New York to Washington DC Amtrak query

[railroadbill]

This has become a very interesting, and to me very useful thread.  Great pics!   The rail route itself and also tips on tickets, weekly passes and areas in NY and Washington to visit are very good to know.

 

Definitely going to Smithsonian air and space museum :-)

 

Previous visits to the US have involved long road trips, and on the west coast, so this will be first 2 city based trip (and east coast) without using a car. We're actually visiting a nephew who is working in Washington so going to NY first seemed a good fit.

 

This will also be the first train trip for me in the US to actually travel from A to B rather than a museum or tourist/preserved line. Apart from  BART. 

 

Should be enough to see rail wise on the train journey to keep me occupied (plus Mrs Railroadbill).  Plenty of notes from the above!

 

Thanks again to all.

 

Bill

[velotrain]

. . . .  this was my first view of the US countryside.

 

Not to quibble, but the NE corridor doesn't really qualify as "countryside", although it occasionally gets closer north of New Haven.

[40019]

This has become a very interesting, and to me very useful thread.  Great pics!   The rail route itself and also tips on tickets, weekly passes and areas in NY and Washington to visit are very good to know.

 

Definitely going to Smithsonian air and space museum :-)

 

Previous visits to the US have involved long road trips, and on the west coast, so this will be first 2 city based trip (and east coast) without using a car. We're actually visiting a nephew who is working in Washington so going to NY first seemed a good fit.

 

This will also be the first train trip for me in the US to actually travel from A to B rather than a museum or tourist/preserved line. Apart from  BART. 

 

Should be enough to see rail wise on the train journey to keep me occupied (plus Mrs Railroadbill).  Plenty of notes from the above!

 

Thanks again to all.

 

Bill

 

 

If you are going to the Smithsonian in Washington, I can also recommend the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles Airport as it has a Space shuttle, Enola Gay & all sorts of other interesting stuff, never been to the actual smithsonian, so interested in other folks opinions as to which is best? Or just do both.

[burgundy]

If you are going to the Smithsonian in Washington, I can also recommend the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles Airport as it has a Space shuttle, Enola Gay & all sorts of other interesting stuff, never been to the actual smithsonian, so interested in other folks opinions as to which is best? Or just do both.

 

I recently visited the Center near Dulles and would agree that it is an absolutely fascinating (and large) collection. You can fly a simulator to land the space shuttle, manned by extremely enthusiastic and well informed docents.

My attention was particularly caught by the display of German WW2 experimental weapons and aircraft which had evidently been "liberated" at the end of the war. There were also these two visitors far from home.

 

It is a long time since I have used the rail service on the north east corridor, but I do recall clearly the long section which appeared to cut across one of the estuaries at the top of the Chesapeake Bay, where the track appeared to be on quite a low trestle and quite a long way out from the shore.   

Best wishes 

Eric

[railroadbill]

Had a very good trip to New York and Washington last October.  Hadn't been to either place before.  Mrs railroadbill enjoyed the trip  as well.

The advice from RMwebbers in this thread was very useful especially with regard to rail sites.  I've been sorting out the pictures I took and thought I should post some of the railroad ones.

 

Firstly, Grand Central Station.  We just went there to see it, didn't travel from here.

 

 

 

The concourse is certainly impressive.  I believe the roof is painted with constellations as they would be seen looking from beyond the stars towards earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The platforms are somewhat dingy compared to the concourse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Spitfire2865]

Yeah youll find most NYC stations have beautiful concourses and dingy platforms.  

At least theyre usually relatively dry.  Ive been on one of the subway platforms where a pipe mustve burst in the wall because water was pouring down the wall onto the track.  

[railroadbill]

This was our subway adventure. We went from Times Square on line 1 to South Ferry (for the cruise to Liberty Island and Ellis Island).  A very kind MTA lady was pointing out the ticket machines to me, then said "how old are you?"  because we could get a seniors ticket which was about $2.40 for 2 single trips. Had to buy those at the ticket office, it wasn't available on the ticket machines. So for under $5 we got to South Ferry and back. Not so good if we'd wanted to travel all day on the subway, but for our trip it was half the normal price.  

 

 

 

Entrance to Times Square / 42 st station with Roy Lichenstein mural (or pop art that looks like it!)

 

 

 

Times Square platforms

 

 

 

After everyone else had got off.

 

 

Bowling Green station,  on lines 4 & 5, just along from South Ferry

 

 

 

Platforms at South Ferry (end of line1).

 

 

 

Back at Times Square /42 Street

 

Edited January 22, 2018 by railroadbill

[Regularity]

Bowling Green station

Am I alone in being reminded of the (original) film, “The Taking of Pelham 123”?

[railroadbill]

Am I alone in being reminded of the (original) film, “The Taking of Pelham 123”?

Remade twice, apparently. NY subway seems to appear in lots of films, mainly crime of one level or another.  Been looking at some clips and ones from 70s and 80s show a run down system with lots of graffiti. (End of 'Saturday Night Fever', for instance).  However when we were there we didn't see any graffiti on trains at all. Could be we were in a main tourist area. But it does seem to have been cleaned up. I've read that Time square was really run down by the 1970s but a big push to move it up market has worked. 

 

Fortunately the subway wasn't  actually full of gangs, zombie armies, Australians with big knives, giant gorillas, Woody Allen - etc.  8-)   

Actually a good system to travel around on. But the films did make it seem familiar..

[railroadbill]

Oculus

 

 

We visited the Oculus, the new World trade Center transportation hub, which opened in March 2016. Quite a remarkable building, part station, part shops and part memorial for 9/11. 

 

 

 

 

It connects PATH commuter trains from New Jersey to the NY subway. 5 tracks and 4 platforms, below the concourse level, I've read.

Edited January 23, 2018 by railroadbill

[BR60103]

I'm trying to see if I'm in any of your photos.

 

There are a lot of tracks and platforms in the Path station, considering that it only goes to Hoboken or Newark at the other end. (I mean, only 2 routes, not commenting on New Jersey communities.) We went through it quite a few times on our last trip. There is a loop underground rather than train reversal.

[railroadbill]

I'm trying to see if I'm in any of your photos.

 

There are a lot of tracks and platforms in the Path station, considering that it only goes to Hoboken or Newark at the other end. (I mean, only 2 routes, not commenting on New Jersey communities.) We went through it quite a few times on our last trip. There is a loop underground rather than train reversal.

You're probably on there!   Hub must be very busy at rush hour times because of its location serving so many business offices.  There appear to have been complaints about narrow platforms. We didn't travel from here but walked up to have a look at Wall St then went back to South Ferry because we needed to be on line 1.

 

While these things are a matter of opinion, I do think that the concourse  and the building itself is very impressive architecture.

 

On Michael Portillo's "Great American railroad journeys" program where he visits the Oculus he was told that the opening skylight would be opened on the anniversary of 9/11 each year, but I don't know if they actually have done that yet.

 

I read a couple of news items about the hub opening.

 

http://abc7ny.com/traffic/world-trade-center-transportation-hub-dubbed-oculus-opens-to-public/1229181/

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/nyregion/as-oculus-at-world-trade-center-opens-so-does-a-neighborhood.html

[railroadbill]

High Line

 

 

This was a great walk.  It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th Avenues.  Closed in 1980, the line was reopened in 2009 as a public park. It's 1.45 miles long.

 

 

 

Beginning of walk, heading south.

 

 

Rail yards for commuter trains for  Pennsylvania station.

 

 

I think loco 522 is a Long Island Railroad  EMD DM30AC which can run on 750v 3rd rail or as a diesel electric.

 

 

Other side of the rail yards. Some track is left alongside the High Line walkway.