentioned several times already, yet that simple consideration yields a multitude of benefits. In this case, the new open space above allows skylights to be installed, flooding the hallways with refreshing natural light. Beyond sunshine, the strategically placed skylights will align with Grand Central and provide another portal to rarely seen views of the Terminal’s exterior. In addition, several retail spaces will be removed to make the area feel less claustrophobic, and to create a new access hall for the subways.

6. The redesigned subway access will alleviate bottlenecks

One of the most notable transit improvements to be completed as part of Project Commodore is the creation of an open train hall for access to the subway. The other part of being harmonious with Grand Central is the new structure working in tandem with the landmark, and these enhancements were welcomed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for improving the current state of affairs (or as Commissioner Devonshire called it, “hell on Earth”). That current state of affairs is a very congested 42nd Street passage, filled with people moving about in a multitude of directions—some going in and out for the subway, and others going in and out for Metro-North or other spots in Grand Central. Further choking the space was the removal of one of the original entrance portals on 42nd Street in favor of an elevator, which will now be restored to its original configuration to allow freer movement, and the elevator relocated.

Traffic from people entering and exiting the subway for the outside will also be relieved through a brand new entrance on 42nd Street, and a new open air entrance to the subway on Lexington Avenue. Fare collection will be moved up to the ground floor of the train hall, allowing for new connections to be made on the mezzanine level.

7. East Side Access will become a real part of Grand Central

When Grand Central was conceptualized, the ways in which it would be accessed and used were carefully considered. Entrances, exits, and accessways were purpose-built for the different people that would use them. Commuters were the dwellers of the lower level, with ramps to lead them out of the Terminal, never to clash with the outgoing long distance travelers of the main concourse, or the arriving long distance passengers in the Biltmore Room. Even the most mundane of ideas were agonized over, from the color of the employee uniforms, to the testing of different ramp slopes to see which yielded the best result for people moving about.

Much has changed since that time, and Grand Central will become more complex than its creators ever envisioned with the addition of East Side Access. This extension of purpose needs to fit intuitively into the already intricate arrangement, and travelling up from the ESA hall, up from GCT’s lower level, up again and across to the subway, then down to get through fare control, and down again to board your train is an incredibly convoluted journey for anyone arriving on an LIRR train looking to transfer to the subway. There is, however, a more harmonious solution.

Just as Grand Central’s designers created separations of function to enhance movement, the team designing 175 Park has attempted to follow in their footsteps to strategize intuitive methods of navigating this complex transit hub. In another instance of where the two structures can work together is in the creation of a logical connection from East Side Access and Grand Central’s lower level directly to the subways. This new link will join ESA, which is under Grand Central, with the subway that is under the current Grand Hyatt, and allowing movement to travel through a new designated passageway instead of cluttering the already crowded existing spaces.

8. You’ll still be able to stay overnight next to Grand Central

Despite the fact that the Commodore was a bit seedy and run down in its sunset years, the very final guest to check out of the hotel—a tourist from Missouri visiting New York with his wife and sister-in-law—still found the place “beautiful.” Maybe you raged at me about my general pronouncement in reason 1 that nobody will miss the Grand Hyatt, because you will. Maybe you just want to be able to stay in a hotel close to the most noteworthy New York landmark of them all (it’s Grand Central, folks). Or maybe you’re just curious to look down at the Terminal from high above. Either way, the new skyscraper will still have a hotel, although it won’t be the sole focus of the structure. The brand new Grand Hyatt will have up to 500 rooms located across floors 65 through 83, taking up 453,000 square feet of the skyscraper. Anyone willing to shell out the dough necessary to stay at that fancy penthouse suite will be on top of New York. Quite literally.

9. It will bring the spotlight back to the East Side

At completion, 175 Park will be the tallest building in New York City by roof height. Since the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (yes, it’s a real thing) judges building height to the architectural top of a structure, which includes spires, One World Trade Center’s 408-foot spire still makes the 1,368 foot tall building come out on top with a total 1,776 feet. Nonetheless, staying in the penthouse of the 1,646 foot tall 175 Park, with its higher roof, will make you feel like you’re at the top of the heap.

