Happy New Year to all from I Ride the Harlem Line! As you’ve likely seen, 2015 was a very busy year for me. I got married in Grand Central, started working at Amtrak, moved twice, bought a house, and a whole bunch of other exciting things. All of this did take a toll on the site, as nothing was posted in either November or December of 2015. I have no intentions of abandoning I Ride the Harlem Line, however, and am hoping to bring you more posts in 2016 – including the new tour of the Harlem Line that I promised.
For now, though, let’s take a look back at 2015 and what was popular on the site, and on our social media.
Top 10 Photos on Instagram
On Instagram, snow shots seemed to prevail, taking 4 of the top spots. Seven of the ten shots were of Metro-North trains, while one was a lightblur of a Chicago L train. Two New York City shots made their way into the top 10 – one of the Empire State Building from the waterfront in Jersey City, and another of crowds in Times Square on New Years Day, 2015.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Top 5 Posts on Facebook
Due to my move I never got a chance to send out holiday cards, but taking the top spot on Facebook was our virtual holiday card of Amtrak meeting up with a steam excursion from the Strasburg Rail Road. Rounding out the rest of the top five are two popular posts for the year, and two photos – one of which made a showing above, albeit with an Instagram filter.
Top 5 Posts on the Blog
The Lost Train Station of the Bronx – 138th Street, Mott Haven
After significant amounts of research, I finally posted about 138th Street – a beautiful station that had disappeared that had long captured my interest. Apparently, the story of the lost station was a popular topic, as it was the most popular post on the blog for 2015.
My Final Metro-North Commute
Second most popular was my announcement that I would no longer be regularly commuting by Metro-North, as I had landed a job at Amtrak.
A Wedding in Grand Central
Another popular post for the year, and a noteworthy personal event for myself, was my wedding in Grand Central.
The Electrification of Grand Central, and Metro-North’s Third Rail
After yet another grade crossing incident where an inattentive driver ignored signs and waited on the railroad tracks, leading to a deadly Metro-North crash, the subject of the type of third rail used on the Harlem Line came up in the media. In this fourth most popular post for the year, I discussed the history of electrification, and how the design for our third rail was decided upon.
Tuesday Tour of the New Haven Line: Devon Transfer
A tour of the very short lived station of Devon Transfer, on the New Haven Line.
Meanwhile at Amtrak…
In case you haven’t been following what I do at Amtrak on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on our Blog, here are some of the highlights:
Amtrak Employees Volunteer: The Capital Region Toys for Tots Train
Amtrak Appreciates Veterans
Infographic: Looking for a job at Amtrak?
So happy to see this pop up in my Inbox, Emily! Miss your regular posts. Glad to hear you’re doing well. Happy New Year!
Emily, thank you for so much and may this be your best year yet!
Photo caption, for the lead photo: left-to-right, New Haven Line westbound MUs, coming down the fly-over and onto the ex-NYC. They are lined for Track #4 (south); M-NR MUs, northbound (NYC – westbound) headed for Mount Vernon West/WPNS/Brewster North on Track #1; NH MUs diverging from Track #3, eastbound, at Woodlawn, for New Rochelle Jct (Shell) and New Haven. Spent many hours there, and in the old Woodlawn (WO/CP 112) tower. Just up the hill is where the improperly-deployed, operator air-actuated NH third rail shoes got clipped off by trackside guard hardware before fouling NYC’s third rail. Happened a lot, on the FL-9s. EP-5s were dead-in-the-water if that occurred, a rare occocurence with the electric motors and the MUs., and EP-3s, They dropped their pants and third rail shoes at the same time, coasting down the flyover.
Em. Congratulations on getting married. Wish I could have been there. Bet it was the perfect location with your background on the Harlem. And happy to see you’re employed at Amtrak. My cousin spent some time there. But, looking at your photos, which I really adore, I was wondering how you obtained the photo of 3 trains under Nereid Ave approaching the BRP? I could not imagine stopping my car and getting out to snap a pic. You were there at the right time with no traffic? Splendid.
Thanks! There’s a little space where you can walk up there on the bridge. You can park your car down at the bottom and walk up.