Whenever possible, I travel by train. While it is no Negroponte Flip, the resurgence of rail over air during the last decade has been profound and understandable. Delays are measured in minutes, not hours. One can arrive fifteen minutes before departure, not an hour and a half. It is possible to get real work done in transit. And one arrives in the destination city itself.
A recent layover in New Haven's Union Station on the way to New York reinforced this. (And this could have played out in so many other beautiful stations and terminals up and down the Northeast Corridor.)
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| Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, New Haven's Union Station was designed by Cass Gilbert (of Supreme Court building in DC fame) in 1920 and underwent major renovations in the 1980s. Prior to that renovation it fell into such disrepair that it was put out of service for many years (which I vaguely remember as a child, although I more acutely remember the whole area being rather scary). |
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| We were the grateful recipients of a holiday choral performance by a school group. |
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| A Great Community Use of a Beautiful Common Space |
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| I spotted a pair of Quoddys across the station, and yes, I approached a strange man and asked to photograph his shoes! He was both charming and obliging in his tweed jacket, OCBD, repp tie, and horn rimmed glasses. |
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| Between full body scanners at the airport and K-9 units here, I prefer the latter. |
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| Dressed for Walking City Streets |
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| My scarf is almost thirty years old and still in perfect condition. |
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| My Lotuff bag is a perfect city bag. |
Just a mile earlier it had been of a lovely stretch of Connecticut coastline with intermittent views of Long Island Sound and brackish water with shore birds. But New Haven is the point, when going southbound, at which the view becomes gritty.
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| To many locals, New Haven is pronounced 'Na'Haven'. Nearby East Haven is pronounced 'Staven.' |
27 comments:
More than a few times I have taken Amtrak from New York to Boston going both ways. I have figured out exactly which side of the train I need to be on to make sure I have the window seat for ride along the Connecticut coast. It is one of the most beautiful and relaxing rides.
I love that train journey between Boston and New York -- it's great that you Americans are embarcing trains again.
I used to work near to Grand Central station in NYC, and I remember very late one night hearing some choral singing coming down one of the side tunnels of the main course, and eventually the Yale Glee Club burst out, and gave we few latenight travellers a rendition of various Christmas carols.
An excellent railway station adventure.
Nick from England.
That looks enchanting! I've never ridden a train except for the Thomas the Tank Engine day out.
Muffy- I completely agree! I took the train from DC to New York last Saturday for a day trip and enjoyed it immensely! What was the first thing I did when I arrived in the City? I walked from Penn Station to the FIT museum to see the Ivy exhibit! I enjoyed seeing your contributions to the exhibit especially the bowties and your Father's blazer and sportcoat! I look forward to my next train trip! Alex
I definitely prefer to travel by train rather than plane. It's so much more comfortable, and one can work, read, enjoy the scenery, or take a nap, none of which can be easily or comfortably done on a plane! The only thing I can think of about plane travel that I enjoy would be the Dept. of Agriculture dogs who sniff our luggage when we return from abroad.
What a beautiful station! Reminds me of our own Union Station in my native Oregon.
I took the train down to New York from Boston this past weekend and, as always, was chagrined that Back Bay and Penn are little more than glorified subway stations with all the associated charm.
The train really is a wonderful way to travel though. Not only because of all the reasons you listed, but because the people you meet on trains are simply so much more pleasant than plane folk.
I share your delight in trains--for the best view of the CT coast, seat yourself POSH--"Port out, starboard home!" ;)
I love Union Station, and Metro North is a reliable friend that has only improved with the addition of the new cars, which are practically luxurious compared to their older counterparts. And I agree that train travel is in many ways superior to travel by plane. But I was a regular on Amtrak between New York and Mystic for a number of years, and in my experience it was more often than not significantly delayed and often unpleasant--and required spending time in the astonishingly gross Penn Station. (The Acela was usually fine, though.)
As for New Haven--I can easily identify even an otherwise accent-free outsider by their emphasizing "New", rather than the "hay" in Haven. It's a particular problem with Yalies, who should really know better.
WRJ : I agree. A true Connecticut native knows the proper pronunciation of New Haven. It's a subtle difference that even the natives themselves fail to notice.
I too have always enjoyed travelling on the Metro North New Haven line, which is bookended by two incredibly beautiful stations. I passed through Grand Central the first time I visited New York. I was in awe. Suffice it to say Penn does not provoke the same inspiring feeling.
I love to walk through Grand Central Station-I even loved it as a child. Those were the days when a roll was placed by the track number listing the trains stops. The beauty of New Haven and Grand Central further highlights how horrible Penn Station is-especially the Long Island RR portion. It is a beautiful ride when one goes up the Hudson from NY to Albany.
I really love Union Station in LA. Gorgeous architecture. Plus the ride out of it is quintessential Southern California, train yards, the Los Angeles river, and stylized concrete bridges.
