Cabanamaner

I am honestly BAFFLED by the hatred for 75-foot cars I’ve seen on this forum for years. While I respect the R32/R42s, I’m actually more fond of the wider, longer R46s and R68s. Yes, they’re not perfect and their slowness is well-documented, but that’s more a flaw of design above all else. With today’s technologies, I’d actually like to see another 75-foot car introduced to the system, of course being much faster than the current ones. I was kind of bummed to learn that the R211 were switched from 75 to 60 feet. Just my 2 cents.

Whatever happened to the passageway between 50th Street  and 50th Street ? I remember it being reopened after many years back in 2011-2012-ish (there’s even videos on YouTube showing it off), but it’s been closed completely for the past few years. Is there a formal reason for it’s closure? 

40 minutes ago, R68OnBroadway said:

Is CPW reverse-signalled on the express track? If so, provided you build the other half of that crossover just north of 59th, couldn't you use one level of CPW every time work is needed to cut down on flagging issues?

That’s actually one of the smarter recommendations I’ve seen on here. 

Not surprised by this actually. I recall the blue construction walls on the southbound platform of 4 At- 9th Street being left there for YEARS, with them finally being removed earlier this year so we can see the large windows once again. Plus, does anyone remember when the mosaics at Smith-9th streets were literally cardboard cut-outs until the MTS got called out on it?

2 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

I noticed at some stops in Manhattan the alarms on the emergency doors have sound again. It’s literally been years since I’ve heard that alarm sound, so I guess the MTA is somewhat serious about cracking down on farebeating. However they still don’t have cops in the stations when they really need them. So therefore the other day at the 59th street downtown  platform, the emergency door was pushed, the alarm was set off, yet a whole flock of people still rushed through the door.

Yes, it came out a while ago that the alarms would be reactivated at certain stations to deter farebeating. But just like last time, it’s pretty ineffective in actually stopping people from going through. As for the cops, I’ve actually noticed more of them at smaller stations lately, especially at night. I’ve proposed that a redesigned turnstile and better police surveillance could actually make a difference.

Quick question, did anyone here actually use the Jerome Ave express pilot back in 2009? I’ve known about it for a while, but I’ve never actually seen anyone speak about it. How’d it go?

On 6/23/2019 at 11:07 AM, R68OnBroadway said:

My god some people still don’t listen after the problems of an idea are explained...

Seriously. This entire thread boils down to same ideas being thrown around over and over and over. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen “Extend the C to Lefferts” , “Send the G back to Forest Hills”, or “Bring back the V and restore the original M”, all ideas which have been proven to be terrible or unintuitive give system limits.

7 hours ago, Axis said:

Let’s play a game:

List 100 ways to fall into the 1 hour gap in bus service (n31, n32, Q114) going from Far Rockaway into Five Towns between 2:00 PM & 3:30 PM.

I’ll start:

1) A dog is on the tracks in front of your train at Rockaway Boulevard, making it so that instead of arriving at Far Rockaway at 2:15 PM as scheduled, you arrive late & just miss the last bus out of Far Rockaway for the millionth time in a row.

Bro, what?

2 hours ago, Uncle Floyd Fan said:

While this thread is about the pre-recorded announcements, I'd like to go retro for a moment and talk about 2 memorable conductors and their respective announcements:

1- An older gentleman on the F train would announce each transfer option with the suffix of "train"....for example: "This is Roosevelt Avenue - Jackson Heights. Transfer here to the E Train, M Train and R Train. 7 train upstairs, Q-70 bus to LaGuardia Airport downstairs. This is an F train to Kings Highway. Next stop 21 St. Queensbridge. Stand clear of the closing doors". His persona fit right in with the older trains in which he made the announcements - the one with orange seats and an old scroll sign (sorry, I'm not familiar with the make and models of the subway cars - all I know that it wasn't a Bombardier).

2- Also an older gent on the 7 train. He sounded like a world-weary type of guy who's seen it all. Even 20+ years later, I recall his frustration with a passenger interfering with the doors: "Lady - You're something else".

A few years ago, there was an annoying operator on the  who would yell that the D doesn’t stop at DeKalb Avenue. Every. Single. Stop. Yes, the D does stop at DeKalb at night, but yelling that at every stop during rush hour doesn’t make any sense. 

I can’t tell if the ESI work at the two Penn Stations has wrapped up or if it’s still ongoing. The only work I’ve seen done was in the mezzanine, with a few staircases being resolved. Apart from that, the station platforms themselves appear to be virtually untouched. 

I find it curious that the Bx19, long considered to be one of the slowest moving turds in any borough, will be left virtually untouched after the redesign. I don’t know if splitting it in half would help, but that stretch on 149th Street from Southern Blvd to Grand Concourse is notoriously brutal. 

And even though its already been roasted, that BXM17 route has to be the MTA’s version of a troll post.

