The Dinky proves to be a great match-maker, and that’s where the celebration will take place.
By: David Campbell
Sometimes, relationships can be as easy as a five-minute train ride.
Consider the case of Sharyn Murray and Larry Frazer, who are getting married Saturday afternoon. Both are employees of Princeton University. Ms. Murray is assistant to the associate director of leadership gifts, while Mr. Frazer is executive catering chef at the university’s dining services.
But while they both work at Princeton, they had never met before one fateful morning in October 2003, when Ms. Murray lost her ticket for the Dinky commuter train from the Princeton Junction station in West Windsor to the stop on University Place in Princeton.
"I was coming back from New York City, and I had lost my ticket," she said. "So I asked him how to get a ticket for the Dinky, since it was my first time riding the Dinky."
Mr. Frazer helped her, and, since they both had about a half-hour wait for the train to arrive, the two struck up a conversation. She noticed that he was wearing a chef’s coat she loves to cook, she explained, and the coat piqued her interest and asked him where he worked.
"He said, ‘Princeton University,’" Ms. Murray continued. "I said, ‘I did, (too).’"
The pair talked about cooking and their favorite restaurants. They talked about chef’s knives. (It must be true what they say about opposites attracting. Ms. Murray said she favors the Wusthof brand of cooking knives, while Mr. Frazer said he prefers the brands Henckels and Global.)
When the Dinky finally pulled into the station and the passengers boarded, she said she asked him if she could sit on the seat opposite his. He said yes, and they continued their conversation for the roughly five-minute train ride into Princeton.
"We kept talking about restaurants," she said. "He handed me his card. I gave him my card. We found out we shared other things in common."
For one thing, they share a love of music.
Ms. Murray said she has worked as a singer and songwriter, performing professionally in North Jersey and New York City. She said her fiancé plays the mandolin. Both plan to perform together at their wedding Saturday at the Dinky. Betsy Zipkin of New Hope, Pa., Ms. Murray’s spiritual teacher, will preside over the ceremony, she said.
The couple plan to arrive together on Saturday at the Princeton station, where the marriage ceremony is to be held. Then, she said, the newlyweds and about 100 guests will take a "celebratory ride" on the small commuter train to the Princeton Junction station, where the couple first met, and then back again to the Princeton station. There will be sparkling cider and hors d’oeuvres waiting for guests at the West Windsor station.
Indeed, the patron saint of rail travel has smiled on this matrimonial union. It even has the blessing of NJ Transit.
Ms. Murray said the state transportation agency, which operates the Dinky, granted the necessary permit, the liability insurance and the group ticket required for her and Mr. Frazer’s guests to take their post-ceremony ride.
And the Dinky will be in service during the ride Saturday. The couple did not exclusively charter the train on which they will begin their journey together as husband and wife. "Whoever happens to be commuting will be there," Ms. Murray noted.
Mr. Frazer, who along with the other staffers at dining services recently weathered Reunions Weekend at Princeton, said he is very much looking forward to the honeymoon. He and Ms. Murray plan to travel to Marsh Harbor in Abaco in the Bahamas, where they will be the only two people on their own private island.
She said the island is pretty secluded. It has just one house along with a boat for getting on and off.
No trains, though.