Misery for the G

Water? At 21 St – Van Alst? YA THINK?!!?

These photos are from four years ago. So I hope they get right on that…

NJT's Multilevel Railcars, which may or may not resemble what MNCR may or may not end up purchasing.

Many media outlets are reporting this morning that Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNCR) is seriously considering purchasing double decker rail cars for its Hudson and Harlem commuter lines, which terminate at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.

One interesting aspect of this idea is that MNCR’s Park Avenue tunnel, which leads to Grand Central Terminal, has more restrictive clearances than even the Hudson (North) and East River tunnels used by NJ Transit and LIRR’s multilevel/bilevel cars.

While multilevel trains are typically taller than regular trains, officials in the region have found ways to deal with the narrow clearance of underwater and underground tunnels that provide access into Manhattan. At New Jersey Transit, the bilevel cars feature a sharply beveled roof, which curves at a roughly 45-degree angle to ensure the trains do not scrape against walls.

Metro-North engineers believe their trains would require an even steeper bevel to avoid the walls of the Park Avenue tunnel. And low-hanging wires and underground protrusions might have to be trimmed back.

Other problems/issues to be considered/resolved may or may not include gapping-out when crossing the switches at Grand Central Terminal, HEP ratings, and locomotive availability. However, as usual, some of these issues, as reported by the media, are either much more or much less complicated than they are making them out to be.

Read here what some railfans and railroad employees have to say about all this.

My wife happened upon the accident scene and took the following cell phone photos.

Note: the bus involved in the accident was 2009 Orion VII Next Generation (NG) Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) #4379.

Apparently there was only one working up escalator this morning at PATH’s World Trade Center station. This, folks, sure looks like Pedestrian Level of Service F (LOS F).

Photo by: Remy

The entrance to the walkway on the Bronx side

View of the Inwood Movable Bridge and the Spuyten Duyvil Metro-North train station

View of the Spuyten Duyvil Metro-North train station

a derailed Metro-North train is seen causing a big mess

A Metro-North/CDOT electric M.U. set derailed near the Stamford Yard this morning blocking some tracks and slowing the departure of trains from the yard. As a result service is delayed and conditions on-board are reported to be quite crowded.

Photo is from 1010 WINS. Story via MNCR, SubChat, and 1010 WINS.

• Subway lines shadowed (outlined in gray)
• Service Guide removed
• Accessible Stations list removed
• Bus transfer bubbles compacted
• Parks will be olive colored
• Water will be a deeper blue
• Manhattan will be 30% wider
• Staten Island will be 50% smaller
• Other boroughs enlarged
• Most ferry routes removed

Compare the March 2010 The Map to the New The Map:

March 2010 NYC Subway "The Map"

Proposed new NYC Subway "The Map"

Take a look at many other versions of the NYC Subway Map by browsing my gallery of map scans at Railfanwindow.com.

Source: New York Times

I came across this shuttle bus earlier today. As is not uncommon, it was part of a shuttle bus route connecting Penn Station with the Javits Center. However what was surprising was that this bus was displaying a NYC parking ticket on its windshield!

I don’t like when people park illegally, but come on, ticketing this operation is only going to hurt NYC in the long run. I don’t know where the bus was when it got the ticket, or anything at all about the incident, but it just seems ridiculous. And the fact that the ticket is still sitting there behind the windshield wiper while the driver is present inside the bus means that the driver is probably trying to avoid getting any more tickets by showing that he already has one! That’s a common tactic by delivery truck drivers.

Fun giveaways, model trains, and more

Amtrak will be kicking off their 2010 National Train Day celebration with special events at New York Penn Station today beginning at 12:30 PM.

Hopefully the celebration won’t be ruined by things that make the Big Board look like this:

DELAYED...DELAYED...DELAYED... (May 5, 2010)