Brighton Local

Dear Zach:

 

Many thanks for the information on the doors of the R-32 DAP set.

 

You are a Prince!

 

Regards,

 

Dee

No problem, glad I can assist

Up Until 1953 SIR was connected from Tottenville to St. George, then continued via the North Shore to Arlington Yard, where the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge stands.

Technically on a road map, it will show the North Shore Rail Line as still being an active railroad, but in reality its long gone.

So , there is no connection between SIR and the Arthur Kill lift Bridge

However, since the CSX, Conrail, Norfolk Southern Freight line has recently been re-activated , we can hope to see the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway be reconstructed or, maybe HBLR will take over.

Hope this helps:D

Set: R-1/9 Series

Producer: MTH - Mikes Train House

Road Name: Metropolitan Transportation Authority - New York City Transit

Release Date: Mid to Late 2005

The R-1/9 Subway set is THE most detailed subway set on the market today. From the off dark olive Green color, to the pantograph gates, and cross chains across the Storm doors. There is 1 detail however that makes this set stand out from all the others. The Rivets. MTH did an absolutely superb job to add hundreds of rivets on a single car to replicate it, with upmost respect to the Real R-1/9.

Whats also unique about the R-1/9 is that, when the cars are coupled to each other, the gap isnt very big at all. It looks awesome when coupled up; the closer the better, and that adds more detail, and realism. The gates are compressed, but the couplers are so short , so it the actual gap is really closed.

The Set is eqipped with sound a signage for the Train, running between Washington Heights - 207 St, Manhattan and Fulton St - Euclid Av, Brooklyn. Based off the Announcements, the set takes place , as if it were operating in the 1940s/50s.

Here are the announcments:

Washington Heights - 207 St - Last Stop

125 St - Harlem - Change here for 'Double A Local (aka the AA) and D Express

59 St - Columbus Circle - Change here for IRT West Side Trains

42 St - Port Authority Bus Depot

34 St - Pennsylvania Station

West 4 St - New York University OR change here for A,AA,C,D,E, & F trains.

Chambers St -- Hudson Terminal -

Jay St - Borough Hall - Change here for the D TRAIN! (culver D) OR The BMT Myrtle Av Line.

Broadway Junction- Eastern Parkway- change here for BMT Canarsie & Jamaica Lines.

Euclid Av- Last STop

On the Premier Line sets ( which is this one, the R-1/9 and both R-32 sets) you can actually change the lit "Exp" 'LOCAL" Signs.Remember how everything between R-1/9's and Pre- R-32 General Overhaul, they had those indicator signs on the top, lit, to display whether the train was going "EXP" or "LOCAL". On these premier line sets, it gives the opportunity to change the sign from EXP to LOCAL; A cool feature I guess.

Front Top of the car reads:

A WASH HTS

8TH AVE 207TH ST

AND

A FULTON

8TH AVE EUCLID AV

The side rollsigns read:

TO-> WASH HTS.-207TH ST

---------------------------

FULTON-EUCLID AV.

---------------------------

A / 8TH AVE EXPRESS

The lead motor car of the set is the famous R-1 100.

The car numbers of all 6 cars MTH produced are as follows:

100, 103, 111, 115, 135, and 144

The 4 Car set is equipped with car numbers 100, 115, 135, and 144

The 2 Car Set is equipped with car numbers 103, and 111

The doors on this set DO NOT open; however, MTH had added people inside the train which I feel was an absolute plus. I hope the next sets MTH produces people are added.

This is in my top 3 of course:

1) R-32 DAP

2) R-36 Worlds Fair

3) R-1

This set is still out on the market today for a decent price.

The price what it was going for in Mid 2005, when it came out ;

between $449.00 and $499.99. If you can pick this set up, do it!

you wont be dissapointed, believe me!

This set rates 10 STARS out of 5

Outstanding performance, intricate detail, amazing sound package, and one hell of a route - the A Line; just turned 75 years old on September 10, 2007!

Regards

Zach

Lionel is in the process of producing R-27 Cars with automatic opening doors, but they're 2nd thinking it because the price they were asking for was disgusting .lol

How are you Dee, and welcome to New York City Transit Forums!

Glad to have you aboard.

