Eric B

For this section, it wasn't just the IRT building it, but rather the Dual Contracts, which included the BMT, which also runs through this section, and has that opening visible to 7th Ave. station in this area (where it's level wit hte Brookly bound local track, and the express tracks have gone below). All six tracks were built together in a common structure, so you have to take into consideration that as well. I don't know if there were any provisions for more BMT tracks, but it is likely just extra space to support the rest of the infrastucture; or could even stem from a time when it wasn't decided which portions of the new construction the BMT would get and which the IRT would get (lke there had been talks of IRT getting 4th Ave.)

R179s are starting to have the second tone added to the PA. I noticed this on one a couple days ago on the C, and then heard one on the A, and the conductor said that was the third one he had that dayd like that! The NTTs, as everyone would know, have the PA introduced by a single tone. This sounds a slightly different on the Bombardier cars than on the Kawasakis. The LIRR and MNR NTTs sound like the Bombardiers, but add a second higher tone, like a subway door tone, and actually sounding a bit more tuned to the R44-68 tone than the NTTs (which is a step or so lower; perhaps flattened?) So now they're adding them to the 179's.

With all the building that was going on in Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay, has the weekend ridership been increasing? I remember the trains being packed (at least on Saturday) back when it was still the . But many of those riders were probably coming from the inner portion of the line (including the local stations), and weekend service would only be justified if there were a lot of riders getting on at those two stops, and perhaps Kings Hwy also.

I hope someone doesn't go and make some dumb mistake. It's happened before! Like I think a handful of R32's were lost like that!

I thought they were adding the track-trip system to SIR.

Try this one now (don't know how long these things last):

Don't know if this was mentioned anywhere, but I saw a couple of 9800's yesterday, and the from RGB sign was so bright! So now, they're able to get the intensity of bright monochrome LED's with RGB! (Now, if only they would start using the multicolor capacity for routes. I hope they're just waiting until almost all signs are RGB, rather than never planning to use them except for SBS).

Here is an illustration of my suggestions I sent in:

So, the can't use 145th (as it would usually do) because the is terminating at 161? (I never knew how that move was done, but from what I'm seeing on a track diagram, it would have to terminate on the northbound platform, and then go down the express (skipping 155th) and 145 middle.

I think it's cool thes brought the brown back. It doesn't blur with the other colors to me at all; not even orange! (And what yellow is there?) And yes, I would make the suburban routes gray or black. (And I don't know why they went with a “BL” designation instead of sticking with “W”. It's supposed to be the initial of the borogh or county).

They also ended up with s goin to Euclid or Lefferts!

They have CBTC set up at that one station, isolated from the rest of the system (not installed between there and Kew yet)?

They're labeling the shuttles to Astoria as

And the crews would need to be CBTC qualified! I thought it was strange that they would move the to 71st instead of just keeping the .

Here's how it is aligned now, and what woul have to be done to allow local access to 2nd av. Northbound is easy; it's southbound that would requiring removal of numerous columns and re-supporting the tunnel structure.