To All the Trains I've Loved Before

[HankStrong]

This thread is intended to be like the "Cool Stuff in Other Cities" but specifically for other mass transit systems that I (or you) have personally used.  It's no secret that I love trains and I tend to ride them in every city I visit.

 

I'll start with a new one for me.  TRAX light rail in Salt Lake City.

 

TRAX has a handy free zone downtown.  The other areas are $5 for a day pass.  Our hotel told us the free zone extended to the airport and we rode it without paying all the way there.  The online site I looked at prior to posting this says the airport is outside the free zone, so????  Buying tickets (for the day we did, the other days we stayed in the downtown Free Zone section) was easy and basically just like SunRail with the tap on/tap off system.  The free zone is fairly comparable to our LYMMO bus routes.  It covers the bulk of the downtown business area.  There is currently a lot of construction downtown and parking is a premium.  We had a rental car, but this saved a lot of time.

There were a ton of stations spread out over 4 lines.  We rode the Green Line and the Blue Line, but didn't need to use the Red Line or the S Line (I'm not sure why they got away from colors) where S indicates the Sugar House which is a place of import to the Mormons/LDS and the end of the line for this route.  The trains were nice and very ADA-compliant with all the cars we saw on the Green Line being low-floor models with direct roll-in for wheelchairs.  They had free masks and facial tissue on the trains.  I'm 99% sure that's a temporary thing.  There was no advertising on the walls, which is always nice.  The seats were comfortable and there was plenty of standing room.  As usual, no smoking.

Their rolling stock seemed to vary a bit between the lines.  They were light rail with electric power from above.  Wiki says they use only Siemens, but have SD-100s, SD-160s, and S70s, with the S70s being the nice, modern looking ones and the others being the older looking ones.  The trains connected at a multi-modal station to busses and a heavy rail system called Frontrunner that (we didn't ride it or visit the station, so this is from the website) comes in from Ogden & Provo as a commuter rail line.

I'd give it two thumb up.  It was easy to use, convenient, and clean.  I'd say it legitimately made my life as a tourist easier and helped my visit to be a positive one.

[JFW657]

I've ridden MARTA in Atlanta before a long time ago.

It was really nice.

Convenient too.

Friend and I were camping at Stone Mountain about 20 miles or so east of downtown. Caught a bus at the entrance to the campsite, took us to the train station which I believe was/is in Doraville (made famous in song by the Atlanta Rhythm Section) then the train carried us into Five Points in the heart of DTA.

And back then, it was dirt cheap, too.

Very nice.

Rode the people mover in downtown Miami once, too.

That was pretty nice. And free!!!

Takes down into Brickell as well as further north.

[spenser1058]

6 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

I've ridden MARTA in Atlanta before a long time ago.

It was really nice.

Convenient too.

Friend and I were camping at Stone Mountain about 20 miles or so east of downtown. Caught a bus at the entrance to the campsite, took us to the train station which I believe was/is in Doraville (made famous in song by the Atlanta Rhythm Section) then the train carried us into Five Points in the heart of DTA.

And back then, it was dirt cheap, too.

Very nice.

Rode the people mover in downtown Miami once, too.

That was pretty nice. And free!!!

Takes down into Brickell as well as further north.

MARTA rail always had the best looking transit cops - it was worth riding just for the eye candy!

[popsiclebrandon]

Haven't been on too many systems but this is my current rankings

1. Hamburg - Super fast and efficient and went everywhere

2. Netherlands - Since country is small going to just put it all as one. Stopped in 4 different cities in a few hours so easy and clean.

3. Miami - It shockingly works and covers a lot of ground and avoids the insane traffic. Needs more frequent trains to reach the top tier.

Big gap

4. Rome - Barely need it since its so walkable but it runs quickly and its cheap.

5. Circumvesuviana - Its dirty and they seem to skip stations randomly but I kinda loved it. Also lack of day/month pass is insane considering its a commuter train.

