Visit to New York
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RAILWAY AND CANAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY Visit to New York 22nd to 31st May 2007 Report recorded by Alan Crowther, Edited by Brian Slater, Souvenir booklet produced by Ted Cheers. 1 Summary Tuesday 22nd May Flights, Manchester and Heathrow to JFK; Lower Manhattan waterfront; dinner on Staten Island; Illuminated vistas from ferry on return. Wednesday 23rd May South Street Seaport Historical District; Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge walks; Roosevelt Island Tramway and Queensboro’ Bridge walk. Thursday 24th May Statue of Liberty; Ellis Island; Ground Zero; Coney Island. Friday 25th May Manhattan Waterways Cruise; New York transit shop; Staten Island Railroad; Verrazano Narrows Bridge; Coney Island. Saturday 26th May Empire State Building (Brian’s birthday); Central Park; Metropolitan Museum of Air Train conveyed us from JFK Airport to the Subway network Art. Sunday 27th May Danbury Railway Museum, Connecticut. Monday 28th May Train to Poughkeepsie; Mott Street. Tuesday 29th May New York Transit Museum; Various elevated sections of subway system. Wednesday 30th May Chrysler Building Lobby; Architectural tour; Grand Central Station tour; More elevated subway lines. Thursday 31st May Last minute shopping etc; taxi to JFK; return to Manchester and Heathrow. Convoy of NYPD cars outside Grand Central Station on our arrival 0 Day one; Tuesday 22nd May 2007 RCHS party of 7 (Manchester contingent) met at 7.20am at Manchester Airport Interchange. Through checking in procedures by 8.15am and reached the breakfast café airside. Onto Boeing 767 (reg. G-BNWM) at 9.35. Backed away from pier 10.08 and took off at 10.23. Hazy visibility over the green fields of Cheshire, Stanlow and Mersey estuary then into cloud. Later vistas through cloud of Ireland and its Western coast. Occasional views of the Atlantic; seemed calm but no ships seen. Ground speed around 550/600 mph at 35000/36000 feet. At 2.55pm (UK time) approaching St. Johns, Newfoundland, headwind now 104 mph at 33000 feet; ground speed 431 mph. Outside temperature -51°C, 1250 miles to go, all this information gleaned from the small TV screen at one’s seat on the plane. A long and gradual descent into JFK over the length of Long Island, some of its illustrious properties being visible. Arrived JFK at 5.40pm UK time; (12.40pm US time). After immigration and baggage processing, met up with 2 additional members of the group who had flown from Heathrow arriving 15 minutes later, then on to Air- train (car 207) for shuttle trip to Howard Beach/JFK subway station/surface running here (1.55 – 2.05 ). On leaving the arrival area, Ted spotted that tickets for the Airtrain were available at Howard Beach subway station at the end of the journey. And, sure enough, they were purchased, along with a “One Day Fun Pass” from a stall on the Howard Beach concourse run by an Hispanic gentleman who it is assumed made more profit on ticket sales than other items which he sold. One ticket was used on the Airtrain exit barrier and the other ticket through the Subway entry gate. Staten Island Ferry Depart Howard Beach 2.25pm } Line A arrive Broadway/Nassau 3.00pm } car 4061 walked to Fulton Street (nominal interchange) via many staircases Depart Fulton Street 3.10pm } Line 4 arrive Bowling Green 3.13pm } car 2135 (but had gone downtown depart Bowling Green 3.18pm } Line 5 in error – so reversed here) arrive Grand Central,/42 St 3.31pm } car 6956 Reached hotel on foot with baggage 3.53pm (8.53pm UK time), Madison Towers, 22 East 38th Street. Departed from hotel at 6.00pm (US time) in search of an evening meal, possible in Lower Manhattan and to check out the sailing arrangements for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island trips. Subway to Bowling Green then walked along Battery Park/South Ferry and later on to Staten Island Ferry (free). At some stage after sailing, Matthew was noted to be missing; last seen photographing on waterfront, but reunited at breakfast next morning. Now getting dusk and remainder of party discovered a restaurant Karls Klipper Diner on Bay Street. A reasonable meal for hungry people with unusual entertainment in the shape of a three part amateur video on “way-out” weird subjects, which happened to arrive to show their latest work whilst we were there. Walked back to the ferry in darkness taking 10.00pm sailing. A wonderful view of Lower Manhattan skyline all lit up, including Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Downtown Manhattan viewed from the Staten Island Ferry 1 Walked to Bowling Green station departed 10.40pm } Line 5 Arrived Grand Central Station/42nd St. 10.55pm } car 7130 Finally reached hotel on foot 11.10pm (4.10am UK time) rather tired.! Day