Archive for July, 2008
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Three’s Company or a Crowd? Ask Straphanger Joe.
THE POWER OF NOW
At 9:10 a.m. I enter the F-train from my usual spot: the no-man’s land between the two stairs going up to the main level of Roosevelt Station in Jackson Heights.
Inside, a roomful of open seats becomes the setting for a game of musical chairs—and the music has just stopped.
When everyone’s finished jockeying […]
No Comments » - Posted in 23rd Street, F Train, Jackson Heights, Neighbors, Open Seats, Roosevelt, Seat, Straphanger Joe, getting a seat by timcol
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
The Accident That Happened, The Altercation That Never Did
A high-pitched scream came from inside Starbucks. An Asian woman visible through the hole in the store was pushing at her cheeks with her palms and staring at the floor.
2 Comments » - Posted in F Train, I Thought My Commute Sucked, Starbucks Story, cell phone, mishaps by timcol
Friday, July 25th, 2008
Where Else Can You Sleep For $10?
Our favorite conductor over at Derailed has some terrific shots of people passed out on the Metro-North floor.
Conductor Bobby even dreams up a little profile for “Miss July.”
Foods I crave: Jello shots.
Ambition: To not sleep past my station stop. Oh yeah…and end world hunger.
Turn ons: Bar Cars, Long Island Ice tea.
Turn offs: Mean conductors, gravity, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Derailed by TJ
Friday, July 25th, 2008
FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS: The Tunnel Boring Machine at Work
Here’s some video of the giant boring machine digging out a new tunnel 140 feet below Manhattan.
It’s part of the $7.2 billion project to link the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central (Nooooooo!!!!)–and, presumably, vice versa–by extending the subway tunnel.
The 200-ton machine was shipped in pieces from Italy, then reassembled in Long Island city.
[image: […]
No Comments » - Posted in LIRR, MTA by TJ
Friday, July 25th, 2008
Introducing Our Guest Editor
As TJ gets a dreadful sunburn up in Cape Cod next week, Trainjotting will be in the very capable hands of journalist/novelist/memoirist/chiropodist/screenwriter/copywriter/EasyRider Tim Coleman. Tim has a Weegee-esque knack for stumbling upon curious and dubious happenings around Gotham, and a Beat writer’s flair for rendering those happenings in lyrical black and white.
Tim’s unique perspective will […]
No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by TJ
Friday, July 25th, 2008
Metro-North Etiquette, Westchester Mag-Style
The latest edition of Westchester Magazine offers a fairly perfunctory piece on the behaviors that irk Metro-North riders, not unlike what we do here at Trainjotting every damn day.
Writer Sabina Cieszynski hits on all the obvious points: loud talkers, stankin’ foods, people who fail to have their ticket ready for the conductor.
She does raise one […]
No Comments » - Posted in Westchester Magazine by TJ
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
The Charm of the Franklin Avenue Shuttle
The NY Times has a delightful little story (and slide show!) on the best little subway in all of New York. Formerly known as the “ghost train,” the Franklin Avenue shuttle landed a 97.7% on-time percentage in May, tops in the city and about a million points better than the 4.
With its two cars, single […]
No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by TJ
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
A Well-Respected Man Encounters Frustration
Once in a blue moon, what you’re hearing on your iPod just so happens to perfectly mesh with what you’re seeing/feeling/smelling in the outside world. And that was the case this morning. The 8:16 actually pulled into Grand Central a full four minutes early, and the Kinks’ “Better Things” cranked from my new Nano. I […]
No Comments » - Posted in Kinks by TJ
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
The Little Train Station That Could
Some small-town hack has written in the NY Times about efforts to restore the old train station in Yorktown Heights. The little green station was part of the Old Putnam Railroad, which shut down 50 years ago. The train tracks are now a bike path, and the historical society and some local volunteers want to […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Rail Trail, Yorktown by TJ
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall on TJ
I had five minutes before I had to hop on the bike this morning, navigate the sleepy streets of Hummerville, and make my 8:16 train.
I sat with Little G as we set up yet another “Big Car Party,” which sees 8-10 of his larger cars and trucks (White Hummer, Green Monster Truck, Kitty Cat Car […]