Quiet Car

ml1 said:
who talks on the phone nowadays?

I know, but somehow they do. The worst though is in the late evenings and on weekends. Those people have absolutely zero sense of where they are.

tom said:

ml1 said:
who talks on the phone nowadays?

I know, but somehow they do. The worst though is in the late evenings and on weekends. Those people have absolutely zero sense of where they are.

"Hey!  It's me!"

[PAUSE]

"Guess where I am?"

[PAUSE]

"No"

[PAUSE]

"No"

[PAUSE]

"Guess again"

[PAUSE]

"No"

[PAUSE]

"No"

[PAUSE]

"GIve up?"

[PAUSE]

"I'm on the train"

[PAUSE]

"No, I'm on the TRAIN!"

quiet car commuter here.  But I have to admit, there were some fun rides in the other cars.... There used to be a defense attorney who rode the Hoboken train and has the BEST conversations with his clients... 

"What?  You did what?  Don't tell me that! Why did you go there - she has a restraining order!!"

If all the noise were that good, I'd have stayed in the regular cars,.,

PeggyC said:
it's the quiet car, not the silent car. That guy has issues... Glad others were more pleasant.

Yes, this was my thinking also. Even without the bloody nose, two soft-spoken sentences across the seat should have been perfectly acceptable. Gee and when you saw the lady pretty well covered in blood, just maybe you should have slinked (slunk?) right back to your seat huh?

Medical emergency or issues aside, I really can't see a problem with a prohibition on talking in the quiet car.  You are free to talk on every other car on the train. Simply don't sit in the quiet car if you want to talk on the phone or otherwise.  I think how much has changed in 20 years. Recall phone booths where phone calls were made in private? Now people are seemingly oblivious or simply don't care that everyone can hear their phone conversations. 

"Recall phone booths where phone calls were made in private?"

given the almost cattle-car like state of rush period commuter trains, being that militant about the quiet car on NJTransit is excessive. As much as I appreciate the more tranquil atmosphere, in the front car, it isn't the Acela.

Copyability said:
given the almost cattle-car like state of rush period commuter trains, being that militant about the quiet car on NJTransit is excessive. As much as I appreciate the more tranquil atmosphere, in the front car, it isn't the Acela.

I don't understand what you're trying to say. It isn't hard: If you sit on the quiet car, be quiet. That's true whether you're on NJT or Amtrak. If you want to talk, go to another car. Once again, because this seems bizarrely hard for some people for reasons I cannot fathom: Sit in the quiet car, be quiet; sit in another car, talk all you like. Quiet car: don't talk. Other cars: talk. That's it. Simple!

imonlysleeping said:

Copyability said:
given the almost cattle-car like state of rush period commuter trains, being that militant about the quiet car on NJTransit is excessive. As much as I appreciate the more tranquil atmosphere, in the front car, it isn't the Acela.

I don't understand what you're trying to say. It isn't hard: If you sit on the quiet car, be quiet. That's true whether you're on NJT or Amtrak. If you want to talk, go to another car. Once again, because this seems bizarrely hard for some people for reasons I cannot fathom: Sit in the quiet car, be quiet; sit in another car, talk all you like. Quiet car: don't talk. Other cars: talk. That's it. Simple!

No. You're wrong. THE QUIET CAR DOES NOT MEAN DON'T TALK. YOU'RE WRONG. YES, I'M YELLING. The rules specifically say  (I'm quoting from the g-d damn schedule btw) "Customers are asked to silence all audio devices, refrain from cell phone use, conduct conversations in subdued voices, and maintain low headphone volumes to avoid disturbing other passengers."

No. Sorry. If you want to have an ongoing conversation, do not sit in the quiet car. The other cars are for conversations. The quiet car is for quiet. If you must talk in the quiet car for some urgent reason, do it quietly. Otherwise, be quiet. THERE ARE NINE OTHER CARS. Why would you have an ongoing discussion in the quiet car knowing that every other person in that car went there specifically for quiet? It's the absolute height o entitled, egocentric a$$hole behavior. Just GO TO ANOTHER CAR. Quiet car: don't talk. Any other car: talk. Sheesh, why is this such an issue for people? I truly do not understand it.

It's your issue. Go sheesh yourself.

Wendy Lauter

I mean, what is the impulse that makes some people intentionally walk into a car packed with people who all have gone there specifically to sit in silence and enjoy irritating every single one of them by engaging in an ongoing conversation, even if it's "subdued" (which it never actually is)? You just have to be an antagonistic prick. Lots of people just aren't aware and then comply when they're politely informed, but there's a special sort of jerk who intentionally goes into the quiet car and has a conversation specifically hoping for a confrontation.

On the flip side, there is a similar sort of jerk who sits on the quiet car hoping for any tiny infraction so they can jump all over the perpetrator. Both of these types of people are awful. Don't be one of them. It isn't hard!

wendy said:
It's your issue. Go sheesh yourself.
Wendy Lauter

If you want to talk, why don't you sit in a different car? I truly don't understand.

