Wanderlust Wednesday: Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Redux

Better known as the PATH, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad began shuttling passengers through its cast iron tunnels between Manhattan and points in New Jersey in 1908. My travels have been constrained in the last couple of months due to … Continue reading

Christmas Dinner on the Rails

Christmas generally takes us to Maryland. While the Amtrak train I take travels over the Pennsylvania Railroad into Baltimore’s Penn Station, here’s a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Royal Blue Line menu from Christmas Day, 1900. The selections are fun and … Continue reading

Crossing Wright’s Ferry on the Susquehanna, 1787

If this post already sounds familiar, see my post on the 1811-13 watercolor by Secretary to the Russian Consul-General Pavel Petrovich Svinin (MMA 42.95.37) of crossing Wright’s Ferry, near Columbia, Pennsylvania. While at Winterthur this summer for a research fellowship, I … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: Taking The Back Way – Old Roads from Point A to Point B

There were two ways to get to Mom Mom and Pop Pop’s house in Havre de Grace. You could either take the interstates skirting Baltimore, which, until the late 1980s, had not all been built and required cutting through Reisterstown’s … Continue reading

Transit Tuesday: Maryland *facepalm*

OK, we all know it, I’m obnoxiously devoted to my home state. So when I read current “transit” news about Maryland transportation officials meeting with Frederick County Commissioners(1 November 2013), I was disappointed to read that it was all about … Continue reading

Transit Tuesday – Where Vintage is Just Fine

It’s one of my first memories of Rome after sleeping off my first bout of European jet lag: opening my Stazione Termini hotel room shutters to find a rather ancient streetcar below. Decay has a different meaning in Europe. I … Continue reading

Transportation Tuesday: Winterthur’s Train Station

You had to know that the DuPonts would have had their own train station for their 2400-acre estate outside of Wilmington, DE. I’m living at Winterthur for the month while participating in a preventive conservation exchange and researching how 18th … Continue reading

Transportation Tuesday: Sad state of affairs for train transport in Indianapolis

I was really impressed with downtown Indianapolis. Ambitious restaurants. People on the streets. Bike Lanes. A canal walk trimmed with gardens. A riverfront developed with a music venue, walks, and a conservatory. As is my usual, I went off to … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: 24 Rather Staid Hours in Baltimore

A conference, a presentation, a cancelled train, and dinner at the Red Star in Fells Point. All in 24 hours. The annual meeting of the American Alliance of Museums was held in Baltimore (Bawlmer) last week. The last time I … Continue reading