24-07-01 PHOTOS: NYC Tourist Traps

Although I live on the Northeast Corridor I don't tend to visit New York City as much as one might expect. It's still pretty expensive to get there, even more expensive to stay there and with recent modernizations, the transit scene there is increasingly bland and pointless. However in the summer of 2024 a friend visiting from Arizona requested a day in NYC to so see a basket of NYC sights they had not seen on an earlier trip. Round trip Amtrak tickets were purchased and an itinerary established. Although I didn't get a ton of rail related photos, you can view them all here ( mirror ).

Day trips to NYC from Baltimore involve getting up early. Fortunately at this time of year its light out before 6am, so catching an Amtrak Regional at 545am wasn't all that uncomfortable. While waiting for our Amtrak train and ACS-86 #616, a southbound MARC commuter run with SC44 #80 stopped on the opposite platform.

While passing Philadelphia's Penn Coach Yard, I noticed that Acela II power car #2111 had been detached from first class car #3255. Also Amtrak Phase 2 heritage P42DC #130 was at the Race Street Engine Terminal.

Approach span beams were going up on the new Portal Bridge.

At New York Penn Station, ACS-86 #616 wound up platformed opposite Phase 3 heritage painted P32AC-DM #708.

Our trip downtown was made possible by R211 #4064 running on an A service.

We'd stumbled upon a great day weather-wise with the blue sky creating some interesting effects at the WTC memorial site.

After the WTC site we walked down to the Battery, deciding that instead of trying to work in a Staten Island Ferry round trip we should head to Brooklyn and walk back across the Brooklyn Bridge. This involved catching a W train at Whitehall to make an A train transfer at Fulton TC. The dim fluorescent 80's interior of R46 #5664 contrasted sharply with the bright LED's of the R178's and R211's.

At Chambers St, R46 #6122 lined up across from R178 #3045.

During the Brooklyn Bridge walk I caught a Reinauer fuel barge moving southward under the Manhattan Bridge.

The next attraction was going to be Grand Central Terminal so we transferred to the Lexington Line at Brooklyn Bridge station. While waiting on an express (4) or (5), I got this photo of R62 #1825 on the (6).

At GCT a quick scan of the upper level tracks yielded Shoreliner III cab car #6317, M3A #8036 and CDoT Shoreliner I's #6219 and #6227.

Walking around the West Side Yard it was nice to see the completed high rise development as well as LIRR trains still out in the open including DM30's #5006 and #517.

I hadn't been around the High Line in a while and was pleasantly surprised to find an elevated walkway and truss bridge combination providing a direct connection to the Penn Station complex.

The Moynihan train hall was oddly quiet as we waited for our 5pm Acela departure. The total amount of walking around the city clocked in at over 8 miles. As a special treat I used some coupons to upgrade the trip back to Acela first class where Coq Au Vin was on the menu.

As a coda to the New York trip, the following day I found myself at the Dorsey MARC station picking up a a different friend for pub trivia night. The 635pm arriving train from DC often meets its opposite from Baltimore right around Dorsey. Today the westbound, with MP36PH-3C #27 arrived first, allowing me to take a photo of MARC MP36PH-3C #20 passing the Restricting indication on the fleeted DORSEY interlocking #1 track signal. The single level cab car on the eastbound train was #7762.

That brings to a close my comparatively "normie" trip to the Windy Apple. Check back next time as I waste a trip to Pittsburgh by only hanging out at the Amtrak Station.