by Love Train
As you may or may not know, I'm going out of town tomorrow and I'm not coming back until seven weeks later (I'm going to be a counselor-in-training at a summer camp). Tonight was the last time I got to ride the Metro (or any type of transit, for that matter) until I come back. Because as soon as I leave, I'll have ZERO connection to the transit world. No computer, no cell phone, no nothing. Just me, my friends, and the outdoors.
That being said, I tried to cherish every moment of my last Metro trip (and, for that matter, my last night at home). The purpose of this trip was to go to the Washington Nationals baseball game vs. the Cleveland Indians. This was my first Nationals game this season. I went with my dad, deciding that I would spend my last hours at home on father-son quality time. My father is very busy at work all the time, and I don't get to spend much time with him, so this was a special night for me as you can imagine (in more ways than one).
My mother dropped me off at my home stop, Grosvenor-Strathmore, where I rode the Metro alone to Dupont Circle to meet my dad. I just missed a train, but I only had to wait 3-4 minutes for the next one as it was rush hour. My train was a six car mixed train of Breda Rehabs and original Bredas. The first four cars were Breda Rehabs, and the last two cars were 3000 series original Bredas*. I was in rehabilitated Breda #3136, the front car. This was a train that originated at Shady Grove, destined for Glenmont, so there already were people on the train when it arrived, but it wasn't crowded and I was able to get a seat. The ride was uneventful. Most of the trip my train went medium speed, but not that fast. The interior LED displays were not working. I got off at Dupont Circle and since I was early, I watched trains before meeting my dad on the mezzanine. My dad joined me and we headed down to the Glenmont-bound platform, where we waited 3-4 minutes again for our train. The train came and it was quite crowded, but not so packed that you couldn't move. This train was an EIGHT CAR TRAIN! That makes two out of three trips getting an 8 car on the Red Line. The train was a mixed train of 4000 series original Bredas and Breda Rehabs. The first six cars were 4000 series original Breda, and the last two were Breda Rehabs. I was in original Breda #4021, the second car from the front. I can't remember whether the train's destination was Silver Spring or Glenmont (I think I'll survive). This was just a short two-stop ride from Dupont Circle to Metro Center. While transferring to the Blue/Orange lines to go to Stadium-Armory, we noticed a HUGE line for the escalators down to the lower level platform. Therefore, we walked down the corridor to the staircase at the end and walked down the stairs to the platform. This turned out to be a good decision since a train was waiting at the bottom and we would've missed it if we'd waited for the escalators. The train was a Rohr train, a Blue Line train destined for Largo Town Center. I can't remember if this train was 4 or 6 cars long, but I think it was 4 (again, I think I'll survive). What I do remember is that all cars on the train were Rohr and I was in Rohr #1178, the front car. This train was VERY crowded. I had to stand for the whole ride, which I wasn't happy about. Fortunately, the ride to Stadium-Armory wasn't too long.
The game was FANTASTIC. This was the most fun I've ever had at a Nats game. It was good baseball, with few mistakes and excellent pitching. The Nationals beat the Indians 4-1, and the hero of the game was Brandon Watson, in his first Major League game this season, who got two key RBI singles. What's great about a game in June is that you don't have to worry about Playoffs, etc. You can just enjoy the game for what it is and appreciate each win. The crowd was very large and rowdy (it turns out the actual attendance was 24,534, which surprised me because it seemed like more than that); of course, though, it was not a Yankee crowd of 50,000+.
Even though we stayed the whole game, we had no trouble weaving through the crowd heading back into the Metro. The Nationals' train was already waiting at Stadium-Armory (I call it the Nationals' train because its the same train that always waits at the platform right after all Nationals games; its always an 8 car Orange Line train destined for Vienna-Fairfax). This particular 8 car Vienna-bound Orange Line train was a solid Breda Rehab train; all 8 cars were Breda Rehabs. We walked all the way down to the front of the train and boarded rehabiliated Breda #3172, the second car from the front. We got on easily and even got seats. The train sat in the station for a few minutes, tried four times to close the doors before finally doing so successfully, then left. The ride was very pleasant to Metro Center. The interior LED displays were not working.