Now in reguards to the MTH R32 model, the doors open by moving a little black plastic lever under the car itself. Moving it back and forth opens and closes the doors. There is no electrical activation to open any of the doors if that was what you were questioning:confused:

However, opening and closing the doors on these cars is a pain in the ass lol. Im just being blunt, heres why

The doors are held together by a tiny magnet behind the top tip of the doors; playing with it constantly separates the magnet and then its difficult to then close the gap. Another reason, is that the doors are sitting on ALl PLastic spring tracks, and those can be a pain to keep repairing if they fall off.

All in all, the doors on this set ( or at least on mine) are terrible. i used to keep the doors open for realism when I would terminate my R-32 into my station, but for a while now, they stay shut, and I never have any reason to open them. However once the bills are paid off lol , I will add people ( homies) inside most of these sets, so that will probably be the next time I open the doors again. Hope this helps Dee:cool:

Zach

Speechless on that R40 :eek:

hehe, intriquite details on this one boys!

Thanks Sebbie / Pablo:D

Ya Tracknut, its a great set,

but if your looking to buy a subway set, feast your eyes on this::D:D:D:D:D:D:eek: :

No problem

Nice pics. someone was asking about destination signs on SIR in another thread and i gave them a rundown. i cant remember if i listed that ST. George Exp sign though. i know i mentioned the Tottenville exp though. would you happen to have a pic of the Ballpark destination sign? that one ive never seen

Hey Far Rock

Sorry Man, I thought I had a shot or two from SIR with the Ballpark logo.

Yeah, St. George Express is listed. This is what the rollsigns appear to have on them:

St. George

Tottenville

Great Kills

Huguenot

St. George Express

Tottenville Express

Special

BallPark

Thats as Far as I know

I believe I took this a day or two after the Blizzard of 1996; New Dorp:

August 1998, My home stop - Oakwood Heights:

September 1998; Oakwood Heights:

New Dorp, either September 1998 or May 1999:

*Red Rollsign indicating "St George Express" service

The day NJT decides to run HBLR to SI, HBLR SHOULD and WILL run on that line.

 

Remember, the Bayonne Bridge has provisions for rail to run on it. And also, PANYNJ wants to build a new Bayonne Bridge, so they can build it with provisions for HBLR to run on it.

Your right on every part LOL:D

Nice!

 

Now, imagine Joisey stadtbahn (HBLR) running on that.....

If it was reconstructed, then Im sure we would all love to scope out HBLR running along the Kill Van Kull:D

Hi, Brighton.

 

Thanks for the excellent review of the DAP R32 set. Perhaps the folks at MTA should take a look at some of my mid-80's IRT photos. Maybe that would get them to amend their position regarding models decorated with graffiti.

 

I have seen discussion on the O Gauge Railroading Forum regarding the application of available aftermarket stickers to enhance the accuracy of equipment released by MTH following the loss of the license. These include TA logos and proper route signage. Do you have any experience with these stickers?

 

Thanks,

 

Earle

You hit the nail on the head Earle. Thats the point MTH was trying to make to MTA in reguards to producing the graffiti set. Graffiti for the most part, was the subway system from the mid to late 70's and most of the 80s. MTH only wanted to re-inact history. The MTA basically had a sh*t fit over that.

As to the stickers; the answer is yes. After I purchased the R-17 Graffiti subway set, and the DAP R-32 Subway set, there was no "TA" or "M" transit authority logos printed on the side of the cars. By this time, I was still a newbie over at MTJ, i was seeking some answer and help. Luckily there is a gentleman over there who had the printing machine, and decal maker. So I went ahead and purchased 8 "TA" decal logos for th R-32's, and 12 "M" logos for the R-17 Subway set.

When the R-32 DAP set arrived, many modelers were extremely frustrated with the first car 'theme' that was supposed to be the "TA" logo. It was a round yellow bullet , with a smiley face painted in black. I would not stand for that on my set, so here is one of the "TA" logos, covering up the face, and placed where it should be ; always:

Hope this helps Earle

Each Year MTH ( Mikes Train House ) produces a certain amount of items and/or specialty items that are not published in the regular everyday catalogs. Some items are produced and are printed in a special catalog that goes by the name D.A.P.- Dealer Appreciation Program. What that means is each dealer has the opportunity to purchase only 2 of these items. Many dealers will buy certain DAP items from other dealers because some dealers are fearful that these certain items may not sell. For example, if a store in North Dakota has 2 extra R-32 Subway Sets, and a store in New York City is looking to purchase more R-32 sets, then the NY Store will buy them from the North Dakota dealer; hence making more New York model railroaders .

