Cattle Car
I survive another crowded train ride from Trenton to
Baltimore.
When my train finally arrived in beautiful Trenton,
New Jersey, only an hour late, I heard an announcement on the platform. "We have
received word that this train is standing room only." I have been on standing
room trains before, but this was the first time they had actually warned us
ahead of time. The doors opened, and due to some law of equilibrium or whatever,
several people shot out onto the platform, landing at the feet of waiting
passengers. I stepped over the ejected passengers, and saw people standing in
the doorway. I waited for them to get out, but they didn't. That was where they
were standing. I walked to the next car to see if I could have better luck
there. I noticed an open floor area of almost one square foot, and got on the
car, placed my backpack on the floor, and straddled my legs over it. The
conductor then approached from the platform and told us that he needed to get on
too. We somehow managed to free up some more space, and he grabbed on. He closed
the door and leaned against it, knowing that he would be in for a ride when the
door opened at the next station.
On the
way to Philadelphia, there was absolutely no movement within the train. It was
impossible. I was stuck next to a conductor in the vestibule. It got so hot that
he actually slightly opened the exterior door—an action that is probably
against about a thousand regulations. Stuffing passengers in the vestibule
probably isn't safe either, so why would opening the door matter? As we
approached Philly, he actually opened the door all the way and leaned out,
telling us that it was the best part of his job. We told him he was lucky we
didn't push him out. We did try to make the best of the situation. The conductor
told us about one woman who put her luggage in a bucket, and had a seat on top
of it. The entire setup cost about $5, and wherever she went, she had a seat. He
thought it was a great idea, especially for Thanksgiving travelers. I look
forward to
that!
We also had to help the conductor with the announcements. The phone was a full
yard away from him, so we passed it from one side of the vestibule to the other
so he could alert the passengers that it was almost time to "escape" the train
in Philly.
We finally got to Philly,
where those of us lucky enough to be in the vestibule had to step off and let
the lucky passengers exit the overcrowded train. Nobody who was continuing past
Philly even took their hands off the train, not because they wanted to try for a
seat, but because they just wanted to get back on. After several minutes of
waiting for people to climb to the exits, we were allowed back on. This time I
actually made it to the inside of a car,
and
found a place in to put my bag in the overhead
compartment!
I still had to stand all
the way from Philly to Newark to Aberdeen to Baltimore, but at least it wasn't
in the vestibule. Inside the car, I was in on all the excitement. I got to
experience cell phone lady sitting next to me. I got to watch people sit and
sleep. I got to see the reactions of the passengers when the train ran over
something... we determined it was probably tree limbs. That was kinda scary, but
also pretty cool since it added the "unknown" into the mix. Everyone on the
train was entertained by Drunk Girl and Drunk Girl's Drunk Friends, who made one
section of the car smell of alcohol. It was a hit when one of them suddenly got
a bloody nose and giggled uncontrollably, spreading laughter at least three rows
back to complete strangers.
Obviously,
great value was assigned to seating inside, especially if the seating was in
actual seats—not the floor. Of course all of the empty seats were already
reserved by spouses in the restroom or café car, but it never hurt to
ask. If Amtrak offered Internet access on their trains, floor space and seats
would undoubtedly be sold on eBay by passengers who wanted to rent out their
seats when they went to the restroom or café car, or even just to get
something out of their bags. There price for a seat would probably be about 3
times the cost of a ticket. If the seller was smart, he or she could sell the
seat before the conductor came around, and then stand in the vestibule where
tickets are often not ripped.
One thing
that did surprise me was the amount of foot traffic within the train after
Philly. Where were all of these people going? Some were going to the café
car and others to the restroom, but others seemed to just be out for a stroll,
climbing over bodies and making me lean against one of the seats so they could
get past. Some people passed me several times, but never had food with them or
went to the restroom.
When we arrived
in Baltimore, two seats opened up right in front of me. I almost took one, so I
could take the train to Washington just to see what it was like to sit. I
probably would have ended up selling
it.
Fortunately, when I arrived at the
station, there wasn't a long line for cabs. I got in and asked for Johns Hopkins
Homewood Campus. The driver asked, "woinvadfbuiaobaoiyv 34th Street
;danoifbaidh?"
"Yes," I
said.
Posted: Mon - November 3, 2003 at 12:38 AM