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HomeConnecticutTales from Metro North: Riding the 'Stealth Car'

Tales from Metro North: Riding the ‘Stealth Car’

Metro North riders: Has this ever happened to you? You get on the train home to Mamaroneck or Pelham, or wherever, and discover you’re on the Express…to Stamford. (It’s definitely happened to me.)

Maybe next time you’ll get a conductor named Tom, who will make a “stealth stop” for you, like he did to Loop reader Irene:

We criticize Metro North so much I would love to see my happy story in theLoop;
I am a resident of Larchmont and was out in the city tonight.

I missed my train and in my haste to get the next I got on the express to Stamford by mistake, and did not realize it until the conductor asked for my ticket and then told me I was on the wrong train (9:37 to Stamford express!! 1st stop Stamford!!) and next train back to Larchmont was not until 11 : 28ish?!
I tracked down Tom the Conductor. He told me he had already radioed the motor man on the train and requested a special stop so be ready, he would come back to get me (and that there was also someone else on the wrong train!)

So miraculously 5 min. later the train switched to the local track and made a stealth stop where only our car opened in larchmont and the 2 of us got off!!

Even the 1 cab at the station asked where the train came from and why it stopped and only let 2 people off.

This was truly a miracle!!

photo:   Elisabeth Pollaert Smith

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Emmett
Emmett
June 29, 2012 6:21 AM

So if there were 300 commuters on the train who worked all day and who were each delayed by five minutes because you couldn’t Check the destination signage as you entered the platform, your ignorance cumulatively wasted 1,500 minutes. Tom and the engineer should be disciplined for deviating from the published schedule. Next time, please try to be more considerate of other customers.

Jeberama
Jeberama
June 29, 2012 1:53 PM
Reply to  Emmett

Dear Stealth Rider,
I would have been happy to stop for you. We should all learn to give a little more.

Andy
Andy
July 1, 2012 11:30 PM
Reply to  Emmett

Hey Emmett

Sometimes a glass can be half full. Lighten up, have a drink,
Have some fun, With that view of life you will have a stroke or an ulcer.

I am sur you have never been rushing for a train, running late and made a mistake. Ever been in the express shopping lane at the supermarket and had more than 8 items or are you that person who watches and counts people’s grocery cart items to make sure they are correct. Let’s see. If there are 300 supermarkets and two people a day are in the expres line by mistake, that’s 600 evil doers and each transaction takes 4 minutes that 2400 minutes a day that is being wasted x 10 customers a day being inconvenienced at each store, a conservative estimate, Oh my god that’s 24,000 minutes a day being wasted, and a value of each persons time at one dollar a minute, Holy cow. I think I found out how we can solve the financial crisis.

Thank you Emmett. And I was going to complain to the president of the express cashier union for this dereliction of duty.

I hope you realize how ridiculous my story is as well as your comments.

Emily
Emily
June 28, 2012 11:10 AM

Believe it or not, there are many nice conductors that try to help riders that get on the wrong train, or miss their stop. Obviously if you are an ass (or blame them for missing your stop, this happens all the time) nobody is going to go out of their way to help you.

A similar incident did happen with me once – I got on the wrong train – needed to stop at White Plains, but the train was expressing to 125th. I assumed that I’d be going all the way there and taking another train back, but the conductor made an unscheduled stop for me – I didn’t even ask.

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