6. Naples - Just a horrible system especially if you are coming into Garibaldi station. Trains run like 1 per hour.

Grand Canyon sized gap

7. Pittsburgh - The most useless train system on earth. Just a stupid, stupid plan.

[spenser1058]

Does Metrorail in Miami have east-west tracks yet to connect the beach with the airport?

[dcluley98]

Nicest subway/train station I have ever used was Toronto's downtown loop and Union station. It was immaculate. 

The most "functional" were NYC and Washington DC Metro.  Both were pretty nasty/scary in places. 

The most interesting was San Francisco cable cars/streetcars.  

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

Nicest subway/train station I have ever used was Toronto's downtown loop and Union station. It was immaculate. 

The most "functional" were NYC and Washington DC Metro.  Both were pretty nasty/scary in places. 

The most interesting was San Francisco cable cars/streetcars.  

And of course the NYC subway has the added attraction of that lovely scent of stale urine...  

[HankStrong]

In line with @dcluley98 I'll go next to the Toronto subway!

 

I was dating a girl here in Orlando that was actually from Toronto.  She was working here for a while, but always planned to move back.  Before we very amicably split up she invited me to spend a bit of time in Toronto with her so I could see if there was any way I'd consider moving to Canada.  It was a unique relationship.  She told me early on that she wasn't staying, but we were welcome to enjoy our time together as long as I knew it had a defined expiration date.  We had fun in Toronto, came back to Florida, were together a few more weeks, and then went our separate ways.  We both lived up to the deal and it legitimately was one of the least messy relationships ever.  Back to Toronto, though!

She took me up in the CN Tower, took me to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the old Maple Leaf Gardens (I'm a Leafs fan), the then-brand new arena where the Leafs had moved to, and (since she'd heard me say I had never been on a subway in my entire life and I loved trains) took me for a fun ride around Toronto subway.  She gave me the full experience!  We started at Union Station, rode the subway for several stops, switched trains, hopped on and off at a few places she wanted to show me, and rode back to Union Station.  This was an amazing experience and my first ride on an underground train and first public transit train of any kind.  It would be the first of many.  I had been on several heavy-rail regular trains (including Amtrak and some restored classics around the country) and trains/monorails at theme parks or amusement parks.

I have since been back and enjoyed it again.  It is a very nice system.  They currently have 4 lines (3 underground and 1 elevated light rail) and are in the process of adding 2 light rail lines and decommissioning the elevated line.  It was pretty clean in the stations and on the trains.  Toronto is a pretty chill city and it was a very nice experience.  Wiki says they have 75 stations, are eliminating 5 stations, and adding 49 new stations in the next 2 years.

The subways are upgrading to a Bombardier trains they call Toronto Rocket Trains which don't look like the typical Bombardier needle trains.  They are more wide/stout.  The light rails are going to use Bombardier Flexity Freedom which do look like their typical trains.  I read that they also might use Alstom Citadis Spirit trains which is confusing because mixing your rolling stock is always a great way cause heartache.  These trains are heavily used in Europe and Northern Africa.

[angela1117]

I grew up in Trenton, NJ and remember riding the train to NYC with my grandmother often as a kid. We enjoyed several trips to the 1964-65 New York Worlds Fair with our adventurous grandmother. This was before Amtrak. I remember my grandmother telling me the seats were made of horse hair (!?). We also had to switch to the Long Island Railroad to get to the fair.

When I was in high school we found it advantageous that the train station was a quick 10 minute walk from our school. If you're going to cut school for the day better to do it in Philadelphia where you were less likely to be seen by an adult who knew your parents. 

When I went to college in DC the metro had opened the year before I got there so it was still beautifully new and not at all scary. The long escalators were very cool. 

I was so ready to commit to Sunrail when I worked in Sanford but the last mile just wasn't working out. I wish they'd scheduled the buses to be at the station when the train arrives but it just didn't line up for me. I miss the train whistles in downtown Orlando.

[jrs2]

On 6/21/2022 at 12:56 PM, dcluley98 said:

Nicest subway/train station I have ever used was Toronto's downtown loop and Union station. It was immaculate. 

The most "functional" were NYC and Washington DC Metro.  Both were pretty nasty/scary in places. 

