LIRR And MNRR Random Thoughts Thread

[Truckie]

23 hours ago, Italianstallion said:

Yes, I assume the 4 -car mark is the spot where there train has to at least reach. Nothing prevents an engineer who knows the station from stopping the train further down by the stairs.

I would hope the engineers know the stations, it's part of being qualified on the physical characteristics.  There are bigger issues than car markers, if they are not qualified and are operating a train on a given line.

[Joel Up Front]

30 minutes from Exit 2 to the outerbridge, and I was by exit 5. I could have spent that time getting over the GWB and then making up for it on the Turnpike. 

[checkmatechamp13]

22 hours ago, Joel Up Front said:

You should have been there the weekend the NJ-bound Goethals was closed and they were preparing to open the second span.  It was half an hour to get onto the Outerbridge.  Google told me to cut through Bricktown Mall and then use the ramp immediately before the bridge.  It would have worked if half of Staten Island wasn't trying to do the same thing.  I do wonder what would have happened if all those canceled SI highways had been built.

I would've probably tried to cut through the parking lot itself or something lol (not diagonally through the actual parking spots like a jerk, but the regular aisles/lanes through there). Wouldn't save much, but it would probably save something. If I were starting from around Arden Avenue (Exit 5) or Huguenot Avenue like you were, I probably would've decided to go straight down to either Amboy Road or Hylan Blvd and came up through the Richmond Valley area (Amboy is more direct, but Hylan is wider and more open).

But yeah, it would probably also cross my mind to backtrack up to the Bayonne Bridge if it were really that bad.

[B35 via Church]

On ‎6‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 2:51 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I DO know that you make a conscious effort to time everything down to the minute.....

People that commute like that, I simply have no sympathy for - whether it's via public transportation or whatever.... I'm of the ilk that says, there's GOING to be delays & I don't act oblivious to the idea of some delay possibly happening on my commute - because well, "It's ME"... People think like that, not just w/ commuting, but with whatever.... i.e - That can't happen to ME... Because... Well, I'm ME!!!! smh.....

Can you quantify the extent of any delays before you embark on whatever mode of transportation in question? No.... Should commuters have to commute in such a fashion (as in, even having to worry about delays)? No, but you can't expect your commute to be ideal everytime you're commuting to & from somewhere.... Boils down to personal responsibility AFAIC.

Edited June 12, 2018 by B35 via Church

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, B35 via Church said:

People that commute like that, I simply have no sympathy for - whether it's via public transportation or whatever.... I'm of the ilk that says, there's GOING to be delays & I don't act oblivious to the idea of some delay possibly happening on my commute - because well, "It's ME"... People think like that, not just w/ commuting, but with whatever.... i.e - That can't happen to ME... Because... Well, I'm ME!!!! smh.....

Can you quantify the extent of any delays before you embark on whatever mode of transportation in question? No.... Should commuters have to commute in such a fashion (as in, even having to worry about delays)? No, but you can't expect your commute to be ideal everytime you're commuting to & from somewhere.... Boils down to personal responsibility AFAIC.

There are times when I take the subway and I see people running like it's the last train that's ever going to come.  The train is usually packed, so I just put on subwaytime, see when the next four trains are coming and if it's a line that's frequent enough, I slide on one when there's that little lull where there's enough room to fit on comfortably and I budget time for that too because I don't need to be aggravated running around.  As I said, it was cute doing it when I was in my 20s. When you start doing the daily grind and running a household, it gets old fast. Everything I do is centered around comfort and if it means giving myself a little extra time, I can live with that. You get it back elsewhere.

[B35 via Church]

2 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

There are times when I take the subway and I see people running like it's the last train that's ever going to come.  The train is usually packed, so I just put on subwaytime, see when the next four trains are coming and if it's a line that's frequent enough, I slide on one when there's that little lull where there's enough room to fit on comfortably and I budget time for that too because I don't need to be aggravated running around.  As I said, it was cute doing it when I was in my 20s. When you start doing the daily grind and running a household, it gets old fast. Everything I do is centered around comfort and if it means giving myself a little extra time, I can live with that. You get it back elsewhere.

I step aside when that happens.... Either that, or wave them ahead of me (as if to say, go the hell on ahead).....

With me, it's less about comfort & more about just getting the hell away from the masses (people in general).... The older I get, the more misanthropic I'm getting..., What I'm starting to do more & more is waving off trains & buses for ones I can board a little easier... I'm not doing the whole sardine-and-shimmying my way in & out of buses/trains anymore.....

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Just now, B35 via Church said:

I step aside when that happens.... Either that, or wave them ahead of me (as if to say, go the hell on ahead).....

With me, it's less about comfort & more about just getting the hell away from the masses (people in general).... The older I get, the more misanthropic I'm getting..., What I'm starting to do more & more is waving off trains & buses for ones I can board a little easier... I'm not doing the whole sardine-and-shimmying my way in & out of buses/trains anymore.....

