Stalled on the Train Tracks and We’re Not Moving

Yesterday was a fun time on my way home. I get to the 5:30 train and find my seat. A professional man sits down next to me. We head out on our merry way on the express train. They make the announcement “Anderson Woburn Anderson!” Everyone gets up and starts heading down the aisle toward the door when all of a sudden the train stops dead.

“The train has stalled but it will be just a few minutes and we will be back up and running.” Says the conductor. Everyone remains in their place since it will only be a few minutes.

“Again. Just a few minutes. We apologize for the delay.” He says to keep us from getting irritated but it’s too late.

The air conditioning has remained on during this entire time we were stalled. However, right after that announcement, the battery must have run out of juice because all the power goes dead. The conductor gets on the loud speaker again “Clearly, the train is dead. We apologize for the delay.”

People standing start talking about attempting to walk along the side of the train track to the station stop. It’s not that far. However, the conductors put a stop to that quickly. How dangerous is that? Seriously people!

The guy next to me is irritated and starting to sweat. He starts by loosening his tie. Then he decides to take the tie off. Then he starts unbuttoning his button down shirt. He then, whips off his shirt and is down to his undershirt. Awesome! Because this isn’t awkward!

A conductor opens our door to our car and goes “Wooooo it is like a sauna in here! You do realize your car is the worst?” Thanks for the kind words of comfort buddy. That was great.

“Amtrak is going to come behind us and push us in to Anderson. For those of you going beyond Anderson, please get off and take the next train.” A conductor says over the loud speaker.

At this point, the 5:50pm train hasn’t passed us so there is hope that we can get into that one seamlessly. Directly after the thought crossed my mind I hear “Toot Toot Toot!” from afar. I believe it’s the Amtrak that’s going to push us in. All of a sudden a commuter rail train blows by us still tooting it’s horn on the other rail. There goes the 5:50pm train!

Everyone sighs pretty much in unison. This is so discouraging. The train after the 5:50pm train will not go to where I need it to go. So, I’d have to catch the train after that. Not happy! And neither is everyone else!

Loud speaker comes on again “That is the 5:50pm train. They have been instructed to wait for us while we get pushed in and if you are going further, you will get on that train.” Everyone seems a little less pissed at this point.

We feel a bump and the Amtrak train is connected and we are creeping into Anderson Woburn Station. Once we get to the platform safely, we disembark the train and cross over and hop onto the other one. A/C is on full blast! Loud speaker comes on “If you are in a three seater and the middle seat is open, slide over. We will be at double the capacity.” I look around and no one moves! No one! We are in a time of commuter crisis and no one is willing to scooch in. I find a two seater and plop down on the end. I grab my book from my bag and continue reading where I left off. The doors close with everyone on and we’re packed but we were moving!

I got to my stop about an hour later than usual. I rushed home and poured myself a glass of wine. After all, it was wine Wednesday.

Acela to NYC

It's been a while since I have posted. I had to go to NYC for a week long conference which was an incredible success!

I took the Amtrak Acela down during the day. Since the only other time I had taken the train to Penn Station was in the dark, I hadn't realized how scenic the train ride was. We went along the coast with picturesque views. I didn't even want to read my book, I just looked out the window. Finally, I came upon something familiar, the Ferry! I sat in my seat and smiled and laughed to myself. My husband and I went to visit a dear old friend in the Hampton's and left that Ferry station to do so in the middle of a terrible storm. We reluctantly drove our then, Volvo on that Ferry and prayed we didn't A. Go overboard and drowned or B. get sea sick. When we finally got to the other side of the sound, the rain had subsided and we were on our way. I got to reminisce in my head of what a wonderful weekend that was. Visiting Vineyards and sipping wine. Heading to Montauk for an afternoon of fun in the sun and bonfire beach parties at night!  

Before I knew it, I was at Penn Station. I got off the train and went up a few slights of stairs to the cab stand. This was WAY better than flying in! It's relaxing, there's no security check, you can bring full size bottles of shampoo and conditioner with you... the list goes on! But most important, you're dropped right in the heart of the city and getting a cab is a piece of cake. I highly recommend the Acela if you head down to NYC. I know I will be taking it much more on my future trips.