The most interesting was San Francisco cable cars/streetcars.  

Athens' subway has white marble underground stations...top that...

[prahaboheme]

3 hours ago, jrs2 said:

Athens' subway has white marble underground stations...top that...

I just returned from Athens.  They also built an at-grade tram that allows for convenient beach access from the city center (about a 40 minute tram ride and a scenic one at that once it gets to the ocean and travels up/down the beach).  Less scenic is the decrepit state of the former Olympic Village for which the tram was initially conceived.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens_Tram

 

[jrs2]

15 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

I just returned from Athens.  They also built an at-grade tram that allows for convenient beach access from the city center (about a 40 minute tram ride and a scenic one at that once it gets to the ocean and travels up/down the beach).  Less scenic is the decrepit state of the former Olympic Village for which the tram was initially conceived.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens_Tram

good to know.  I haven't been on that...

[HankStrong]

My info on Athens is several years old, but I have also been to Athens and used the subway and the trams.

We came in on a ferry to Piraeus port and took the subway to the attractions in Athens.  It was complete and utter chaos.  It was a very warm summer day and there was no a/c on the trains.  Those of us riding were packed like sardines in a can.  I think they have more new trains in the past few years as the rolling stock has changed from Mitsubishi EMU-3 units to Hyundai Rotem units that have a/c and modern features.  It says on the wiki those were there when we were there, but we definitely didn't ride in those.  The photos of the 1st generation Mitsi units are what we were riding.  They were old.  Maybe we showed up on crap day?  At one point the subway just stopped and the lights turned off.  Literally just stopped and turned off.  There was no announcement in Greek or English.  Just stopped.  After 30-40 seconds the doors opened and everyone just left.  It wasn't our station, so we sat there with about 20 other random tourists that we didn't know.  Eventually a nice woman on a bench came over and said "You must leave, this line is broken."  We went topside and caught a bus to the Acropolis and our subway ticket seemed like enough to do this.  We spent the day doing all of the touristy things and had a ton of fun.

Later we took another subway ride to a station we found that would take us to the tram that @prahabohemementioned.  We took the tram down to the end of the line and rode it back.  We had to catch our ferry back to Turkey.

I saw no stations with marble.  It was hot and junky.  It wasn't reliable.  We spent a grand total of about 15 hours in Athens, so I have limited experience with it.

I should add that a small part of the Tram line was extremely pretty.  It wasn't a lot.  

Edited June 23, 2022 by HankStrong

[prahaboheme]

9 minutes ago, HankStrong said:

My info on Athens is several years old, but I have also been to Athens and used the subway and the trams.

We came in on a ferry to Piraeus port and took the subway to the attractions in Athens.  It was complete and utter chaos.  It was a very warm summer day and there was no a/c on the trains.  Those of us riding were packed like sardines in a can.  I think they have more new trains in the past few years as the rolling stock has changed from Mitsubishi EMU-3 units to Hyundai Rotem units that have a/c and modern features.  It says on the wiki those were there when we were there, but we definitely didn't ride in those.  The photos of the 1st generation Mitsi units are what we were riding.  They were old.  Maybe we showed up on crap day?  At one point the subway just stopped and the lights turned off.  Literally just stopped and turned off.  There was no announcement in Greek or English.  Just stopped.  After 30-40 seconds the doors opened and everyone just left.  It wasn't our station, so we sat there with about 20 other random tourists that we didn't know.  Eventually a nice woman on a bench came over and said "You must leave, this line is broken."  We went topside and caught a bus to the Acropolis and our subway ticket seemed like enough to do this.  We spent the day doing all of the touristy things and had a ton of fun.

Later we took another subway ride to a station we found that would take us to the tram that @prahabohemementioned.  We took the tram down to the end of the line and rode it back.  We had to catch our ferry back to Turkey.

I saw no stations with marble.  It was hot and junky.  It wasn't reliable.  We spent a grand total of about 15 hours in Athens, so I have limited experience with it.

I should add that a small part of the Tram line was extremely pretty.  It wasn't a lot.  

