Travelers will still hear the rumble of trains pulling into Union Station. But the familiar clackety-clack sound of the schedule board is going the way of the steam engine.
The news that the state’s about to replace Metro-North’s last “Solari” board hit travelers hard.
“I like the clackety-clackety,” said visiting Philadelphia businessman Hill Meade as he prepared to leave town.
Click the play arrow above to hear what Meade will miss.
Meade (at left in photo) and his colleague, Barry Royen (at right), were waiting on Tuesday for the 6:38 to Philadelphia. They said the old sign adds an air of “nostalgia” to New Haven’s train station.
Contrary to Meade and Royen’s wishes, the board is due to be replaced next year with two large LED screens. It’s part of a multimillion-dollar improvement package scheduled for the station. Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) plans call for improvements to the distinctive pedestrian tunnel to the train platforms, improved signage and audio systems, and changes to help the station meet new building codes.
Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the state DOT, said the mechanical sign needs replacing due to its age. He said he doesn’t know exactly how old it is, but “I can tell you it’s rare enough that it’s antiquated. … It’s quite difficult to procure parts and expertise to fix that style board any more.”
Nursick estimated that the sign swap and the other improvements will cost around $5 million. Work will begin in the spring and take one year. The project is funded by the state and federal governments, at a ratio of 20 percent and 80 percent respectively.
The train station needs the improvements, Nursick said. “It’s an older structure. A lot of the interior infrastructure hasn’t been touched for years.”
The To-Do List
Nursick provided a rundown of the plans. The metal lining of the pedestrian tunnel (pictured) will be replaced with a similar material. The tunnel will be outfitted with fire sprinklers and drainage and “water infiltration” in the tunnel will be addressed. To comply with current building codes, there will be upgrades to plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and lighting systems.
Retiring the schedule board is part of a number of public information improvements, Nursick said. New “variable message” LED signs will be installed in the tunnel at each stairwell and 19 more LED signs on the platforms themselves. There will be a new display with schedule information above the ticket-purchasing windows and a new computerized information kiosk. Four hundred new speakers will be installed to improve audio quality for announcements. That should “eliminate any of that Charlie-Brown-teacher sound,” Nursick said.
The existing schedule board will be replaced by two side-by-side LED panels, each 17 feet wide by six feet tall. Unlike the mechanical board — known as a Solari board or
split-flap display—the LEDs will not make noise when they change.
That’s a shame, according to Meade and Royen. Despite the fact that they work in the computer industry, they said the old board should be preserved.
“It’s really kind of nice to see,” Meade said. “It’s mechanical. It’s a little nostalgic.”
It also fits with the architecture of the station, said Royen.
“The whole setting throws you back to a different time, a slower paced life,” Meade said.
“There’s not many places like this,” Royen said.
“It works. Why change it?” Meade asked. Hearing that the board is reportedly difficult to repair, Meade suggested tacking a $2 or $3 “usage fee” onto ticket prices to pay for sign maintenance.
“I’m a true believer in you don’t replace something unless you need to,” said Charles Brady, a Westport finance researcher. He said it reminded him of his old coffee maker, which his daughter tried to replace eight years ago. The new coffee maker she gave him is still in the closet, ready to go if the old one breaks.
Rachel Hull (pictured), a clinical researcher at Yale said she likes the old sign. “It’s kind of retro,” she said. The sound it makes is what you think of when you think of the train station, she said.
Contacted earlier, New Haven Urban Design League President Anstress Farwell also spoke up for preserving the sign. She said it is the only Solari board left on the Metro North line.
“I think it’s a very evocative part of the train station,” she said. “I think it’s worth keeping.”
Farwell raised concerns that an LED sign might not be as visible from all angles as the Solari board. Also, the Solari board’s “clackety-clackety” sound provides an audio clue to look toward the board, she said.
In an email, Farwell wrote, “The great high-ceiling and stone walls of the waiting room create a soft, steady, blended echo of passenger footsteps and their rolling luggage. The Solari sign’s sound is the heartbeat of the grand waiting room chamber.”