New Uni’s and Carts For MNR Beer Guys

Posted on January 27, 2012 by TJ

Anyone notice the new uniforms, and the new signage on the carts, for the beer guys in Grand Central?

Until recently, they wore light blue polo shirts. I assume they wore some sort of pants as well, but their legs are typically obscured by their beer carts.

The new uni’s feature a seasonal jacket similar to one worn by a ’50s bellhop. The “bartenders,” as they are officially known, bear a badge stating “Trackside Commissary.”

A Metro-North spokesperson said both the carts and the uniforms are an effort on the part of the railroad to “update the operation of its commissary.” The concept of the commissary, says Marjorie Anders, is a railroad tradition. Commissaries kept rail cars stocked with food, and drink.

GCT’s 20 carts, and 20 bartenders, were updated January 17. “The uniforms are smart looking,” says Anders.

The carts are testing healthier dining options, adds Anders, including granola bars and protein bars and trail mix.  There may be some new brews in the mix too.

The carts have new lights and display cases. “I think they look spiffier,” says Anders.

Budweiser and Coca Cola are the sponsors, but the product offerings are not limited to those vendors.

So far, commuters seem to like the new garb. “We saw an uptick in sales the first week [of the rebranding],” says MNR’s Anders.

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A Hitch-Biker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Posted on January 27, 2012 by TJ

Four for four, folks.

Yes, four times in the past two weeks, with rain in the air, on the ground, and in the forecast, I set out on foot for Hawthorne station.

And four times, I was picked up by a motorist.

Those include the lady across the street, the guy next door, the lady a few doors down and, as of today, the Ghost of Commuting Future, a fellow biker I’d had a brief interaction with last month.

Today’s ride, unlike the other three, happened well into my walk. I’d seen him as I’d approached Chelsea Bridge. I nodded hello. He offered ‘Good morning.’

A moment later, he and his wife pulled over to the side of the road and offered me a warm, dry spot in their automobile. She apologized for the mess in the back seat, which I’ve gotten a lot of in the last few weeks.

We discussed the perils of biking in Hawthorne, and, within minutes, pulled into the station.

We shook hands and went our separate ways along the platform.

Four for four.

Small town, USA.

Not bad.

Posted in Hawthorne, Walk to Work | Leave a comment

Rapping, Harmonica Playing Conductor Entertains Riders

Posted on January 25, 2012 by TJ

A conductor who appears to be working on a LIRR train gave a little performance, including harmonica, a “hat trick” involving his blue chapeau, (mercifully short) rapping, and some Borscht Belt humor, to riders recently.

The video is posted on Huffington Post.

Based on his musical skills, I’d advise, don’t quit your day job.

And hopefully the MTA won’t take your day job after this not-in-the-handbook performance.

Posted in Conductor, LIRR | Tagged | 1 Comment

Brits Rule in Trainswatting Tourney

Posted on January 25, 2012 by TJ

The English are largely favored to bring home the squash Tournament of Champions trophy, a.k.a. Trainswatting, a.k.a. that squash event you pass in Grand Central each day, as the semifinals go down this eve.

Three of the four semifinalists are English. James Willstrop steps into the cage against compatriot Daryl Selby at 7, while Nick Matthew faces off against the lone non-Brit in the semi’s, Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, at 8 p.m.

The women’s semi’s are before and after the men’s matches, and show much greater diversity: The lady racketeers are from New Zealand, India, the Netherlands and Egypt.

In fact, Egyptians dominate squash; Remy Ashour won the men’s title last year, defeating Nick Matthew.

Gaultier says, Viva la difference!

I used to write a bit more about this event, seeing as it’s in Grand Central and all–I once even wrote a newspaper article about it, back when there were, like, newspapers–but really haven’t felt the urge this year.

But I’ve seen the curious onlookers staring at the action in the glass cube before heading off to their train.

Do you think more people would watch if it was ultimate fighting?

[images: TOC squash]

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Chase-ing the Evening Train to Greenwich

Posted on January 23, 2012 by TJ

Chase Carey, one of the most powerful media figures in the world, hops the beleaguered New Haven Line from Grand Central home to the Connecticut suburbs most days, despite having a princely car allowance.

Carey, News Corp.’s president and CEO and likely successor to Rupert Murdoch, made over $30 million last year. But he prefers the rails to the chauffeured shelter of a Town Car. He also prefers a tasty Bud tall boy.

Reports the NY Times: 

He regularly orders a hamburger and fries during power lunches in News Corporation’s third-floor executive dining room and rides a packed commuter train home to the Connecticut suburbs, often popping a can of Budweiser on the way, despite having “the highest car allowance available to a senior executive,” according to a 2009 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.   

Carey may not be on par with Laura Linney riding the rails to Stamford, but the ‘stache undoubtedly sets him apart from the rest of the Dashing Dans/Don Drapers on MNR.

Posted in Beer, Greenwich, New Haven Line | Tagged | 1 Comment

Metro-North ‘Pledges’ Better Performance

Posted on January 23, 2012 by TJ

Metro-North Railroad has pledged its commitment to riders, and they’ve put it in writing.

Our beloved railroad has promised:

A Safe, Reliable Ride, including heat in winter, AC in summer, clean restrooms and working PA systems, along with a seat for your arse. “Metro-North will use best efforts to schedule service to meet anticipated demand so as to provide a seat for every customer and conductors will enforce rules to maximize seat availability,” it says.

Metro-North also pledged Accurate and Timely Information, Courteous Employees, and A Clean Environment–including trains and stations.

Not sure what precipidated this blast of goodwill from Metro-North.

Hopefully it doesn’t presage a fare hike?