I have a story to share about something I’ve observed for a year now. There is a door on the Queens-bound platform at Rockaway Avenue  that has been ROUTINELY vandalized on a daily basis. The culprit always advertises wanting to perform a sexual act on someone, followed by leaving their number at the bottom. It gets wiped each morning, only to reappear again that very night without fail. It’s gotten so bad that the MTA gave that door a fresh coat of paint, only for the message to reappear like a pimple on prom night. I don’t know whether to be creeped out or impressed at the dedication.

5 hours ago, R68OnBroadway said:

A lot of the IND in general could use some repairs... Norwood is hell,  Lafayette is a prison, Culver after 4th-9th is rotting, 103rd has more plywood than concrete, and the upper Manhattan stations (168th and north) stink like shit.

 

Lafayette Avenue will never cease to baffle me. A quaint local station with a gigantic mezzanine that would make some express stations blush. IND philosophy at its finest. I’m typically against mezzanines being shrunk or segmented, but if there was ever a station that needed it, it’s Lafayette.

2 hours ago, R68OnBroadway said:

Was extending the  to Rockaway Blvd full time ever considered?

That’s probably not a good idea. Rockaway Blvd is not equipped to be a terminal full time, the shuttle service would have to be scheduled around the MUCH busier Lefferts and Rockaway , and the merger/split between those 2 branches would become convoluted with another service involved. The shuttle should remain as it is.

19 hours ago, Calvin said:

Seems that once all the 5-car R179s are on-property, there will be more trains for their total in each B Division. (Same thing that was done on the A Division)

wut

15 hours ago, Abba said:

The only thing is sometimes 2 people try sneak in.

That’s more preferable than a torrent of people sneaking in through the emergency exit. The HEETs are, by and large, the most effective control against farebeating the subways have had. It saddens me that they’re being replaced, when I think that they should instead be redesigned. Perhaps with some easier-to-push bars and stickers to indicate how to use them (for those few unfortunate souls), I think the HEETs should stick around.

On 5/21/2019 at 8:36 PM, Union Tpke said:

I can't fathom 42nd to 168th in 15 minutes!

It’s true. Last year, I caught one of those R68 “Special” trains for Yankees games at 145th Street. That thing FLEW down CPW faster than any train I’ve ever been on, and the run between 59th and 42nd took less than a minute. It was a glimpse of the true potential the CPW express run has without being hampered by timers. 

4 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Can someone please explain what a "network communication issue" is?

Mostly like just MTA-speak for “blame the computers for the bad service, not us!”

3 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

@MHV9218 @Union Tpke

The Standard Medium sign at Broadway-Lafayette is sadly no longer with us...

They ripped it out to put in an electrical conduit for a new screen.

I'm glad I got a picture of it earlier

 

A shame. We must protect the existing ones at all costs! I’d name the locations for some of them, but I don’t want draw attention to them in case the get replaced.

14 hours ago, subwayfan1998 said:

It is Random Thoughts topic, I Have a Right to ask questions

True, but your “questions” don’t really fit here. Most of what you say is either ridiculous or ignorant, and you’ve disregarded the advice others on the forums have given you. Also, the answers to your questions can easily be found elsewhere or by simply using common sense. I can see that you’re new here, so do yourself a favor and read the rules and some older threads to get a sense of how things go down here. 

On 5/12/2019 at 8:03 AM, Union Tpke said:

Since when has it been barricaded? Can you take pictures?

Thanks.

Please disregard. Passed by last night, and the blue barricade walls have been removed. Apparently the underpass was closed temporarily to install some new railings for the staircases. Still filthy as ever, though. 

I’ve noticed that the underpass at Dyckman Street  has been barricaded at both ends. If they end up sealing it, I won’t really miss it because of how absolutely FILTHY it is. It’s covered in roughly 30 years of piss, and its barely used. Also, the unused underpass 23rd Street has also been barricaded too. 

On 5/8/2019 at 8:53 AM, Q23 via 108 said:

The Subway is going to have two types of cars. The NTTs and the open gangway R2XXs. Its going to be really bland since the post 90s cars are so similar. A Transit fan will tell the difference. But to the average person, they are nearly identical. The only main thing separating the NTTs are the Propulsion sounds. Other than that, they look the same on both the interior and exterior.

Besides sound (and maybe some little things here and there)

What's different about a R142 - R142A - and R188?

What's different about an R143, R160A, R160B, R179. 

To me, they are all the same train. And the subway system is getting more stale by the day. 

There is a reason why people mainly fan on the  and . There's mad diversity (R32, R46, R68, R179, R211 in the future) Compare it to the  where it just has 1 car type. 

Liked it better when you could on any line and expect anything to show up. Now I don't hate NTTs, but when we got a fleet that has very cars similar on almost every subway line, its going to become stale. Like besides the noise it makes, what's the difference of catching an R160 Alstom vs a R160 Siemens on the . Or catching a R143 or R160 on the . Its all the same.

50 years from now I'm probably going to find the Subway Stations more interesting than the actual rolling stock we will have. (I love the newly updated  28 St, the stations in 50 years are going to look great).