A lot of attention has been captured by the West Side in the past few years, mostly centered around Hudson Yards. With giants Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon all snapping up office space nearby, the area has been dubbed a “tech hub.” The chart-topping supertall 175 Park will make significant strides in turning attention back to the East Side, and its proximity to Grand Central will cement that momentum. That, of course, was the goal of the East Midtown rezoning in the first place. The building’s 2.1 million square feet of office space, comprising floors 7 through 63, will provide attractive new digs for the right tenant, along with the desirable amenity of direct access to Grand Central Terminal.

10. It proves that people want to invest in New York’s future

I get it. The Coronavirus has fundamentally changed our lives, and we’re pretty down about it. Naysayers have claimed that New York City is dead, it’s not coming back. People will work from home now, companies will get rid of all their office space to cut costs. Some have even commented directly on Project Commodore in this vein—we’ll never need another high rise office tower, so why waste the money? Despite all the critics there will always be people that are forward thinking, people that believe in progress. When the first Grand Central was constructed in 1871, it was considered just beyond three miles from “the city”—as maps often measured out from City Hall as New York’s center. Cornelius Vanderbilt had the foresight to locate his station in a location where the city would eventually grow to surround it. From the modern viewpoint, Grand Central seems like an essential part of the fabric of the city, yet when the Depot first opened I’m sure some just considered it up in the boonies.

Despite the negativity of some, it is hardly outlandish for people today to prepare for New York’s future, or at least what they hope it will be. I think it is good to know that the people building this future don’t for a minute believe that New York is dead. We are still under Corona’s shadow, and it is understandable for many of us to have difficulty seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. A raging pandemic changed the fundamentals of how we lived and worked in a very short time, but the nine years it will take for 175 Park to come to fruition is more than sufficient for the city to rise again. After all, SOM and the project team have specifically stated that they are proud of their creation, and are “looking to the future.” Perhaps we all need just a little bit of that optimism.

The next step for 175 Park is the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP), which is expected to begin by the end of this year. If approved, make-ready work would commence in 2022, and the existing Grand Hyatt would be demolished over an 18-month period starting in 2023. Both transit improvements and the construction of the skyscraper would start in 2024, which is expected to take just under four years. Target for the building to be fully completed and occupied is 2030. Hard hats are already a plenty along Park Avenue these days, and this project is expected to create 24,700 construction jobs.

In all, I think that 175 Park will make an interesting addition to the Grand Central area. There will always be folks that are against it—in fact the Municipal Art Society doesn’t seem to be a big fan of the skyscraper, with the opinion that it would be a better fit for Dubai than next to the Terminal. Yet in some ways I feel that the time to complain about skyscrapers next to Grand Central would have been before One Vanderbilt went up. To me, having a second skyscraper rise on the other side feels like it will bring symmetrical balance.

In terms of style, it is nonsensical for anyone to think that we’d be building anything today in the classical revival styles of yesteryear. Beaux arts designs may have suited the trust fund babies of the Gilded Age, but they’re hardly the aesthetic of today. Glass has always been an important material in construction, but it wasn’t until more modern production methods that it became a feasible building material on a large scale. Glass breakage was a serious issue for train sheds, and Grand Central’s windows were all made of dated wire mesh glass for stability. But now there is glass of every variety and shape, strong enough to handle harsh environments and be a key material used in all sorts of developments. Some may hate the look of contemporary architecture’s glass structures, but they can be energy efficient and allow natural light to become an integral portion of the design. In 175 Park’s case, the glass will allow one to see through that building to reveal the landmark that is Grand Central. The skyscraper is well designed, its woven lattice structure is aesthetically pleasing and appears more organic and less like a rudimentary glass box. Coupled with the transit improvements and the new terraces, I’m excited to see this project come to fruition.

If I’m still alive and blogging in nine years, let’s have a party on the new Grand Central Terrace, shall we?

The Power Control Center oversees the operation of over 218 substations dispersed throughout the city. Information from these locations is relayed to the panels, giving operators the ability to see what’s going on and to control the subway’s power from a centralized location. For unexpected changes or ongoing situations, such as police presence, an array of magnets can be placed upon the board to keep everyone apprised (if there was a special cat-faced magnet for de-energizing the tracks for a feline rescue, I did not see it). Hidden within the collection of tracks and magnets are other tidbits, including the message, “in the I.R.T. failure is not an option”—assumedly a more down-to-Earth play on the fictional words uttered by the heroic operators employed in another green hued control room.

