Trainmaster5

Why are you worried about people who don’t care about their own lives ? If they don’t care about risking their lives I sure don’t. As part of my career in RTO we were shown pictures of the aftermath of 12-9 incidents. Some of us couldn’t take it and left the room. My take was that an accidental death like a slip or fall or a crime victim deserved my sympathy but an idiot playing games deserves to pay a price. I have been at the scene of two accidental deaths by my personal choice and I have seen how much it affected the T/O and C/R of both trains. My buddy was an RCI at West 4th at the time of the first accident and he and the Zone Trainmaster asked me if I wanted to tag along with them because I was off duty and I said “yes “ . I have no sympathy for someone who thinks that surfing is a game. I know how it affected the crews. I have a friend who had 4 12-9 s who became a property protection agent because it bothered him so much. Unless you’ve witnessed those things up close your opinion and mine will always be at odds. I lived near Prospect Park years ago and two youngsters decided to climb into the bears cage one day. Only one came out alive. The other one ran all the way home before telling anyone. We naturally felt sorry for the fatality but some of us were angry that they put the bear to sleep. We neighborhood folks figured that the kid shouldn’t have been there, period. That’s what I feel about the surfers. Carry on.

Hurt ? Personally I’d rather see the lot of them fall and be permanently removed from the gene pool. My opinion. Carry on.

Are you suggesting that a person that knows they're infected with CV-19, Polio, Typhus, TB, or the like can knowingly travel amongst the general public and not take any precautions ? . Sounds like you feel like it's every man for himself and screw the other guy. I could be wrong but that's my take on your comment. To each his own. Carry on.

The switches are controlled by Grand Concourse (167), Woodlawn ( Burnside) or RCC IIRC. I’ve made relays and work train/ transfer moves up there in the past. Carry on.

I bet your response goes over a lot of people’s heads. Should have used the /s.

Rename Nostrand Avenue? Only the eastbound platform is in Crown Heights. The westbound platform is in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Atlantic Avenue is the dividing line between the two neighborhoods. 😁

Since I rarely ride the subways or the LIRR anymore I have a different opinion than most. First of all I come from a generation that didn't believe half of what the government said. That's on any level of government. Civil Rights and the Vietnam War were right at the top. Go forward a few decades and 9/11 happened. I remember Christine Todd Whitman, G.W. Bush and Rudy G declaring that the air was safe down at Ground Zero. I operated my train with the AC off from 14th St-Union Square to Borough Hall in Brooklyn at 10 mph (IIRC) so as not disturb the debris level that had collected on the platforms and tracks down there. A friend of mine was threatened with write-ups because he refused to stop wearing his mask after the all-clear was issued. Luckily he was a union rep that made them back off. 20+ years later there's still a 9/11 fund in existence. I'm vaxxed and boosted and ready for my next booster if/when it's offered. I'll stay masked no matter how many sideways glances I get. Airborne disease risks are lessened by wearing the correct precautions like masks. Oh, BTW, guess what. Vaccines and masks help prevent the transmission of Polio. There are quite a few people in the metropolitan area who aren't polio vaccinated, by choice, who don't give a damn about anyone else except themselves and their immediate family. In summation I wish everyone safe travels, no matter one's stance. Just be aware of the risks. Be safe. Carry on.

I hope you're not too enthusiastic about your plan. I believe there's a lot of folks waiting for the opening of the South 4th St complex, the extensions past Parsons-Archer, the to Gateway Center, the Utica Avenue line, and the SAS unfinished business. Join the line. Welcome to Fantasy Island my friend. Carry on.

Thanks for the analysis. Maybe there should be a “ sticky “ explaining capital vs operating budgets and the like on the forums 😁. I wonder if basic economics is still taught in schools around here. I witnessed the inception of what is now the , the addition of the NYCTA into the mix and I’m probably guessing the demise of the present day . Something’s gotta change soon. My opinion. Carry on.

In the PM rush we had C/Rs working OT at the ’ Bush who changed the north destination signs from Dyre to 241st Street for trains scheduled to head up to WPR. Back then the and the had separate fleets of Redbirds and didn’t swap them at Flatbush Avenue. We’re talking mid to late 80’s time frame. Hope this helps. Carry on.

