by Silverliner II
I was out riding Metro-North for the first time since March, this time on the New Haven Line. My trip from GCT to Stamford involved four trains and three stops: Pelham, Cos Cob, and Stamford itself, then Amtrak home.
Got quite a bit of nice video, rode the class unit M-8, saw and videoed the class unit M-6, and noted four bar car pairs operating, and the last (or one of the last two Gray Ghosts on the first Danbury maxibomb trip). But at some point along the way, something happened on the line and the entire schedule went in the toilet. By the time I went to catch my train from Cos Cob to Stamford, most trains were running 10 to 40 minutes late. At Stamford, the worst delay was a 45-minute late Metro-North train. Amtrak was caught in the mess as well. Announcements at Stamford only referred to the delays being caused by a "prior incident". Announcements at Cos Cob made mention of "mechanical problems". I'm guessing one disabled train in a bad spot managed to upset the apple cart?
Without going into specifics, on two of the trains I rode today, the crowds were so thick that my tickets on those segments never got collected and I got the impression from crew announcements that the trains in question were short cars. On a related note, last week when I was returning from Providence on Amtrak, I passed a maxibomb set heading to New Haven east of Stratford, and a Waterbury minibomb was perhaps only two minutes behind. Is there actually a minor equipment shortage, or do Bombers run to New Haven as needed? I also ask because today, I counted 5 maxibomb sets on the New Haven Line, all heading east, and only three are scheduled to Danbury. I got the first three sets on my video, and passed the last two while heading home on Amtrak.
All and all, a good day, and a better job done handling the delays than some other outfits I won't name...
Got quite a bit of nice video, rode the class unit M-8, saw and videoed the class unit M-6, and noted four bar car pairs operating, and the last (or one of the last two Gray Ghosts on the first Danbury maxibomb trip). But at some point along the way, something happened on the line and the entire schedule went in the toilet. By the time I went to catch my train from Cos Cob to Stamford, most trains were running 10 to 40 minutes late. At Stamford, the worst delay was a 45-minute late Metro-North train. Amtrak was caught in the mess as well. Announcements at Stamford only referred to the delays being caused by a "prior incident". Announcements at Cos Cob made mention of "mechanical problems". I'm guessing one disabled train in a bad spot managed to upset the apple cart?
Without going into specifics, on two of the trains I rode today, the crowds were so thick that my tickets on those segments never got collected and I got the impression from crew announcements that the trains in question were short cars. On a related note, last week when I was returning from Providence on Amtrak, I passed a maxibomb set heading to New Haven east of Stratford, and a Waterbury minibomb was perhaps only two minutes behind. Is there actually a minor equipment shortage, or do Bombers run to New Haven as needed? I also ask because today, I counted 5 maxibomb sets on the New Haven Line, all heading east, and only three are scheduled to Danbury. I got the first three sets on my video, and passed the last two while heading home on Amtrak.
All and all, a good day, and a better job done handling the delays than some other outfits I won't name...
"CSX Detector. Milepost Six Point Four. No Defects. Repeat: No Defects. Total Axles Seven Four Seven. Detector Out"
