December 27, 2018

THE CONTEXT

A handcrafted newsletter by

I love trains. So any story about them grabs my attention -- especially one about something as rich in history (and sound) as Philadelphia’s iconic display board. I relate to the person in the piece who talked about the sign’s “sentimental feel.”
-Scott Blanchard, PA Post editor

Today: The 30th Street Station board is moving....or is it?

Destination TBD

The display board at Amtrak's 30th Street Station was supposed to come down in early 2019, but there's an effort to keep it where it is. (Marie Cusick/WITF)

If the destination of the iconic display board at Philadelphia’s 30th Street station were to go up on the board itself, you’d hear the status clicking and you’d see it rest on DELAYED.
WITF’s Marie Cusick reports that Amtrak intended to move the board to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Lancaster County … but some want to see it stay in Philly. Now no one’s sure exactly what will happen.
Removing the board has been talked about for a while. In 2016, the Smithsonian magazine wrote that Philly’s board and a similar one in New York’s Penn Station were to be removed, sure to “leave a clicking hole in the hearts of travelers.”
Some people are keeping track of how many of these split-flap signs are still around (and how many have been replaced) across the world.

Best of the rest

(Photo credit: Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press)

If you like to keep tabs on where your tax money goes, PA Post’s Ed Mahon assembled a way for you to see what teachers make across the commonwealth.
Two-thirds of Pa. voters said the state should be doing more to address climate change, according to a Franklin & Marshall College/StateImpact Pennsylvania poll published in March. StateImpact’s Marie Cusick takes a look at climate change news in Pa. last year, and what you’re likely to see in 2019.
Sunoco may be about to finally put its controversial, cross-state Mariner East 2 pipeline into service. It’s been a rough journey, full of “spills, shutdowns and legal challenges,” as StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Jon Hurdle reports.

By Scott Blanchard
Editor, PA Post
717-910-2805
papost.org

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