two; Wednesday 23rd May 2007 Rose at 7.30am refreshed after a good night’s sleep. Cloudless blue sky. Breakfast in hotel dining room; basic Continental @ $17 with extra helpings – departed hotel at 9.25am. Bought a 7 day Metro ticket at 33rd Street subway station ticket office costing $24 then; depart 33rd St/Park Ave South 9.45am } Line 6 arrive Brooklyn Bridge stn 10.00am } car 7315 depart Brooklyn Bridge stn 10.01am } Line 4 arrive Bowling Green 10.07am } car 7771 Walked through Battery Park gardens and waterfront to South Street Seaport Historical District observing various historic vessels, including sailing ships “Peking” of 1911 and “Wavertree” built Southampton 1885 for Leyland Line, Liverpool. Some shopping etc. Mid-day meal 12.15 – 1.15pm at open air café near Fulton Market. Sunny and warm with a light breeze. A lengthy walk over Brooklyn Bridge (1883) and its approaches. Brooklyn Bridge and Woolworths Building seen from Circle Line boat. Called into a main post office in Brooklyn for postage stamps, observing en-route fire brigade etc. attending a collision at a multi-lane intersection. Manhattan Bridge (opened 1909) under long term repair on east side, but after some enquiries and deviations, found our way onto the west side walkway. This bridge carries road traffic and four subway tracks. Noted from high on the bridge yet another accident on the riverside highway below, where one car had apparently driven under the rear of another; ambulance in attendance. Afternoon coffee in a McDonalds, China town area. Depart Canal Street station 4.40pm } Line 6 arrive 59th St (adjacent to Bloomingdale’s) 5.10pm } car 7651 Walked to the Roosevelt Island Tramway, actually an aerial cableway and took car no.1, a dizzy height of 145 ft and is 1046 yards long, running parallel to Queensboro Bridge – 5.20 to 5.28pm. Depart Roosevelt Island subway 5.40pm } Line R arrive 21st St/Queensbridge 5.42pm } car 6157 Walked westward over Queensboro Bridge (opened 1908) 5.57-6.33pm, 2484 yards noting a turbulent area of water in East River, indicating tidal flow over shallows. Depart 59th Street 6.57pm } Line 6 arrived Grand Central/42nd Street 7.00 pm } car 7421 Reached hotel on foot at 7.20pm. Evening meal at Chez Lawrence Patisserie Bistro, nearby on foot. We have walked many miles today. Roosevelt Island ‘Tram’ 2 Day three; Thursday 24th May 2007 Cloudless blue skies again, all day. Departed hotel 7.05am as a complete group without taking breakfast in order to stake an early place in the booking queue for Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island etc. at Castle Clinton National Park ticket office, Battery Park. Depart 33rd Street 7.15am } Line 6 arrive Brooklyn Bridge station 7.22am } car 7419 depart Brooklyn Bridge station 7.23am } Line 5 arrive Bowling Green station 7.28am } car 1129 Joined queue at Castle Clinton 7.32am, office opened 8.30. Obtained tickets at 8.35am, then joined another queue for the ferry, boarding at 9.20 after a security inspection. Meantime, several members had obtained hot dogs etc. from local vendors in the park, to alleviate hunger pangs. At this stage Queen Mary II was noted docked in a berth partly obscured beyond Governor’s Island. Ferry sailed 9.32am, and arrived at the Statue at 9.45: now very hot. Further queuing for a more rigorous security inspection of all persons and baggage then finally into Statue Museum contained within stone plinth base at 10.45am. A conducted tour ensued by an eloquent female in Park Ranger uniform 11.00 to 11.35am followed by walk up and down 156 steps to view Statue’s metal interior support structure and spiral staircase in centre, but none of this is now open to general public since 9/11 and is well supervised. Departed Statue of Liberty at 12.00 on ferry boat “Miss Liberty” arriving at Ellis Island at 12.15pm. Statue of Liberty Dined here in a busy café 12.35–1.30pm followed by interesting conducted tour 2– 2.30pm of immigration main building with description of activities of the process by an entertaining male guide of dead-pan tones and dry humour, also in Park Ranger uniform. This was followed by one’s own independent tour of extensive museum exhibits demonstrating the conditions here during the Island’s functioning years of 1892 to 1954. Departed Ellis Island at 3.42pm aboard “Miss Ellis Island” arriving at Battery Park at 4.05pm. Walked through baking hot streets to “Ground Zero”, the site of the World Trade Centre twin towers building destroyed 11 September 2001 by aerial terrorist attack. Reconstruction work in deep basement excavation has started on replacement building of 1776 ft in height. Some time was expended on reading the memorials to the 2752 persons killed in the 9/11 attack plus reconstructed PATH subway “balloon loop” terminal, opened after only 11 months of closure.