Now you're making sense. Please note this thread was started by someone whose nose was bleeding and asked for help. It wasn't started by someone who was whispering to someone who happened to get on the train with them (and yes there are better cars for that but again READ the rules as written).

On the flip side I asked a conductor to tell someone to put in headphones rather than watch a movie without it. At first the conductor told me it wasn't the quiet car. At that point I pointed out the general rules on NJ Transit "Electronic Devices and Cell phones: Listen or speak at a volume that does not disturb other passengers."

wendy said:
Now you're making sense. Please note this thread was started by someone whose nose was bleeding and asked for help. It wasn't started by someone who was whispering to someone who happened to get on the train with them (and yes there are better cars for that but again READ the rules as written).
On the flip side I asked a conductor to tell someone to put in headphones rather than watch a movie without it. At first the conductor told me it wasn't the quiet car. At that point I pointed out the general rules on NJ Transit "Electronic Devices and Cell phones: Listen or speak at a volume that does not disturb other passengers."

I guess you didn't read my earlier posts.

I read all the posts on this thread. Didn't memorize them. My take away from your posts was the repeated mantra of it's the quiet car and if you plan to talk go elsewhere. Sort of a no-brainer concept and not germane imo.

I think if you went back and read what I've actually posted in this thread you'd realize that we generally agree on this subject.

I was on the "quiet" NEC car tonight and some young people got on--obviously college kids since they were studying for some exam--and they were LOUD! I said to them, "guys, this is a quiet car," just to let them know. What did I hear? "Where is that posted? How do we know that?" I said no more. They stayed on the car for a while until they actually realized it was a quiet car. They were sheepish when they left. That's a rarity. I hate the NEC...

This is why I avoid the quiet car.  NSFW:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzq8bfOgihA

Is that Peter from Family Guy in that video??

ml1 said:
This is why I avoid the quiet car.  NSFW:

maybe.  but I want to know more about the Board of Trade in Chicago.

@conandrob240 the dude on your train was crazy and very inconsiderate -- sadly there are too many pricks in this world, one of the reasons I stay away not just from the quiet car, but the trains in general... 

On a separate note, back in the day when I did take the train, I remember the conductor kicking someone out of the quiet car for talking (obviously different situation..): https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/id/107356-awesome-quiet-car-moment-on-njt

Watch out, he will cut you in half!

ml1 said:
maybe.  but I want to know more about the Board of Trade in Chicago.

The strident self-appointed quiet car monitors come off as unhinged - it is not the silent car. My favorite instance was this summer when a woman badgered a non-commuter who had already turned off his phone when he was first told it was the quiet car - after her outside voice three minute lecture was over she proceeded to clip her fingernails and toenails all the way to Penn. I preferred the caller's quiet conversation.

ml1 said:
This is why I avoid the quiet car.  NSFW:

Napoleon complex. And maybe a little drunk--sort of early for that...

When I grew up in Westchester, the trains were very social.  They were probably more like bars than anything else.  Most people drank, talked, played cards, etc.  It was very different from what you see today.

joanauer said:
When I grew up in Westchester, the trains were very social.  They were probably more like bars than anything else.  Most people drank, talked, played cards, etc.  It was very different from what you see today.

Probably  because they're longer trips.  I used to work with a woman who took MetroNorth to Beacon every day and she would always stop off at a liquor store to buy a bottle because it was her "turn" to provide the booze for the group on the train.  Same with friends who commute from Westport, CT.  By the time you pop the cork around here, you're already in Maplewood.

joanauer said:
When I grew up in Westchester, the trains were very social.  They were probably more like bars than anything else.  Most people drank, talked, played cards, etc.  It was very different from what you see today.

I grew up there too (Katonah) and lived there in my early 20s when I commuted into the city. I remember these awesome trains as well. I was a smoker back then too and loved that I could have a cigarette on the ride home. 

wendy said:

imonlysleeping said:

Copyability said:
given the almost cattle-car like state of rush period commuter trains, being that militant about the quiet car on NJTransit is excessive. As much as I appreciate the more tranquil atmosphere, in the front car, it isn't the Acela.

I don't understand what you're trying to say. It isn't hard: If you sit on the quiet car, be quiet. That's true whether you're on NJT or Amtrak. If you want to talk, go to another car. Once again, because this seems bizarrely hard for some people for reasons I cannot fathom: Sit in the quiet car, be quiet; sit in another car, talk all you like. Quiet car: don't talk. Other cars: talk. That's it. Simple!

No. You're wrong. THE QUIET CAR DOES NOT MEAN DON'T TALK. YOU'RE WRONG. YES, I'M YELLING. The rules specifically say  (I'm quoting from the g-d damn schedule btw) "Customers are asked to silence all audio devices, refrain from cell phone use, conduct conversations in subdued voices, and maintain low headphone volumes to avoid disturbing other passengers."
 

NO NEED TO YELL! I GET YOUR POINT!!!!!!

Suggestion, make all cars SILENT cars, ban all noise, even breathing.