We will be taking the Amtrak 'Regional' from Boston to NYC. We expect to be there for four nights and three days. Any suggestions? Shops I should visit? Rail yards visible from a bridge or something? Museums I should see? Hotels you would recommend? (need not be train related) Must try places to dine? Thanks folks! Also please see my 'Wedding Train' thread: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?157333-Wedding-Train
Trainworld on Macdonald avenue in Brooklyn. Red Caboose on west 45th st. between 5th and 6th aveues, Manhattan. New York City transit museum, at Boerum Place, Brooklyn. Sunnyside Yard, visible from Queens BLVD. Take #7 train to Queensboro Plaza. New elevated park on lower west side of Manhattan, build on former NYC elevated track structure. Grand central Station. 42nd St and Lexington Avenue.
It's called the High Line. If I ever get back to NY, it'll be the first thing I visit. http://www.thehighline.org/ Steve S
Does the other participant of this honeymoon know what your planning? Congratulations and have a great time.
Um, er, 'does *she* know"? Define that. Well, Yes, sorta. I have sent her links. Thanks for the wishes.
Sigh, Thanks for the suggestion but I 'Wikied' it. It is a 'coach yard' used by Amtrak and the commuter rail. Oh well, as I think about it real estate would be far to costly for a freight yard. Even CSX moved their yards farther out of Boston. Side note: We now have a car to go foaming. Shhh, don't tell her I said that.
Check out this interpretation of the Sunnyside Yard http://whiteriverandnorthern.net/plan-20.htm by David K Smith
I usually go train watching on CSX west shore line along the Hudson river from Bear Mountain to Kingston. Many places to stop and watch Safely. In Highland NY across the Hudson from Poughkeepsie you can access the old New Haven Bridge above the Hudson River which has been reopened as a hiking trail. Great views. Watch where you park in NYC.
I'll double retsignalmtr's suggestion of Grand Central. Very historic place and awesome in many respects.
Interesting train ride for not much money is the PATH train (originally the Manhattan and Hudson) from Manhattan to Newark Penn Station. There's two stations in Manhattan, one at the World Trade Center location and one at 33rd and 6th. Make sure you get on the right train to get to Newark. Back when I rode it regularly from 33rd Street you had to take the train to Journal Square and change trains. It's a subway until you get near Journal Square station. Riding the front car is fun - you can look out the front window next to the operator's cab. Soon after Journal Square you are right in the middle of railroad infrastructure. Crossing the Hackensack River you'll see some great bridges and finally you'll follow the former PRR line into Newark Penn Station. With luck you'll see Amtrak as well as NJ Commuter rail pulled by electric locomotives. The approach into Penn Station on the massive bridges across the Passaic River is worth the price of admission. Not bad for $5 round trip. Now it might be you'll have to make a trade - do like 8 hours of shopping on 5th Ave in return for a train ride like this! Here's a link: http://www.panynj.gov/path/ George V.
Not train related, but the Museum of Natural History is really something. I've seen a lot of museums in my 67 years, but this one is far and away the best. Doing it right will probably take 2 days at least.
Certainly not train related, but a 100% party, Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, a restaurant, piano bar, just good fun. My wife and I closed the place down on our first trip to NYC, 4:00 AM. www.donttellmamanyc.com Don't Tell Mama is a veritable nightlife mall with four individual spaces: a piano bar, a restaurant and 2 separate cabaret showrooms. Visit DTM NYC ... Kent in KC nvrr49@yahoo.com Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
see, so I believe you still can merely stay on board as you've already paid for the round trip !! I promise this is a thrill ! HI ! I grew up in NYC. THIS IS a MUST DO !! : Get to west side of Manhattan and find the southbound IRT subway station nearest to you. Enjoy the sounds and aura of the subway system.. If front car still has a door you can see tracks ahead through, cup your hands and watch the signals and trackage fly by !! BUT, here's the crux : The train you get on must say "South Ferry" ..Take it to South Ferry which is on a sharp curve as train begins to loop back uptown. After exiting (unless 9/11 changed all this ) turn toward cars and check out the moving platform as train is very banked here and this is needed to fill gap. Watch it move back as train leaves. Yet, this isn't even the really fabulous leg of journey ! In South Ferry follow signs up to the Staten Island Ferry. Pay for round trip (Very very cheap). Now, after boarding, take ship's stairs to bottom level where autos are. Stay at rear (aft ?) of ferry and witness the paddle wheels (or what ever is used now) intensely agitating the water while shoving off ! Sea gulls usually follow her. Watch Manhattan shrink in distance whilst you pass the Statue of Liberty !! I doubt there's anything ON Staten Island to see. Get back uptown and (walk or taxi) to w72nd St and 8th Ave. and see where John Lennon lost his life ( right there at the 72nd St entrance of the Dakoda ). Finally, walk up 8th Ave to W79th ( I think it is) with Central Park on you right and visit the Museum of Natural History's Gem collection !! All the best, Mark
The Museum of Natural History was the very first place I thought of. My family visited it several times when I was in elementary school circa 1960. I can't way to see it again. Bonus: We found a hotel 5 minutes away by foot. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll tell Laura about it. Sounds like fun! Thanks! Sounds like a good ride. I'll look into it.
The Hotel Lucerne at '201 W 79th St,' has been selected for our stay. We are open to dining suggestions on Manhattan.
You can't look out the front door anymore. Since the NYCTA is getting into OPTO (one person train operation) all of the new cars have the M/M's cab across the full end of the cars. The older cars are being retrofitted with full cabs. But you can look out the cab door through a small clear spot into the cab. You can no longer walk or ride between the cars either. All the end doors are closed and locked. One of the stations at South Ferry, I think it was the new one, was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy and is not in use. You must also be in one of the first four cars to be able to get off there. I always enjoyed having a cheap lunch at Greys Papaya on 72nd st and B'way when I was working in the area. There was, and I don't know if it still is there, a Dallas BBQ restaurant, also on 72nd st near Central Park West.
Amazing !! I lived at 70th and West End Ave. in Lincoln Towers when I was in HS in 1964 ! I had a girlfriend who's parents owned the Sacred Cow on 72nd St. I remember the subway station that was above ground 72 & B'way. Moved to L.A. in 1978. Whilst now out here I met a man who worked the token booth at same !!! Yeah I had a feeling they were adding those full frontal cabs to the cars. Too bad, huh ? Wow back in the day we'd ride between cars with those fat chains and the couplers under our feet ! The thrill, the wind, the ozone, the clackedy -clack !!
No names, but perhaps there are some interesting eateries in Greenwich Village and or SOHO (south of Houston). Catz's Deli on Houston. Chinatown...
