Happy birthday, Metro!
2 minute read
March 28, 2009, 4:56 AM
As of yesterday, it’s been 33 years since Metro first graced Washington with its presence. And I would say Metro had one hell of a birthday this year. According to Metro, a Red Line train derailed near Bethesda station, and the train being used to recover the first train subsequently derailed as well, causing a major delay on the Red Line for the evening commute.
So when I, walking to Dupont Circle station with our IT manager, arrived at the station, what a crazy scene it was, as the station was like mad crowded with people. As usual, my knowledge of Metro worked to our advantage. Rather than just guess at where to stand or otherwise randomly pick a spot, we stood right where a door was going to land. In the station on the Shady Grove side was a train that had just offloaded its passengers, because it was being turned to service the other side. Unaware of the derailment at the time, I thought that the train being turned was the cause of the delay. But no, it just crossed over to the Glenmont side just north of the station, and became a Glenmont train (I would have been royally PO’d if it had come into service as a Silver Spring train), which was packed to standing room right away. Though due to my knowledge of where to stand, we got a seat. That worked out, since I had a long ways to go. But amazingly enough, despite the major delay on Metro, on the Red Line, I got home on time. And for less, too, since I believe Metro adjusts the fares during major delays, since my normally $4.00 ride cost $3.35.
Continue reading…Categories: WMATA
Can I do the door announcement a little too well?
< 1 minute read
March 20, 2009, 3:07 PM
You know, my friends and coworkers say I can do Metro’s door announcement a little too well. So I’d like you to take a listen to my impression of Metro’s current door announcement:
And then compare this with the real thing, seen here on Breda 2007:
So what do you think? Is it a good impression, or do I do it just a shade too well? You be the judge…
Categories: WMATA
I just realized I never told you about my weekend…
4 minute read
March 9, 2009, 11:38 PM
What fun I had! I got to take a bunch of railfan photos, and I also got to meet the DC area Wikipedia gurus once again.
First, though, I railfanned. I had gotten wind on the Railroad.net forums that Metro would be single-tracking between Vienna and West Falls Church, and with that configuration, that usually means that (A) some trains will be terminating at West Falls Church instead of Vienna, and (B) trains will be utilizing the center track at West Falls Church to cross over to the proper track for single-tracking.
Thus, I rolled on over to West Falls Church, coming down from Glenmont via Metro Center. I caught a train terminating at West Falls Church, and was initially disappointed because the train offloaded at West Falls Church on the correct track. I was disappointed because I figured that they would terminate the short-turn trains on the center track and then dwell there before departing to New Carrollton.
Before we continue, here’s the track layout at West Falls Church:
So rather than use an actual photo of the station your complex is named after, now you’ve resorted to photoshopping…
2 minute read
March 8, 2009, 11:33 PM
Remember back in June when I criticized the people advertising the Fort Totten Station complex for using Clarendon station in their advertising? Well, they fixed it… kind of. Take a look:
March 4, 2009 issue of Express, page 2
Categories: Advertising, WMATA
So, yeah, it was nasty this morning…
3 minute read
March 2, 2009, 9:54 PM
I think the one time that taking public transportation to work truly sucks is when it’s snowing outside, and you have to wait outside for the bus out in all of that. And let me tell you something… it was really coming down. The federal government had a late opening today (two hours late), and I think that definitely worked to my advantage, since it gave everyone a chance to dig out and give the buses a better chance to get where they’re going, and for the sidewalks to get cleared so as to lessen the chance of my falling on snow and ice.
And because of my later start time, I wasn’t able to take the 51 to work, since the last 51 of the morning goes past my house at 8:40. So I went down to Georgia Avenue and caught the Y5. And as you can see, it was nasty out there when the bus arrived:
Categories: Winter weather, WMATA
Presenting the newest display function for photo sets…
3 minute read
February 25, 2009, 9:51 PM
Yes, I found the coolest new feature for the photo sets. It’s called “lightbox”, and basically, it allows you to enlarge the photos on the page without going to a separate page. What I usually do for photo sets, you may recall, is if you click an image, you go to a separate page where you are presented with an enlargement of the image and the caption. Thus it usually looks like this in this excerpt from the Weekend with Katie photo set:
A Red Line train to Glenmont arrives at Metro Center on the Shady Grove platform.
Categories: Schumin Web meta, WMATA
A day of railfanning, and then a somewhat disturbing dream…
5 minute read
February 23, 2009, 8:44 PM
First of all, hello! I can’t believe it’s been a week since last I wrote a Journal entry. I guess I haven’t had much to say lately. But now I do.
And by that, let me tell you about the fun I had on Saturday! Matthew Tilley and I got together and hit the Metro, doing a railfan trip on the Blue, Orange, and Yellow Lines. The trip served two purposes. First of all, I really enjoy Matthew’s company, as we always have fun when we get together, and this was no exception. Secondly, I bought a new Canon PowerShot SX10 IS camera in the past week, and so this was also acceptance testing for the camera, as I ran it through all of its paces in the many varied lighting conditions that Metro offers.