But the NTTs do their job, and I hope they last long, but you gotta admit that the subway is loosing its "charm".

Oh please. There have PLENTY of stock in the past that have been near identical to other fleets. Compare the R33s to the R36s, R32s to R38s, R40M to R42, R44 to R46, R62 to R62a, etc. Most of these share the same propulsion, and some (R32 and R33) have essentially the same interior. Let’s take off the nostalgia goggles, huh? The R211 is already evidence that the MTA is still open to new designs, no reason to expect that they won’t keep experimenting moving forward.

On 5/2/2019 at 6:42 PM, CTK246 said:

Has anyone else brought up the fact “DeKalb Av” is mispronounced on the  and ?

As long as it’s close to “Dee-Kalb” or “Deh-Kalb”, I really don’t mind it.

4 hours ago, subwayfan1998 said:

Inwood-207th Street to Reads Lane

168th St to Cambria Heights-234th St via 8th Ave Local, Fulton Street Local, Pitkin Ave and Linden Blvd

WTC to Queens Village-Spingfield Blvd via QBL Express, Archer Ave and Jamaica Ave.

WTC to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th St via 8th Ave, QBL, 53rd St, New Queensrail Rockaway Beach Branch from Rego Park to Ozone Park and Rockaway Line.

Brighton Beach to Co-Op City via Concourse and E Gun Hill Rd.

Coney Island-Stillwell Ave to Co-Op City via Concourse Local and E Gun Hill Rd.

Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to Floral Park-Little Neck Pkwy via QBL Express and Hillside Local to Little Neck Pkwy.

Elmhurst-Roosevelt Ave to Floral Park-263rd St via Myrtle Local, Jamaica Local, Manhattan Bridge, Nassau, 6th Ave, 53rd St, QBL Local and Union Turnpike.

Kings Hwy to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th St via QBL Local, New Queensrail Rockaway Beach Branch from Rego Park to Ozone Park and Rockaway Line.

Bay Ridge to Queens Village-Springfield Blvd via 4th Ave, Montague, Nassau St Local, Williamsburg Bridge, Jamaica Local, Archer Ave and Jamaica Blvd.

Runs All Times from Chambers St to Rosedale-Hook Creek Blvd via Nassau St Local, Williamsburg Bridge, Jamaica Express, Archer Ave, Merrick Blvd and LIRR Atlantic Branch.

Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway to 72nd St via 14th St Local and 10th Ave.

125th St-Broadway to Cambria Heights-234th St via 125th St Local, 2nd Ave, New Tunnel Between Hanover Sq and Court St, Fulton Street Local, Pitkin Ave and Linden Blvd.

Torquoise Hanover Sq to Throgs Neck-E Tremont Ave via 2nd Ave Local, 149th St, Longwood Ave and Lafeyette Ave

Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to Little Neck-Little Neck Parkway via Broadway express, Astoria Local, 19th Ave Tunnel, East Elmhurst Ditmars Blvd, Booth Memorial Ave, 64th Ave and 61st St.

Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to Co-Op City via Broadway express, 2nd Ave Local, Bronx 3rd Ave and E Gun Hill Rd.

Bay Ridge to Floral Park-263rd St via  Broadway local, QBL Local and Union Turnpike.

Chelsea-Travis Avenue (Staten Island) to College Point-20th Avenue via Victory Blvd Local, New Tunnel Connecting Sunset Park-59th Street and St. George, 4th Ave, Manhattan Bridge, Broadway Local, Astoria Local, 19th Ave Tunnel, East Elmhurst Ditmars Blvd, Northern Blvd and 150th St.

Mariners Harbour to Tottenville-Craig Ave via Richmond Ave

South Ferry to 261st-Van Cortlandt Park

Wakefield-241st to Sheepshead Bay-Voorhies Ave via Extended Nostrand Ave Line from Flatbush Ave-Brooklun College to Gerritsen Ave-Marine Park, Gerritsen Ave and Knapp St

Kingsbridge-238th St to East New York-Flatlands Ave

Gowanus-4th Ave-9th St to 261st-Van Cortlandt Park via New Tunnel Between South Ferry via Governors Island and Atlantic Basin and 9th St Local.

Woodlawn to Floyd Bennett Field via Utica Ave Local and Flatbush Ave.

Eastchester-Dyre Ave to Sheepshead Bay-Voorhies Ave via Extended Nostrand Ave Line from Flatbush Ave-Brooklun College to Gerritsen Ave-Marine Park, Gerritsen Ave and Knapp St

Unchanged

Chelsea-14th St to Bell Blvd via 11th Ave, 42nd St Local, Steinway Tunnel, Flushing Roosevelt Ave and Cocheron/35th Ave.

Chelsea-14th St to Little Neck Pkwy via 11th Ave, 42nd St Local, Steinway Tunnel, Flushing Roosevelt Ave and Northern Blvd.

 

I hope you guys realize I was joking about the Reads Lane thing. That would actually be an immense waste of resources as there are plenty of other lines much more worthy of an extension.