# Where in the World is Thebigcrabcake?



## Guest (May 6, 2016)

I like to wave the MTF flag wherever model railroaders might be. You never know where the next new member will come from. Today is one of those days. So take a guess, where am I!

Emile

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## Hudson J1e (Nov 19, 2015)

My first guess was going to be York until I saw the picture. Hhhhhmmm, hard to tell since the scenery is blurry. Somewhere on Amtrak?


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## Guest (May 6, 2016)

Amtrak is correct, but which train and where? Clues are in the photo.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Somewhere on the Northeast Corridor. Maryland??

Pete


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Looks like an Acela to me. And you are from Annapolis. So I would say you are between Wilmington, DE and Baltimore, MD.


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## Guest (May 6, 2016)

Well done Lehigh74! The post was made just south of Wilmington. If you zoom in on the glass of Pepsi, you can see "Acela" etched into the glass. Check back later as my journey continues and as I meet Model railroaders.

Emile


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

I didn’t even notice the soda glass, but I’ve ridden the Acela a number of times between Philly and Union Station DC. I recognized the accommodations which I’m guessing you don’t get on a Northeast Regional.


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## Guest (May 6, 2016)

No, I take the Northeast Regional, but I'm traveling with Mrs Thebigcrabcake so Acela is my first choice. Already meet a fellow Model railroader. I think we might see him and his wife in October.

Emile


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## rdeal (Mar 6, 2013)

mr C. Cake

when do you begin work on the 2016 christmas video/s

rdeal


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

Pepsi!!!!


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## rdeal (Mar 6, 2013)

spence 

i was thinking the same thing - - Pepsi ?

rdeal


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## Guest (May 6, 2016)

rdeal said:


> mr C. Cake
> 
> when do you begin work on the 2016 christmas video/s
> 
> rdeal


Already started converting a Harry Heike Sawtooth factory into a North Pole toy factory. Layout has been torn down to the track and is ready for this years design. I'll start serious construction after July 4th and should be finished by Mid-October.

Emile


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## Guest (May 6, 2016)

OK, this one should be easier. Where am I?

Emile

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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

DUH!


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## Mark Boyce (Jul 22, 2015)

And here I thought you were going to a tennis match by the cover of the magazine you are reading in the first photo. ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Guest (May 6, 2016)

Can't beat the Acela. Have a wonderful weekend in NYC.


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## Guest (May 7, 2016)

OK the train behind me in the picture is going in the opposite direction of the train I'm waiting for. Which way am I going?
The 9th stop for me was Delancey Street. Where did I get on.

Emile

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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

The pic says it's invalid, but Delancey St. is a stop on the F train subway line. Since I can't see the pic, if you were coming from the north, if you got on at 57th and 6th, Delancey would be the 9th stop. If you were coming from my old stomping grounds in Brooklyn, you would have gotten on at 15th Street/Prospect Park (and your 3rd stop would have been Smith/9th Street - the highest station in the subway system). Took the F from Brooklyn to 23rd Street in Manhattan for work for quite a few years.


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## Guest (May 7, 2016)

Impressive Apples55! I got on the F train at 57th street and 6th Ave. 
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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

New York City, right by Central park.
Midtown.

You made it.

Edit,
Whoops. I see you added where your at already.
Unless you just edited that in?

Whats you going to do there?
Going to over to see the Hellsgate bridge while you are there?


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## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

No word from Crab since 6:10 AM. Sure hope that he had the money to pay the fare and isn't stuck riding in circles like that poor guy in Chicago. Jennifer may not have the patience to carry him lunch each day.

Or maybe he found some neat new Dept 56 stuff for the 2016 Christmas extravaganza.


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## Guest (May 8, 2016)

Today's train adventure began here. I took the "N" train heading downtown and got off at the first Terminal then walked across the street and had lunch. After lunch, I rode on another type of train (My third type on this trip). The three questions of the day are:

1. Where am I, exactly, in the picture?
2. What did I have for lunch?
3. What was the name of the train I rode after lunch?

