The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-12
CITY COMMUTERS.
Passengers Who Come Together Daily on
Certnin Elexated Trims.

Il ride down town and up town again. on the
elevated road, every day al about the same hours.
as have been doing for years, said city dwcllcr,
and never meet the same people twice. People
that 20 over the same ground in the same man
rer on the surface roads, tell me they have the
same experience, they never see anybody they had
seen before This seems at first rather curious:
you would think you'd meet people, going like
yourself at fixed hours, every day: but when /
come 10 think Of II perhaps II il simple enough;
/ go at hours when there are lots Of trains run
ming. with only minute or two or even less,
Roadway. There arc thousands Of people who
go and come as do, AT approximately the same
hours and who perhaps vary from IL less than
five minutes any day; but suppose the chances
il they could be figured out Of their striking abso-
lutey the same train and the same car with our
selves every day. would be very small SO We
travel every day at the same hours with different
peoi 10, and think what big town 1t is and what
lot OF people there are living in it,"
But travel on a way train They tell me that
on the express trains on the elevated you may Il d
day after day the same people together on tho
same trains ! he man that lives in Harlem,
doing business down town, wants to get an OK.
press train. lie wants TO get down at a certain
time, he knows what train he must take from his
elevated station to make II; and as likely as not
he hits that train every morning, with a lot OF
other men who do the same thing, and it's the same
way going up at night So men that travel on
these trains come To know ono another, or rather
10 recognize one another as men they see on the
trains. And the guards that run on the ex presses
come Ia know many Of the passengers as regu.
lars, ana in the course Of time they may come 10
know some OF them personally: while the guards
experience on way trains is substantially that of
the passenger he may make certain stations at
the same hours and minutes day after day, and
yet pick up different passengers every time
Other times when passengers meet on the elc
waited are at hours when the trains are all local
and further apart az very late al night say after
J O'Clock. and very early In the morning. say be-
fore o O'Clock, These passengers include besides
the limited ordinary travel the many take them
ltogether-work ers in various occupations that
In great city, keep more or less men busy at all
hours day and night The man who works hi
or o'clock In the morning gets home as soon as
be reasonably after his work is done he doesn't
miss train where trains are light or twelve
or whatever they may be. minutes apart II he can
help it, and so he IL likely to take the same train
every morning he man who goes to work at
O'Clock or o'clock in the morning doesn't get
up any earlier than Is necessary to get his break
fast and get the train that will land him al his
station in time
"Ihe man going home late may meet tho Same
men morning after morning going by the same
train; the man going 10 work early may see morn
ing after morning, when he gets aboard at his
station tho same man, who has come from some
station further up tho road ALWAYS in tho same
corner and always asleep getting in here such
additional sleep as he can on the way down
And these, the men who meet OF at least travel
by tho Same trains going home from work in the
early morning; the men who travel together early,
on tho way TO work, and the people who travel by
the elevated expresses, might l suppose, DO de-
scribed as the city commuters"