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| Tuesday's Trip (& a Few Pics) (492168) | |||
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Tuesday's Trip (& a Few Pics) |
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Posted by R36 #9346 on Wed Sep 19 15:38:48 2007 As you may have guessed by my recent posts, I went to Philadelphia yesterday as part of NJ Transit's "Student Pass Week" program. I started the trip with the 10:01 train to Trenton. It was supposed to leave NYP at 10:01, and when I got there a few minutes before, I saw "Stand By" in the comments slot. After a few minutes of waiting, I finally got on and we were on our way (by about 10:10). It went a bit slower than I thought it would, but it was an overall enjoyable ride.Once in Trenton, it was River LINE time, and I was whisked away by car 3501 to Walter Rand. Then, I decided to try something completely different. Instead of taking PATCO into Philly, I decided to take the bus. I learned that all but two routes that run between Rand and Philly stop inside the building at Gate 8, I went in search for the rhyming location. As I walked into the area where the bus gates were, I saw Gates 1 through 7, but was mystified as to the location of this "Gate 8." I found it, and missed a bus in the process. However at a bus stop with 249057624501 routes going to the same destination stopping there, I figured it would only be a few minutes before the next one shows up. Sure enough, it did. A Metro B took me onto Market Street, and I continued. After buying the "Inconvenience Pass" at 1234 Market, and lunch at the Gallery, I went to my first spot. I took the Ridge Spur to North Philadelphia. I got a seat right behind the motorman, with a view of the line ahead, and the speedometer. While leaving Chinatown station, we broke 30 before leaving the station. On the express run, we hit 61. (I had a set of R68A's hit 62 once, but the Broad Street cars didn't need a downgrade in excess of 4% to break 60.) After a few minutes, and a couple of train pics, I decided to surface and take the bus. I took the C bus to Girard. Then, I took the 15 to Front. QUIRK #1: A strange thing about the car I was on. Occasionally, the back door would stick, and that would cause the driver to walk back and try to unstick it before moving on. This led to the greatest photo op at Front. A westbound car was on its way out, and the rear door got stuck again. So while the westbound car passed, I snapped a pic of it and the eastbound car. I then crossed Pigeon Poop City to the MFL entrance. I took the train to 30th Street and then took a non-10 car to the 40th Street portal. I saw two SEPTA trucks in the portal plaza, but they left soon after I got there. After a few minutes, I got on an eastbound car. QUIRK #2: By this time, I had 4 rides punched out of my pass. When I handed my pass to the driver of the car, he looked at it and then handed it back to me, without punching a hole in space #5. Did he forget his SEPTA-issued hole puncher or something? Anyway, I got out at 30th Street, and sought a restroom there. After using it, I got back on the MFL, transferred to the BSL, and took it to Walnut/Locust. That's where I boarded a PATCO train and rode back to Broadway. I sat near the operator's position. The operator was a talkative guy, and he was chatting with a lady sitting in front of me. Another guy came in and joined the conversation at 12th. As we were passing the Franklin Square station, he handed us some "inside information" about the status of the station, saying that it would be re-opening in a year and a half. He also said that the mayor was in the station looking at it. That's when the other guy asked, "Did someone try to push him off the platform?" I guess it was a bit funny, but not knowing the general popularity of the mayor, I kept relatively quiet. Back at Broadway, I was about to exit when a guy who had just taken taken a paper ticket from the new vending machine asked if it was still needed. I replied in the affirmative, and then proceeded to use my paper ticket to exit. Arriving just a bit too late to catch one northbound River LINE train, I proceeded to wait for the next one. I took it to Trenton, and waited for my train to New York. I was debating whether to take the 6:13 express, or wait for the two scheduled bi-level trains to pass and then take the 6:40. My answer came when a train of bi-levels (north car #7005), pulled into the station. I got my pics and proceeded to the other platform to catch the 6:13. The station announcer was very nice in explaining why the SEPTA train was being put in ahead of it. After getting a pic of south motor 9010, the 6:13 pulled in. I was reluctant to board because it was a set of Arrows, but I got on. QUIRK #3 After leaving, the conductor comes by, checking tickets. When he gets to me, I show him my I.D., and the coupon, and say, "New York." He then says, "What I.D. is that?" and comes in for a closer look. I hear him mutter, "Queens College," and something else, then he puts the seat check in, and I have a nice ride back to New York. A moment after pulling into Penn Station on Track 3, something else comes in on Track 4. The lead car was bi-level #7005. The bi-level train followed us here all the way from Trenton! I got a couple of pics, and left. Here's a couple of pics for now. More will show up in my upcoming montage.     
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