I read that Gov. Cuomo took my home state of Maryland off the New York "list of shame" and we from the Old Line State were now free to enter New York without a need to quarantine. This, combined with the improving weather, seemed to be a good opportunity to see what Amtrak has done to the NEC in these days of Corona and also to play the flaneur on the streets of Old New York.
What's a flaneur? Well, one might call him a "bum," except that he's a little to prosperous for that designation. Rather, he is a man of leisure, who has the opportunity wander the streets of the metropolis with no other purpose than to make acute observations of industrialized urban life. The term got its origins in 19th century Paris. Women can do this, too. The classic French term was "passante," though modern academics tend to use the term "flaneuse." The activity is known as "flânerie." See, isn't this great, all you need is to give something a French name to make "bumming around the city" into a fancy, high class intellectual adventure. I did have a few goals, though -- a visit to the Strand Book Store, a Pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli, and some rail geekery.
There are only a few cities in the USA suitable for hard-core Flânerie. My home town of Baltimore barely makes the grade. Other East Coast cities that qualify are Washington, Philly, New York, and Boston. Chicago is also good, and on the west coast San Francisco. It's possible Seattle and Portland qualify, but I've never been there. Everywhere else (except for a few smaller neighborhoods) American cities are more built for driving around than walking around. It's a little hard to make "acute observations of industrialized urban life" when you have to watch out for oncoming traffic.
When I fired up the Amtrak app to get my tickets, the first thing that hit me was how many trains they've cancelled on the NEC. I could either take a 5:30 AM train, or I would have to wait until almost 8 AM for the next one. Well, I've had it with taking 5:30 AM trains, so I opted for NER 172, leaving at 7:50 something. The other thing was that this was the day after Labor Day, so all the morning trains were still at fairly high bucket. I had to pay $128 for a coach ticket. The return trains in the evening were much cheaper. Everything was $69. I decided on 55, the Vermonter (which apparently was only running from New Haven, if the departure board at New York Penn Station was correct), which was supposed to leave New York at 6:45 PM. I made the mistake of splurging for business class for this leg, as I though I might be able to luxuriate in the 2-1 club seating. Of course, I didn't get that, but all business class in the Corona era gives you two seats to yourself anyway. What was interesting is that they don't assign seats for business class on the Vermonter, unlike the Northeast Regional trains. Not that it mattered, in the end.
On the appointed morning, I awoke at the much more reasonable hour of 6 AM, and, after showering and dressing, I went outside and seated myself in our 19 year old 2001 Honda CR-V, which really needed some time on the road, this allowing my wife the ability to use our much newer Toyota RAV4 while I was off being a flaneur. It was actually a bit cool out, but the sun had not yet come up. The traffic into the city was, for it being the morning rush hour, very light. I quickly found my way to Baltimore Penn Station and found a spot in the (empty) parking garage right by the stairs. I then exited the car, donned my mask and went upstairs to the station.
Is this Penn Station Baltimore, one of the 10 busiest stations in the Amtrak system? The departure board shows how the normal number of trains in America's busiest rail corridor has been trimmed back. Well, at least the Silver Meteor is running early ready to discharge arrivals from one of America's top COVID hot spots.
Maybe it really is better that the place is so empty.
Down on the platform, here's a MARC MP36PH-3c pushing off for Washington.
And, finally, the Amtrak Sprinter heading up train 172. The "corona consist" appears to be 7 cars -- 5 coaches, a cafe car, and a business class car.
--to be continued
What's a flaneur? Well, one might call him a "bum," except that he's a little to prosperous for that designation. Rather, he is a man of leisure, who has the opportunity wander the streets of the metropolis with no other purpose than to make acute observations of industrialized urban life. The term got its origins in 19th century Paris. Women can do this, too. The classic French term was "passante," though modern academics tend to use the term "flaneuse." The activity is known as "flânerie." See, isn't this great, all you need is to give something a French name to make "bumming around the city" into a fancy, high class intellectual adventure. I did have a few goals, though -- a visit to the Strand Book Store, a Pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli, and some rail geekery.
There are only a few cities in the USA suitable for hard-core Flânerie. My home town of Baltimore barely makes the grade. Other East Coast cities that qualify are Washington, Philly, New York, and Boston. Chicago is also good, and on the west coast San Francisco. It's possible Seattle and Portland qualify, but I've never been there. Everywhere else (except for a few smaller neighborhoods) American cities are more built for driving around than walking around. It's a little hard to make "acute observations of industrialized urban life" when you have to watch out for oncoming traffic.
When I fired up the Amtrak app to get my tickets, the first thing that hit me was how many trains they've cancelled on the NEC. I could either take a 5:30 AM train, or I would have to wait until almost 8 AM for the next one. Well, I've had it with taking 5:30 AM trains, so I opted for NER 172, leaving at 7:50 something. The other thing was that this was the day after Labor Day, so all the morning trains were still at fairly high bucket. I had to pay $128 for a coach ticket. The return trains in the evening were much cheaper. Everything was $69. I decided on 55, the Vermonter (which apparently was only running from New Haven, if the departure board at New York Penn Station was correct), which was supposed to leave New York at 6:45 PM. I made the mistake of splurging for business class for this leg, as I though I might be able to luxuriate in the 2-1 club seating. Of course, I didn't get that, but all business class in the Corona era gives you two seats to yourself anyway. What was interesting is that they don't assign seats for business class on the Vermonter, unlike the Northeast Regional trains. Not that it mattered, in the end.
On the appointed morning, I awoke at the much more reasonable hour of 6 AM, and, after showering and dressing, I went outside and seated myself in our 19 year old 2001 Honda CR-V, which really needed some time on the road, this allowing my wife the ability to use our much newer Toyota RAV4 while I was off being a flaneur. It was actually a bit cool out, but the sun had not yet come up. The traffic into the city was, for it being the morning rush hour, very light. I quickly found my way to Baltimore Penn Station and found a spot in the (empty) parking garage right by the stairs. I then exited the car, donned my mask and went upstairs to the station.
Is this Penn Station Baltimore, one of the 10 busiest stations in the Amtrak system? The departure board shows how the normal number of trains in America's busiest rail corridor has been trimmed back. Well, at least the Silver Meteor is running early ready to discharge arrivals from one of America's top COVID hot spots.
Maybe it really is better that the place is so empty. Down on the platform, here's a MARC MP36PH-3c pushing off for Washington.
And, finally, the Amtrak Sprinter heading up train 172. The "corona consist" appears to be 7 cars -- 5 coaches, a cafe car, and a business class car.
--to be continued