If you get a retro nuclear control room vibe from the seafoam green panels, that’s not surprising. Many control rooms—from the bridge of the Queen Mary 2 to the nerve centers of nuclear power plants around the globe—use a similar color scheme. Earlier subway control panels used white lines atop a black background, similar to the model boards found in old towers, but were upgraded to these green colored panels in the early ’80s. Design tastes and prevailing science often shift, and at the time such installations were considered optimal for readability, preventing eye fatigue and reducing glare. For nuclear applications dark colored backgrounds on Human-System Interfaces remain inadvisable (though a light gray seems to be the popular choice over dated seafoam today), but many railroads still use negative polarity color schemes in their control centers, and such “dark mode” schemes are popular with consumers. Ultimately, the best solution for readability depends heavily on ambient light, which is probably why Amtrak’s CETC dispatchers have long used black background interfaces in dark rooms.

In the collection of photos I snapped while at the Power Control Center you’ll note that Loby makes a reappearance, in red and looking very serious, along with a much happier photo of Eric, who works in the PCC. Sometimes it is pretty easy to tell when someone really enjoys their work, and Eric says that he is very proud of the job done by all at the Power Control Center. With over 665 miles of mainline track and 472 stations, the employees of the PCC certainly bear a large responsibility to keep the lights shining and the trains running on a subway system that uses more power than the state of Vermont.

On a whim, I sent Mr. Lobenstein a note with a few questions regarding rotary converters related to the article I was writing. Although I had a pretty good idea that throwing a bucket of sand into one would hardly paralyze an entire transit system, my unsated curiosity insisted on knowing what might actually happen. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting an answer. Yet the next morning Loby, as he is known among friends, surprised me with a response. Through various email correspondences he humored my eccentric inquisitiveness, though there were times I was certain his mind was torn between whether I was either some garden variety terrorist, a time traveler plotting nefarious deeds for the past, or a third rate fiction writer penning a dreadful period piece where the saboteur antagonist would at least be historically accurate.

Loby’s wisdom on the subject of rotary converters comes from a combination of both practical application and historical knowledge. He started his 40 year long career with the subways at the Essex substation in Brooklyn. While working he uncovered a treasure trove of artifacts that piqued his interest and inspired his secondary career—Power Historian. Not only were there stories, blueprints, and photographs to collect at Essex, there were also rotary converters. While hardly feasible to take one of these imposing machines home after a long day of work, Loby may have done the next best thing—making sure a few of them are preserved and restored for the benefit of future generations.

Perhaps it is just my delusions of grandeur speaking, but I feel like I understand the desire to preserve the past and the calling to be a torch bearer of sorts, carrying the knowledge of yesterday forward. There is a certain exhilaration in rediscovering a bit of long lost lore, yet I can only imagine the immense sense of pride that would derive from such a noteworthy undertaking as saving a rotary converter or dynamo and restoring it to working condition.

After using his insight to publish the aforementioned article about rotary converters and saboteurs, Loby was generous enough to offer me the chance to see a real one up close and personal—or as close as you’d want to be to one without injuring yourself. I met Loby one chilly afternoon at old Substation #13 to get a glimpse of Rotary #1, which operated from 1904 to 1999. Manufactured by Westinghouse, #1 was a 1,500kW unit that first powered the third rail for the IRT, the city’s original underground subway, and later its successors. While many rotaries converted AC to DC power inside nearly 75 substations scattered throughout the city for the subways, the obsolete machines were gradually being replaced with more modern equipment. But thanks to the efforts of various people who felt preservation imperative—including Loby—not all of these dignified dinosaurs were destined for the scrap heap. #1 proved an optimal candidate for restoration as its control circuits were basically intact, and the rest of the unit was largely in good condition—a testament to the stately old machine’s fortitude, and to the decades of skilled maintainers that Loby likened to magicians.

Today Substation #13 provides two different glimpses into the power history of New York City’s subways—the magnificent rotaries of yesteryear, and the decidedly less spellbinding solid state rectifiers that have replaced them. Most notably, #1 can be fired up as a DC motor, spinning at 250 revolutions per minute and enthralling visitors such as myself. I endeavored to capture the mechanical beauty of the rotary and some of the panels, dials, levers, and switches found within Substation #13, which is truly a magical place—I hope I’ve done them justice.