Set: R-32 DAP with Graffiti

Producer: Mikes Train House

Road Name: Metropolitan Transportation Authority - New York City Transit

Release Date: Supposed to be 2003 / Shipped April 2005

Scale: O gauge-MTH Premier Line

Route:

North Terminal: Norwood-205 St, Grand Concourse, Bronx

South Terminal: Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue

Via: 6 Av - Brighton Express

The MTH DAP R-32 Subway set is a set thats set to be running on the old Brighton line in the year 1989-1990. Its also right before the GE Overhaul came in and rebuilt the R-32's as to what they look like today. The doors are colored blue with graffiti( ill come back to that after) 'EXP' / 'LCL' indicators are on top of each car, chains across the storm doors, silver streaks run the sides of each car. These cars are about 15 inches long each; usually run a 6 car train on them; the 4 car R-32 DAP train, with 2 R-32 train cars( from the original R-32 set back 2000). Set runs extremely well, with 6 cars, makes really tight curves as well. There was no side "TA" logo for a specific reason which is explained below...

MTH has had the MTA license to produce such immaculate subway sets since 1998. However things took a turn for the worst. When MTH brought up the idea to first produce an R-17 blue striped subway set with graffiti all over it, the MTA flamed the MTH for this. Now In my opinion, I can understand where the MTA is coming from, BUT MTH was only trying to re-inact a set that was in fact; true. Graffiti was all over the subways in the mid to late 70s/ & 80s. MTA warned MTH that if the set was still produced they would lose their license to produce items with the "TA" "M" or "MTA" logo on anything.

MTH went AHEAD with everything; produced the R-17 blue striped subway set with graffiti, and right after that, MTA pulled their license agreement from MTH. Mth CAN/COULD still produce NYC Subway items but without the MTA logo on anything. ( Lionel now holds down the MTA license) During the same time as the R-17 set was shown off in catalogs, the R-32 DAP set was going to be in the process of being produced.

Since the R-17 set was produced and put out on the market, MTH was not going to not cancel the R-32 order.

In the end, MTH still has NO license agreement with the MTA, But is continually producing NYC Subway cars which are still at a fair price ( rising eveyrday though), and great detail, and sound.

This rates as my top favorite set , probably because its a '(D) on the Brighton' lol, but the sound package is great too; here are the announcements:

This stop, 205th St, Grand Concourse, this is the last stop

Fordham Road

161 St Yankee Stadium, change here here for the number woodlawn jerome train on the upper level

47 St Rockefeller ctr, radio city music hall

OR

change here for trains to Queens

W 4 St, washington square Park

Or

change here for ,,,,,&(Q6) trains

Prospect Park, Brooklyn, change here for the Franklin Av Shuttle

Sheepshead Bay

Brighton Beach

Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue

Pro's:

Details, rivets, chains, gates, sounds

Con's:

Manual Operating opening doors. There is a little black lever in which the doors can be opened, but these doors are a pain to mess around with if they ever fall apart. Tiny little magnet sections hold the doors closed on the inside of the cars.

Out of 5 stars:

4

2 Motorman figures included sitting in the 1st car cab and the last car cab for the return trip.

R-32 'N' train

Older shots from my layout in Staten Island / July 2006

Quick video:

This set was going for $449.00 - $ 549.00, when it came out.

Today, you may actually find it for a steal price at around $390.00-$449.00 which is still very good.

Any Questions, feel free to ask; till next week with another review-->

Zach

These were taken in February 2004 from my 35mm camera

This is just one section of the abandoned North Shore SIRT Line. This line ran from St. George to Arlington ( near the Goethals Bridge)

Here are some photographs from what was the station on the line named 'Snug Harbor'.

The portion of the route is on a Ballasted concrete ( I don't want to say 'EL',)section; here is the abandoned 'Port Richmond' Station

Hope everyone likes!

lights, sounds, & detail...

glad you liked the review

Set: R-36 World's Fair Version

Producer: Mikes Train House

Road Name: Metropolitan Transportation Authority - New York City Transit

Release Date: September 2002

All I can say is, What a set! The color, the sound, the detail.

