Iron rails & iron weights

It's always something new on the LIRR

And I don't mean that in a good way.  Mechanical problems on the LIRR are nothing new, of course.  In 7+ years of daily commuting I've experienced hot cars, cold cars, flickering or no lights, malfunctioning doors, painfully bumpy rides, and of course many full-fledged breakdowns.   This morning, however, the 7:32 from Ronkonkoma to Penn featured something new and different: dangerously abrupt, almost neck-snapping, acceleration.  Each time the M-1/3 consist started up it did so with a jolt so strong that I saw some people nearly knocked off their feet.  What caused this, I haven't a clue, mainly because the conductor never made any sort of PA announcement explaining it.  The crew did  spend plenty of time going on about "MA resets" in an attempt to remedy a lack of air conditioning and lighting in the rear two cars.  These proved unavailing, and after the first few stops the conductor repeatedly announced that the crew was sorry (right!) but the problem couldn't be fixed.  Actually, I was lucky, as I often sit near the end of this train, but as I had seen the red lights indicating a "short train" as it approached the Ronkonkoma platform I moved toward the west and boarded one of the front few cars.  Without doubt, the first few cars in front of the two powerless ones were completely mobbed with people moving forward, not to mention the fact that there were two fewer cars than usual in the consist.  I took the aisle seat of a 3-across, fully expecting someone to take the middle.  In a stroke of good fortune, however, the middle seat remained empty, thanks in part to the man in the window seat, who spread some papers and his briefcase onto the middle seat.  Thanks, dude.  We were almost ten minutes late into Penn, due to some delays getting through Jamaica (no PA explanation, of course), but at least I hardly had to wait at all for a 1 train to Houston Street.

The trip home was much improved over the morning's journey.  I had no significant subway waits at either Houston or 14th, although there was a moderately odiferous person on the 2.  Fortunately it's a quick ride from 14th to Penn, and the car's AC was blasting away nicely.  I just barely caught the 5:22 to Ronkonkoma, taking the aisle seat on an M-7 2-across next to a young woman who, truth be said, did not seem thrilled atmy sitting next to her.  No idea why she resented my presence.  I don't take up an inordinate amount of room, and while not an SCA (duh!) I don't look like some mad rapist or anything.  Hmmm, maybe it was all that formaldehyde soaking my clothing :)   Whatever the case, it was a swift ride to Penn, made better by the fact that as on the 2 a little earlier, the air conditioning was running very nicely.

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