Posted in Metro North | 1 Comment

Cracked Track Makes Morning Whack

Posted on January 19, 2012 by TJ

Seems as though the Harlem Line as just as screwed up as Trainjotting’s site this morning. (In case you missed it, a domain name snafu meant that everything from February 2010 until present disappeared from Trainjotting. To make matters worse, the top story on the site had a photo of Steve Perry from Journey, and some rider with “Oh Sherry” cranking out of his iPod.)

There was track damage on the line this morning. I heard about it from 1010WINS at 7:15 and forgot about it, assuming stuff work itself out by the time I got on board an hour later.

Alas, no. We crawled across from the tinylittlehistoric house in North White Plains, and came to a stop in between the tiny house and the Hertz.

“Ladies and gentlemen, there’s a broken rail south of North White Plains,” said the conductor at 8:31. “We’re sorry for your inconvenience. There will be a 10-15 minute delay.”

We groaned. The man in front of me stared at his reading material, which was–get this– “Introduction: Business Aspects of Licensing and the Fundamental Principles of Transactional Drafting.”

At 8:44, we were ready to go. We being the riders–the train, not so much.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the conductor, “it looks like we’ll have to add another 10 minutes on top of the previous 10 minutes.”

Groans.

“Sorry,” he said.

People got up to use their cellphones and call in late.

“What’s the rule in college,” quipped one guy. “If the professor’s not there in 10 minutes, you open the doors and go home?”

Titters.

The guy in front of me still stared at the cover of “Introduction: Business Aspects of Licensing and the Fundamental Principles of Transactional Drafting,” as if frightened of actually cracking it open.

We caught a break at 8:47, and started moving. We were at White Plains at 8:53, and Grand Central exactly 30 minutes later–and 19 minutes late.

Talk about an unpleasant Journey.

 

Posted in 8:16, Hertz, iPod, North White Plains | Leave a comment

Details Emerge on New Hawthorne Cafe

Posted on January 18, 2012 by TJ

We got a sneak peek at the soon to open Hawthorne train station cafe today. Here’s what we learned: It’s slated to open in 2-3 weeks, owner Gerry Petraglia doesn’t have a name for it yet, and it’s an attractive space that will be a welcome addition–and the most significant one in years–to Hawthorne’s train station area.

Petraglia is a 37 year old from Yonkers who lives in town, and has two small children. He’s a home builder with no restaurant experience heretofore, who decided to take on the train station building to give residents “something different in the area than the regular delis.”

He describes the concept as a “luncheonette-cafe,” and says the overhaul of the decrepit station building was massive–he’s on the hook for easily into the six figures.

“There was no plumbing, no heating, nothing,” he says. “Everything was our own penny.”

Hours look to be 5 a.m. through the evening commute, with wraps and sandwiches to go as well as seating for 15 or so. There’s a tidy little dining area facing the station, so you could sip your java on cold days such as yesterday, and run for your train soon as you see it lumbering into Hawthorne station.

One issue is parking. While I was lurking outside the space this morning, one of the Hawthorne Taxi guys wandered over to talk about the space. He expressed concern that there would be enough parking in a lot that obviously is filled each weekday.

Petraglia says the town is giving the cafe eight parking spots.

The front of the building, facing Elwood, features a long counter area. The dining room is on the northern side of the building.

A great looking dark wood ceiling–the cafe’s best feature–looms above it all.

“It’s something you’d see in Manhattan,” says Petraglia of his new venture, “not around here.”

Kudos to Gerry for investing…heavily…in Hawthorne.

Posted in Hawthorne | Leave a comment

Name the Baby Born on the PATH Train

Posted on January 17, 2012 by TJ

As you’ve probably heard by now, a baby was born on the PATH train, en route from New Jersey to Manhattan, around 10 a.m. yesterday.

Rabita Sarkar is the mother. She and husband Aditya Saurabh have thus far withheld the name of the baby, a healthy boy who popped out on the floor of the subway train, until they share the name with their friends and loved ones.

They did share his nickname: Jhatpat, which means “speedy” in Hindi.

But let us help the young couple, and come up with a name for the little feller.

Some options: Hudson, for obvious reasons.

Rio.

Harrison, for the stop from where his folks departed from.

Christopher, one of the stops skipped en route to their destination at 33rd.

Two Buck Chuck, an homage to the cost of a PATH ride.

Suggestions?

Posted in PATH | Tagged | 2 Comments

Railroads Expand Seats to Meet Expanding Rider Girth

Posted on January 17, 2012 by TJ

Call it the space race: as riders get bigger and fatter, railroads are forced to factor in larger seat space to their designs for new cars. (The airlines conveniently overlook America’s expanding derriere volume.)

New Jersey Transit plans to add 2.2 inches to its current 17.55 inch seats as it designs a batch of new double decker trains, reports the NY Times.

The problem of American waists that are too big for seats meant to accommodate them is certainly not new. Today, everything from love seats to toilet seats can be built bigger to accommodate wider profiles, and the seats offered on public transportation are no different.       

Each time an agency decides to purchase new trains or buses, it must consider whether to make its seats wider, knowing that a decision to do so could come at the expense of passenger capacity.       

Amtrak is also adding larger seat space to its new trains.

The NYC subways, Metro-North and LIRR, on the other hand, are holding the line on slimmer seating.

Reports the Times:

The Metro-North and Long Island railroads are expected to request bids for a new fleet of M-9 train cars next month. In their preliminary proposal, the railroads have asked for double seats that can handle a 400-pound load, but they did not change their seat width.      

Cesar Vergara, an industrial designer who worked with Metro-North on its M-8 cars and whose plans will remain the same for the new bid, said the 58-inch-wide three-seaters have middle seats designed to look larger.      

“The seats were sewn so that the center part looks a little wider and more appealing,” Mr. Vergara said.      

[image: NY Times]

Posted in LIRR, M9, Metro North | 1 Comment