Jersey Mike's Rail Adventures: 09-07-03: PHOTOS: High Line Budds

So last Fourth of July the West Jersey Chapter NHRS was planning one of their informal trips to NYC to check out the new High Line Park that had opened not long before. I used this as another opportunity to try to catch as many RFW rides on the older equipment before they vanished and for this trip I decided to tackle the C train and its 1962 Budd R32's.

Blah, blah, blah you can see all of the photos here:

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics/09-07-03_HIGH_LINE_BUDDS/-Thumbnails.html

Before we reach the headline event on the way to NYC I made a little side trip on Philly's Market-Frankford Line to check out the completed Market Elevated rebuild. It was basically as bland and sterile as the Frankford Elevated as evidenced here at the new 52nd St station.

The famous section of Elevated track with the open trackbed in Darby Borough has been closed in to match the rest of the El.

Millbourne had been reopened and gone were the wooden platforms and crossover walkway. At least one could change directions without leaving fare control now. Here #1150 makes a station stop.

Wow, very fancy digs. I'm sure the stations 7 regular riders will be very happy with all of the improvements.

The next day I took the RiverLINE to the new Trenton Nsit Center.

I got off at Newark Penn Station to transfer to The PATH. Here the 90LA signal is showing approach over the single track bridge at DOCK.

At Chambers St on the (A)(C) I noticed that a new Panel had replaced the GRS pistol grip machine in the old Chambers WTC tower and I tries my best to get some non-blurry photos.

After stopping for a bite to eat with the others in my party on 14th St we walked to the High Line Park. Although the rail elements were a bit...reproductionish, it was still a well executed piece of urban engineering.

I know they didn't want the green elements to get trampled, but I felt there were way too many "keep out" zones as I would expect in a public park. Perhaps it should be renamed High Line botanic gardens. Playing frisbee up there would certainly be interesting.

There is not much more I can say about the park that hasn't been covered to death by blogging hipsters, but I can thank the my informal friends for setting up the trip.

After the park I went back over to the 8th Ave Line and proceeded to C-anal street which seems to have developed a hard on for Grade Timers.

There I did my best to take some pictures of the endangered CANAL tower.

Is it just me or did they put up lace curtains? o.0

Alright, alright. I know I have been a bit of a tease so here is what you have all been waiting for...R32 p0rh!!

I even got some video of the R32's crossing over to the center tracks.

At this point I took video on the C all the way between 14th St and Lafayette Ave in Brooklyn. After Lafayette I already had video from the express tracks and who really wants to watch RFW video on a local. I'll post the individual videos in another post, but here is a link to the first element of my Let's Ride NYC Subway Episode 5 playlist.

At Utica Ave I tried in vain to take some photos of the part-time tower there at the end of the platform.

I had better luck with the lever 29 signal on the eastbound express track.

I transfered to a westbound R32 at Euclid Ave then rode back to East New York to transfer to the L to see how the CBTC was working out. From the platform I caught the last two R42 trainsets on the J/Z.

Of course completely uninteresting and un-fun R143's were running on the L.

At least there were some signals still in operation on the line. I tried to see how the CTBC system was working, but due to the stupid smear-o-vision on the cab door I could barely make out the display. Of course the NYCS is already so slowed down I couldn't really tell if the new signaling had made things even slower.

One PATH ride back at Newark later I caught a PL42 as it waited to depart with a Raritan Valley Line train.

Transfer back to the RiverLINE at Trenton I was presented with some the best photo ops of the day. Here some multi levels pass by the 16BW signal at FAIR interlocking in order to turn back on the Hill Track.