Later on I learned that Loby appeared on the first season of Mythbusters—and yes, it was the episode where they tested whether one would be electrocuted if they were to relieve themself on the third rail. I suppose my inquiries were not quite the craziest he’s ever heard after all…

Initially, much of the plan for the Metro was based around Qatar’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, but was revived in 2010 when Qatar was awarded the World Cup. The Qatar Railways Company was birthed in 2011, and will oversee the Metro, a new light rail in Lusail, and the planned long distance and freight routes to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (which appears to be stalled, and the severing of ties between Qatar and its neighbors likely means it will be halted indefinitely).

Aesthetically, no matter where you travel through the system, you will ever be reminded that you are on the Doha Metro. The system itself has a unique identity, using locally-sourced sandstone for station exteriors, a nod to traditional architectural materials. Vaulted spaces evoke traditional Bedouin tents, stylized arched columns resemble the sails of time-honored dhow ships, and large panels of glass ensure that the stations will be lit by natural light, said to resemble the inside of an oyster. The visual cues continue on a line basis – as each will have their own identity and feature a distinctive wall finish and pattern. In the case of the Red Line (nicknamed the Coastal line, as it hugs Doha’s West Bay and terminates in the new planned city of Lusail), that pattern is iridescent mother-of-pearl, a reference to Qatar’s history of pearl diving.

The trains themselves were produced by Japan’s Kinki Sharyo, and are said to resemble Arabian horses. The three car fixed sets feature Gold class, with larger individual seats at 10 QAR (approximately $2.75 per trip) and family and standard classes, with typical subway style benched seating, at a price of 2 QAR (approximately 55 cents). Standard class trips are quite a bit cheaper than the Karwa bus service that operates in Doha, where a round trip ticket costs 10 QAR. For safety, station platforms have full-length barrier doors that only open when a train is ready for boarding. The system is fully driverless, and as a result the large windows at either end of the train are extremely popular with passengers to look out at the tracks ahead.

The Metro is a continuing work in progress, and as of the soft opening earlier this month, only 13 stations along the Red Line are currently open (10 underground, and 3 above ground). More stations along both ends of the Red Line are planned, along with a spur connecting Doha’s airport. Two other lines are currently under construction, the Green (Education) Line, as well as the Gold (Historic) line. Phase 1 of the system is planned to be complete for the World Cup and will have nearly 40 stations across the three lines, with central interchange point at Msheireb. A future Blue (City) line is also planned, and once fully realized, the Doha Metro is envisioned to have nearly a hundred operational stations.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed my visit to Qatar. Initially I had been fascinated with the city of Dubai, but many travelers to that city have stated that it feels a little “soulless” – they’ve given up much of their history to steam forward with glittery skyscrapers. In contrast, it seems that Qatar has found an interesting balance of ultra modern skyscrapers and planned cities, while respecting their rich history (take a visit to the traditional market Souq Waqif – you won’t be disappointed), and incorporating traditional elements in modern architecture, like on the Metro.

After the recent, tragic crash on the Harlem Line, the topic of third rail has become a talking point in the media. For those not exceptionally familiar with railroading (who have been frequenting the site as of late), electric trains can be powered by various methods, and most railroad systems picked one method of power for their road. Since Metro-North is made up of two historical railroad systems – the New York Central, and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford – you will not find just one method of powering electric trains here. One common type of power, which is seen on the New Haven Line, is the overhead catenary system. Wires above the train carry electricity, and trains have special “arms” called pantographs that reach up and connect with these wires.

Drawing of the bottom contact third rail invented by William Wilgus and Frank Sprague, from the patent documentation.

The other common method of train power, the third rail, comes in a few different “flavors,” but the concept on each is similar – an extra rail that conducts electricity is placed on the ground, and special shoes on the train connect with it and draw power. The New York City subway and Long Island Railroad, for example, use an over running third rail, where power is collected from the top of the third rail. This is the oldest type of third rail power. Metro-North, however, uses a method of under running third rail, which is also known as bottom contact third rail (or the Wilgus-Sprague system, for its inventors). As one would gather from the name, the power is collected from the bottom of the third rail. This method was especially invented for use in Grand Central Terminal, and was an improvement on the original by inventors William Wilgus (Chief Engineer of the New York Central) and Frank Sprague for safety. It is still used on the Harlem and Hudson Lines today, and is what was involved the recent crash.