You road Line 1 — the oldest section of the metro and is indeed very worn and still has come cars without A/C but is slowly changing. 

The future lines are very nice IMO and while I didn’t see marble, I did see artwork in almost every station, very clean, modern stations and overall reliability. 
 

If one doesn’t like cities with a bit of grit, Athens is probably a nightmare. I actually found it much much cleaner than I anticipating because like you post, most people found it filthy. 

[HankStrong]

I didn't find Athens (in genera) to be filthy but I did find the subway to be.  You are probably correct that we spent our time on Line 1.  I cannot confirm that from memory, but that would make sense.  I runs to the places we went to.

[jrs2]

23 hours ago, HankStrong said:

My info on Athens is several years old, but I have also been to Athens and used the subway and the trams.

We came in on a ferry to Piraeus port and took the subway to the attractions in Athens.  It was complete and utter chaos.  It was a very warm summer day and there was no a/c on the trains.  Those of us riding were packed like sardines in a can.  I think they have more new trains in the past few years as the rolling stock has changed from Mitsubishi EMU-3 units to Hyundai Rotem units that have a/c and modern features.  It says on the wiki those were there when we were there, but we definitely didn't ride in those.  The photos of the 1st generation Mitsi units are what we were riding.  They were old.  Maybe we showed up on crap day?  At one point the subway just stopped and the lights turned off.  Literally just stopped and turned off.  There was no announcement in Greek or English.  Just stopped.  After 30-40 seconds the doors opened and everyone just left.  It wasn't our station, so we sat there with about 20 other random tourists that we didn't know.  Eventually a nice woman on a bench came over and said "You must leave, this line is broken."  We went topside and caught a bus to the Acropolis and our subway ticket seemed like enough to do this.  We spent the day doing all of the touristy things and had a ton of fun.

Later we took another subway ride to a station we found that would take us to the tram that @prahabohemementioned.  We took the tram down to the end of the line and rode it back.  We had to catch our ferry back to Turkey.

I saw no stations with marble.  It was hot and junky.  It wasn't reliable.  We spent a grand total of about 15 hours in Athens, so I have limited experience with it.

I should add that a small part of the Tram line was extremely pretty.  It wasn't a lot.  

if memory serves, I only took Athens' subway from the airport/ Markopolis to their government center; never took it out to Piraeus.  the stations along the way were marble-lined (the under ground ones).  I'll take that over subway tile any day of the week.

But on that note, I will say judging a rail system is tough because real estate is unique.  That being said, I've used The Underground and I will say it is very similar to the NYC Subway.  IMO, the combination of Manhattan + The NYC Subway makes that the best system.  

Chicago's El is a good system, but, you kinda need a car in Chicago.  But you can totally forego a car in Manhattan.  It may be the only place in existence like that (sans perhaps Tokyo).  I don't really mind if the NYC Subway is dirty; NOLA is dirty on Bourbon Street but so what.  I absolutely love the NYC Subway system.  It is unique for a unique big city.

Chicago is more about METRA CRT system than The El from what I've seen.  The Loop is a unique visual character-creating rail infrastructure for the city's identity; it is utilitarian without a doubt.  

In the end, my speed is The NYC Subway; it's grungy, functional, has a station at Bloomie's, The Rock, etc., etc.  IMO you can't beat that system.  What a great system; what a great city.  I cried when the WTC went down.  I think that city is that cool. it's the backbone of this country in so many ways (as is Chicago) and it's the backbone of modern civilization; and it's Subway works...urine and all...

[prahaboheme]

I live car-free in DC at the moment and have no accessibility issues to AT ALL anywhere I go — including parts of VA and MD (the train to Baltimore is particularly convenient for the O’s. 
Also, hopping on the Amtrak at Union and getting to Philly, NY, New Haven, Boston is hard to beat. DC though, is definitely the southern most point of connected intra-city rail in the NE megalopolis. Going south, you need to drive or fly.

[HankStrong]

The comment about dirty, dirty NOLA inspires the next look at trains I've loved before.

