December 29th 2014

Hey!  I'm back!  Sorry I haven't been posting lately but I haven't' been feeling well lately.  I hasn't been the best of times for me, but I did have a good Christmas on the other hand.  I may try to do something over the winter but not much because I hate the cold weather.   I'm going to continue to post train videos but only once every three weeks for the time being. 

 Now on to good news.  There is news that there is plans for the extension of the Second Ave Subway to Harlem which is welcome news to say the least.  Structural work on the 86th St station is complete and the first segment of the Second Ave Subway will open in 2 years time, which I can't wait for.  The past couple of months we've seen the openings of the Fulton St Center and One World Trade Center.  These combined with the opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum indicates that Lower Manhattan is well on the road to recovery.  Now lately, there has been some criticism and complaints about the costs of the WTC Transportation Hub, I can see the complaints about the cost but there are valid reasons for this cost one of them the fact that this construction has to be done under traffic which is always done in NYC, closing certain roads and rail lines is not an option.  Another reason is that they're rebuilding the Mall at the WTC which is also going to be part of the transportation complex.  People may complain about the costs now, but after the complex is complete, it won't really matter anymore; it is already said and done.

Well, that's it for today.  I going to post something during the week.  See ya then!

Eastbound ride on an R42 J train from 104th St to 121st St

R68 N train at 5th Ave

Ride on an LIRR M7 train from Merrick to Freeport

LIRR Action at Massapequa in May 2014

Reverse RFW Ride on R17 6688 at Shore Line Trolley Museum

Ride on Third Ave Railway 629 to Short Beach

Ride on an LIRR M7 train from Copiague to Lindenhurst

LIRR Action at Babylon in May 2014

A Ride on a SEPTA Market Frankford M4 train from 60th St to 56th St

Ride on Amtrak's Keystone Train on the NEC

Ride on a C3 train from Hampton Bays to Westhampton

LIRR C3 train departing Southampton

R17 6688 at the Shore Line Trolley Museum barns

Johnstown Trolley car 357 at Shore Line Trolley Museum

Ride on a LIRR C3 from Islip to Bay Shore

Ride on an LIRR C3 train from Sayville to Oakdale

R142 5 train departing Brooklyn Bridge City Hall station

Ride on an R32 C train from Chambers St WTC to Canal St

M7 train arriving at Jamaica

Ride on an M7 from Wantagh to Massapequa

Ride on R6 1300 from Lexington Ave to Queens Plaza

Ride on an R1 9 Nostalgia Train from West 4th St to 34th St Herald Sq

Ride on a Comet V from Tuxedo to Sloatsburg

Ride over the Moodna Viaduct on the Port Jervis line

On an R44 at Tottenville during a severe thunderstorm

Ride on an R32 C train from Utica Ave to Nostrand Ave

M7 train departing Hempstead

Ride on an M1 train from Carle Place to Westbury

People who move down South.

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a long time.  I’ve been doing other things.  But here’s my first blog post in year.

            I’ve noticed in recent decades that people in the Midwest and Northeast have moved down South to places like the Carolinas, Texas, and especially Florida.  Personally I never fully understood way these places are better than the places up North.  Sure the taxes are lower and the weather is mild in the winter but is it really worth the move down there?  I myself have no intention of moving down south.  I probably might go down there in the winter but once you get past April, the heat can be oppressive, particularly in Florida.  Also with Florida, sinkholes are an occasional occurrence which might be deadly at times.  That and the fact there are poisonous snakes and fire ants which can injure and even kill people, now I’m hearing about pythons in the Everglades!  I thought the alligators were bad but pythons freak me out!

            About the taxes, yes we have fairly high taxes, but that doesn’t mean that places with them are bad.  In fact, a lot of places with high taxes are quite good.  Many places with lower taxes may seem good to some, but a good amount of places that have low taxes aren’t the best of places.   The services there might be sparse and the quality of life may not be very good.  A lot of these places which have low taxes actually live off tax payer money from other states particularly from Northeast states, so while the states that pay lower taxes may not have to pay much but other states especially those with higher taxes will have to foot the bill because of their cheapness and they have the nerve to complain about having to pay any taxes while they have it much better relatively speaking. 

            Another reason why people move down South is because is because of their political views.  They find the Northeast states either too Liberal or too Socialist.  Those opinions are just ignorant.  Most Americans don’t even know what it is like to live in a Socialist state.  They either think that Socialism equals oppression.  I honestly don’t know much about Socialism but if I want to hear an opinion on Socialism, I would rather have it from a person who actually lived in a Socialist state.

            Well, that’s all for now.  I’ll probably rant another time.  To my faithful blog posters; I wish you well!