AlgorithmOfTruth

The hasn't seen much diversity in it's fleet assignments for decades, as you've stated. Once the R62s and R62As were mainstays on TA property in the late 1980s, the Redbirds on the were moved elsewhere in the system to other IRT lines. The did in fact run R40 and R40M sets during Yankees baseball game special trips back in the early 2000s.

Assuming a typical amount of average wear-and-tear from continual passenger use, and proper, adequate maintenance, is there a possibility that the NTT's can make it as long as the SMEE's have? I often wonder about this. The R160s assigned to the were recently refurbished after being in public use for a full 10 years. (I'm not sure if the R142/R142A's or R143's have had similar maintenance done to the same degree.) From what I've heard, the R142's assigned to the , , and are sturdy, reliable subway cars, despite reaching nearly 20 years in age. Can the same be said about the R143's and R160's? My opinion is maybe. It all depends on how well they are maintained and how they stand the test of time.

That's the same question I have myself! I've applied to multiple Bus Operator exams, such as B/O Exam #7105, #7300, #7304, and #7612 — successfully passing the Bus Operator Selection Survey (BOSS) administered on July 11th, 2017 for B/O Exam #7304. I'm not certain if the results of an individual's BOSS are valid for 1 year after it was taken. I was sent a letter indicating that I was scheduled to take the BOSS for B/O Exam #7612, but I successfully passed the BOSS less than 1 year before the date I was told to report. If one were to pass the BOSS for an exam, but fail it for another, I'm not sure if you'd be disqualified for that job title.

Very informative! I had a feeling that running 8-car R42 sets on the would be easier said than done. You're correct; even if the MTA were to put up new C/R boards at all stations served by the to accommodate 8-car R42 sets, it still may not work, due to the locations of a few punchboxes!

What's up with T/O's overrunning the 8-car stop marker on the Jamaica Center-bound platform at Woodhaven Boulevard on the line? I have seen it happen more than once, and while railfanning one day, I had a T/O call in RCC saying the stop marker was "moved." Is this true? Hopefully these aren't probationary T/O's who are extra extra, because 2 Broadway is relentless with probies who screw up...

You can't run an 8-car set of R42s on the due to the fact of there being only 1 cab per car. The C/R boards won't line up at any of the stations.

Here are my thoughts on a few of your proposed subway extensions: 1.) Having the run to Springfield Boulevard would be a better alternative, since that's where the majority of passengers traveling east on Hillside Avenue are headed. 2.) Extending the along Union Turnpike and Utopia Parkway to terminate at Little Neck Parkway would make an already lengthy trip way too long. Remember, the has the responsibility of being a local service spanning 3 boroughs, so the line is already under a lot of pressure. 3.) Resurrecting the Brown to Bay Parkway would not only frustrate passengers from Middle Village, Glendale, and Ridgewood seeking a one-seat ride to Midtown, Manhattan, but would also be a waste of manpower, as the Brown carried air along the West End Line in Brooklyn, which is why it was truncated numerous times and eventually rerouted to Forest Hills–71st Avenue permanently. 4.) The current terminal at Court Square does a good job at providing passengers north of Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets with connections to the and , which give them access to express and local service along Queens Boulevard. 5.) Your current idea of sending the along 3rd Avenue in The Bronx to Fordham Road sounds promising–abandon the temptation of connecting it to Staten Island.

What's up with the HVAC units in some of these NTT cars? I was on an R160 on the train on my way back home and it was not as heated as I expected it to be. When I had to make the transfer to the train at Sutphin Boulevard, I was hoping that I didn't get a set of R32s with dead HVAC units, (as much as I respect the aging fleet) as it was frigid that night. Turns out that the next trip out of Jamaica Center was being served by a set of R32s and to my surprise, it was a warmer ride compared to being on the R160s.

With trains being separated to operate in two sections starting tomorrow, I wonder if there'll be a few R62A sets from the running on the in The Bronx.

Is anyone familiar with the projected completion date of the construction work done on the Manhattan-bound train station on the at 104th Street?

As of Sunday, January 7th, 2018, the MTA has published several updated bus route timetables. Referencing the joint Q15/Q15A bus route timetable, a single, truncated trip on the Q15 (Flushing-bound) has been added to weekday service, scheduled to depart from 7th Avenue and 151st Street at 2:05 PM. Seeing that there already exists another truncated trip on the Q15 (Flushing-bound 2:37 PM trip scheduled on weekdays), originating at 150th Street and 15th Drive, I wonder if the MTA will eventually reduce service on the Q15/Q15A bus routes east of 151st Street and 7th Avenue in Whitestone, Queens. In the past, there was neighborhood opposition against having the Q15 and it's branch-complement, the Q15A, travel through the residential and affluent neighborhoods of Whitestone and Beechhurst. However, I believe these changes were implemented for two reasons: 1.) To provide increased service to the school-aged students from Whitestone and Beechhurst who use the Q15/Q15A to commute to and from school. 2.) To provide increased service to select tenants who live along 150th Street. (This is where the majority of the Q15/Q15A patrons are clustered.) I doubt that the wealthy adult and geriatric populations who are from Whitestone and Beechhurst care to bother utilizing the Q15/Q15A; their income, access to express bus service, and ownership of high-end automobiles do not warrant them to. Ultimately, the demographics don't justify having a public bus route travel through a suburban paradise saturated with multimillion dollar properties, except for the reasons stated above, highly dependent on my second reason. In no way, shape, or form are these the exact reasons as to why the mentioned service changes were made; merely a thought based on one of several transit-related topics I find interesting and which could lead to a development of more sound insight in the future.