 

The  New Orleans Streetcar Lines.  The St. Charles line is the oldest continuously running streetcar line in the world.  This is also my favorite of the 4 lines.  You get to ride in the classic 1920s streetcars and this is one of the best views of the West side of town.  The run from Canal Street along St. Charles Avenue out to the turn at Carrolton Avenue is my favorite section and a powerhouse of food area.  If you go to NOLA, you will get sucked into the French Quarter's attraction.  It's great and it's something you need to experience, but much like Orlando's I-Drive area, you need to break the spell and go see the real town.  The parts of town that the St. Charles line runs through are some of the best eating in the entire NOLA area.   The Lower Garden District, Touro, and East Carrollton have so many amazing places to eat and drink.

The Canal line and the Riverfront line are both extremely handy if you didn't bring a car.  Between the 3 lines I mentioned, I have gotten around town so easily that I didn't really notice I didn't have a car and it was probably best I wasn't driving anyway!  The weirdest thing is that while the Green line (St. Charles) cars are green and the Red Line (Canal) cars are red, the Blue Line (Riverfront) and Yellow Line (Rampart-St. Claude Line) cars are also red.  I've never been on the Rapart-St. Claude Line, but I've been to town a couple of times since it opened in 2013.  However, it doesn't go anywhere I needed or wanted to go.  However, if you came into town on a train this would be a big line for you.

The antique rolling stock and the newer replicas are all fun to ride on.  If you hit NOLA on a hot, muggy, summer day you'll wish they had a/c and your fellow riders wore better deodorant.  This will double or triple if it rains and the windows get closed.   I visit fairly regularly with family in town, but I tend to go in the shoulder season to save grief.  I've been to Jazz Fest and FQF, but never for Mardi Gras and I'll gladly keep it that way.

Very enjoyable!  Two thumbs up.

Edited June 27, 2022 by HankStrong

[spenser1058]

When New Orleans Square opened at Disneyland, the Mayor on NOLA at the time was there for the ribbon cutting along with Walt.

He said, “Walt, it looks just like home!” To which Walt responded (quietly), “I’d say it’s a helluva lot cleaner”.

Nevertheless, Walt was a big fan of the city.

[HankStrong]

Since it was mentioned here, too, I've decided to next discuss the Washington DC Metro.

 

The comments above seemed to me like a negative on the DC Metro, but I've found it to be an excellent system.  Sure a lot of the stations were built in the 70s and look like it with their coffered concrete ceilings and really creepy lighting.  Some of them also have the most insane escalators you'll ever see.  I'm looking at you DuPont Circle, although I hear Wheaton is worse but I've never been to that station.  Some of the stations don't really serve the areas they list.  I'm looking at your Woodley Park and my forever walk uphill to the National Zoo.  Generally speaking, the metro offers some incredible ways to get around DC.  I've gone to DC several times over the years and it has served me very well.

It's not nearly as dirty as the NYC subway, nor as busy.  The signage is very clear, if dated, and it's everywhere.  I would compliment the DC Metro most on their excellent signage.  I've been on countless systems around the world and it's so much easier when you can just look at a sign.  The DC signs say how many minutes until your train arrives, which direction you are going, and make it clear at stations which serve multiple lines which direction you need to walk.  My biggest complaint is how dated much of the stations are, which I mentioned before.  In some stations the stair and escalators are in awkward places.  I don't know how to describe it other than "it's extremely 70s" in talking about the poorly laid out stairs and walkways.

The rolling stock was also extremely dated until about 7-8 years ago.  If you got stuck on one of the old Rohr trains, you were going to feel like you were actually in the 70s!  They were called the 1000 series.  Sadly, the Breda, CAF, & Alstom trains were built to mimic them.  They were maybe 80s looking at best and were called the 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, and 6000 series.  Each model was a little better than the last, but frankly when you rode them the only thing you could say was that at least they weren't the 1000 series.  A friend who lives in DC told me to look on the right side of the train as it pulled up and if it was a 1000 number to skip the train unless it was urgent.  According to the Wiki, the 1000, 4000, and 5000s have all been completely retired.  The first time I rode a 7000 series I was really impressed because they are much nicer trains.  These are trains that you can really use.  They are modern and have a much better load/unload feel to them.  The seating is modern and efficient.  I like it.

