Remnants of the 1980s Subway, Pt. 2: The M Logo

[MHV9218]

Thought I'd do another thread showing some old pieces of the subway system in the old-school M logo, which first came in 1968 but was most prominently installed on cars in the 1980s. Today, some cars overhauled in the 1980s (R32s) and some cars built in the 1980s (R62As, R68s, etc.) keep these old signs. Personally, I vastly prefer this old logo to current one, and I always enjoy the nostalgia of seeing the old logo on an active service train.

 

The best preserved, largest-sized examples of the logos are on the R32s. The massive metal discs on each car show the logo, but they've been covered by any number of MTA New York City Subway stickers since the logo change in the mid-1990s. A few cars survive uncovered, however--or reveal what was underneath.

 

 

Here's another of 3718, pulling into 96th Street while the old Azkidenz column signs were still up:

 

 

3578 also has the logo, though not quite as well-preserved:

 

 

On some cars, like 3835, the M logo has worn off but the New York City Transit remains. At one point, 3834-3835 both had this condition.

 

 

On others, like 3610, the logo barely peaks out from beneath the current sticker:

 

 

Some better-preserved logos can be found on a handful of R68s and R68As. On these cars, this is the reflective sign from when the car was delivered:

 

 

R62s and R62As, delivered at the same time, came with the same reflective logos. 1-2 cars at best retain the logo, usually partially obscured:

 

 

Many R42s maintain the sticker, however:

 

 

 

1-2 R46s maintain the logo, but I haven't managed to catch a photo. Many are showing the outlines of it beneath the sticker, however. The safest bet to catch it is on work cars:

 

 

 

Not to mention the many kiosks and related signs around the system...

 

 

 

...like this one that I think dates back to the early 1970s when the MTA was first created:

 

 

I'm always looking for more of these little details, but one thing is certain in my mind: the MTA logo was a whole lot cooler in the 1970s and 1980s. Not to mention the MTA corporate scheme...well, here's one last piece of nostalgia on that front:

 

 

All for now. Maybe I'll do another of these series for the signage of the 1980s...we'll see. 

[SoSpectacular]

I do miss that logo. I'd redesign it if I were given the chance to give it a more modern look!

[46Dover]

I would've liked to see City transit Subways use the M in a circle like on the R110A/B cars before they went to the logo

[Lance]

I really like this look back into yesteryear's transit system. There's just one small correction I'd like to point out. All of the then-new cars arriving onto MTA property, starting with the R40Ms, had the big M decals installed from the get go. The cars that predated the creation of the MTA kept the older TA logo, especially if they didn't receive the corporate silver and blue paint scheme.

[Quill Depot]

Cool pics! I like the second one. 

[MHV9218]

I really like this look back into yesteryear's transit system. There's just one small correction I'd like to point out. All of the then-new cars arriving onto MTA property, starting with the R40Ms, had the big M decals installed from the get go. The cars that predated the creation of the MTA kept the older TA logo, especially if they didn't receive the corporate silver and blue paint scheme.

 

Good catch -- I knew that the R40 Slants ran with large TA logos, but I couldn't remember what the R40Ms or R42s arrived with. 

[Union Tpke]

Great job! I see the old logo often on R46s peaking undeneath!