New York City Trip Log - Getting There (Part 3)
The last two entries touched on the first two halves of my journey to New York City. Hopefully, I'll be able to fit the rest of the trip in this entry.
Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station
As I mentioned in the previous entry, the train stopped for half an hour at Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station. It is a major Amtrak transfer point. Six different routes pass through here, two of which go to Toronto and Ontario. The fact that it serves the capital of New York state doesn't hurt, ether. The station itself looks a bit old-school, but it was actually built back in 2003. It was originally supposed to have four tracks, but one of the tracks got cut due to lack of funds, so they just left the space empty.
I wasn't able to get a good shot of the station, so I had to settle for this video panorama:
The station has a waiting room in the overhead walkway that connects the platforms to the station:
...And a nicer waiting room in the main lobby:
The main lobby also had a small store, a cafe and some surprisingly clean bathrooms. I was hoping to be able to grab one of the nifty Amtrak route travel guides, but I had to settle for a more general guide to all the places you can see using Amtrak throughout New York state.
By the way, here are some shots of the Lake Shore Limited:
And a train on the other platform:
Riding Along Hudson River
After leaving the station, Lake Shore Limited followed Hudson River. While I took a lot of pictures, most of them weren't much to look at. There are so many times you can take pictures of the foggy New York mountains before they get boring. But that doesn't mean I don't have anything to share at all.
Some houses perched atop of the cliff:
A fancy-looking house off in the distance:
Some houses:
At Croton-Harmon station, I noticed something odd. This was the point where the Metro-North Railroad commuter rail system (one of three commuter rail systems that fill the same niche as Metra does in Chicagoland) is supposed to switch from diesel-powered locomotives to electric-powered locomotives. Except I didn't see any overhead wires. At all.
Than I looked down at the rails and noticed something odd.
A third rail.
Now, third rails are pretty common in subway systems, or even half-elevated rapid transit systems like the Chicago 'L', but I've never seen them on commuter rails. The third rail has an advantage over the overhead wire - it is much more resistant to storm and other windy weather. There is a reason why, during the Great Chicago Blizzard of February 2011, the 'L' is the only mode of transportation to continue to function more or less normally. But the third rail also carries danger - it makes it much easier for people to get a deadly dose of electricity if they take so much as one step the wrong way. This is why you don't really see third-rail power outside cities - suburban governments tend to get twitchy at the thought of letting something this life-threatening through their jurisdictions.
I wondered why the Hudson Line was an exception.
A Note About Lake Shore Limited Ridership Patterns
When I talked about Amtrak on my mom's LJ, people have wondered how many people actually take those long-distance Amtrak trains all the way through. If my trip is any indication, more than you would think. Judging by the boarding tags (that's what I call the little slips of paper coach car attendants put above the seats), a little over half of the passengers were traveling to either New York City or Boston. The rest either got off or got on somewhere between Chicago and New York/Boston. Lots of them seemed to have gotten on at Cleveland, which stuck me as odd, since, as I mentioned in the earlier post, trains tend to stop at Cleveland in the middle of the night.
Arriving in New York City
As the train got closer to New York City, the passengers were asked to vacate the lounge. They had to clean up the lounge car in preparation for the next trip. So I went back to my seat and... I think I might have slept. I'm not sure.
As the train pulled into New York City, the passengers started getting out their luggage and lining up towards the doors. I assumed that it won't be long before we would be able to get off.
I assumed wrong.
In order to get to the New York Penn Station, the trains need to take one of the two tunnels. Once they get there, getting into the station is on first-come, first-serve basis. When trains enter Chicago Union Station, they usually head straight for whatever gate they are assigned. But Penn Station has so many Amtrak and commuter trains using so many gates that sometimes, the trains have to wait to get their gate assigned right outside the station. And that's pretty much what happened with my train.
We had to stand for fifteen minutes until we were finally assigned a gate. But once the gate was assigned, the train pulled inside and the passengers were hustled off the train as fast as the passengers were assigned seats in Chicago. Maybe even faster. Of course, at that point, the passengers didn't need much encouragement.
Here is the first shot I took as I got off the train.
Well, since I still have some room, I might as well squeeze in some pictures from New York City itself.
New York City - First Impressions
It occurs to me that I never really took the time to describe them in anything but cursory detail. And while tweelore and annanov know who I am talking about, most of the people reading this probably have no idea who they are. Considering that I spent several days with them, I figured I should try to rectify it.
I have known Randi ever since I was a junior in high school. I didn't know her husband, Don, for quite as long, but given how close those two are, it was really only a matter of time. Last summer, they moved to New York City from a town in Florida in order to pursue their artistic and professional ambitions - and so far, they have been doing reasonably well.
