Bar Cars on NYC trains

[TellMeI'mNotCrazy]

This is one I've been wondering idly about for a while.

I take a Harlem line train back and forth to work every day. What I've noticed is, New Haven line trains seem to have Bar Cars, complete with tables and seating, a bar tender, the works. I've never seen this on the Harlem or Hudson line trains, only the ones headed into Connecticut. Is this some legal difference? I mean, they have vendors selling beer at the head of the tracks anyway, and probably a good third of the men I see on the train are drinking an alcoholic beverage of some sort, so it doesn't appear to be an anti-liquor law on trains. Anyone know the deal?

Maybe if I say ltfire, he'll pop by and ask his son.

[Dewey Finn]

Here's an article that discusses the bar cars. The short answer is that Connecticut was civilized enough to maintain them on the New Haven line, while New York City didn't want to do so on the Harlem and Hudson lines.

[TellMeI'mNotCrazy]

Excellent, thanks!

[Roches]

I like in the second paragraph of the article where the commuter admits to having an alcohol problem: "We're fairly addicted to it." He even admits to it being a "stone cold bummer" (sounds rather underworld slang, doesn't it?) if he can't get his fix.

The bar car doesn't really look that upscale - it looks like a subway car. Even the bar/snack cars on Amtrak trains are nicer. What kind of drinks can you get, and are they mixed at the bar or does the liquor come in small bottles like on a plane?

[TellMeI'mNotCrazy]

They do look pretty grubby, and the article enforces that idea. If the vending is anything like the bar vendors at the track entry, it's probably standard single shot bottles of whiskey/vodka/beer type thing. And Fritos and Lays, that kind of thing.

[SmackFu]

They are really grubby. In the picture with that article, you can't really see how it is mostly floorspace with benches along the wall. It is not a floor you want to see a lot of.

[GorillaMan]

At least our railways still call them 'buffet cars', giving the pretence of real service, while at the same time being truthful about waiiiiting in line.

[ltfire]

Originally Posted by TellMeI'mNotCrazy

This is one I've been wondering idly about for a while.

I take a Harlem line train back and forth to work every day. What I've noticed is, New Haven line trains seem to have Bar Cars, complete with tables and seating, a bar tender, the works. I've never seen this on the Harlem or Hudson line trains, only the ones headed into Connecticut. Is this some legal difference? I mean, they have vendors selling beer at the head of the tracks anyway, and probably a good third of the men I see on the train are drinking an alcoholic beverage of some sort, so it doesn't appear to be an anti-liquor law on trains. Anyone know the deal?

Maybe if I say ltfire, he'll pop by and ask his son.

My son laughed and said one word: Appeasement.

Seems that the New haven line is the stepchild of Metro North. The Hudson and Harlem lines are maintained by the State of New York. The New Haven is funded by the State of Connecticut. Hudson/Harlem? Brand new cars every few years, far and away a higher average of being on time, cleaner, far fewer breakdowns, etc., etc. The State of Connecticut just will not fund that line to compete with Hudson/Harlem, to the detriment of the commuter. Please don’t blame the Conductor for your woes. Have another drink.

[friedo]

Originally Posted by ltfire

Seems that the New haven line is the stepchild of Metro North. The Hudson and Harlem lines are maintained by the State of New York. The New Haven is funded by the State of Connecticut. Hudson/Harlem? Brand new cars every few years, far and away a higher average of being on time, cleaner, far fewer breakdowns, etc., etc.

Pfft. The new M7s on the Harlem were the first new cars on that line in more than two decades. And all three lines got the hell beaten out of them last winter.

[ltfire]

Originally Posted by friedo

Pfft. The new M7s on the Harlem were the first new cars on that line in more than two decades. And all three lines got the hell beaten out of them last winter.

Here's a column about that, and why the New Haven riders won't see any new trains.
http://www.nynews.com/newsroom/04280...ingplaces.html

[SmackFu]

That article is a little old. I vaguely recall reading that Connecticut ended up buying refurb trains from somewhere down South.