You may say that bus ridership is very high but compared to what ? Their numbers only approach 70 % of pre-pandemic on some lines. I personally think that VG8 has an understanding of what's going on and the dilemma we're in. There needs to be a dedicated funding source to continue on the path the is traveling on. This Federal gift won't be replicated. The "so-called" congestion pricing plan isn't finalized by any means and I can guarantee you that Nassau and Suffolk state and Federal legislators will have major input on the final result of that plan. By the 's own numbers on bus and subway ridership are down 25-30 % and aren't expected to reach pre-Covid numbers. Whether one accepts the numbers as gospel or not, I never do, or not I can't see a good ending for the present situation. As I stated earlier this is my opinion. Public mass transit is a necessity in the Metropolitan area. It's the foundation that made NYC the nation's business capital. Carry on

Thanks for your post. I read it yesterday and it bugs me that many people on the bus and the subway forums didn’t see this before. IIRC I stated early on when the pandemic started out that ridership numbers would determine the amount of service provided by the going forward. I was primarily focused on the subway side but the same thing applies to both modes. People are talking about service increases when the ridership numbers haven’t reached 70% on average. The agency is going broke . Any other business would cut costs and rearrange their service options to stay in business or close up shop. That’s basic school book economics, at least to some of us. The problem with what the Surface folks are doing is that there’s no rhyme or reason to the missing runs and the people are getting screwed because of it. Haphazard is not the way to go, IMO. Head over to the subway forums and people are clamoring for new equipment and service increases. With 70% of pre-pandemic ridership numbers it seems to me that reading comprehension is a thing of the past. No matter who wins the Governorship this year it’s guaranteed that service cuts are coming. Covid-19 and WFH have changed the whole outlook permanently. This is my opinion. Judging by past history I doubt that I’m wrong. Carry on.

The NYC site and Google says that you must go 10 mph over the speed limit to trigger the cameras. I believe that Chicago has the 6 mph trigger but everyone else still has the 10 mph restriction. If the speed limit is 25 mph then 36 mph is the limit. Carry on.

I think we’re splitting hairs because of semantics in this thread. I don’t consider the connection between Myrtle-Broadway and Central Avenue a new El. I think the OP does. Even the publicists never used that term. To me a track or structure repair or replacement doesn’t quite qualify as a “new” El. The Third Avenue El, Manhattan and Bronx, The Lexington Avenue and Southern Myrtle below Broadway, The Culver Shuttle, The BMT Fulton from Rockaway Avenue to Queens and the 168th Street end of the Jamaica and the Polo Grounds Shuttle were all demolished in my lifetime. New El construction in NYC along it’s streets was consigned to the dustbin years ago by the politicians and real estate people. I think the publicists for the NYCTA or the would have trumpeted new services. That one would be exception, the JFK Airtrain, was constructed by the PANY&NJ above the Van Wyck a Federal Highway. I, too, can split hairs 😀😀😀. No argument with anyone was intended. Just a different opinion and way of thinking. Carry on.

If we replaced the existing ironwork from New Lots Avenue to the portal north of the Sutter Avenue station where the tracks descend from El to underground it’s called “repair “ or replacement. That’s what the contracts state and bids are solicited under. I worked the when platforms were being done and we ran 5 and 6 car trains overnights and it fell under “replacement “ and not new construction. I was a work train M/M at the time and we were involved in many such projects at the time. Parsons-Archer and Sutphin Blvd on the and the are new construction while the Franklin shuttle from Park Place to Franklin Avenue, including the demolition of Dean Street station, was considered a renovation by the . Just my recollection and review of the internal documents my instructors used for school car. Carry on.

What you consider new Els are renovations where I come from. I’ve worked in the construction field in the past and I worked on new construction and rehabilitation projects for the same corporation. We had two separate departments with different permits from the NYC Building Department.New ironwork replacing rusted out ironwork is rehab. Ironwork construction where no previous structure existed before is considered new construction. Perhaps it’s a semantics issue but I don’t know of any other way to put it. That’s why I questioned your original post. That’s why specifically mentioned the LIRR to IND ramp at Rockaway Blvd. My take. Carry on.

I'm still wondering where the original poster got the idea that the outer boroughs got new Els. I only remember El demolition, citywide without any new EL construction. Maybe the ramp from the LIRR Rockaway Beach Line to the IND at Rockaway Blvd counts ??? . Just asking. Carry on.

