Map Tour of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR)

I love love love love love love love PDFs of old books on sites like Archive.org, Google Books, and the Library of Congress. A while back I found one called “Seen from the Train on the Picturesque Lehigh Valley Railroad”. Published in 1895, this book was intended to keep riders informed of their whereabouts as they took the train from NYC (well, Jersey City) to Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

I’ve spent most of my life living along this former railroad (in New Jersey and Pennsylvania), and I really enjoyed reading the 1895 description of several places I lived in/near. While this book is an interesting read, it just isn’t as fun without a train ride. (Soapbox: we need more passenger rail service!!!) But these trains don’t run anymore. And some (most?) of the rail segments are totally gone.

Someday I’d like to make a road trip out of this, and include a present-day photo of each stop. For now, I created a Google Map to act as a guide and provide some context. You can click on any point and read the that town’s description from the book. I hope you enjoy it!



Legend:

• Blue binoculars: Points of interest along or near the route
• Red train engine: Major transfers or junctions with other railroads
• Green circle with a square inside: The western route through the Finger Lakes
• Yellow circle with a diamond inside: The eastern route through the Finger Lakes

PS: If you happen to be a train nerd (I mean that affectionately) and I got something wrong, please let me know!

While We're Talking About The Moon...

Strand is an amazing place. Many of you know the joy I encountered back in November(ish) when I found an long-out-of-print book called "Let's Speak Rusyn" for $1, thus making Strand one of my favorite places on earth. Well, today I had another adventure in Strand! I found a few cool books, but one in particular needed to be shared. It's called "The Space Tourist's Handbook". Here is an agenda laid out within this amazing book:

Sample Moon Visit Itinerary
Days 1-3 - Travel to the moon.
Days 4-5 - Arrival. Welcome glass of Moon Punch. Acclimation to low gravity. Meet and greet Moon-based support staff ("Moonies"). Short, brisk walk on lunar surface.
Day 6 - Longer Moon walk. Rock sample collecting.
Day 7 - Free day. Send email using Moon computers. Take photographs of the Moon base. Enjoy a buffet dinner with other astronauts. Indulge in savory Moon pies.
Day 8 - Daylong hike to "highlands" and other major craters.
Day 9 - Prepare for departure. Pack souvenirs. Email your photos. Visit clinic for preflight enema.
Day 10 - Departure. Return to Earth.

This is just plain silliness. And I enjoy it.