I'm the same way. That's what I mean by being "comfortable". I don't like people all on top of me.  

[N6 Limited]

13 hours ago, Joel Up Front said:

30 minutes from Exit 2 to the outerbridge, and I was by exit 5. I could have spent that time getting over the GWB and then making up for it on the Turnpike. 

Oh wow, very frustrating. Usually I wind up avoiding Staten Island on the way to NJ, because the Belt Parkway, VZ Bridge and SIE can be all backed up and that's like 90mins - 2+ hours of traffic.

So I just go through the Holland Tunnel, (Jackie Robinson Pkwy, Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn Br) from there you can take Rt1 and avoid the most congested part of the NJTP.

How was the Turnpike at that time?  I find that when checking NJTP traffic from the GWB, both spurs of the Tpke can be backed up down to Newark/Elizabeth. 

The best way to NJ is often through Manhattan, so even if they envoked Congestion Pricing I'd go right through  Manhattan even quicker 

28 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

I step aside when that happens.... Either that, or wave them ahead of me (as if to say, go the hell on ahead).....

With me, it's less about comfort & more about just getting the hell away from the masses (people in general).... The older I get, the more misanthropic I'm getting..., What I'm starting to do more & more is waving off trains & buses for ones I can board a little easier... I'm not doing the whole sardine-and-shimmying my way in & out of buses/trains anymore.....

 

26 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I'm the same way. That's what I mean by being "comfortable". I don't like people all on top of me.  

This is part of the reason why I default to the LIRR now instead of the SRO bus and potentially delayed QBL.  

As for running for the train as if it's the last one,sometimes you don't want to miss a train because the next train could be in 15 mins etc due to whatever. You can miss connections and it can cascade to 30+ mins of extra travel time. Even if you gave yourself time, missing one train can cascade to missing multiple connections just by chance. 

As an example, one time while on the downtown  which I caught because the previous train left 179th street as the bus poured us into the station. I had just missed a  at 42nd st which was leaving the station and then the  got held in the station at 23rd and was congested to West 4th st. If i was on the previous  I could have been past the delay or on that train which sped down 6th Ave.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, N6 Limited said:

As for running for the train as if it's the last one,sometimes you don't want to miss a train because the next train could be in 15 mins etc due to whatever. You can miss connections and it can cascade to 30+ mins of extra travel time. Even if you gave yourself time, missing one train can cascade to missing multiple connections just by chance. 

As an example, one time while on the downtown  which I caught because the previous train left 179th street as the bus poured us into the station. I had just missed a  at 42nd st which was leaving the station and then the  got held in the station at 23rd and was congested to West 4th st. If i was on the previous  I could have been past the delay or on that train which sped down 6th Ave.

Oh I know believe me.  That's why I'm not a fan of having to make so many connections.

[B35 via Church]

1 hour ago, N6 Limited said:

This is part of the reason why I default to the LIRR now instead of the SRO bus and potentially delayed QBL.  

As for running for the train as if it's the last one,sometimes you don't want to miss a train because the next train could be in 15 mins etc due to whatever. You can miss connections and it can cascade to 30+ mins of extra travel time. Even if you gave yourself time, missing one train can cascade to missing multiple connections just by chance. 

As an example, one time while on the downtown  which I caught because the previous train left 179th street as the bus poured us into the station. I had just missed a  at 42nd st which was leaving the station and then the  got held in the station at 23rd and was congested to West 4th st. If i was on the previous  I could have been past the delay or on that train which sped down 6th Ave.

I understand the logic & why someone would want to do it... I'm simply not engaging in doing all that running anymore, regardless.... I don't think about *what if I would have caught that train I just missed*, either way... The way I see it is - delays can affect the same train you ended up running for & eventually catching, just the same as they can affect a later train you ended up catching because you missed an earlier train in question..... I don't assume that the fact that I ended up hustling for a train, means that all will be well, because I expended extra energy to catch it.....

Edited June 12, 2018 by B35 via Church

[N6 Limited]

If they extended the Atlantic branch to The Fulton Center in lower Manhattan, that would be nice.

Edited June 13, 2018 by N6 Limited

[N6 Limited]

I played around with the Atlantic Ticket one way and round trip options on the Ticket machine and noticed some interesting things about the station combinations.

1. From Queens Stations you can only choose Brooklyn Stations as destinations
   1. Off peak it makes sense because travel within zone 3 is $4, though peak is $5.50
2. From Brooklyn Stations you can chose all stations in the program as destinations.
   1. Makes sense because off peak travel within zone 1 is $6.25 and Peak is $8.75

I did not check weekly combinations on the ticket machine, but within the TrainTime App it doesn't list the price for a Weekly Atlantic Ticket if you choose travel between two Brooklyn Stations, only between stations in different boroughs.

