Once again I displace a rather pedestrian journal to document my journey to Anthrocon, entirely via public transit. For those watchers who came on board since last AC, I post these travelogues as a reference used in trip planning, since as they involve public transit, have proved useful in preventing stuff like missed connections (especially on my return trip, which will be a separate journal after the con). Admittedly much of it is fluff once I reach the travel mode I'll be spending most of the day on, but occasionally something noteworthy happens that I can look back on and say "yeah, that was a thing". As always, you can check back here (maybe needing to refresh now and then) to see the additional timepoints and events I add as I make my way to Pittsburgh from NYC via a combination of buses, subway and Amtrak. My train leaves Penn Station at 10:50am.

--08:20a: Dp. Home
--08:22a: Ar. Local bus stop

[NYC TRANSIT:]
--08:26a: Dp. Local bus stop This bus route usually has 60-foot articulated buses. Unfortunately the one that arrives is one of the 40-footers. And it's standing-room only. Which ordinarily would be a slight inconvenience, except for my double-trailer luggage that makes me take up four people's worth of space while I'm pulling it.
--08:32a: Ar. Gun Hill Road subway station
--08:42a: Dp. Gun Hill Road subway station. I move to the far end of the platform to catch the first car, figuring it will be less crowded. Relatively speaking, that is--it is a weekday morning in NYC. There is one seat space wide enough for me to park my twin suitcases in front of me and I take it. The first car becomes standing room only six stations from the beginning of its trip. 22 more stops to go :D

--09:38a: Ar. 34th street Penn Station subway station
--09:48a: This time Chick-fil-A is open, so breakfast get
--09:58a: Ar. Moynihan Train Hall
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[AMTRAK:]
--10:32a: Boarding call for Train 43 announced, track 15
--10:39a: On board train 43, coach number 25069
--10:51a: Dp. Moynihan Station
--11:50 Ar. Trenton, NJ (oops, forgot to record Newark, NJ )
--11:52a: Dp. Trenton, NJ

--12:27p: Ar. Philadelphia, PA
--Midway through our layover, the conductor announces that not only is this train sold-out, but it is actually overbooked.
--12:57p: Dp. Philadelphia, PA

--01:24p: Ar. Paoli, PA
--01:25p: Dp. Paoli, PA

--02:07p: Ar. Lancaster, PA
--02:10p: Dp. Lancaster, PA

--02:25p: Ar. Elizabethtown, PA
--02:27p: Dp. Elizabethtown, PA

--02:43p: Ar. Harrisburg, PA
--02:50p: Dp. Harrisburg, PA

--03:59p: Ar Lewistown, PA
--04:01p: Dp. Lewistown, PA

--Somewhere in thr vicinity of Mcveighton, PA we encounter a round of slow running (like several minutes at 15mph. I suspect freight train
interference. Sure enough, we move over a track and speed up, soon passing a Norfolk Southern double-stack train. A few minutes later, we pass another[i/] long NS freight train. No doubt both of them are just itching for us to get out of [i]their way. At the next crossover, we switch to the track those two freight trains were on, no doubt clearing the way for a bunch of eastbound freights to proceed.

--04:53p: Ar. Huntingdon, PA
--04:55P: Dp. Huntingdon, PA (good thing it was quick, that stop blocks a well-used street in that town)

--05:20p: Ar. Tyrone, PA
--05:22p: Dp. Tyrone, PA

--05:38p: Ar. Altoona, PA
--05:42p: Dp. Altoona, PA

--06:34p: Ar. Johnstown, PA
--06:40p: Dp. Johnstown, PA

--07:19p: Ar. Latrobe, PA
--07:20p: Dp. Latrobe, PA

--07:30p: Ar. Greensburg, PA
--07:32p: Dp. Greensburg, PA

--08:15p: Ar. Pittsburgh, PA

--08:28p: No use going direct to the DLCC, badge pickup closes at 8pm, so now I begin my trek to the Marriott City Center. Uphill
All the way. With double-trailer luggage and loaded backpack.

--09:02: Ar. MCC, checked in and in-room. Yes, I stopped a few times to let the "traction motors cool down" :D
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