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First Class Duck

@firstclassduck.bsky.social
188 followers 98 following 2.3K posts

an opinionated and jaded traveler

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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
For some reason, I'll always defend this place, and I love it because it's not trying to be some awful attempt at trying to replicate historic train station designs poorly. It's unashamedly modern, and it manages to pump trains through on multiple levels to the rest of the Bundesrepublik.
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Why is your Air Canada count so high? With that said, I’m twenty years older than you, and this is what my stats look like. Guess which airline I have status with? The answer might surprise you. :-)
Flighty list!
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
If only there was a high speed train set with high acceleration. :-)
N700S on the Sanyo Shinkansen.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
I find it interesting that they bothered with a full intersection when this was the original state of affairs in 2009, and no access was provided once the interchange was finally removed. Just moving the pedestrian crossing to a more amenable location for the buses would have been sufficient.
Boul Pie IX en 2009
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
The local political discourse from my corner of Zone 7 on the LIRR…
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
There’s something to be said about the world’s best railway and why it’s also the world’s best roller coaster.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Nozomi Rail Star
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Chase the sun!
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
More from Daejeon!
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
KTX CheongryongKTX Cheongryong
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Again, 저의 행복한 장소. :-)
KTX
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Fresh Meadows map
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
My biggest miss during travel was Minneapolis! I even rode the light rail but somehow didn’t pop into Cub Foods to buy a card.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
There's a decent number of them surrounding the city with transit access. Inside the city, there's smaller format supermarket and convenience store offerings.
Carrefour map / Paris
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Nashville and Austin boomed without transit, airline hubs, international flights, and big corporate backing.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
And I think I figured out the best way to piss off Transit BSky while making a few railfans very happy. :-)
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
I was told that Euro systems all run with excellent headways. Hint: I took this photo after waiting for two minutes.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
The entire tram system being OOS is very disappointing given that I wanted to do a little railfanning with them, and my hotel just happens to be near two tram lines.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Theres nothing like when a train engineer pushes a HSR set to 300 km/h and the train fights its way to that speed, and you *feel* it. I ❤️ HSR EMUs.
Italo AGV Napoli Centrale
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
My happy place :-)
300 km/h MAS TAV Roma-Napoli
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
I guess it’s the Eternal City.
View of the Vatican at night
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
If traffic is this bad with the ZTL…
Traffic on bridge crossing Tiber River
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
I was promised bus lanes. :-)
ATAC 492 bus in Rome
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
I like it, but I'm biased for some reason. :-)
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
So Chicago doesn't have anything like this with no station agents around to babysit? This isn't uncommon in New York, so switching to a normal faregate without station agents wasn't that insane for us. PATH has normal gates with *zero* station agents around.
Iron maiden turnstile gate
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
:-)
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
The PATH hourly wages have pissed off BFF and a few of his coworkers who want wage parity with PATH... With that said, I can see why NJT wants parity with Amtrak. After a fun discussion with BFF, he suspects that the average wage numbers thrown around are from working holidays and 10 hour days...
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Happy Easter!
Easter MassEaster MassEaster Mass
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Hoarding rice to beat the tariffs.
Two bags of Thai rice.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
The upside to lounge access is stuff like this. The downside is that if you’re traveling domestically, and you’re renting a car at your end point, drinking is definitely out of the question despite the free wine.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Original post deleted for, um, reasons.
Japanese IC cards
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Gran ClassGran Class
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Wee!
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
I feel pretty hyped. :-)
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Yay! :-)
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Odaiba is basically a bizzaro world where Newport was built around expanded islands in the bay. It even has the giant mall!
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Somehow, Japanese cities manage to be livable despite urban freeways…
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Mmm, convenience store stuff. :-)
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Yeah, buses aren’t exactly on the mythical 5 minute headway here. And they don’t ride that differently from a Nova or New Flyer back home except for the whole immaculate pavement part.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Yeah, buses aren’t exactly on the mythical 5 minute headway here. And they don’t ride that differently from a Nova or New Flyer back home except for the whole immaculate pavement part.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Yeah, buses aren’t exactly on the mythical 5 minute headway here.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
In the background, you can hear Eurobeat from my headphones. If there’s any line where Eurobeat is the right choice, it’s this one.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
My happy place. :-)
GPS speedometerJapanese countryside from the Tokaido Shinkansen Japanese countryside from the Tokaido Shinkansen Mt Fuji from the Tokaido Shinkansen
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
This station gives WTC vibes except that it’s not a loop and it’s not as dark and brutalist as I remembered it.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
I was told that JR can’t fail.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
BFF told me to take the pledge. I have even more respect for his ability to operate a train now.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I was promised a subway so clean that you could eat off it.
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
It’s JTREC! :-)
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First Class Duck @firstclassduck.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
So apparently, there is an actual switch on the VA spec EZ-Passes to allow for this. Add in some on the ground enforcement by the state police to ensure compliance...
VA EZ-Pass
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