They used a paper ticket system (like everyone) the first few times I went, but now use RF cards called SmarTrip cards.  I have a nice one with picture of baby zoo animals on it from like 8-10 years ago.  I haven't been since right before COVID, but it worked the last time I was there and my money from the last trip was still on it.  There are many convenient filling stations and you can link a cc to your account.  I'm not sure if this is old info, but if you're going to be hitting it hard I needed to select an unlimited day pass because my buddy told me that if I just tapped on all day it would cost more than the unlimited.  Most subways just stop charging you when you reach the cap. 

Example: for most systems if the unlimited pass is $10 a day and you tap 10x for $1.50 each it just stops charging you at $10 in any given day.  According to my buddy, the SmarTrip won't and you'll pay $15 that day if you didn't select unlimited pass in the app.  Maybe they fixed that?

I love the fact that you can fly into Reagan and hop right on.  It's right across the dropoff from the airport and easy to get to, although outdoors.  Soon (this year?) you'll be able to go to Dulles, too.   Apparently, there is a study going on to extend it to BWI in the future.  

[HankStrong]

Crazy DC Metro story that I forgot to mention.  A man I used to work with here in Orlando was from the DC area.  He had a distinct radio voice and a very distinct nose.  He had family in DC still and regularly went home to visit.

My wife & I were up there for a long weekend.  We got off the DC Metro at the East End Market and right outside the station topside there was an event going on.  It was a charity that helped children and there was a man who was the spitting image of my co-worker who was passionately telling people about the event in this huge booming radio voice.  I looked at him and was floored.  Same skin tone.  Same voice.  Same nose.  Same mannerisms.  We stood there and after he finished I went up to him and asked "I know this is crazy weird, but are you possibly related to Timothy Blahblahblah from Orlando, FL?"

He replied, "No."

I said something like "Ah well, that was a one-in-a-million shot anyway, but you remind me so much of this man I work with.  You even look like you could be related to him.  Sorry to bug you."

He then said, "I said that I'm not related to him, but I do know him.  His daughter-in-law is working that table over there and his son will be here in a few minutes.  I've known their family for 40 years and Timothy & I used to go fishing together all the time.  I can't tell you how many times I've been mistaken for his brother."

At this point I was sure that this man was screwing around with me.  However, he whips out his phone and shows me a photo of the two of them together at some family event.  I whipped out my phone and called Timothy.  We all had a great laugh about it.  Just about then I saw his son (also a spitting image and who I had actually met before) walking up and waved him over.  We laughed and snapped a photo to send to him.  His son says "Oh so you know my fake uncle, too?" and we filled him in.

 

It turns out that 40 years prior, these two men had been introduced in college by mutual friends who originally thought they were the same person or twins messing with them.  Timothy retired long ago now but I've mentioned to him several times they should do a DNA test just to be sure that they aren't actually related somehow.  Maybe dad had a gal on the side or something?

[angela1117]

On 6/29/2022 at 8:16 AM, HankStrong said:

Since it was mentioned here, too, I've decided to next discuss the Washington DC Metro.

 

 Some of them also have the most insane escalators you'll ever see.  I'm looking at you DuPont Circle, although I hear Wheaton is worse but I've never been to that station.  Some of the stations don't really serve the areas they list.  

Yup! When I was at American Univ the closest metro stop was Dupont Circle. I'd never seen an escalator that dramatic! 

@HankStrongyour post makes me want to do a DC visit! 

[jrs2]

On 6/29/2022 at 8:16 AM, HankStrong said:

Since it was mentioned here, too, I've decided to next discuss the Washington DC Metro.

