From our Westport correspondent Saugatucker:
This morning I was stuck in the Bronx for an hour because of the tunnel fire. A nice, leisurely sunny trip.
Tonight after work, I got on the 7:05 at Grand Central to go home to Westport, where my wife was preparing dinner for me and her parents. I bought a cake downstairs for dessert. It’s now 10:15 and I’m only in New Rochelle. They say a Metro North employee was killed on the tracks in Harrison, and they’re down to one track between Harrison and Rye. After an hour at Pelham, we went backward one station, where we waited another half hour. Our train dumped everyone off on the crowded and cold platform at New Rochelle. A full train pulled in about 20 minutes later, and they said it would run local to New Haven. Now there are four trainloads of disgruntled people packed into this train, but we’re just sitting here, going on two hours.
Conductor says we probably will be here for another half hour before we’re moving again. Somehow I snagged a seat.
Now emergency medical personnel, two doctors, a medical student and a cop are taking away the woman behind me to get her in an ambulance and give her I.V. fluids.
Another announcement: We could be here another 30-40 minutes.
I have with me a cake in a box, a Blackberry, an iPod, and 193 pages left in Dennis Lehane‘s new 704-page novel. People are starting to bail, offering to split cabs to points East.
Me, I’m sitting tight.
SATURDAY UPDATE:
10:42: We’re moving! But we’re moving back toward Grand Central!
10:49: Now we’re moving in the right direction. Slowly.
11:21: Already in Stamford. We’re flying!
11:45: Arrives alive at Westport Station! Elapsed time: 4 hours 40 minutes