MHV9218 Posted December 21, 2014 Share #1 Posted December 21, 2014 Most of the subway system today has been updated in the past year or two years--station signs are always replaced, strip maps get new stickers, and the MTA keeps things current. In the cars themselves, SMSs have replaced floors and painted seats, while various stickers have been replaced in past years for fleet uniformity. Almost every car in the fleet has post-1987 graphics on the interior, which tend to be white on black stickers in the Helvetica font. Not to mention, everything is in English. In the 1970s and 1980s, however, signage looked a lot different. The common font was Akzidenz-Grotesk, the signs were black on white, and Spanish was used for a lot of the text around the cars. Almost all examples of this design language have been scrubbed from the system either in routine updates or GOHs (the oldest R32s and R42s actually have relatively modern interior signs thanks to their overhauls). But a few cars keep the original 1970s-1980s graphics, and these are the unmodified R62/As and R68s (68As came too late). I try to catch a photo (on my phone or camera) of the cars I see that have kept their original stickers, as they're a nice throwback to a time when the whole system looked like this. Starting with R62As, these English-Spanish Azkidenz-Grotesk "Do not use this door" stickers are still around on a few cars, namely the 42nd Street shuttle fleet. The rarest of all are these "Prohibited" stickers, which are only on a handful of R62As at best. At one point in the 1980s, this was the sticker on the storm door of each car, whether R30 or R62. The font is pretty unique. While talking R62As, a bunch of cars have retained their original number stickers, which are black on a clear background in the Azkidenz-Grotesk font. Here's 1907: Closer up, here's 1787. This car also has its original Emergency Brake sticker in English and Spanish. A few cars also have these original New York City Transit Authority stickers for priority seating, which have stuck around on buses but not subways. These are in Azkidenz-Grotesk. A few R68s also came with these stickers, but theirs are on a white background. I've only seen them in Helvetica, but the M logo is a nice throwback. R68s and R62/As also came standard with these "Prohibited" stickers, which I've only seen remaining on R68s. They are in Azkidenz-Grotesk on white, while their bus counterparts are Helvetica. R68s have also kept many of their original number stickers, which are either in Azkidenz-Grotesk or Helvetica in black on white. Next to these numbers are storm door stickers, which are also in either font. A-G numbers and Helvetica sticker: Helvetica numbers and an A-G sticker: Helvetica closeup: Akzidenz-Grotesk closeup: One last piece of 1980s-styling which is more physical than graphic is flooring. A handful of R62As have kept their original beige flooring, like 1958: And finally, one sign that's older than a bunch of these put together: The details are easy to miss, but there's a lot of history hidden around the cars and the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted December 21, 2014 Share #2 Posted December 21, 2014 The rarest of all are these "Prohibited" stickers, which are only on a handful of R62As at best. At one point in the 1980s, this was the sticker on the storm door of each car, whether R30 or R62. The font is pretty unique. For those wondering, the font is Helvetica Medium Condensed with some weird spacing. Nice catches with the throwback signs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quill Depot Posted December 21, 2014 Share #3 Posted December 21, 2014 Nice catches! I recall seeing some of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokkemon Posted December 21, 2014 Share #4 Posted December 21, 2014 Very cool historical typography! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHV9218 Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted December 21, 2014 And for some context, here are some photos showing just how things looked in the 1980s with those same stickers (all credit to nycsubway.org): The front of an R62 and an R62A, with original "Prohibited" sticker, door sticker, numbers, e-brake, and "Please no" sticker. Original floors, too. Note that some stickers are white and some are clear, and some are in Helvetica while some are in Akzidenz. I'm not sure any R62/As still have those Please No stickers on them. Here's an overhauled R10 with the same "Prohibited" sticker on the storm door, as would have been seen in most 1980s cars: As you can see, a few pieces of the 80s certainly remain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union Tpke Posted December 22, 2014 Share #6 Posted December 22, 2014 I think I saw some of the exact ones in the pics! Great job! I should post those pics at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulrivera Posted December 22, 2014 Share #7 Posted December 22, 2014 Wow, this thread puts in perspective how different the R62/R62A's in particular look today compared to back then. OTOH I wonder why they put such bland interior colors on the R10 towards the end of its service life... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biGC323232 Posted December 22, 2014 Share #8 Posted December 22, 2014 Great Catch....Now thats history when you see the fans in subway cars.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted December 22, 2014 Share #9 Posted December 22, 2014 OTOH I wonder why they put such bland interior colors on the R10 towards the end of its service life... It's the standard TA Tan post-GOH interior paint scheme. All of the Redbirds plus the R32 R38 R40 R42 got it, and any running examples of these cars still have it. I actually see the NTT interior scheme as a variation on it, with white and periwinkle replacing tan and blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missabassie Posted December 22, 2014 Share #10 Posted December 22, 2014 Excellent throwback!! Those were the days.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3 Via Av U Posted December 22, 2014 Share #11 Posted December 22, 2014 I see R68s all the time with the old car number stickers. They're a nice touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q113 LTD Posted December 24, 2014 Share #12 Posted December 24, 2014 Love the interior of R68s. So shiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javier Posted December 25, 2014 Share #13 Posted December 25, 2014 Unfourtnatley, when the R62 on track 3 got wrapped around in that awful ad skin, the old 'No Riding between the cars" sticker was removed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8Hou Posted December 26, 2014 Share #14 Posted December 26, 2014 There are about 3 cars that has black and white stickers on door numbers. It may be still there for 20 years or not. One of them is R68A car #500 X series... Im surprise no one has a picture inside one of the cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princelex Posted December 26, 2014 Share #15 Posted December 26, 2014 It was nice going back to my childhood looking at the R62/68's from the 80's. I remember when all that was new. It looked so good back then. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarvestmanMan Posted December 31, 2014 Share #16 Posted December 31, 2014 Here's another remnant of the 1980s subway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTA Dude Posted December 31, 2014 Share #17 Posted December 31, 2014 Here's another remnant of the 1980s subway. ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T to Dyre Avenue Posted December 31, 2014 Share #18 Posted December 31, 2014 Here's another remnant of the 1980s subway.But they didn't have those subway cars in the 80s, lol. I know, you're talking about the graffiti on the train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8Hou Posted January 3, 2015 Share #19 Posted January 3, 2015 The second sticker of Emergency Instructions... Emergency Evacuation Procedure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R33WF Posted January 3, 2015 Share #20 Posted January 3, 2015 I made a thread like this a few years ago here photos from that thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3F Posted January 3, 2015 Share #21 Posted January 3, 2015 What went to 50th Street besides the and the ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javier Posted January 3, 2015 Share #22 Posted January 3, 2015 The . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHV9218 Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share #23 Posted January 3, 2015 The second sticker of Emergency Instructions... Emergency Evacuation Procedure Those are hard to find in trains these days. There was an R44 that kept one for a while, and there's one of those stuck on a wall near 242nd Street tower, but it's mostly the new ones and the white ones that came after that (neither of which have Spanish). I made a thread like this a few years ago here photos from that thread. Great finds, I must have missed that thread. I love finding those little vinyl pieces. There's one at West 4th and there's one at 23rd on the IRT, but those are the only one I've noticed. And of course, they're all in Akzidenz-Grotesk, which is great to see. Sadly the view of that 50th Street entrance is gone now, thanks to the bank installed a new gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-CT1660- Posted January 3, 2015 Share #24 Posted January 3, 2015 Most, if not all of the SIR R44's still have those "Riding Between Cars Is Prohibited" stickers intact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jashawn R. Posted January 5, 2015 Share #25 Posted January 5, 2015 I made a thread like this a few years ago here photos from that thread. Is that the 52nd Street and 8th Avenue entrance? I've always wondered what it looked like, since it was closed. When did they close that entrance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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