The Jewel in the Subway Crown

On March 9, 2013March 9, 2013 By bratislavIn Architecture in NYC, NYC, Public Transit, Trains1 Comment

The New York City Subway isn’t quite as old as London’s Tube. In fact, it isn’t even the oldest in the Americas – that distinction goes to Boston. But when it did open, over a century ago, it was a momentous occasion. One that would change the course of the city’s development, and give it the very pulse it’s known for today. The year was 1904. The 27th of October was the chosen date, and the station where it all began – City Hall, in lower Manhattan.

On the last weekend of February, I had the rare privilege to tour City Hall Station – the very birthplace of New York’s Subway – a station that has been lying abandoned since 1945. Here are a few chosen images and accompanying descriptions from my visit.

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We gather at the front end of the downtown platforms at Brooklyn Bridge Station. After checking in, we file into the first car of a terminating #6 train, which has just offloaded the last of its fare-paying passengers. Traveling some 600-feet around a sharp curve, we alight minutes later by the grand entrance that leads to the mezzanine level of City Hall Station.

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150 years of Tube’ing

On February 17, 2013 By bratislavIn London, London Underground, Public Transit, Trains, Travel3 Comments

Prologue

Browsing the magazine section at WHSmith in Heathrow’s Terminal 5, I come across ‘Modern Railways‘, one of many UK-based rail mags. Of the lot, its cover is most appealing to me – a special issue on ‘150 years of the Underground‘. Without further ado, I drop a few more quid than planned, and pack it in to my carry-on bag.

Despite my best intentions, the magazine remains there till its time to use the bag again – on a short trip to Bombay i.e. Reading it on the flight out of Delhi, I discover, to my utmost delight, that special runs are planned in London to commemorate the occasion – starting on the 13th of January – the very day I will be transiting through the city again 😉

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It is a chilly, gray January morning in London (shocker!) as I make my way from the Tube station to my cousin’s pad in Hampstead. A quick, but rather filling, breakfast in his neighbourhood, and then we’re off on our jaunt – me willingly, him not so!

Scurrying between the Northern Line platforms and those of the sub-surface lines at Moorgate, I glance at my watch – 12:08 – two minutes to departure! Rushing through the final stairwell, I exclaim, ‘I can smell it’. My excitement is contained momentarily by a tensile barrier, as I join hundreds of onlookers, who, like me, haven’t been fortunate enough to get a seat on the coveted train. Regardless, we’ve made it here, and just in time to watch her depart…

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Alpine Train’ing

On August 28, 2012August 30, 2012 By bratislavIn Food & Drink, Public Transit, Switzerland, Trains, Travel4 Comments

There are plenty of window seats to choose from as we pull out of Cointrin International but at Cornavin the carriage starts to fill quickly. I soon realise that I’m sitting on the wrong side – the Swiss follow British running practices! Determined to find a window seat on the ‘correct’ side, I make my way to the dining car.

The Swiss rail system is every bit a marvel, and a complete joy to experience. Trains thread their way through the length and breadth of the country, connecting the largest towns with the tiniest of hamlets. Schedules are frequent, connections seamless, fares affordable and the trains themselves are comfortable and always punctual! Better still, the dining car is alive and well here and continues to uphold the gold standard in timeless rail travel – table linen, chinaware, waiter service and a full menu!

For me to ride these trains is nothing short of a privilege and the dining car brings back pleasant memories of saloon travel in India. I tuck into my croissant, take a sip of my stiffly brewed Lavazza, and check off ‘most desired rail system’ #2 from my list 😉

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Pueblo Pickings

On June 28, 2012June 29, 2012 By bratislavIn Food & Drink, Trains, Travel3 Comments

‘Drink plenty of water’, he reassures me, ‘and welcome to Santa Fe!’ With that said, Tenzin, who mans the front desk at the Sage Inn, moves on to the next guest. I’ve just completed a marathon session of travel – 19 hours of flying later, I am 12 and a half hours west of where I started, with a 20C (66F) variation in temperature, and a 7000 ft gain in altitude! My body is in complete shock and begins to offer the first signs of resistance – a stiff headache! But Tenzin probably knows a thing or two about this – after all, he hails from Tibet! I heed his advise, drop my bags off, and head out towards Santa Fe’s newest attraction, which conveniently enough, lies across the street from my hotel.

One track mind

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway never quite made it to Santa Fe, or at least its mainline didn’t! And nor does its present day successor, the mighty Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Even puny little Amtrak gives it a miss, instead calling on Lamy, some 20 miles south. But regardless, Santa Fe continues to celebrate its place in American railway history through its most recent urban renewal project, the Railyard. This once decrepit railroad yard today boasts contemporary art galleries, performance spaces, a Hispanic cultural centre, a farmers market, boutiques and restaurants, and a beautifully landscaped park designed by New York-based architects. But most importantly, trains continue to roll in to its historic depot! And that in itself is a sight for my very weary eyes..

