This would be a day of changing plans and
flexibility. The original plan was to meet at the R6 Spring Mill
train station in Whitemarsh. Since Squiggs and Bob didn't finish up
work til 7am and I was beat from my previous two days we didn't get
an early start like our buddy Hugh Jecrection wanted to. Which he
would remind us of on a fairly regular basis along the way when
things looked bad.
We met at Squiggs house a little after 9am. All
eight of us were ready to go, so Conshohocken here we come. Once we
got to the Conshohocken train station we realized this wasn't going
to be easy. It looked as though there were close to one thousand
people standing on the platform waiting for a train. Many people
took it in stride. Check out our friend dressed as the Phillies
Phanatic as he led cheers from the middle of the tracks. A bunch of us
had gotten phone calls from friends telling us that the train
leaving Norristown was full already and had no room. So we thought,
wait for the next train. As the first train came through I was
really disappointed, one of SEPTA's AEM-7's pulling a long line of
cars which you could tell were full. The next train which was the
older Silverliner cars had so many people on board they let people
ride in the end vestibules. They NEVER let that happen.
My buddy Hugh called SEPTA and complained since we
had all bought tickets for the ride. SEPTA said they didn't have any
more trains and they were trying to help. We were getting concerned
that a train would never come for us and we would be stuck in Conshy
for the day. So time for a change in plans. Of course the group
looks to me for some guidance since I am a walking train users
guide. I was the only one out of eight who had ever ridden the train
before. (I thought that was nuts)
I suggested we try the Route 100 Norristown High
Speed line then get to the El in Upper Darby. A food wagon even made
an appearance and seemed to be doing a fairly decent amount of
business too. As we left Conshohocken police set up barricades and fire police were dispatched to the
scene. No we didn't have a radio with us, Hugh Jecretion had fire
police in his pager. His plan for later in life.
End of Part 1 - More to come later |