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## longle (Mar 7, 2015)

You're at the 5th Ave MTA (Metro) subway entrance at Central Park NY, NY. Am I close?


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## Todd Lopes (Nov 11, 2015)

Emile, very cool post. I've got to order myself a MTF shirt or something soon. Thanks for sharing your trip.


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## Guest (May 8, 2016)

longle said:


> You're at the 5th Ave MTA (Metro) subway entrance at Central Park NY, NY. Am I close?


That is correct, although this entrance is actually located on Central Park South, nearly half a block from 5th Avenue.

Any thoughts on questions 2 and 3?

Emile


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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile;

I agree with longle, you started by Central Park at 5th Ave. The southbound terminal of the N line is Coney Island/Stillwell Ave. Across the street is that legendary culinary Mecca, Nathan's (used to live about a 15 minute drive from there). I assume you had a couple of hot dogs and fries (if you had anything else, SHAME).

Now going back, you had a few choices... The Brighton line (the D train), the old Culver line (aka the name for the Brooklyn leg of the F train), or you could have been boring and taken the N back (which, if I remember correctly was called the Sea Beach line).


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## Guest (May 8, 2016)

Apples55,
Well done! I thoroughly enjoyed my Nathan's cheese-dog.

Question #3 remains unanswered. The trains you mentioned are similar to the N. My after lunch ride was on a different type of train. 

Emile

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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Wait a minute... You put cheese on a Nathan's dog??? HERESY!!! Mustard only. There are Nathan's around the city, but they none taste as good as at Coney Island. They used to say that the fries tasted so good because they hadn't changed the oil in over 75 years... Super storm Sandy ended that.

Having ruled out the possible subway lines, the only other thing I can think of in the area that qualifies as "a different type of train" would be The Cyclone... If that is the answer, I hope you went BEFORE lunch!!!


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## Guest (May 8, 2016)

Apples55,
You'll have to forgive the cheese as one of the many many ways that I'm obviously a "Tourist". Another way, was screaming in abject fear on the Cyclone! I did not see that coming. I thought it was going to be a nice easy ride on an American icon. It doesn't look scary at all. It's almost 90 years old. Surprise to me! The Cyclone is one awesome roller coaster! With one heck of a Train!

Emile

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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Well, as a born and bred Brooklyite, I have never been to the top of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, nor ridden the Cyclone. You do realize it is also made of wood, don't you???

Now I assume, at some point in your NYC travels, you will hit Grand Central Station. When you do, I would recommend going to The Oyster Bar on the lower level. A little pricey, but great seafood. Personally, I am not a fan of crab cakes (present company excepted), but if they have them, my brother swears by them. Of course, when it comes to model trains, my brother thinks Gomez Addams had the right idea, so you mileage may vary!!! I think he said that they always have them at the take out window or raw bar and sometimes in the restaurant proper.

Paul


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## Fabforrest (Aug 31, 2015)

Fun thread.


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## Guest (May 9, 2016)

Apples55, I did the Grand Central Terminal thing on the last visit. Tried the oyster Bar. Loved the New England Clam Chowder but not so much on the Crab Cakes. Recipe was all wrong. They substituted a substantial percentage of what should have been Blue Crab. There was a different type of crab and a little fish mixed in. It wasn't good, but I am speaking from a coneseur's perspective. The average non-Marylander probably would like it. I'm sure the same is true about the soup if coming from the perspective of a New Englander. They would probably hate it whereas I liked it a lot.

Emile


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## Guest (May 9, 2016)

OK. Back on topic: On Saturday after riding the Cyclone, I was returning to Manhattan on a Manhattan-bound train (not the B train), through the window on the right side of the train I saw what is in the picture below. My questions for you are:

1. What is it (the name) that I saw?
2. Which train was I on?
3. Where was I?

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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile; 

Sorry to hear about your experience with the crab cakes... Guess you can now understand how I feel about cheese on a Nathan's hot dog!!!

