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Transit Adventures

A Yonkers to Newark Points Run and Finishing the Newark City Subway

Monday, my first day back begins as a beautiful day. I don’t have any work commitments until Tuesday. My original plan is to perhaps visit Greystone, Glenwood or Ludlow before my YNY to NWK points run. I end up getting distracted catching up on things from this trip and don’t leave as early as I […]

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Transit Adventures

An Hour Late ES Train #284 Points Run From Yonkers Breaking Down Upon Arrival into NYP, Missing the Newark Leg (and getting the $12.13 refunded instead of waiting)

Yesterday I road 4 segments, technically only using 3 of the multi-city segments out of four that Amtrak’s website has. The reason is that the Lake Shore skips Hudson and Rhinecliff so it offers a directly ticketed connection to train 244 that I rode the 1 stop. With my remaining segment I decided to be […]

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Transit Adventures

A Stormy: SYR-UCA-(ALB)-HUD-YNY aboard 2 On Time Empire Service Trains & the Lake Shore Limited to Hudson, NY ending on The 2 hour late Adirondack due to Downed Trees and Signals

For my trip home from Syracuse, I want to make a second photo essay visit to Utica and maximize AGR point.With another weekend trip (by car) over Columbus Day Weekend, I realize a second day-trip down to Philly on Wednesday (I work Tuesday and Thursday) will be way too much for me. With the Lake […]

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Transit Adventures

To Syracuse with a stopover in Amsterdam on the Maple Leaf and Empire Service

I want to be early down to Penn Station so I can have a little bit of time in ClubAcela and I also know that the Maple Leaf is a train that boards 15-20 minutes early. I leave the house at 6:05, just miss the A train and am getting off the subway at Penn […]

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Amtrak Transit Adventures

Springfield is Here! plus a points run on early #236 from Yonkers down to Penn Station

Greetings from the ClubAcela in Penn Station where I’ve arrived after completing a YNY-NYP points run on the first Empire Service Train of the day to stop at Yonkers #236 to set up my day-trip to Philadelphia tomorrow and enjoy a second breakfast before a noon time appointment in midtown. First I’ve rebuilt, and added […]

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Transit Adventures

An Relaxing Relatively Empty Empire Service Ride back from Syracuse with a nice hour in Hudson

I drive to the station arriving at 10:05 with my grandmother and we try the new parking lot situation. You have to take a ticket, you get an hour free and now the price is a steep $7 per day. Parking used to be basically free (maybe $10 for up to 30 days). I walk […]

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Transit Adventures

Total Confusion on the Phone with Amtrak and at Penn Station – Meeting my Grandmother on two hour late Train #280 that got a second section only a half-hour late ALB-NYP

This morning there was a derailment of a CSX grain train that delayed Empire Service Train #280 in Utica for over an hour and then it finally arrived in Amsterdam after passing through the derailment site 2 hours and 24 minutes late. I wasn’t riding the train but was picking up my elderly grandmother (who […]

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Superstorm Sandy

A Points Run from Yonkers to Penn Station on #236 up to Yonkers via Bee-Line Bus

This is the second post (Post 1) about four trips over four days on a POH-YNY-NYP-NWK-PHL points run muli-city ticket I bought to ride VIA Cars on the Adirondack after Thanksgiving 2012 and to also get nearly enough points for S+ status. If I am ever already buying a ticket on the Adirondack to and […]

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Superstorm Sandy

Crowded Empire Service train #280 from SYR to SDY for the northbound VIA Adirondack

This is the first post in a multi-part series about a going home from Syracuse via Port Henry on the Adirondack to run the VIA equipment borrowed by Amtrak over Thanksgiving to provide an increase in capacity after Superstorm Sandy. A few weeks ago I decided I would spend an extra day in Syracuse and […]

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Winter 2012

An Uneventful, Unconversational Empire Service #280 Trip back to New York to End my Winter Trip

The rest of my trip earlier today on Train #280 was largely uneventful. I get so annoyed with a woman on her cell phone that by Rome I change to some other empty seats. We stopped for the usual freight traffic on the busy CSX Water Level route, loosing a bit of time so we […]