The made the decision on the / stopping pattern because of the safety issues at that stop. The Command Center would make the announcement for certain trains to bypass the stop, especially in the AM rush hour. This announcement was also made by IRT Command Center to alert the line crews of the situation. I used to work overtime trips in the AM on the and it wasn’t unusual for that bypass announcement to be made. The people who wanted to exit the station and the ones who were transferring to the for East Side trains were one thing. It’s my opinion that the dummies who rode to that stop to switch to/ from Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue service were the main culprits. One of my school car instructors who used to work the QBL lines used to tell us of the stupidity of some of our fellow New Yorkers. He was a former Marine Corps drill instructor and he was blunt but honest. My memories. Carry on.

I think that the charter is the only thing that binds the LIRR and the together. If you put the Atlantic Avenue line under semi NYCT control then the problem becomes a maintenance one. Who’s servicing the equipment ? The other question is the Rockaway Beach Branch. It’s only connected with the NYCT. Even if ridership miraculously reappears after 60 years it’s not able to get to the already congested QBL and there’s no remaining connection to the LIRR. Where’s the money for the project coming from ? Real world cash. I don’t believe the and it’s cost projection numbers for any project but they are broke now and I don’t see any cash infusions on the horizon. Just my opinion. Carry on.

Correct me if I’m wrong but NYCT already owns the Rockaway Beach Branch from the southern terminals up to the severed connection with the LIRR mainline. With the existing infrastructure at that connection how are you going to reach the QBL ? I doubt that they have any interest in the idea because of the financial situation now. I don’t think that it was part of the original Plan for Action when it would have been much cheaper than today. Something that’s usually overlooked is that the City of New York owns the subway system , not the , and any changes would probably be legally a legislative process with the state. IMO that’s why the new LIRR service proposal for Brooklyn-Jamaica shuttle service is the province of the railroad and not the NYCT. Just points for further study. People don’t realize that the charter for the LIRR is for service between Brooklyn and points eastward. Carry on.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear.. I'm an elderly person now but I remember the Third Avenue El running in .Manhattan. I worked for NYCT for 30 years in RTO.. I'm a veteran of the Beast, the from New Lots to 241 st in the Bronx. I've ridden lines like Myrtle-Jay, Culver Shuttle, Jamaica to 168 st, Franklin-Brighton, and BMT Fulton to Lefferts. I've seen the 1968 Plan for Action introduced. I think that it's naive to believe that the will ever come to pass. As far as 125th goes you have a line at Broadway, multiple lines at St.Nick, Lenox, and Lexington. I believe that a crosstown line is a poor expenditure of limited funds compared with a Bronx extension. That's my opinion and knowing how the works I'd venture that the crosstown line is a pipe dream. Just look at the history of these proposals. Perhaps I'm just cynical but there are less lines running today. 50÷ years after the Plan for Action. . Welcome to the real world. Carry on.

Let me flip the script on your proposal. Run the express in Brighton service and make the the local. Let the make local stops on the Brighton line late nights and weekends if necessary. IMO the Bronx needs the service over the proposed 125th St crosstown extension. That, and the , are a fantasy proposal that will probably never see the light of day. BTW how's that stop north of 96th St on the SAS working out ? They'll probably get to it after they complete those stops south of Parsons-Archer in Queens. Nothing personal toward you or any particular posters but does anyone really believe these ideas will come to fruition , ever ? Just my take. Carry on.

Haven’t been keeping track of the wash procedure but at one time the got washed at 207 st, the at 239 and Westchester had it’s own wash for the trains. Guess things are different these days. Thanks for your reply. Carry on.

Totally random thoughts and observations from last week’s news and posts The is kicking the R68 /68A cars to the curb? What’s going to happen with the equipment? The R62/62A cars are older but we’re keeping them? The NY Penn Station upgrade plans with the new office towers smells like a real estate scam , IMO. The federal government doesn’t want to fund it and left it out of any future plans. Read about the long term wishlist. Reactivating the old Rockaway Beach line ? Interborough rail line? An agency that can’t get past Parsons-Archer? SAS ? Utica Avenue study ? Luckily the clowns that come up with a list like this aren’t in safety sensitive positions like the hourly B/O or train crews. We’re subject to drug testing 😀. Seems like the State Comptroller is the only one living in the real world. He flat out stated that the financial plans for the future are unrealistic and not even fully funded no matter how much they juggle with the numbers. Just my take on things after reading the Times, Daily News, Newsday and the Washington Post over the last week. Carry on.

You do realize that trains go through an automatic car wash. I don’t remember any individuals cleaning the equipment by hand. Perhaps you can clarify what you mean?