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I got up stupid early for my train. I had one more thing to do in NYC, see what the Metro Lounge at the Amtrak station was like. But, it wasn't open. The whole point of Metro Lounges is to smooth out the travel experience and the weird times and layovers. On one hand, the general Amtrak passenger lounge in Penn Station was nicer than some Metro Lounges I've been in, but on the other now I've missed my chance to see that lounge.
The good news is that the train was a newer Viewliner design with no toilet in the room and nice chairs. The bad news? My door didn't close. I can put up with a lot of jank when traveling on a train, I even like some of the jank, but the door to the room I am going to be sleeping in not being able to close? That's a bit too much for me. Still, I was on the train and the train was moving.
The views were interesting. Lots of woods with what I think were pink dogwoods in full brilliance. Rivers, the length of the New River Gorge, abandoned coal infrastructure, old power lines, thoroughly rusted or crumbling infrastructure still in use… including the most vulnerable point of transportation failure in the US and I somehow missed that one tunnel. B1M video on this crumbling point of failure and the race to save it, if you are interested.
And there were lots and lots of rowhouses. Many old rowhouses with colonial details. Rowhouses that seen to curve gently over the landscape in a way they probably didn’t when built, newer rowhouses all perfectly geometric made of bricks, large windows and roof patios, rowhouses in modernist designs. Rowhouses in neat lines over the landscape like rows of crops, rowhouses in weird short little lines on large plots of land.
Dirty windows and no observation car made taking pics a bit tricky, but I tried to roll with it.
Then, the final day, I woke up in in Chicago and got to go have a shower! I did head out and walk Chicago a bit, but I was also exhausted so I mostly just stayed in the Chicago Metro Lounge. I'd left so early I'd barely gotten any sleep my last night in NYC, and then I hadn't sleep great with my door not only open, but since it couldn't latch it was making noise back and forth in it's track. Also, whatever crud had been wrecking my life was probably already getting it's claws into me.
I may post an epilogue and a few odds and ends I forgot to post about, like the shouting Mennonites. But, my train travelogue is done and all the photo organizing that was tripping me up is done.
The good news is that the train was a newer Viewliner design with no toilet in the room and nice chairs. The bad news? My door didn't close. I can put up with a lot of jank when traveling on a train, I even like some of the jank, but the door to the room I am going to be sleeping in not being able to close? That's a bit too much for me. Still, I was on the train and the train was moving.
The views were interesting. Lots of woods with what I think were pink dogwoods in full brilliance. Rivers, the length of the New River Gorge, abandoned coal infrastructure, old power lines, thoroughly rusted or crumbling infrastructure still in use… including the most vulnerable point of transportation failure in the US and I somehow missed that one tunnel. B1M video on this crumbling point of failure and the race to save it, if you are interested.
And there were lots and lots of rowhouses. Many old rowhouses with colonial details. Rowhouses that seen to curve gently over the landscape in a way they probably didn’t when built, newer rowhouses all perfectly geometric made of bricks, large windows and roof patios, rowhouses in modernist designs. Rowhouses in neat lines over the landscape like rows of crops, rowhouses in weird short little lines on large plots of land.
Dirty windows and no observation car made taking pics a bit tricky, but I tried to roll with it.
Then, the final day, I woke up in in Chicago and got to go have a shower! I did head out and walk Chicago a bit, but I was also exhausted so I mostly just stayed in the Chicago Metro Lounge. I'd left so early I'd barely gotten any sleep my last night in NYC, and then I hadn't sleep great with my door not only open, but since it couldn't latch it was making noise back and forth in it's track. Also, whatever crud had been wrecking my life was probably already getting it's claws into me.
I may post an epilogue and a few odds and ends I forgot to post about, like the shouting Mennonites. But, my train travelogue is done and all the photo organizing that was tripping me up is done.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-04 03:19 am (UTC)From:The reflection off the windows gives those last couple photos a very vintage feel.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-04 06:42 pm (UTC)From:Yeah, the reflections/shadows are like that because of how dirty the windows were. It was pretty bad
no subject
Date: 2025-05-08 04:13 am (UTC)From:It is unfortunate that the windows were that dirty. But some people try really hard to get that effect with a filter, so... all natural vibes!