We got off the train at Metro Center and headed upstairs to the Shady Grove bound Red Line platform and had to wait 7 minutes (ugh) for our train back to Dupont Circle, where my dad would drive me home. Both platforms were crowded, most of the people being Nationals fans. While waiting, a six car Rohr train arrived on the other side, bound for Glenmont. An OOS train followed it. But this was no ordinary OOS train. It was a four car Rohr train. The first two cars were typical Rohrs. But the last two Rohr cars had ROLLSIGNS! Oren, or Sandbox, whoever can answer this question: Was this the money train? If so, what was it doing? What was it doing anyway? There are no Rohrs in service that have rollsigns. Another thing to note: When this train passed through, it left a horrible smell! The air smelled like burning rubber after the train passed, and it STUNK! And I had to deal with it for 4 more minutes until my Shady Grove-bound train, a 6 car Rohr train, arrived. I was in Rohr #1021, the third car from the front. The train was moderately crowded when it came, but when the huge Nationals crowd got on it was packed to the point that you couldn't move. We were lucky that we were able to push and squeeze our way through the crowd to get off the train at Dupont Circle. We headed up to my dad's office building, down to the parking garage, and my dad drove me home.
When everything was all said and done, I had a truly unforgettable night. On paper, it was just a typical summer Friday night at at Nationals game with my dad. But in my heart, I knew that it was special. If there's anything I wish to say to all of you from this, its this: Cherish every moment you spend with your father, and make your relationship with your father as good as it possibly can be. You only live once, and you have only one father, so make the best of the limited time you have with him.
I conclude my trip report with a farewell. As I've said, you won't be seeing any posts from me for the next seven weeks. THE END.
*An interesting thing I noticed on the Red Line: There were a lot of 3000 series Original Bredas! While they were all mixed in trains with other car types, it seemed like every other train contained a 3000 series Breda pair that wasn't rehabilitated. I didn't know there were that many unrehabbed 3000 series Bredas still in service. I guess they're all spending their last days on the Red Line before being sent up to Hornell, NY for rehabilitation.
Why are the stations on the Blue/Orange Lines so much closer together than the Red Line?
That being said, I tried to cherish every moment of my last Metro trip (and, for that matter, my last night at home). The purpose of this trip was to go to the Washington Nationals baseball game vs. the Cleveland Indians. This was my first Nationals game this season. I went with my dad, deciding that I would spend my last hours at home on father-son quality time. My father is very busy at work all the time, and I don't get to spend much time with him, so this was a special night for me as you can imagine (in more ways than one).
My mother dropped me off at my home stop, Grosvenor-Strathmore, where I rode the Metro alone to Dupont Circle to meet my dad. I just missed a train, but I only had to wait 3-4 minutes for the next one as it was rush hour. My train was a six car mixed train of Breda Rehabs and original Bredas. The first four cars were Breda Rehabs, and the last two cars were 3000 series original Bredas*. I was in rehabilitated Breda #3136, the front car. This was a train that originated at Shady Grove, destined for Glenmont, so there already were people on the train when it arrived, but it wasn't crowded and I was able to get a seat. The ride was uneventful. Most of the trip my train went medium speed, but not that fast. The interior LED displays were not working. I got off at Dupont Circle and since I was early, I watched trains before meeting my dad on the mezzanine. My dad joined me and we headed down to the Glenmont-bound platform, where we waited 3-4 minutes again for our train. The train came and it was quite crowded, but not so packed that you couldn't move. This train was an EIGHT CAR TRAIN! That makes two out of three trips getting an 8 car on the Red Line. The train was a mixed train of 4000 series original Bredas and Breda Rehabs. The first six cars were 4000 series original Breda, and the last two were Breda Rehabs. I was in original Breda #4021, the second car from the front. I can't remember whether the train's destination was Silver Spring or Glenmont (I think I'll survive). This was just a short two-stop ride from Dupont Circle to Metro Center. While transferring to the Blue/Orange lines to go to Stadium-Armory, we noticed a HUGE line for the escalators down to the lower level platform. Therefore, we walked down the corridor to the staircase at the end and walked down the stairs to the platform. This turned out to be a good decision since a train was waiting at the bottom and we would've missed it if we'd waited for the escalators. The train was a Rohr train, a Blue Line train destined for Largo Town Center. I can't remember if this train was 4 or 6 cars long, but I think it was 4 (again, I think I'll survive). What I do remember is that all cars on the train were Rohr and I was in Rohr #1178, the front car. This train was VERY crowded. I had to stand for the whole ride, which I wasn't happy about. Fortunately, the ride to Stadium-Armory wasn't too long.
