A week ago today, a loose steer on the tracks disrupted train travel in New Jersey.

The then-unnamed steer
[Photo credit: NJ Transit]

It was quite a sight to behold, and though trains were delayed, the internet was briefly in love with the escaped animal. But what happened next? The Washington Post has that story, and it includes a vegetarian former trucker/current animal sanctuary operator, a police officer named Ricardo lending his name to the cow, and eventually, plush toys in stylish neckwear.

It’s a solid logo, but they ought to include the so-bad-it’s-good trademark orange, magenta, and blue stripe.

An unsecured ungulate in a train station is a pleasingly bizarre story, and I can appreciate NJ Transit getting in on the act, particularly with some of the proceeds going to support the aforementioned animal sanctuary. My favorite part of all this, however, is that it highlights one of the most absurd things about the Northeast Corridor railway from Boston to D.C. When traveling between New Jersey and New York, trains stop first at Newark Penn Station and next at New York Penn Station.

The names are quite similar, and over a crackly train loudspeaker, they sound identical. The two stations are worlds apart, however. Woe unto you who accidentally wind up in Newark, New Jersey when attempting to get to New York City. Your fate is unlikely to be as fortunate as Ricardo’s.

Whenever I ride through, I shake my head at the near-certainty that some confused passenger has recently disembarked at the wrong station. That is some terrible, user-hostile design.