I saw Randi and Don almost as soon as I got up to the concourse. They asked me if I wanted to drop off my luggage in their place first. Given that it was already almost 7:00 PM local time, I figured it probably wasn't worth the trouble. Besides, I was traveling light, so it's not like carrying it around was too much of a burden.
Not that it stopped Randi and Don from helping me carry the luggage anyway.
When we stepped out of Penn Station, I was immediately struck by the sheer mass and density of it all. I have never seen so many things backed in so many buildings so densely. Chicago may have been the birthplace of skyscrapers, but Manhattan took the concept of squeezing as much space out of limited land to a whole new level.It seemed like the buildings were squeezed against each other, and stores were squeezed into the buildings the way you might squeeze your luggage into two-narrow suitcase.
I was also astonished by all the street vendors. In Chicago, hundreds of street vendors were driven out of business by fees and regulations. I wondered if New York City government charged vendor fees, but Don told me that they did, and those fees were quite steep. I guess New York City street vendors make bigger profit... or maybe the city is just so used to them that nobody seriously considered any laws that would force them to shut down.
I also noticed that the streets were teeming with newsstands and, oddly enough, places were you could buy fruits and vegetables. Garbage bags were left on the streets in large piles - apparently, they got picked up once a week.
My mom called New York City "the most European city in America." I was starting to see what she meant.
Slowly but surely, Randi, Don and I made our way towards the Times Square. Don advised me not to take pictures without a flash - all the billboards pretty much ensured that there would be plenty of light even during the night. Turned out, he was right. Thanks to his advice, I was able to get these shots.
One billboard was supposed to take pictures of whoever was under it at the moment. But apparently, there was some kind of time delay, so it didn't quite work for us
After a visit to Times Square, we took the subway to get some groceries (in a grocery store that was located, oddly enough, at the bottom floor of the Time Warner building - see what I mean about utilizing every inch of every building) and headed back to their place.
I enjoyed my first few hours in New York City, and I would have enjoyed them a lot more if it weren't for one thing. While walking through Manhattan, Randi would up twisting her ankle. She assured me and Don that she was fine and she was totally okay to walk. And even though it would have probably been better for her to rest for the next few days, Randi was not about to spend the rest of my visit couch-ridden.
Even now, I can't help but feel a little guilty.
In the next post, I will try to cover my first full day in New York City - or, at least, as much of it as I can.
Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station
As I mentioned in the previous entry, the train stopped for half an hour at Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station. It is a major Amtrak transfer point. Six different routes pass through here, two of which go to Toronto and Ontario. The fact that it serves the capital of New York state doesn't hurt, ether. The station itself looks a bit old-school, but it was actually built back in 2003. It was originally supposed to have four tracks, but one of the tracks got cut due to lack of funds, so they just left the space empty.
I wasn't able to get a good shot of the station, so I had to settle for this video panorama:
The station has a waiting room in the overhead walkway that connects the platforms to the station:
...And a nicer waiting room in the main lobby:
The main lobby also had a small store, a cafe and some surprisingly clean bathrooms. I was hoping to be able to grab one of the nifty Amtrak route travel guides, but I had to settle for a more general guide to all the places you can see using Amtrak throughout New York state.
By the way, here are some shots of the Lake Shore Limited:
And a train on the other platform:
Riding Along Hudson River
After leaving the station, Lake Shore Limited followed Hudson River. While I took a lot of pictures, most of them weren't much to look at. There are so many times you can take pictures of the foggy New York mountains before they get boring. But that doesn't mean I don't have anything to share at all.
Some houses perched atop of the cliff:
A fancy-looking house off in the distance:
Some houses:
At Croton-Harmon station, I noticed something odd. This was the point where the Metro-North Railroad commuter rail system (one of three commuter rail systems that fill the same niche as Metra does in Chicagoland) is supposed to switch from diesel-powered locomotives to electric-powered locomotives. Except I didn't see any overhead wires. At all.
Than I looked down at the rails and noticed something odd.
A third rail.
Now, third rails are pretty common in subway systems, or even half-elevated rapid transit systems like the Chicago 'L', but I've never seen them on commuter rails. The third rail has an advantage over the overhead wire - it is much more resistant to storm and other windy weather. There is a reason why, during the Great Chicago Blizzard of February 2011, the 'L' is the only mode of transportation to continue to function more or less normally. But the third rail also carries danger - it makes it much easier for people to get a deadly dose of electricity if they take so much as one step the wrong way. This is why you don't really see third-rail power outside cities - suburban governments tend to get twitchy at the thought of letting something this life-threatening through their jurisdictions.