Not sure what the art piece is called, but I remember when it was installed (back in the 80's I think). Took the Brighton line from Ave. M to Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan on the way to work in those days. It is in the tunnel between DeKalb Ave. station and the Manhattan Bridge. The entire series showed the launch of the rocket. Loved seeing it every morning. I think I saw something online recently that they had restored the entire installation. As to the train you were on, excluding the B, would leave you with the N or Q. Been out of Brooklyn for 20 years, so I'm not too sure of the schedule these days, but, if I had to guess, I'd guess you were on the N. Either would take you back to the general area you started at. 

Glad to see you are enjoying NYC and getting out and doing the non-touristie things like seeing the city via subway. 

Have you tried the Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn??? In an abandoned station, has a lot of older equipment, a lot of which I remember riding when I was younger.

Paul


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## Guest (May 9, 2016)

Very close Apples55! 

1. The name of the Subway art installation is:"Masstransiscope".

2. I was on the Q train. Only the Manhattan-bound Q and B trains pass by Masstransiscope. Of those 2 only the Q begins in Coney Island.

3. As Apples55 has deduced, I was in the tunnel between Dekalb Station and the Manhatten Bridge.

The video below is from a prior visit to NYC, but shows the full Masstransiscope presentation.


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## Guest (May 9, 2016)

Brain teasers, I love them. Nice idea to test us Emile.


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

apples55 said:


> I would recommend going to The Oyster Bar on the lower level. A little pricey, but great seafood. Personally, I am not a fan of crab cakes (present company excepted), but if they have them, my brother swears by them.


Apples55, How can you recommend NY crabcakes to a person from Maryland?  As a New Yorker, I would never order pizza or bagels when I travel elsewhere. :smilie_daumenneg: Maryland has the best crabcakes in the country. A Marylander can never enjoy a NY crabcake.


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## Guest (May 9, 2016)

OK. Next questions. In the pictures below:

1. What are these guys pointing at?

2. Why are they doing that?

Emile

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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

PatKn said:


> Apples55, How can you recommend NY crabcakes to a person from Maryland?  As a New Yorker, I would never order pizza or bagels when I travel elsewhere. :smilie_daumenneg: Maryland has the best crabcakes in the country. A Marylander can never enjoy a NY crabcake.


Pat;

Mea maxima culpa!!! As I mentioned, I don't eat crab cakes, so I am living proof that ignorance is bliss (which would explain the silly grin I usually wear). HOWEVER... I have found good pizza and bagels in the Poconos, but they wouldn't know good pasta up here if it bit them on the butt.

Paul.


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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile;

This is a hard one. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they are telling someone where to go (in the nicest sense of the phrase, of course). A few years ago they started installing electronic signs in the subway which show what and when the next few trains will arrive, and the first pic seems to show the conductor pointing up toward one of those signs (of course, he could also be pointing at one of the older metal signs which just lists the trains that stop on that track). The second pic, the conductor seems to be pointing across the platform as if saying the express comes in on the opposite track.

Paul


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## Guest (May 10, 2016)

They are pointing at these Zebra striped boards!?!

When a New York City Transit subway train pulls into the station, there is a designated spot on the platform where it must stop or else the rear of the train could still be out in the tunnel or the front of the train could be in the tunnel ahead.

The conductor’s indication board is a black and white striped board situated in the middle of the platform and facing the train. When the train is aligned properly, the board is directly in front of the conductor’s window and he knows that it is safe to open the doors. Conductors are required to physically acknowledge the “zebra boards,” by pointing to them before opening the doors. 

Emile


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

TheBigCrabCake said:


> Conductors are required to physically acknowledge the “zebra boards,” by pointing to them before opening the doors.