Before I continue on, let’s break down some facts about the third rail in Valhalla, and about under running third rail:

• The railroad tracks running through the area in question have been in service since 1846.
• Under running third rail has been in service in the New York Metropolitan area since 1906.
• Third rail in the area in question was installed in 1983 when the Harlem Line was electrified to Southeast (then Brewster North).
• Over running third rail (like the LIRR uses) is the oldest type of third rail. Under-running third rail was developed later as a safer methodology, as it was less likely to electrocute a worker or trespasser, and better covered from rain, snow, and ice.
• The original NYC subway (IRT) used the older version of third rail because the under running variety had not been invented yet. The Long Island Rail Road followed suit when electrifying due to connections / planned connections with the subway.
• The same year that under running third rail was patented, the legislature of the State of Connecticut banned unprotected third rail technology after several people / animals were electrocuted. The whole concept of under running third rail was that the rail was protected, and thus considered far more safe.
• In modern usage, under running third rail seems appears overwhelmingly safer in comparison to over running. The subway and LIRR have had far more deaths in this manner – from numerous trackworkers, to people walking across the tracks, falling on the tracks, graffiti artists getting zapped, people trying to rescue dropped items, and even peeing on the third rail. Over the five year period from 2002 to 2006, one person was electrocuted by Metro-North’s third rail, while six were electrocuted by the Long Island Rail Road’s.
• The over running third rail used by the LIRR and subway are far more effected by rain, snow, and ice. Even a dropped umbrella onto the tracks managed to shut down the 7 line recently.
• Metro-North is not the only transit system to use under-running third rail. One line in Philadelphia uses it. Historically, a tunnel from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario used it, but that line was de-electrified. Transit systems in Vienna, Warsaw, Sao Paulo (and more) use under-running third rails.
• Few systems using under-running third rail means nothing about the soundness of the technology. It is only a legacy holdover to a country once comprised of many different railroad companies, each of which picked the technology best suited for them. The lines that comprise Metro-North were not even a unified system until 1969, which is why different modes of electrification are used across the system.
• While Chuck “Photo op” Schumer and Richard “Stolen Valor” Blumenthal would prefer to blame a third-rail design that has worked successfully for well over a hundred years, and is safer than the one used by our neighbors, the fact of the matter is that this accident would have 100% been prevented by better driver vigilance and abiding the sign “Do not stop on tracks.”

Two Metro-North diesels meet near the Pleasant Ridge Road crossing in Wingdale, New York.

 
Left: An Alaska Railroad train bound for Fairbanks rounds the bend north of Nenana at sunset. Right: A Genesis pushes southbound on the Danbury Branch, kicking up leaves after departing Cannondale.

The only non-railroad photo to make the top 10, New York’s skyline as seen from the opposite side of the river in New Jersey.

  
Left: An M7 heads toward Manhattan, as seen from the Bronx. Center: A new BNSF locomotive gets some finishing touches at the GE plant in Fort Worth, Texas. Right: An M3 in rush hour service on a foggy fall morning.

A Port Jefferson train pushing west toward Huntington makes a station stop at St. James at sunset.

 
Left: An M7 on the Hudson Line, just south of Scarborough station. Right: A Thanksgiving morning Wassaic shuttle passes Towners, where the old Maybrook Line crossed over the Harlem.

Not all of my favorite photos made the cut, however. Here are some of my favorites from the year:

A PATCO train is a mere streak of light as it crosses the Ben Franklin Bridge into New Jersey.

 
Left: A photoshop edit of one of the Danbury Railway Museum’s steamers, imagining it as if it were operable. Right: A sunset in Brooklyn, from the platform of the Marcy Avenue subway station.

One of my first good photos taken with my drone camera – an aerial view of a train crossing the Moodna Viaduct.

 
Left: A sunset at Amtrak’s Hell Gate Bridge. Right: One of my favorite people shots of the year, Maria working the Upper Harlem Line at Tenmile River.

