| Welcome to New York City, Grand Central Terminal and the New York City Subway |
| We have an extensive collection of material on railroads and transit in New York City. Much of this material is not published elsewhere on the Internet. If you are interested in Grand Central Terminal, New York City subways, or transportation around New York City, read on and enjoy! |
| Grand Central Terminal is one of the most significant landmarks in New York City. It is historical, but it is vital to transportation in the city. Some of the stories we have are about the signal towers that control trains entering Grand Central, the buildings that surround Grand Central, the electric engines that go into Grand Central. We have old postcards of Grand Central and the Hotel Commodore. |
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The
New York City Subway System is massive and impressive.
Some of our articles include a look at what has gone wrong with the subways since 1940. We have a report on a panel discussion on the merits of various types of subway maps hosted by New York City's Transit Museum. |
| How about a story of a cab ride from Howard Beach to the new station at Queensbridge on the next-to-last day of operation of the "JFK Express? |
| Plans for better transit in the metropolitan area. An analysis of a early 1960's Ford Foundation study of commuting into Grand Central and what might be done to improve it. Some unique ideas and far ahead of its time. Developed early on in the history of aviation, JFK International, LaGuardia and Newark airports were intended to only be accessed by automobile. |
| Did you ever wonder who messed up the mass transit system in New York City? An in-depth look at Robert Moses and his life. |
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Begun in 1846, the New York Central's
West Side Freight Line was the
only freight railroad directly into Manhattan. Read about the history and future of this line. |
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Most railroad passengers today are commuters.
Taxpayers underwrite part of this cost and the ride is now more comfortable and the future
more secure than ever before. Many
ideas have been brought up over the years to ease commuting problems
from New Jersey. One of the most interesting was a 1935 proposal by L.
Alfred Jenny which consisted of a modern electrified railroad connecting
the various New Jersey railroads and bringing these lines into a new
passenger terminal in mid-Manhattan. Read more about commuters Read the full story on the Jenny Plan and lots more on commuters |
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The NEW YORK CENTRAL LINES magazine contains a wealth of information on Grand Central Terminal.
This most interesting period in the history of the New York Central was well-chronicled in its in-house magazine. We have excerpts from 1919-1931. Stories about the Red Caps, police officers, long-time employees, Chauncey Depew, and much more about Grand Central. |
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Grand Central was owned by the
New York Central Railroad Do you know who owns Grand Central now? If you said Metro North Railroad, or its parent company, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, then you are wrong. Nor is it Donald Trump, Disney or WalMart. Click here to find the answer and find out a lot of interesting facts. |
| In 1848, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company was granted rights "in perpetuity" to enter New York City and Grand Central. |
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JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing On site containers become residential accommodation, offices and much more! Services we provide are: Transportation to your site. Site preparation for your portable shelter. Assembly of your portable shelter. Subsequent enhancements or moving of your portable shelter. |
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Here is one of my favorite places: Coney Island. No, not the amusement park; the New York City Transit Authority shops. This has got to be the largest rapid transit repair facility in the World. This place could build a new subway car in a day from spare parts. Let me know if anything is bigger, but I know it beats Washington DC; Metro North at Harmon, White Plains North, or New Haven; BART; Philadelphia/SEPTA; London Underground; "Shops" (South Shore at Michigan City); Montreal Metro; Toronto; Miami; Boston MTA; Chicago CTA; Japan???; SNCF in France??? |
| Just Around the Corner by Bertrande H. Snell |
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Bertrande H. Snell, author of the following article, a native of Parish,
Oswego County, N.Y., was a telegrapher all his working life.
For many years he was employed by the New York Central Railroad, and for
33 years was a telegrapher for Western Union in Syracuse.