Emile, you got me on that one. I grew up in the Bronx and took the subway to both high school and college. I never knew that about the stripped boards. I remember there are signs near the front of the train marked for the engineer to know where to stop depending on how many cars are on the train.


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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

I'm with you Pat... Always saw the zebra boards, but never knew what they were about. I always thought it was the engineers who made sure the train was properly placed based on the car number signs on the wall at the front of the train. You learn something every day. Could have used this bit of info over the years when I wanted to ask a conductor on an arriving train a question.

Paul


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## Guest (May 11, 2016)

This video highlights the requirement that Conductors point at the Zebra sign each stop. It's clever and fun. Done by film students, I think.


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

:appl::appl::appl::appl::appl::appl:
Love the video. Thanks Emile.


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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile;

That is too funny. I'd get myself thrown out of the subway because I'd want to have a sign that says "Point here if you purposely garble your announcements"


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## Guest (May 12, 2016)

On Mother's Day I was waving the MTF Flag again! For our final New York City activity, we took the 6 train to 86th street and walked 3 blocks West to 5th Avenue. There, I Met up with my buddy Vincent.

!. Where were we?

2. Why did we pay less for admission than the price for purchasing tickets online?

Emile


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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile;

You were at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As for what you paid, you were taking advantage of the Met's recently resolved on site admission policy which calls for a "recommended" donation (formerly a "suggested" donation). Hope you got to see the Temple of Dendur and the HUGE painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware up in the American Wing.

Paul


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## Guest (May 12, 2016)

Apples 55,
You are GOOD! Next time I go to NYC on a Train Adventure I'm going to have to bring my "A" game if I'm going to have any shot to stump You! Well Done! :appl::appl::appl:

Emile


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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile;

Not so much good as well practiced... growing up in Brooklyn, my family never owned a car until I was in college in the early 70's - in the city, you really didn't need one. As a consequence, you used public transportation to get around. It may have taken longer that a car, but a lot less aggravating.

A suggestion for your next trip... on the original Lex Line (the 4, 5, and 6), many stations still have some of the original tile work. Many of the tiles had stories behind them. See how many you can find. Not sure if this will show up as a picture, but here is just one example. It is from Astor Place on the 6 train. Extra credit if you can explain the significance of the animal !!!!

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...&thid=OIP.Me4a27dec0f6e106e5b75a6a82d3e6878o0

Thanks for the wonderful trip down memory lane :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos:

Paul


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## Guest (May 12, 2016)

apples55 said:


> Emile... here is just one example. It is from Astor Place on the 6 train. Extra credit if you can explain the significance of the animal !!!!


The Beaver is likely a reference to the beaver-pelt trade that led to John Jacob Astor's wealth. Below are a few shots I took in the N, Q, R Line. I'll check out the 4,5 and 6 line next time.

Emile

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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile;

You are correct about Mr. Astor's beaver. Give that man a discontinued diamond jubilee subway token!!!

The photos are very interesting. I assume that they are from up near the zoo??? They are some of the nicer ones I've seen. I think it was back in the 90's that they started to place new tiling in various stations. There was a bit of controversy at the time because they were planning on removing some of the old tiles, but after the outcry, they rethought the issue. Some of the new stuff is weird, if not downright ugly (28th Street on the R line comes to mind), but these are great. I particularly like the polar bear on the white tile background. 

Here is a link to some pics of the tiles at 28th Street on the R ===> http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Artwork:_City_Dwellers_(Mark_Hadjipateras)

Paul


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## apples55 (Nov 16, 2015)

Emile;

Timing is everything... Saw this on the NY Daily News website this morning - pretty interesting. I'll have to try and hit 23rd Street next time I'm down by my old office in Manhattan (26th and Madison).

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ic-hats-23rd-st-subway-stop-article-1.2634411


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## Guest (May 17, 2016)

Apples55,
That's a "Must see" on my next trip. 120 is a lot of hats! Very cool.

Emile


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