Now if you’re wondering about why I got another new digital camera within a year of getting Duckie and the Kodak, and since neither of those cameras have broken down (trust me, I’d tell you), let me explain. When it comes to the Kodak and me, it’s not working out. Basically, the Kodak is a little too automated for my needs, and goes from fully automated to fully manual with very little in between. Big Mavica gave a lot of in-between options for shooting, and I had gotten accustomed to having those, and missed them terribly. So the Kodak will be going on eBay soon. I figure, while it didn’t work out with me, it will almost definitely be perfect for someone else, and so let’s see if I can recover some of my investment in it. Plus I can provide sample images taken with the exact camera being offered for sale, so we’ll see what happens.
So we had a meeting of about fifteen people, all named “David”, outside the Founding Church of Scientology on a Saturday afternoon. And that means…
6 minute read
February 9, 2009, 9:27 PM
Yes, a meeting of about fifteen people, all named “David”, outside the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington DC on a Saturday afternoon means that it was once again time for Anonymous DC to have its monthly raid, protesting the practices of the Church of Scientology. And as always, we had fun, we had epic win, and we had more than enough lulz to go around. And in Anonymous, everyone is “David”.
This time around, the theme was “Space Opera”, taking a science fiction theme, mainly centering around Star Wars.
MisterTastee wore two cinnamon buns on his head, imitating Princess Leia’s distinctive hairstyle.
Categories: Project Chanology, WMATA
How Metro turns an eight-car train into six…
3 minute read
February 3, 2009, 7:37 PM
Both yesterday and today, I got to watch Metro separate the train I was on following the completion of its run to Glenmont. That’s kind of interesting to see. First of all, they put the train out of service and close the doors. Then two employees board. Each goes in the cab adjacent to where they’re splitting. One guy removes the ropes between the two cars, and then gets back in his cab. Then you hear a slow “fsssh” sound as the pairs release and the headlights come on at the end of the pair that’s being detached. Then that car goes back to taillights, and the other end goes back to headlights so they can open the doors for the remaining six cars. And then the split-off pair leaves to go to Glenmont Yard, and the now-shorter train goes to Shady Grove for another revenue run.
And I got photos:
Removing the intercar barriers between Rohr 1200 (left) and 1057 (right).
Categories: WMATA
So the weatherman was right – it snowed today.
2 minute read
January 27, 2009, 7:37 PM
Yes, nothing like waiting for the bus in the snow. But at least I had my coat, my hat, and my iPod, where the headphones I use are large enough to cover my ears and therefore keep them warm. And what a wonderful sight this was:
Categories: Ride On, Winter weather, WMATA
And the forecast calls for snow!
2 minute read
January 26, 2009, 11:29 PM
You know, when I was younger, the word “snow” meant the potential for an unscheduled play-day, since in Augusta County, Virginia, you could dump an ice cube tray out on the road and they would cancel school. As an adult, there is no such thing as a snow day, and so snow is a colossal pain in the behind. I remember last winter going back to the Metro after work, and slipping and sliding on the sidewalk on P Street. Not the most enjoyable thing in the world.
For that matter, really cold days are a bother, too. Today, I had a very cold commute to work. It was well below freezing, and that would have to be the day I got a 5000-Series on the way in to work. 5000s are a bit of a novelty for me since they are uncommon on the Red Line, but they’re well known for being the coldest cars in the fleet, and from what I understand, Metro isn’t going to fix the problem (cold CAFs are fine in the summer, but not in the winter). I got to Glenmont, and boarded CAF 5120 to ride to work. I sat down, and the seat was cold. It wasn’t just the air that was cold, but the seat cushion itself was cold. Not a good way to start the day. Good thing I have a nice, warm winter coat and that dashing hat of mine.
And then of course the walk down P Street to my office building was cold, too. But at least things warmed up from there, as the building was nice and toasty.
Categories: Washington DC, Winter weather, WMATA
Metro: Don’t quit your day job.
2 minute read
January 8, 2009, 8:30 PM
Schumin to Metro: Don’t quit your day job. Check this video out:
Categories: WMATA
Metro is planning to eliminate paper transfers in favor of SmarTrip. Okay, but…
4 minute read
December 2, 2008, 6:51 PM
As of January 4, 2009, Metro will no longer distribute or accept paper transfers of any kind. Take a look at this video from Metro:
Categories: WMATA
So I got to do my commute in the dark this evening…
2 minute read
November 20, 2008, 7:47 PM
Yes, I got to do my commute in the dark this evening. And I don’t just mean dark outside, which it usually always is at this time of year for commute time. I mean it was dark inside the train. Yeah, I got Rohr 1178 at Dupont Circle, and all of the lights were out inside the car, except for over three doors. Then the lights came on while we were going to Farragut North. Then by Metro Center, they were off again. And on and off and on and off and so on all the way to Glenmont. There, they put the train out of service, presumably for repairs.
So here’s what it looked like:
Categories: WMATA
My comment made the newspaper!
< 1 minute read
October 29, 2008, 8:18 PM
I can’t believe it… my comment on Express‘s poll question got published! The poll question was, “Would you object to having your bag searched by transit police before riding Metro?” 54% said that yes, they would object, and 46% said that no, they would not object.
If you read the Express today and saw the three comments that they published on page 40, you may recall that “Ellen” indicated that Transit could go ahead and search them because they have nothing to hide, “CMJR” suspected that profiling of riders will occur, and a third by “BFS” sounded very similar in tone and idea to a Journal entry that I wrote yesterday, talking about throwing money down a rathole.
“BFS”, as you might have guessed, is me, as I posted semi-anonymously, using my initials. Here’s the page, with the comment circled:
Categories: DC area local news, WMATA