 

The comments above seemed to me like a negative on the DC Metro, but I've found it to be an excellent system.  Sure a lot of the stations were built in the 70s and look like it with their coffered concrete ceilings and really creepy lighting.  Some of them also have the most insane escalators you'll ever see.  I'm looking at you DuPont Circle, although I hear Wheaton is worse but I've never been to that station.  Some of the stations don't really serve the areas they list.  I'm looking at your Woodley Park and my forever walk uphill to the National Zoo.  Generally speaking, the metro offers some incredible ways to get around DC.  I've gone to DC several times over the years and it has served me very well.

It's not nearly as dirty as the NYC subway, nor as busy.  The signage is very clear, if dated, and it's everywhere.  I would compliment the DC Metro most on their excellent signage.  I've been on countless systems around the world and it's so much easier when you can just look at a sign.  The DC signs say how many minutes until your train arrives, which direction you are going, and make it clear at stations which serve multiple lines which direction you need to walk.  My biggest complaint is how dated much of the stations are, which I mentioned before.  In some stations the stair and escalators are in awkward places.  I don't know how to describe it other than "it's extremely 70s" in talking about the poorly laid out stairs and walkways.

The rolling stock was also extremely dated until about 7-8 years ago.  If you got stuck on one of the old Rohr trains, you were going to feel like you were actually in the 70s!  They were called the 1000 series.  Sadly, the Breda, CAF, & Alstom trains were built to mimic them.  They were maybe 80s looking at best and were called the 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, and 6000 series.  Each model was a little better than the last, but frankly when you rode them the only thing you could say was that at least they weren't the 1000 series.  A friend who lives in DC told me to look on the right side of the train as it pulled up and if it was a 1000 number to skip the train unless it was urgent.  According to the Wiki, the 1000, 4000, and 5000s have all been completely retired.  The first time I rode a 7000 series I was really impressed because they are much nicer trains.  These are trains that you can really use.  They are modern and have a much better load/unload feel to them.  The seating is modern and efficient.  I like it.

They used a paper ticket system (like everyone) the first few times I went, but now use RF cards called SmarTrip cards.  I have a nice one with picture of baby zoo animals on it from like 8-10 years ago.  I haven't been since right before COVID, but it worked the last time I was there and my money from the last trip was still on it.  There are many convenient filling stations and you can link a cc to your account.  I'm not sure if this is old info, but if you're going to be hitting it hard I needed to select an unlimited day pass because my buddy told me that if I just tapped on all day it would cost more than the unlimited.  Most subways just stop charging you when you reach the cap. 

Example: for most systems if the unlimited pass is $10 a day and you tap 10x for $1.50 each it just stops charging you at $10 in any given day.  According to my buddy, the SmarTrip won't and you'll pay $15 that day if you didn't select unlimited pass in the app.  Maybe they fixed that?

I love the fact that you can fly into Reagan and hop right on.  It's right across the dropoff from the airport and easy to get to, although outdoors.  Soon (this year?) you'll be able to go to Dulles, too.   Apparently, there is a study going on to extend it to BWI in the future.  

what's that pattern called, something like "egg crate"?

I saw an episode of Rockford Files recently and I think he was at the TWA terminal at LAX and it had a similar pattern to that, and the florescent lamps had an eerie glow to them.  It was kind cool...

[HankStrong]

On 6/30/2022 at 4:23 PM, jrs2 said:

what's that pattern called, something like "egg crate"?

I saw an episode of Rockford Files recently and I think he was at the TWA terminal at LAX and it had a similar pattern to that, and the florescent lamps had an eerie glow to them.  It was kind cool...

I've always called it waffle.  My friend Sophia always says things like "That's peak brutalism!" and "It's very antagonistic in nature!" but she's exceptionally passionate about things like this.  Before she moved into the non-profit world, she was a young architect with a dream of rebuilding the world into a peaceful aesthetic.  Now she just growls a lot at buildings.

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, HankStrong said:

I've always called it waffle.  My friend Sophia always says things like "That's peak brutalism!" and "It's very antagonistic in nature!" but she's exceptionally passionate about things like this.  Before she moved into the non-profit world, she was a young architect with a dream of rebuilding the world into a peaceful aesthetic.  Now she just growls a lot at buildings.

There are a lot of buildings to growl at these days. Once Prince Charles becomes king, he’ll fix it!