 

 

 

[paulrivera]

I’m really digging the new “ETA” section on the Metro-North departure boards. We get arrival times down to the minute now instead of just seeing if the train is 6+ minutes late (it’s not on the website tho, MTA.info Traintime still shows status the old way.) What’s *not* to like about it?

Edited June 17, 2018 by paulrivera

[N6 Limited]

Nearly 5,000 Atlantic tickets have been sold in the first week. (6/6/18 - 6/13/18)

Source: 

 

[Ntrainfave]

So about the MNRR cars M3A's that are in Long Island City parked, how did they get there? Which route would an MNRR train take to connect to the LIRR?

[trainfan22]

6 hours ago, Ntrainfave said:

So about the MNRR cars M3A's that are in Long Island City parked, how did they get there? Which route would an MNRR train take to connect to the LIRR?

Towed to New Rochelle, towed over the Amtrak Hell Gate line to LIC.

[bobtehpanda]

On 6/13/2018 at 12:44 PM, N6 Limited said:

If they extended the Atlantic branch to The Fulton Center in lower Manhattan, that would be nice.

This was a plan that got ditched in favor of East Side Access.

Turns out the Senate didn't really buy Pataki's insinuation that it was a 9/11 recovery project.

[N6 Limited]

5 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

This was a plan that got ditched in favor of East Side Access.

Turns out the Senate didn't really buy Pataki's insinuation that it was a 9/11 recovery project.

Haha. It kind of is

[trainfan22]

Went to Long Beach, when I went to leave, I left the beach a tad bit too late, turned around and said I'll stay on the beach for another hour and catch the 5:24, left the beach at 5:11, got to the train station at 5:23 and missed the train again due to not having a ticket. 

 

The beach is only a couple blocks away from the station but I miss timed the walk.

Luckily there's a 6:01 departure so I'll catch that train.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

5 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

Went to Long Beach, when I went to leave, I left the beach a tad bit too late, turned around and said I'll stay on the beach for another hour and catch the 5:24, left the beach at 5:11, got to the train station at 5:23 and missed the train again due to not having a ticket. 

 

The beach is only a couple blocks away from the station but I miss timed the walk.

Luckily there's a 6:01 departure so I'll catch that train.

It’s 2018 bro, you should have MTA eTix app. 

[trainfan22]

15 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

It’s 2018 bro, you should have MTA eTix app. 

I thought about getting on the 5:24 and then installing the app, but I was lazy and didn't feel like walking though the train to find a seat, installing the app, then putting my bank card infomation in, etc. So I just waited for the 6:01, it worked out for me because the 6:01 was a super express that only stopped at Jamaica and Penn Station, that was quite fun. I didn't even know such an express run existed on the Long Beach branch.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2018 by trainfan22

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

Always forgot to ask it, and seeing that the new M9s are doing it. I wanna know the answer: why do the M7, M8 and now M9 doors delay before closing? They close about 99% first, then after about another 2-3 seconds they close and lock. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

2 minutes ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

Always forgot to ask it, and seeing that the new M9s are doing it. I wanna know the answer: why do the M7, M8 and now M9 doors delay before closing? They close about 99% first, then after about another 2-3 seconds they close and lock. 

We have them on the Hudson Line and I notice that as well. It seems to be the way the closing mechanism works to ensure that the door is fully closed. Those doors would NEVER work on the subway.  Could you imagine people sticking this and that in the door trying to get on? lol I saw this old Asian lady do it once at 42nd street Bryant Park. The conductor opened the door and then quickly slammed them shut before she could get on.  I laughed my @ss off.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

15 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

We have them on the Hudson Line and I notice that as well. It seems to be the way the closing mechanism works to ensure that the door is fully closed. Those doors would NEVER work on the subway.  Could you imagine people sticking this and that in the door trying to get on? lol I saw this old Asian lady do it once at 42nd street Bryant Park. The conductor opened the door and then quickly slammed them shut before she could get on.  I laughed my @ss off.

That's what I'm saying, seems like such an unnecessary delay mechanism. I know those trains have selective door opening and whatnot, but I doubt those have anything to do with how it closes. 

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

Why is every Huntington bound train leaving Jamaica JAMMED packed to the doors during rush hour? WTF is that...they can't even check tickets on that branch, conductors stayed in their cabs the whole way lol. 

But in all seriousness, the LIRR is robbing people, and why isn't the Port Jeff line electrified and double tracked? I read up on some articles and the MTA says it's not needed, but it actually really is, but do you know how much ridership would boost if the service was more frequent east of Huntington? C'mon now MTA. And I'm honestly tired of these diesel fumes blowing in my face whenever I walk over the overpass at a station, or have to sit at a siding waiting for a opposite direction bound train to pass. 

I'm starting to figure out the LIRR more and more, where it flourishes and where it declines.