I wondered why the Hudson Line was an exception.
A Note About Lake Shore Limited Ridership Patterns
When I talked about Amtrak on my mom's LJ, people have wondered how many people actually take those long-distance Amtrak trains all the way through. If my trip is any indication, more than you would think. Judging by the boarding tags (that's what I call the little slips of paper coach car attendants put above the seats), a little over half of the passengers were traveling to either New York City or Boston. The rest either got off or got on somewhere between Chicago and New York/Boston. Lots of them seemed to have gotten on at Cleveland, which stuck me as odd, since, as I mentioned in the earlier post, trains tend to stop at Cleveland in the middle of the night.
Arriving in New York City
As the train got closer to New York City, the passengers were asked to vacate the lounge. They had to clean up the lounge car in preparation for the next trip. So I went back to my seat and... I think I might have slept. I'm not sure.
As the train pulled into New York City, the passengers started getting out their luggage and lining up towards the doors. I assumed that it won't be long before we would be able to get off.
I assumed wrong.
In order to get to the New York Penn Station, the trains need to take one of the two tunnels. Once they get there, getting into the station is on first-come, first-serve basis. When trains enter Chicago Union Station, they usually head straight for whatever gate they are assigned. But Penn Station has so many Amtrak and commuter trains using so many gates that sometimes, the trains have to wait to get their gate assigned right outside the station. And that's pretty much what happened with my train.
We had to stand for fifteen minutes until we were finally assigned a gate. But once the gate was assigned, the train pulled inside and the passengers were hustled off the train as fast as the passengers were assigned seats in Chicago. Maybe even faster. Of course, at that point, the passengers didn't need much encouragement.
Here is the first shot I took as I got off the train.
Well, since I still have some room, I might as well squeeze in some pictures from New York City itself.
New York City - First Impressions
It occurs to me that I never really took the time to describe them in anything but cursory detail. And while tweelore and annanov know who I am talking about, most of the people reading this probably have no idea who they are. Considering that I spent several days with them, I figured I should try to rectify it.
I have known Randi ever since I was a junior in high school. I didn't know her husband, Don, for quite as long, but given how close those two are, it was really only a matter of time. Last summer, they moved to New York City from a town in Florida in order to pursue their artistic and professional ambitions - and so far, they have been doing reasonably well.
I saw Randi and Don almost as soon as I got up to the concourse. They asked me if I wanted to drop off my luggage in their place first. Given that it was already almost 7:00 PM local time, I figured it probably wasn't worth the trouble. Besides, I was traveling light, so it's not like carrying it around was too much of a burden.
Not that it stopped Randi and Don from helping me carry the luggage anyway.
When we stepped out of Penn Station, I was immediately struck by the sheer mass and density of it all. I have never seen so many things backed in so many buildings so densely. Chicago may have been the birthplace of skyscrapers, but Manhattan took the concept of squeezing as much space out of limited land to a whole new level.It seemed like the buildings were squeezed against each other, and stores were squeezed into the buildings the way you might squeeze your luggage into two-narrow suitcase.
I was also astonished by all the street vendors. In Chicago, hundreds of street vendors were driven out of business by fees and regulations. I wondered if New York City government charged vendor fees, but Don told me that they did, and those fees were quite steep. I guess New York City street vendors make bigger profit... or maybe the city is just so used to them that nobody seriously considered any laws that would force them to shut down.
I also noticed that the streets were teeming with newsstands and, oddly enough, places were you could buy fruits and vegetables. Garbage bags were left on the streets in large piles - apparently, they got picked up once a week.
My mom called New York City "the most European city in America." I was starting to see what she meant.
Slowly but surely, Randi, Don and I made our way towards the Times Square. Don advised me not to take pictures without a flash - all the billboards pretty much ensured that there would be plenty of light even during the night. Turned out, he was right. Thanks to his advice, I was able to get these shots.
One billboard was supposed to take pictures of whoever was under it at the moment. But apparently, there was some kind of time delay, so it didn't quite work for us
After a visit to Times Square, we took the subway to get some groceries (in a grocery store that was located, oddly enough, at the bottom floor of the Time Warner building - see what I mean about utilizing every inch of every building) and headed back to their place.
I enjoyed my first few hours in New York City, and I would have enjoyed them a lot more if it weren't for one thing. While walking through Manhattan, Randi would up twisting her ankle. She assured me and Don that she was fine and she was totally okay to walk. And even though it would have probably been better for her to rest for the next few days, Randi was not about to spend the rest of my visit couch-ridden.
Even now, I can't help but feel a little guilty.
In the next post, I will try to cover my first full day in New York City - or, at least, as much of it as I can.