Bertrande Snell commenced his writing career with the Syracuse Syracuse Post-Standard in 1945 and continued it until shortly before his death in 1949. His columns were primarily of a reminiscent or historical nature, which included railroad stories. If you like his column, we have more. |
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Syracuse Post-Standard, Nov. 16, 1946
Just Around the Corner By Bertrande Traveling south from Corning, you come to Lawrenceville, Pa., which is in Tioga county. Bordering this on the south is Lycoming county, where I spent the years between 1905 and 1917. Pine Creek, which in many places approaches the dignity of river, rises in Tioga county and flows through the Lycoming hills to empty into the mighty Susquehanna near Jersey Shore. Lycoming county yields to none in the matter of scenery. Its mountainous terrain, heavily wooded and freely interspersed with swift moving brooks - known as "runs" - make it a veritable paradise for fishermen and hunters. I was working as railroad telegrapher at Slate Run, a few miles south of Wellsboro, when, in 1907 the last run of logs went down Pine creek to the Susquehanna and thence to the big boom at Williamsport. It was a grand sight to watch those millions of logs go bumping down the river, while the lumberjacks in the red-and-blue shirts stood in the swift water to their waists and kept the line moving with their peavies. And the way those lads could ride the logs was something to remember. Slate Run village was just a straggle of houses and shanties along the river bank and under the mountainside. In my time there was a big lumber mill there, owned and operated by Weed & Co. of Binghamton. This enterprise took care of the logs cut by some eight or 10 camps, scattered through the uplands in a 50-mile area. A narrow-gauge railroad penetrated the fastnesses for some 25 miles and brought the logs down to the mill. Here were 200 mill-hands, a big "company store," a church, and three - count 'em - three hotels. Each hotel boasted a big dance hall and seldom a Saturday night went by without at least one big dance - generally two. Along about 7 p.m. of a Saturday, Ben Wolfe would get out his battered brass trumpet, walk to the end of the river bridge and cut loose with a blast that could be heard clear to Cammal, six miles down the track. then would come on the run, Lafe Tomb, the organist; Steve Tomb, fiddler, and old "Rat," the caller, closely followed by the majority of the other villagers, and away they'd hike to Ben's big barn-like hall. In a few minutes the "doin's" would start - and if they kept it up until four in the morning, whose business was that? All those I have mentioned above have long since crossed the big bridge, from whose other side there is no return - and: The town an' all has gone to smash an' th' folks are scattered far; But there's many a ghost that walks the hills, where the rottin' log-camps are; An' there's many an echo, far an' faint, that broods on the ripplin' run An' whisper low of th' long ago an' th' days o' foolish fun. Ol' Steve is dead an' his fiddle hangs neglected on the wall, An' th' summer days have passed away an' we mourn in th' naked fall - But I'd like to be back in ol' Slate Run in nineteen-eight or nine To hear Steve play that fiddle, fer he surely played it fine! To our village came on occasion, Billy Larkin, cook in "Mode" Archer's camp 20 miles up the mountain side. Billy would work faithfully and ceaselessly for three or four months; then, when the spirit moved him, he'd grab is "turkey" and foot it down the slope for Slate Run, where he would spend the better part of a week imbibing the strenuous liquor of those parts. Billy would have $200 or $300 dollars in his poke on arrival - and of course, not a cent when he went back up the mountain. Billy was never very articulate, even in his cups, but he had a certain routine which he repeated incessantly while lapping up the booze which his dollars caused to flow freely. He's been dead these many years, but i confess I'd love to hear him repeat just once more that silly rigamarole of his: "My name is Billy Larkin - a cheap skate from Buffalo - that's me. Goodness, godness, Ignes Agnes; it's two sides up an' two sides down an; keep 'er there in the company's notch - Ow's chances for another drink?" Our most resplendent citizen during those days was Patsy Delaney, who has become a tradition among lumberjacks and river men. He was champion longroller of the world for many years. He had traveled to London, To Stockholm and to Canada, giving exhibitions in the art of riding logs through the swift currents. He was a little man, strong, wiry and absolutely fearless, and when he grabbed his peavie and jumped for a log - any long - that bit of timber was conquered then and there. All his movements were the graceful ones of an athlete and his reaction of brain and muscle were lightning-quick. After his barnstorming trip to Canada and Europe, he never did much actual logging - or any other kind of work for that matter. he much preferred to strut around in his "stage" clothes, both for his own enjoyment and that of spectators. He was a grand eyeful those days; with his chamois-skin trousers, his four-colored skirt made of the finest Swiss wool, and his luimberman's pea-jacket with the real-silk lining and the solid good buttons. On his feet were a pair of "short boots' made in Russia of the finest calfskin, and the inch-long caulks on their soles heavily gold plated. Patsy prided himself that he could "cuss" in 12 languages and dialects for an hour and 30 minutes without repeating himself. And I have reason to believe that he could do even better than that. Ballad of the Lumberjack Oh, the lumberjack was a hard-bit man And a hard-bit man was he, In the days when the big pine forests ran In their solemn majesty. From the edge of the gorge where the Pine Creek Flows Through dim, unmeasured tracks, And the woods rang out with the sturdy blows Of the double-bitted ax. Oh, the lumberjack was a careless man, But a mighty man was he; And little he cared how brief his span So that his life were free. Oh, the lumberjack was a hard-bit man And a hard-bit man, you see - But hunt me out in the world, if you can, A better man than he! |
| We hope you enjoy your visit to our WebSite. We offer a wide range of great sites. We have a great "Portal to the World", excellent weather, reference, golf and tourist sites. As well as great WebSites on trains run for the President of the United States. We are not "FLASHy" like many WebSites, but we offer you, among other things authentic railroad history material. Much of this material is not available elsewhere on the Internet. It was painstakingly collected over many years from such sources as Yale University. We never knowingly link you to any WebSites that contain a virus, collect your personal information, or are those machine-generated sites rampant with "Ads by Google". For some of our material, there is a small nominal charge. |
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Click here or on picture to see GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL. |
Click here or on picture to see NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY. |
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This impressive building was the headquarters of the New York Central System. |
Click on map to see full size or print |
Signal Station "F" in Grand Central Terminal This picture was from my grandfather Read more about Grand Central's Signal Stations |
Here's a more modern picture of how trains are controlled now. |
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World's Largest Office Building planned for Grand Central
The pictures below all appeared in the New York Central HEADLIGHT employee magazine and show design and building of what used to be called the Pan Am building. Pan Am went broke, got rid of the building and became a railroad. It is now the Met Life Building and sits atop the terminal. From the same era is the "new" train board. |
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New York Central
20th Century Limited along the Hudson This was probably the all-time most famous train Bruce Wolfe collection, courtesy of Bernie Rudberg In 1947 a trio of EMD E units are powering the 20th Century Limited southbound along the banks of the Hudson River. This train had just thundered through Beacon and was heading for the engine change at Harmon. Since these diesel engines were not welcome under the streets of Manhattan, an electric engine would pull the limited the rest of the way into Grand Central Terminal. |
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Nice, France Weather |
Mexico City Weather |
Philadelphia Weather |
Saint Tropez Weather |
Montreal Weather |
| Find out more about vacations in Nice, France | Find out more about vacations in Mexico City | Find out more about vacations in Philadelphia | Find out more about vacations in Saint-Tropez | Find out more about vacations in Montreal and the Laurentian Mountains |
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Find
weather around the World
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Temperature and forecasts for hundreds of cities.
