NY Penn Station Announcers?

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Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
6
Did I miss a big change? Did Penn Station NY replace the real announcers with a digital recording? This is what I think I heard the other day. The big arrival board is gone and now this. Any hints of personality have been removed. Thankfully one can still view the stunning original glass tile floor at the platform area in several places. Plus a 1960's (new Penn Station era) painted sign "To Trains" in the Hilton Corridor.
 
I honestly could care less. If anything, it’s easier to understand now, so while each announcement might not feel quite as “custom made” anymore, i’ll take form after function when it comes to train announcements.
 
No cold recorded announcement, will ever compare to this....every time I hear it, I can't help but smile....
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I honestly could care less. If anything, it’s easier to understand now, so while each announcement might not feel quite as “custom made” anymore, i’ll take form after function when it comes to train announcements.
The problem with form and function is the recorded announcements often can't keep track of all of the changes in a timely fashion. It will start transmitting multiple announcements. It's gotten a lot better but still needs a little fine tuning.

The interesting thing about the announcements in the video is the change in services. I forgot about Lee Hall, Virginia and Williamsburg Pottery. You no longer here the recorded announcements (or train crews for that matter) mentioning the connecting stops at a transfer point. Imagine needing an announcement to confirm the train does not allow smoking. Times have changed.
 
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I can be as nostalgic as anyone, but the recording above is just difficult to understand. Perhaps New Yorkers are familiar with all these stops, but all I could comprehend were Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington. Using a live announcer has advantages over recordings, but they need to enunciate better.
 
Whenever I returned home on vacation, during the two decades that I lived in Ne. and Co., I would get off The Broadway Limited, come up the escalator, and hear that familiar chant of Danny's...that's when I knew I was 'home'...
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I liked hearing the announcement mentioning Train 519, the Gulf Breeze to Mobile...almost forgot that one existed....
 
Not specific to NY Penn Station, but more often than not, the PA announcements from whomever, be they airport gate agents or what I heard in June when I visited Washington Union Station, are difficult to impossible to understand.
 
Grand Central Terminal, because of its cavernous acoustics, is hard to hear PA announcements, unless you happen to be standing in just the right spots....
 
No cold recorded announcement, will ever compare to this....every time I hear it, I can't help but smile....
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What memories! The Conductor on the James Whitcomb Riley which I rode from Chicago to Cincinnati when I was at UC, did a wonderful spiel of all of the stops with a perfect - allll abooardd!
 
Too bad they didn't record Danny announcing the Crescent when it used to carry a Los Angeles heritage sleeper. He announced the stops all the way to Los Angeles!

Oh, and he did that as well for the National Limited's thru heritage sleeper to Los Angeles...

People would stare up at him when the announcer's booth was located above West Gate, Track 12, and give him an ovation after the "Alll Aboaaaaaaard!"
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I don't understand the point in naming all the stops. If I have a ticket for 19 from New York to Charlotte, I don't care about stops in between or after Charlotte. I just want to know what track train 19 boards on.
 
I don't understand the point in naming all the stops. If I have a ticket for 19 from New York to Charlotte, I don't care about stops in between or after Charlotte. I just want to know what track train 19 boards on.
That is so people can hear their stops since some passengers aren't well versed on train numbers or train names.. People are traveling to those mentioned stations too. The person traveling to Meridian probably doesn't want to hear Charlotte mentioned but they'll put up with it..just for you.
 
Grand Central Terminal, because of its cavernous acoustics, is hard to hear PA announcements, unless you happen to be standing in just the right spots....
These issues can be resolved thru smarter placement of (better) speakers, more speakers, and software upgrades. (Old school amplification may not be software-dependent, so not much we can do about that.).

If the system is antiquated, it doesn't matter (that) much whether the announcements are made live or thru recordings, tho with recordings you could at least make sure almost all announcements are enunciated better.

If I hear announcements within a 20-30 minute window of my train's arrival or departure, and can't understand them, it at least serves as notice to glance up at the board. What do you think? Will the board be in agreement with the announcement?
 
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