The question that motivated this map was “Is there actually a ‘nanny train,’ and can I visualize its existence?”īy and large, what I gleaned from scrutinizing the train schedule and counting up trips (not exhaustively, but carefully) is that Harlem Line trains make stops either south of White Plains and terminate at North White Plains (24 miles north of GCT), or begin making stops at White Plains and terminate at Southeast (53 miles north) or Wassaic (82 miles north).
This particular project was motivated by a phrase I had heard used a couple times in reference to this train line: “the nanny train.” This is a blunt shorthand for the observed phenomenon of women of color riding from stations in affluent, majority-white towns in Northern Westchester (where they work) to stations further south that generally serve communities of color in the Bronx and Southern Westchester (where they live). I guess it’s what I already had words for from Kevin Lynch’s mental maps, but each person’s map of the same geography will be different. However, the more I’ve taken the train in recent years (particularly when I take a new combinations of stops to reach my students via public transport, or when I ride at an unusual time), the more I observe that the Harlem Line train serves, obviously, many more purposes than just my own. My most-traveled path is from the town where my parents live to Grand Central, off peak. Less than 10% of trains each day also connect to a transfer at Southeast that runs further north, an 30 additional miles up to Wassaic in Dutchess County. I lived along the Harlem Line, which makes stops between Grand Central Terminal and the ambiguously-named Southeast. I grew up mostly in Westchester, and viewed MetroNorth Railroad (MNR) as an escape route from the suburbs. Project background, map images, conclusions
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