See adverse weather conditions. Upcoming storms, snow, tornados, hurricanes. Check out our special weather forecasts for the French Riviera!!! Visit our Travel Reservations and Information Center and see our CRUISE section. Make Hotel Reservations as well as rental cars. Book a ferry from Nice to Corsica. Rent Vacation Homes. |
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See
Antibes, plus Biot, Juan-les-pins, Golfe-Juan, and the Vauban Fort
Antibes was a Greek fortified town named Antipolis in the 5th century BC, and later a Roman town, and always an active port for trading along the Mediterranean. Today it's an attractive and active town, popular with "foreigners" from Paris and the north of France, with non-French, and with the local population. |
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See Menton and it's surrounding area
Thanks to a beneficial subtropical microclimate (316 cloudless days a year), winter is practically unknown in Menton. Therefore, you can enjoy a beautiful sea and the nearby sunny mountains all year round. Menton is on the borders of Italy, the Principality of Monaco and the Comté de Nice. |
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See
Beausoleil.
Beausoleil is a neighboring town of the Principality of Monaco. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea just above Monaco and has a beautiful year-round climate. Beausoleil is situated between the beaches and the winter sports area of the Alps. |
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Ominous Weather on the Mediterranean Sea.
The sea is always beautiful at Nice, France - even when a storm is approaching. |
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JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing How are your disaster recovery plans for a hurricane? Talk to us! We can design a plan to provide you temporary housing, office, manufacturing or warehouse space. We design your solution, then we store it for you. If a disaster hits, we move it into your site, assemble it, and maintain it. On site containers become residential accommodation, offices and much more! |
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Interested in Penn Central? New York Central? Pennsylvania Railroad? New Haven Railroad? or in the smaller Eastern US railroads? Then you will be interested in "What if the Penn Central Merger Did Not Happen". You will also enjoy "Could George Alpert have saved the New Haven?" as well as "What if the New Haven never merged with Penn Central?" |
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Traveling in Europe? You will probably need to make a FERRY RESERVATION. Stop by and see our Reservations Center. |
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Grand Central Terminal See more historic photographs of Grand Central Terminal, New York's subway system, marine rail operations in New York Harbor and the New Haven Railroad. |
Hotel Commodore Part of Grand Central Complex New York City Now Grand Hyatt Hotel From postcard found in St. Joseph, Michigan Was one of several hotels owned by the New York Central |
Grand Central Terminal from my postcard collection. |
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| Some middle of the night pictures of Grand Central Terminal. Courtesy of Wayne Koch. | |||
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| (Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight) |
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Which One of These People Hurt New York City Public Transit the Most? Click on the picture to find the correct answer. If you get the wrong answer, you will still see a good story! |
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GOURMET MOIST from Kingly Heirs The most delicious pound cake you have ever tasted. 
Our cake is a cream cheese pound cake. Just add eggs and oil. Light, fluffy, creamy A most lucious cake surrounded by a sugary crust Order some today! |
See our poster and brochure about a fan trip on the New Haven RR in 1937. It ran from NY City to Bridgeport, Danbury, Poughkeepsie, Maybrook, and Campbell Hall to Warwick NY. The brochure contains a description of the route including the big bridge in Pok plus a map. The fare was $3.50 round trip. How much would you pay to ride that trip today ? |
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FRANCE: NICE WILL OPEN TRAMWAY LINE 2 in YEAR 2016!
In a surprise move, Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi changed his mind about running Line 2 up the Promenade des Anglais and instead went with a plan that provides an 8.6 kilometer "tram/metro" with 3.6 kilometers below ground. It will cost €'450,000,000 and carry 110,000 - 140,000 daily passengers. It will run between Gare de Riquier and new? Gare Multimodal Saint-Augustin. Boulevard Rene Cassin / Avenue Californie at the Champion/Carrefour food market has a tramway in its future. Fifty-three years after the closure of the Tramway de Nice et du Littoral, the Tramway de Nice began to serve its Northern and Eastern sections. 2007 saw the completion of Line 1 serving the North-South needs of the city. Line 2 now addresses the East-West needs. This WebSite will be updated continuously until completion of Line 2 in Year 2016. |
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