The R-36 Subway set is a set thats based in 1964 transporting passengers from Midtown's Times Square to Willets Point-Worlds Fair. The set is optionally equipped with Loco-Sound which, one can just press a button to sound the bell and / or horn ( both equipped in the set), or the set thats equipped with Proto-sound 2.0. MTH Produced*(es*) sets with both sound packages ( excludes premier sets, ie; the R-32 N, R-32 DAP D, R-1 A). Now, if you pick up a set with the Protosound features, now you're cooking. You can program the set to run in "auto-mode", which I usually do. When hitting the correct buttons on the transformer, you watch the set go around your layout making all 9-10 station stops equipped in the sound package.. One can also program it to automatically stop at your desire, speed, and name your own stations.

The Color is the "baby pastel blue" or off light teal, mint green.

The set is equipped with a 2 can motor which can haul at minimum a 6 car train. However, this depends on the size transformer one's using.

Since these are R-36's, these are married pairs ( like the R40 Slants, R-42's; ie: 4550-4551 are linked) So one end is blind while the other displays the route signs:

In a 6 car set ( which I run, all times ) The 3 cars facing me read on the top rollsign:

7 / Worlds Fair / Worlds Fair

While the other 3 cars read:

7 / Flushing / Times Square

The side destination rollsigns read:

Worlds Fair

----------------

Times Square

----------------

Exp<->Local

or

Local <-> Exp

-----------------

The Station stop proto effects sound like:

"This stop is 42 St-Times Square, this is the last stop"

On its way back to Queens, it states :

" This is the Number 7 Flushing Train, to the New York Worlds Fair, Please stand clear of the closing doors"

This stop: 5 Av-NY Public Library Bryant Park, change here for IND 6Th Av

(,, & trains.

Grand Central Station: Change here for New York Central and New Haven Railroad Trains on the upper level OR

Change here for IRT Lexington Av number , , & Trains.

Vernon-Jackson Av / Long Island City Queens: Change here for Long Island Railroad

Hunterspoint Blvd

Queensboro Plaza: Change here for BMT QB QT & T Trains to Astoria.

61 St-Woodside: Change here for Long Island Railroad

Junction Blvd

Willets Point - Worlds Fair - Shea Stadium- Flushing Meadow Park: This is the last stop

Then the set will either go simply backwards and return to Times Square or if put in a certain mode will just keep going forward in a loop and " pull " into Times Square ready for another Queens bound Trip.

These cars are by far in demand today.

When released in September 2002, they were going for a price of $299.99 to $349.00 which was a steal.

Today in a hobby shop or ebay, you might find this set for a minumim of $699.99- $849.00

This set to me is in my top 3 Favorite, as it rates number 2.

Out of 5 stars, this set receives 10 stars.

Outstanding performance, intriquite detail, amazing sound package, and one hell of a route - the Flushing Line.

Original Picture in MTH's 2002 Toy Fair Catalog:

Photo's of the set on my layout in various scenes within the past 10 months:

Any questions, please ask. I will try and do my best to answer them;)

Zach

Superb!

From todays Staten Island Advance:

Finally so nice to hear this news. Its been in the talks for years and they're finally going to proceed with the it.

Traffic fixes are saving lives

A 60% drop in fatalities is the result of improved road rules, enforcement, but drivers don't buy it

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

By MAURA YATES

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island's streets have gotten safer, with nearly 60 percent fewer fatalities on borough roads this year versus the same period last year, the Mayor's Transportation Task Force announced yesterday.

But the news drew comments of contempt and doubt from the motorists who drive those streets.

"Yeah, I imagine fatalities are down because there is so much traffic you could not acquire the velocity to kill someone or yourself," one Islander wrote on silive.com. "It's hard to crash at a snail's pace."

Another chimed in: "Safer place to drive -- that is because you can only do 20 m.p.h. max. Every road is jammed with traffic -- no room for accidents."

But traffic officials say the statistics tell the story: There have been just nine fatalities year-to-date in 2007, compared to 22 this time last year.

"We've seen a dramatic reduction," city Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner David Woloch said during the Task Force update meeting in the Sea View headquarters of Community Board 2. Woloch attributed the drop to stepped-up police enforcement, the ban of most left turns along Hylan Boulevard from Grasmere to Eltingville, and engineering improvements made at some of the Island's busiest and most dangerous intersections.