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Monday afternoon in Москва́ !

On March 20, 2012March 26, 2012 By bratislavIn Trains, TravelLeave a comment

As far as layovers go, I’m pretty excited about this one! It will be cold for sure, and tiring too, but a welcome distraction from the depression that sets in when one leaves home!

I call the airport to check my flight status and am informed that there’s a delay of about 3 hours! We finally take off over 4 hours late and I begin to do the mental math – I’ll now have just a smattering of hours between flights!

An endless carpet of white greets us on touch down in Sheremetyevo and as the aircraft slows to a crawl, fresh snow can be observed on the ground. Clearly, not a very promising start!

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Reigning in the Rann

On February 28, 2012March 3, 2012 By bratislavIn India, Trains, Travel1 Comment

My only connection with the town of Palanpur, thus far, was the last name of a fellow student in college. Evidently, he hailed from the town’s royal family! The royals have long gone, as has my friend, the Sahibzada, who is now settled in the UK! Today, Palanpur – not to be confused with it’s namesake in Himachal – is nothing more than a district headquarter bordering Rajasthan, with the locals speaking a peculiar dialect of Gujarati, with hints of Rajasthani in it!

We have arrived here on a crisp January morning on the overnight train from Bombay and have a few hours to kill before heading back west! Sounds a little counter-productive, I know, but sometimes you just have to go east in order to go west 🙂

January is the month of Makar Sankranti in western India, a festival of harvest, and one that marks the peak of winter. It is also kite-flying season, and the men and machines that maketh the colourful kites are out in full force on the streets of Palanpur!

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Everything but the Canyon!

On October 31, 2011November 7, 2011 By bratislavIn Trains, TravelLeave a comment

As we taxi towards our gate, the flight attendant announces, ‘in an effort to keep the cabin cool, we request all our passengers to please lower their window blinds and keep their vents in the open position’. It is a most unusual request, certainly one that I have never heard before, but given that it is 114F or 45.5C in Phoenix at the moment, it probably makes sense! As I begin to lower my window blind, I scan the scene outside – no surprises here – there isn’t a soul to be seen anywhere on the tarmac!

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ALCOs day out!

On July 31, 2011August 1, 2011 By bratislavIn Food & Drink, Trains, Travel3 Comments

There are fans and then there are rail fans! There are rail fans and then there are specialist rail fans!! Meet Jon and Vic – the ALCO fans! Although based out of the UK, they travel the world to seek out and chase (in rail fan speak) the last of the operational ALCOs. India remains a stronghold of ALCO diesel locomotives, and expectedly so, is big on their list. That’s also how I happen to know them!

ALCO expands to American Locomotive Company. Founded in 1901 in Schenectady NY, it built steam and diesel locomotives till production ended in ’69. If you happen to come across an ALCO lover however, chances are they’ll be fans of the company’s diesels, more than anything else!

On a pleasant June morning in south eastern Pennsylvania, we join them on the ‘Lansdale Day Special’. It’s been about an hour since we left the town of West Chester and everything appears calm on board till we grind to a halt for an impromptu photo stop! The fans scramble, get into position track side and click away to their hearts content! There’s no mistaking the scene – this is a true ALCO fan trip 😉

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Train to the Lore of the Coast

On March 13, 2011March 13, 2011 By bratislavIn Food & Drink, India, Trains, Travel1 Comment

My NRI friends insist that 200 Rupees is peanuts for a coolie (porter). I remind them gently that the cost of a ticket for the 451 km journey is only 116! They finally concede, and the economist amongst them concludes – the railways have clearly not kept up with inflation!

It is 7:30 AM at Yesvantpur Junction, a satellite rail terminus in a namesake Bangalore suburb, and we are about to board train #6515 to Mangalore, some 10 hours away, in second class ordinary accommodation! Not long ago, I had fetched my NRI friends from the very posh Taj West End hotel, where they had stayed the night, on arrival from Egypt the previous day!

NRI = Non Resident Indians, and at the risk of inviting the wrath of many a reader, I shall desist from using that term here forth 😉

There’s a nip in the air as we make our way out of Bangalore, and once clear of its industrial burbs, cleaner air, distinctly better views and the promise of a spectacular journey await!

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Fall on the Broad Top!

On November 9, 2010November 10, 2010 By bratislavIn Trains, Travel2 Comments

For those of you who’ve followed my blog, it’s been a little over two months since I visited Portland, ME. But my pursuit for ‘Narrow Gauge happiness‘ didn’t quite end there! I persist late into the year and head south this time, to the state of Pennsylvania.

Huntingdon, PA, where we’ll stay for the night, is about 60 miles closer to NYC than Portland, ME is. Thankfully, my journey there is a lot less complicated too! And there’s good reason why I’ve waited this long to get my fix again – to experience it during the Northeast spectacle that is Fall!

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brat's ramblings

Category: Trains