June 2023 - The MrT Podcast Studio

USRJ S3 Ep11 Moynihan Train Hall and I join The Crescent

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:46 — 17.2MB)

Moynihan Train Hall and I join The Crescent – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 11

In ‘Moynihan Train Hall and I join The Crescent’ I take a good look at the wonderful new facility at New York’s Penn Station. I then board The Crescent for the journey to New Orleans.

To view the photographs for this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

Moynihan Train Hall:

This is a magnificent facility, in the James A Farley building, which gives access to Penn Station’s platforms. The pride in the building is clearly on display and such pride is well deserved.

There is light from the glazed roof, there is room to move around easily and everything is well signposted. I find a good range of food outlets including a number high quality offers.

My only quibble? Just like every other station I’ve ever been to, the PA system is hard to understand.

The Post Office – a hidden gem:

The Post Office still operates at the front of the building! You can either go down a passageway from the train hall or enter through one of the numerous front doors.

It is unlike any other Post Office that I’ve ever been in. The façade and the doors are beautiful however the most wonderful bit is the ornate ceiling. Take a look at the photograph in the gallery to see what I mean.

I join The Crescent:

I join the queue and descend to the platform to board the Crescent because the display shows that train #19 is due to leave at 2.15 pm. We leave on time and very soon enter the tunnels that take us under the Hudson River and into New Jersey.

Rain:

As we come out into the Meadowlands the sky is dark grey and it is pouring with rain. I’m glad I’m in the train and not outside! The rain remains with us for much of the journey to Philadelphia.

Keeping to time:

Our Siemens ACS-64 locomotive, also known as an Amtrak Cities Sprinter, is helping us keep to our schedule as we reach our stops at Newark, Trenton and Philadelphia.

Next up:

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as I continue my journey south on The Crescent towards New Orleans.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Funny Corporate for use in this podcast.

TH2022 Ep18 Tea in Literature

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:10 — 29.5MB)

Season 2022 – Talk 18 – Tea in Literature

In Tea in Literature Sue Willson talks about the use of tea in novels over the past couple of centuries.

Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk.

Morse:

Sue’s first story isn’t from a book, instead she looks at the Morse episode ‘Twilight of the Gods’. She isn’t sure whether the issue over the ‘Senior Tea’ is in the book however she notes that it gives John Gielgud a wonderful moment when he insists that it must go on.

Sue is breaking the rule that she always used when teaching – use the book not the film / television series in your answer!

Sandition:

Sue then tells us about Sandition, the unfinished novel by Jane Austen. We hear that Austen uses ‘tea parties’ to great effect and that this novel is no exception. They provide an opportunity to explore relationships, set scenes and explain issues between people.

There is the scene where two of the characters often believe themselves ill and so take many cures. At tea there are several teapots on the tray because they drink different types of tea for their different medical complaints.

Middlemarch:

Middlemarch dates from 1871, but is set in 1831/2. The time of the Reform Act and early passenger railways.

Here a tea drinking episode shows a crucial turning point in the marriage of a doctor and his wife. There are growing debts because of her desire for a posh house and possessions whilst he is setting up his practice.

She calls for tea, and so he has to sit down and talk. He tells her that they’re seriously short of money. Her response is ‘what can I do’? She’s not prepared to economise and does not expect to suffer any inconveniences at all.

Cranford:

Towards the end of Cranford Miss Matty, one of the main characters, is impoverished due to the failure of her bank. Her friends suggest that she should sell tea to earn a little money as this is a gentile occupation. She agrees and opens a tea shop.

Sue also tells us about the ‘Mad Tea Party’ in Alice in Wonderland and the importance of taking tea in L P Harley’s ‘Go Between’ which contrasts ‘taking tea’ in the class system of 1900 Britain.

Listen to the podcast and hear Sue recount the full stories.

About this podcast:

This is an edited recording of a talk given to the Farnham u3a World History Group.

It is not always possible to use all of the images in the original talk for copyright reasons.

The Farnham u3a site is here.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

AKM Music licenses Media Magazine for use as the theme music.

USRJ S3 Ep10 Arrive into Moynihan Train Hall

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:50 — 18.2MB)

We arrive into Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station – US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 10

In ‘We arrive into Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station’ the Silver Star completes our journey from Miami to New York.

View the photographs that accompany this podcast:

Please click on a thumbnail to open the gallery:

Leaving Wilmington:

We travel through an industrial area after leaving Wilmington Station. Passing the Delaware Car Company who have seven acres of sidings and a workshop where they repair and renovate rail cars.

Philadelphia:

As we near Philadelphia we see more tired industry but there is some decent graffiti!

30th Street Station serves more than four million inter-city rail passengers (2018). Its Amtrak’s third-busiest, after Penn Station in New York and Union Station in Washington and the 12th-busiest railway station in North America. Opening in 1933 it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Amtrak’s code for the station is PH and it has the IATA Airport Code ZFV for a codeshare agreement with United Airlines who sell Amtrak service between the station and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Trenton:

Trenton Transit Center is the main passenger railway station in Trenton, New Jersey. It is the terminus for NJ Transit trains to and from New York City and SEPTA trains to and from Philadelphia.

Bus services consist of local NJ Transit routes and a regional service to Philadelphia via Camden. The station also serves as the northern terminus for SEPTA buses to Oxford Valley Mall.

Newark, New Jersey:

Pennsylvania Station, also known as Newark Penn Station, is one of the New York metropolitan area‘s major transport hubs. It is served by multiple rail and bus carriers and is the seventh busiest railway station in the United States, and the fourth busiest in the New York City metropolitan area.

There are three NJ Transit commuter railway lines, the Newark Light Rail, the PATH rapid transit system, and all 11 of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor services. It is also Newark’s main intercity bus terminal with Greyhound, Bolt, Fullington Trailways and 33 local and regional bus lines operated by NJ Transit Bus Operations and Coach USA .

New York, Penn Station:

Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main intercity railway station in New York City. It serves more than 600,000 passengers each weekday (2019). It is in Midtown Manhattan beneath Madison Square Garden and also in the James A. Farley Building.

Seven tunnels (two North River Tunnels, four East River Tunnels, and the single Empire Connection tunnel) feed the 21 tracks at Penn Station. Amtrak owns the station and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and NJ Transit (NJT) operate commuter rail services. There are connections to the New York City Subway and buses.

Next up:

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks. I take a look at the Moynihan Train Hall before boarding the Crescent to New Orleans.

Links:

To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox , Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher and Vurbl and others.

Music:

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Motivational Build for use in this podcast.