Muffy, it seems an appropriate time of year to say thank you to you and your readers. Because of your blog, I have a super list of places to go next summer in Maine. My husband bikes to work and stays dry in his Weatherwatch Grundens. I love my plaid scarf from Bridgham & Cook. I know that I'll stick with my old bird's eye sweater rather than buy a new one. There are lots of other examples.
Your blog has really enriched my life and I appreciate all your hard work and dedication.
They did a beautiful job restoring the New Haven Station, although there are some history buffs who still resent the loss of the extravagant 1848 New Haven Station by Henry Austin.
I don't think that the trains stop there anymore, but Cleveland's Terminal Tower on Public Square still contains some astonishingly grand public spaces.
--Road to Parnassas
I remember train travel well as a child and teenager. Always loved it. Atlanta had for a while a refurbished passenger train called the Dinner Train which brought North by Northwest to mind. It was wonderful, but alas, now is defunct. In the South CSX rules the rails and leaves no room for nostalgia. Sigh.
Those Quoddy's are terrific!
Left Union Station as a 6 year old camper for Lake Winnipesaukee on a World War II troop train in 1944. Commuted to Grand Central 15 years later on the Merchant's Limited with all the other Ivy cloak and suitors from J. Press, Fenn-Feinstein, A.M. Rosenberg, Rosenthal-Maretz, Langrock, Lord's, Chipp, Sero and Gant.
btw "embarcing"> Is it:
a) innovative comination of "embracing" and "embarking".
b) silly typo
Only you could take a layover at a train station and turn it into a photogenic voyage of aesthetic discovery. And I loved the anecdote about you taking a picture of the guy's shoes. Being complimented on one's sartorial style by a beautiful woman is no hardship, even if it's primarily one's Quoddys that catch her eye.
I love the ride along the Hudson River from Albany to NYC. Nothing beats the train. Now if we could just get people to stop having loud conversations on their cell phones, it would be perfect!
I did the Northeast Regional run from Boston to New York for years and years to visit my parents. I remember sitting in the New Haven station, while they switched from diesel to electric.
@Elijah Clark Ginsberg, next time go all the way through to South Station, it's no Grand Central, but it's alot nicer than Back Bay!
While many of the old city terminal stations have either been allowed to deteriorate or demolished, those that have survived and been restored remind us of that golden age of oppulent architecture when railroads had the money to construct them. As a railroad fan, I love riding a train but not much opportunity to do so these days, except the LIRR commuter line to NYC and that's not quite the same as a longer, more scenic, inter-city ride. A few years ago, rather than drive, I took the train from NYC to Syracuse and it was a delightful ride in the dead of winter with views of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers both sheathed in snow and ice. And yes, in many ways the train is more convenient and certainly more comfortable than flying.
The first time I took Amtrak from NYC to Virginia I was so excited while waiting in Penn Station. Everyone was so well dressed! Everyone was so preppy! Who were these people, and what were they doing in New York? Then they called the train to Boston and all the well dressed people exited. Then they called the south bound train and, well, it was not so nice. Sigh. New York-Boston is hands down the prettier route and the people watching is better too.
I have very fond memories riding the rails to meetings at Yale for my first job right out of graduate school from Grand Central in NYC in mid 1990’s. Delays were few, the cars were clean and the quite time on train me time to think and ponder.
Great outfit! I, too, prefer travel by train rather than plane. There is something so much more patrician about it. Less tension, no tempers flaring. Beautiful old train station to admire. When I was a kid, we had a train station in town and it was such a big deal for me to ride the train with my mom and grandmother to a great town 35 miles away to shop for the day. I can remember getting back on the train loaded with bags. Great times. --Holly in PA
I appreciate the plug for train travel here. I'm part of that resurgence of rail over air in the last few years. The last line of the first paragraph: "...one arrives in the destination city..." (instead of an airport 30 miles out) is an argument I often make.
Jeremy
This post delights me, as you can well imagine. New Haven is a beautiful station, and you're dressed impeccably as always. How cool that you just walked up to that fellow and asked to photograph his shoes! I often want to photograph people like that for my page too, but usually I get scared and run away.
I live in Virginia, LG, and I suspect you're right: none of the well-dressed people are heading this way. You've just given me added inducement to hop an Amtrak train to Vermont. I have a good friend who lives up there.
Am so pleased to see that the New Haven station is well cared for these days. I was delighted when it reopened when I was an undergraduate at Yale. Thanks for this post, which brought back many pleasant memories. Reggie
I remember when Union Station closed for how long? Over a decade or maybe nearly two decades. Some people did a wonderful job keeping the faith, creating a glorious public transportation system. To paraphrase Cindy Adams: Only in New Haven, kids. On ly in New Haven.
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