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Thank you all for a wonderful 2014!

Though we won’t be going as in-depth as my previous tours of Metro-North stations, I did think it would be fun to tour some of the above-ground sections of the NYC subway, focusing on the glass art found at various stations. When trains went back underground – I bailed – and when the art wasn’t glass in the windows or windscreens, I skipped it.

We’ll start our exploration on the 4 Line. If you’re interested in joining up via Metro-North, board a Bronx-bound 4 train to Woodlawn from Grand Central or Harlem-125th Street. We’ll be starting at Woodlawn – the end of the line – and working our way down.

Woodlawn

Artist: Josie Gonzalez Albright

Title: Children at Play

Situated at the very end of the 4 line in the Bronx, Woodlawn’s Arts for Transit piece is located below platform level by the entrance turnstiles. Surrounded by bold colors, children created from faceted glass play across multiple panels. The panels were designed by Josie Gonzalez Albright, a local painter that frequently depicts people in their everyday surroundings. The work was especially inspired by the abundance of park area that surrounds the station.

The subway station itself is most noteworthy for being a connection from Harlem to the Woodlawn Cemetery, the final resting place of icons like Miles Davis. It is also the absolute end of the 4 Line – the tracks end here with yellow bumping blocks.

 
  
  
 

Mosholu Parkway

Artist: Corinne Grondahl

Title: Metromorphosis / Birth of a Station

Bronx textile artist Corinne Grondahl’s bold Arts for Transit piece can be found at Mosholu Parkway station, on both sides of the platform. The work focuses on the passage of time, and changes over time, a concept derived from the original meaning of the word mosholu.

Artist Corinne Grondahl with her Arts for Transit work, photo by nyperson

 
  
   
 
 

Kingsbridge Road

Artist: Mario M. Muller

Title: Urban Motif

From afar one may see the laminated glass panels at Kingsbridge Road and think they depict simple silhouettes, but up close viewing reveals that the simple silhouettes are in fact made of elaborate, colorful brushstrokes. Designed by New York artist that now lives and works in LA, Mario M. Muller, Urban Motif shows the crowds that typically surround the station over the passage of time through both silhouettes and shadows.

 
  
 

Fordham Road

Artist: Moses Ros

Title: Patriasana / Wholesomeland

Bronx artist and architect Moses Ros is behind Fordham Road’s colorful Arts for Transit piece, located in the windows of the station’s mezzanine. Made of faceted and laminated glass arranged in between panels of regular windows, the piece allows you to see Fordham Road’s bustle, side by side with Ros’ artistic renditions of the wares one can purchase on the street.

 
  
  
 
 

That wraps up today’s exploration of the 4 line, next week we’ll be back with some photos of the attractive Arts for Transit pieces at 183rd Street, 176th Street, Mount Eden, 170th Street and 167th Street.

In terms of night photography – or at least, what railfans tend to think about night photography – one usually uses artificial lights to illuminate a posed, unmoving train. Though it seems to be the en vogue thing to do these days, I see little reason to do so other than “because we can.” Most seem to do it for the novelty, or because all the “cool kids” are doing it. Many that take part look to evoke the work of O. Winston Link, arguably the best night railroad photographer ever (though Jack Delano, whose photographs I featured last week, was also an accomplished night photographer – it was never really his “claim to fame,” however). Unfortunately, most fall flat in their endeavor to “be like Link.” While I can see the merits of photographing steam trains at night (the lower light allows one to capture sweeping plumes of smoke from the engine), I see little reason to do it with modern trains. After dark I find it far more fun to capture not the train itself, but the train’s movement, and its environment.

Because of the low ambient light, long exposure photography allows one to record the movement of the train, rendered as blurs of light. In order to get a proper exposure, your camera shutter is open for longer – in some cases for 15 seconds or more (thus a stable resting place, preferably a tripod, is required). Done right, any moving object in the frame shows up as a blur, or a streak. Modern electric trains, like Metro-North’s M7s and M8s, with their shiny and smooth exteriors and LED lights lend themselves to this, becoming graceful blurs. Instead of artificial light, one uses the “natural” (or as natural as the light off a cityscape could be), and the intense colors of a sunset to evoke a completely different mood. Since I don’t really have a post lined up for this week, I figured I’d share some of my recent photographs taken at sunset, or at night… and maybe convince some of you that there is fun to be had after dark, far away from the now all too common “night photo sessions.”