The game was FANTASTIC. This was the most fun I've ever had at a Nats game. It was good baseball, with few mistakes and excellent pitching. The Nationals beat the Indians 4-1, and the hero of the game was Brandon Watson, in his first Major League game this season, who got two key RBI singles. What's great about a game in June is that you don't have to worry about Playoffs, etc. You can just enjoy the game for what it is and appreciate each win. The crowd was very large and rowdy (it turns out the actual attendance was 24,534, which surprised me because it seemed like more than that); of course, though, it was not a Yankee crowd of 50,000+.
Even though we stayed the whole game, we had no trouble weaving through the crowd heading back into the Metro. The Nationals' train was already waiting at Stadium-Armory (I call it the Nationals' train because its the same train that always waits at the platform right after all Nationals games; its always an 8 car Orange Line train destined for Vienna-Fairfax). This particular 8 car Vienna-bound Orange Line train was a solid Breda Rehab train; all 8 cars were Breda Rehabs. We walked all the way down to the front of the train and boarded rehabiliated Breda #3172, the second car from the front. We got on easily and even got seats. The train sat in the station for a few minutes, tried four times to close the doors before finally doing so successfully, then left. The ride was very pleasant to Metro Center. The interior LED displays were not working.
We got off the train at Metro Center and headed upstairs to the Shady Grove bound Red Line platform and had to wait 7 minutes (ugh) for our train back to Dupont Circle, where my dad would drive me home. Both platforms were crowded, most of the people being Nationals fans. While waiting, a six car Rohr train arrived on the other side, bound for Glenmont. An OOS train followed it. But this was no ordinary OOS train. It was a four car Rohr train. The first two cars were typical Rohrs. But the last two Rohr cars had ROLLSIGNS! Oren, or Sandbox, whoever can answer this question: Was this the money train? If so, what was it doing? What was it doing anyway? There are no Rohrs in service that have rollsigns. Another thing to note: When this train passed through, it left a horrible smell! The air smelled like burning rubber after the train passed, and it STUNK! And I had to deal with it for 4 more minutes until my Shady Grove-bound train, a 6 car Rohr train, arrived. I was in Rohr #1021, the third car from the front. The train was moderately crowded when it came, but when the huge Nationals crowd got on it was packed to the point that you couldn't move. We were lucky that we were able to push and squeeze our way through the crowd to get off the train at Dupont Circle. We headed up to my dad's office building, down to the parking garage, and my dad drove me home.
When everything was all said and done, I had a truly unforgettable night. On paper, it was just a typical summer Friday night at at Nationals game with my dad. But in my heart, I knew that it was special. If there's anything I wish to say to all of you from this, its this: Cherish every moment you spend with your father, and make your relationship with your father as good as it possibly can be. You only live once, and you have only one father, so make the best of the limited time you have with him.
I conclude my trip report with a farewell. As I've said, you won't be seeing any posts from me for the next seven weeks. THE END.
*An interesting thing I noticed on the Red Line: There were a lot of 3000 series Original Bredas! While they were all mixed in trains with other car types, it seemed like every other train contained a 3000 series Breda pair that wasn't rehabilitated. I didn't know there were that many unrehabbed 3000 series Bredas still in service. I guess they're all spending their last days on the Red Line before being sent up to Hornell, NY for rehabilitation.
Why are the stations on the Blue/Orange Lines so much closer together than the Red Line?
