One Year

Today marks my one-year anniversary for riding the train and writing this blog.  I've learned a lot of tips and tricks in the past year that make such a lengthy commute a bit more tolerable and , at times, even enjoyable.  And what does the next year have in store?  Who knows.  But you can be certain that I will be right here blogging about it.

Sweltering

The record high temperatures are wreaking havoc on MARC.  About two minutes after we departed Union Station this evening, we stopped and all power quit.  Not a good sign when temperatures are pleasant but it's especially bad when the mercury is up into triple digits.  Fortunately, a technician aboard the train was able to fix the problem and we are now back on track with the air conditioning blowing.  It doesn't look good though.  MARC is already announcing that a number of trains are running 10 to 15 minutes late, and the domino effect would seem to suggest that the train I'm on will get backed up too.  Still, I hope it doesn't just stop -- AC and all -- it's just too darn hot!

Mechanical Problems

This morning's delay is being blamed on mechanical problems and not switch problems as I expected.  The problems caused a delay of at least 15 minutes.  In order to make up for the delay, MARC decided to "operate express" from Baltimore's Penn Station to BWI Airport.  Ordinarily there are two stops between these two stations.  So I guess there's a chance I can still get to work on time.

On the Move

We're on the move again but still no explanation as to what caused the stop.  A Norfolk & Southern engine with two cars passed by on the other track so one could speculate that there was some "switch problems", which seems to be an oft-quoted reason for delays.  Let's hope everything is back on track now and it will be smooth sailing the rest of the way this morning.

Stopped

Bells began ringing not long after boarding the train this morning and we are now stopped somewhere outside Baltimore.  No power and no explanation as to what's causing the delay; if it weren't for the gentleman behind me tapping his feet to the beat of whatever is  playing on his IPod, there would be no noise on the train at all.  I guess people are using the delay to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

Another Month

I received yet another month's rail pass in the mail this weekend, just in time to start the June commute.  And it certainly is going to be a hot one.  Temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday hit the high 90s.  Last year when the mercury hit that level trains were regularly breaking down.  This year MARC seems to have taken some preventative measures to keep the trains running smoothly.  The trains have fewer cars so the diesel engines don/t have as much of load to pull in the sweltering heat.  Fewer cars means more people standing, though.  And let me just say a train car filled with hot, sweaty, and standing people is not a very pleasant place.  Fortunately it's early enough in the season for people to have a sense of humor about the situation.  Also fortunate for us riders is that the air conditioning appears to be working well.  Who knows, however, what July will bring.