The sun fades, and the colors of sunset slowly begin to appear on the Upper Harlem Line in Dover Plains.

An imposing graffiti-covered support for the Hell Gate Bridge at sunset.

 
Colorful skies over Metro-North stations in the Bronx – Tremont and Melrose.

The sun sets over the Hudson River, near New Hamburg.

 
Sunset over the Northeast Corridor, near Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Connecticut.

A pink sky over Amtrak’s Hell Gate Bridge.

The headlight of an M7 reflects against the waters of the Hudson River at Dobbs Ferry.

The fun part of later hour photography is the motion blur, like this shot at Melrose station…

…or this one at the Saugatuck River Bridge…

…and even this one at Harlem-125th Street.

The low-light of a subway system makes long-exposure photography easy, like these two examples on Chicago’s Blue Line.

While a tripod is best, a nice fence or support in which to rest your camera also works, as seen here on this Chicago L platform.

A Brown Line train and a ferry boat are just mere streaks of light as they pass over the Chicago River. In this instance, the camera’s shutter was open for 20 seconds.

Let the light of the city shine in the ultimate version of long exposure photography. In this case, the Chicago skyline. The tracks of the Ogilvie Transportation Center are just visible at right.

From the attractive Oberbaumbrücke to the unexpected above ground stations, Berlin’s U-Bahn is a captivating transit system. I’m not a big fan of subway stations, likely because I love light, of which there is never quite enough underground. However, some of the U3 Line’s underground stations are hard to ignore. A handful of some of the U-Bahn’s earliest stations are attractive gems. Many were located in the city of Wilmersdorf – then a suburb of Berlin. Conceptually, the stations’ aesthetic was to represent the affluence of the city – represented through elaborate stonework. The resulting stations featured Doric columns, granite floors, wrought iron gates, mosaic tiling, and sandstone-carved sculptures. By 1920 Wilmersdorf was folded into Greater Berlin, but these stations retain both the character and history of its predecessor.

A circa-1915 postcard of Heidelberger Platz station. Image from the Berlin U-Bahn Archive.

Though there are about five stations on the U3 Line that fit that description, we’re going to visit three of them – Hohenzollernplatz, Fehrbelliner Platz, and Heidelberger Platz. All three were designed by architect Wilhelm Leitgebel, with construction beginning in 1909 and opening in 1913.

 
  
   
  
   
 

Our first stop is to Hohenzollernplatz. The station is decorated with ceramic tiling, mosaic inlays in the ceiling, and an eagle motif – representative of the House of Hohenzollern. On the walls of the station are photographs of Hohenzollern Castle, ancestral home of the Hohenzollern family, from which came several kaisers of the German empire.

 
  
  

Fehrbelliner Platz is the next station along the way, and you can board both U3 and U7 trains here. The U7 portion was constructed in the late 1960s, and opened in January 1971. It is much more modern, and lacks the charm of the original U3 station. Much of the U3 platform, however, looks similar to the way it did at opening in 1913. The station features both historical photos and ceramic tiling. Octagonal central supports are covered in ceramic plates, and the walls have an inlay showing a historical train car. Wrought iron gates and grilles, some of which remind me of Grand Central, were designed by Michael Römmisch.

 
  
   
 
  
 
   
  
 
  
 

The last station on this Underground tour is Heidelberger Platz, which was constructed deep underground to avoid another rail line. The station is comprised of several groin vaults supported by squat columns on an island platform. Sculpted on each of these columns is a different animal, all creations of sculptor Martin Meyer-Pyritz. Additional sculptural elements, like the traditional winged wheel symbol of transportation, can be found within. Mosaic tiles found at the platform entranceways complete the attractive aesthetic, and depict flowers and the coat of arms of Wilmersdorf.

A total of 170 stations across nine lines make up Berlin’s U-Bahn system, and it is obvious that not all of them are going to be amazing bits of architecture. However, stations like those on the U3 Line make the system a delight to explore, to photograph, and perhaps even to visit from thousands of miles away (and through a computer monitor).