There also were 7.5 percent fewer accidents on Hylan so far this year, with 357 crashes, compared to 381 year-to-date last year, according to Deputy Police Chief John Sassano.

Police have issued more than 250 summonses this year to drivers who flout the regulations. Total moving violations along Hylan are also up, by 9.3 percent, and 11 more traffic enforcement agents have been added to the ranks since December.

Catherine Sweeney of MTA Bridges & Tunnels said a team of traffic agents is posted at the intersection of McClean and Lily Pond avenues in Arrochar, to help ease the morning gridlock caused in part by construction work under way on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. A meeting is scheduled for next week to discuss possible fixes for the daily dose of traffic chaos on Capodanno Boulevard leading to the bridge.

NEW TRAIN STATION

Staten Island Railway President John Gaul unveiled a drawing of the new Arthur Kill station, which will replace the crumbling Atlantic and Nassau stations. The station will be accessible to the disabled, and will include a 150-car parking lot on property owned by SIR. Construction is set to begin next summer, and the station is expected to open in 2010.

SIR ridership is up, with 7 percent more passengers riding the rails this year. Gaul said most of the new riders were likely attracted to the service by the enhanced schedule rolled out last summer.

New York City Transit representative Bob Newhouser announced that ridership also is up on the new S89 bus route to Bayonne, N.J., which began earlier this month. There were 420 passengers a day on the first week of service, and 560 a day by the third week, he said.

Community Board 3 District Manager Marie Bodnar urged the Task Force to reconsider a plan to install six miles of new bike lanes along Hylan Boulevard between Poillon Avenue in Annadale and Page Avenue in Tottenville next month.

"To put a bike lane off Hylan Boulevard, I think you're putting people in danger," she said. "A lot of our drivers, they're like cowboys out there," she said. That stretch of Hylan has no sidewalks, and bicyclists could easily be injured if a car veered into the lane.

"We're always looking to ensure the safety of the public," said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, an advocate for bicycling who herself bikes to work and has been very supportive of expanding bike lanes throughout the city. DOT engineers will consider safety concerns and take a close look at Hylan before the new lanes are painted, she said.

NEW PARK-AND-RIDE

Acting Borough DOT Commissioner Tom Cocola announced that construction will begin next month on the two-dozen-space Prince's Bay park-and-ride, with work to begin on another park-and-ride lot at the Pleasant Plains Railway station shortly after. Plans are also in the works to expand the Great Kills park-and-ride to 80 spots.

The boroughwide study of every intersection with a traffic light, to determine where more right-on-red opportunities might be made available, has been delayed, Woloch said. The results are about four months away, he said.

A three-month study of South Shore ferry service will be under way shortly.

In other news, the City Council voted unanimously to approve legislation requiring the DOT to repair priority traffic signs, such as stops, yields and do-not-enters, within three days instead of the current nine days allowed. Additionally, the Council voted unanimously to issue identifying decals to licensed commuter vans, to differentiate them from illegal gypsy cabs.

A bill also was introduced that would fine the employers of bike messengers and food delivery workers who ride their bicycles illegally on city sidewalks instead of streets, creating a hazard for pedestrians.

Maura Yates covers transportation news for the Advance. She may be reached at myates@siadvance.com.

awesome man!

Yeah, I heard that too a few weeks ago! I was scratching my head about that while I was riding it, but oh well. *Note to self, get a recording......

 

Excellent shots Harry! First one is my fav of the batch.

you caught that too Pablo?!!! nice man! lol

Harry, im not 100% sure, but this could be the "re-railer" ( word is used in model railroading, to get cars back on the tracks), but this could be used for SIR's work operations when the "trucks" drive along the route..

As a former Staten Islander for 22 years, I was always puzzled by that feature. For everyones Information, the SIR R44 Cars have been modified to meet the regulations of the FRA- Federal Railroad Administration, however, I believe these 2 plates are known as "cow catchers", and / or "side plates"

The way steam engines have that big black ramp set in the extreme lower front, ; these plates are supposedly used to clear animals ( if not already crushed by impact), and garbage out of the way of the wheels, so the train can have an easy ride along the rails

Awesome shots Harry..

Is that infamous 432?, in the first picture?:cool:

That car always sounded like an R-68 every time it would accelerate.. That used to be one of my favorite cars to catch