Practicing for the Posiedon

One thing about riding the Metro North Railroad is that you're always in for a new adventure. Expect the unexpected... Just when you've had a good uneventful quiet couple of rides, you hear that "Pull that lever, pull that red lever"...

Yesterday morning, I was on the south bound New Haven line heading into GCT for 8:25am. The train should have some nine working cars with lights and a reasonable temperature. Today... ninth car is invisible. Eigth car (mine #8914) had no lights. And the seventh... announcement from the conductor "If you're in the eighth car and want to read please move up as the lights are not working. If you're in the seventh car and too hot, please move back". Too hot? Temperature was 25 degrees outside when I boarded. How can a car be too hot on a day like that?

But that wasn't the excitement. The surprise? When we got to the station, our doors wouldn't open. Other cars opened. You could see the people exit. No message from the crew. No crew. People started getting agitated. Some started to shout. Then one guy yelled to open the access panel. So two commuters turned the knobs and got it open. Inside that panel, lots of gears and one big red lever. "Pull that lever, pull that red lever"... One guy pulled it down and the single door opened...

What's Metro North got in store next for this commuter? Stay tuned.

The pics (dark due to lack of interior lights):

1. Access panel still hanging open
   
2. Close up
   
3. Escape route