RandomRider0101

The point I was trying to make in my last statement is that it isn't fair to insult riders over something they don't know. The average rider knows nothing about a subway car shortage. I myself knew nothing of a car shortage until recently. After reading many comments and listening to people explain what happened, now I understand why. I get where you're coming from, but remember this is the we're talking about. What did you really expect them to do especially in the current situation? We're still dealing with this pandemic which has caused severe staff shortages and lower ridership, neither of which has fully recovered yet. They're currently hiring and training more staff, while the car shortage is only an issue right now because they're still trying to run full service, despite the ridership just not being there right now. Service cuts are inevitable at this point, unless they can get more money to fund current service. I highly doubt that ridership will fully recover by the time enough R211s are in service to solve the 'subway car shortage', but we'll see. I definitely agree that the should be full length, and the should probably be 8-cars, but that will happen in due time. We have to wait and see what happens with this R211 order, which hopefully goes as smoothly as possible.

It's easy to say these things when you're a railfan, and not just a regular rider who had to use these cars on a regular basis. It's easy to call people idiots when they don't understand why cars that are unpleasant to ride in and should've been retired years ago are still in service. Had the R38-44s been made 100% stainless steel, and/or had the ordered enough R179s to provide a decent spare factor while replacing all remaining pre-R44 cars, none of this would be an issue in the first place. Most of us here already know why the R32s lasted longer than they were suppose to, the average rider doesn't. They don't know that the R32s original intended full replacement (the R160s) had to replace younger cars (the R44s) because they were in really bad shape. Their later intended final replacement (the R179s) were severely delayed, causing them to be in service even longer. Some riders were made aware of that via the news media. What most of them didn't know was that some were still planned to be kept even when the replacements arrived, due to there not being enough cars to increase the spare factor for increased ridership at the time. On top of that, the R179s were plagued with issues by the time they did finally arrive, which the media definitely made sure to cover. This also factored into the overall replacement process of the remaining R32s & 42s taking even longer. While I understand where your frustration comes from, I don't think it's right for you to insult people's intelligence just because they don't have the same knowledge about the subway fleet as us railfans do. Riders had every right to complain about the R32s, especially since they were well past due their retirement. Knowing the 's history, did you really expect them to keep ancient cars in service when there's still double-digit losses in ridership and severe crew shortages that still haven't recovered as a result of an ongoing world pandemic? What's done is done, decisions were made and there's nothing that's going to change those decisions. We just have to wait for the R211s to come and hopefully all goes well with the order.

Oh, okay. Well that closes down these theories then. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, I was aware of that. Maybe they did the doors first then the carbodies later during GOH. I know the R29s were red when delivered, then the R26,R28,R33,R36 all became red as well during GOH. I would have to know when the photo was taken, but it definitely looks post-GOH. They may have briefly painted the car (pictured above) white after it was already GOH'ed. They probably ran out of red paint at that point, and decided to temporarily settle for white.

I wonder why the train is white outside while the doors are red inside (which is how you know it's a Redbird)?

Thanks for the response. So basically, the only changes made back then were the select rush-hour s that went to 241st Street (which has since been cut back to Nereid Avenue). That's pretty interesting; it kinda makes you wonder what'll happen when the R142s leave the (either thru retirement or displacement). Many predictions, including my own, call for the R262s going to the . This would likely mean the temporary suspension of fleet swapping between both lines until all crews are properly trained and qualified for the next fleet (in this case the 262s).

I have a question. When the used Redbirds (before the R142s came), did they switch trains at Flatbush like they do now with the 142s? I recall someone saying that they had enough crews to quickly switch signs at Astoria for the (before the R160s came), but then I recently came across a comment from someone saying that they didn't do this at Flatbush. I was too young when the Redbirds were still in service, and I've never really been to Astoria (nor was I old enough to even notice) to confirm this. So I just want some clarity from people who know for sure what went down during these times.

I can't wait until the R211s finally start their 30-day test, then their subsequent delivery. By then, the complaining should finally stop, or at least die down. Also to clarify some things, the and each have a spare factor count of 6 (R46s & R179s combined) for both lines during both rush hours. This is actually an adequate spare factor, but due to the R46s high breakdown rates, they do require a slightly higher spare count, which is what R32 3838 keeps stating. However, there is nothing that can be done about this now, except just to wait until the R211s enter service. Hopefully everything goes smoothly with this order, because we definitely cannot afford anymore problems right now, especially with everything that has happened already and has been happening recently.

Uh-oh, that's not a good sign. This seems to be a recurring issue with trains having bad brakes. I know part of it is the 's fault for altering the brakes on certain fleets, which in turn caused them to be less reliable, but what is the reasoning behind all of it? Is it connected to the system's speed restrictions, or is it something else?

Screeching brakes are common on alot of car classes, so I wouldn't stress on that as much, even though it is usually caused by improper maintenance. On the other hand, the bucking that you're referring to is mainly caused by that crappy Adtranz propulsion system that plagues the R142A/188 & 143 car classes. Adtranz was a horrible rail manufacturer, which is why they only lasted 5 years in the rail business before ultimately being folded into Bombardier. Bombardier itself would eventually be folded into Alstom 20 years later.

I kinda agree to a certain extent. I know the 4 line's R142s aren't perfect, but they don't appear to be in as rough condition as the R142As, which is why I feel Jerome cares more for their 142s than their 142as. The main issue with the R142A/188 & R143 is that Adtranz propulsion which causes them all to buck and jerk so much. Despite this, many railfans like the R142As over the R142s because they like the propulsion sound better, not necessarily because they're more reliable. Kawasaki definitely got the worst end of the deal with that particular group of trains (R142A/188, R143). Bombardier got the better end of the deal with the R142s because they have the Alstom ONIX propulsion, which is a much smoother ride overall. The ones on the 2 & 5 lines look great, even though they do buck a little, but still not as much as the other lines. Also Thanks BTW.

They would look nicer if the cars they're installed on were actually clean.

This doesn't explain why Jerome's R142As look so dirty compared to their R142s. Any observant rider like myself can tell the difference between the two, not just by their sounds, but also how clean & dirty they are. Clearly Jerome's 142s received some type of treatment that their 142As haven't received yet. Hopefully, they get their treatment soon, cuz they're definitely an eyesore in their current condition. BTW, I'm a new member on the forums.