Eric B

Late with this (so much going on in recent years), but two years ago, the current BMT/IND service surpassed the original Chrystie St. service pattern, which lasted 18 years and 5 months (11-26-67 to 4-26-86, when we entered 18 years of reconstruction with temporary service change patterns lasting years at a time! Serious problems, with intermittent smaller [but growing] shutdowns had begun four years before that! ) Growing up in the Chrystie era, that seemed universal, and forever. Then, when all the shutdowns and reroutes began, it seemed we'd never get back to normal. (Remember when the Canal St. bridge tracks seemed abandoned forever; with at one point, the track bed broken up?) When it was finally finished, 2-04, the new pattern on the directly affected lines was totally different ((B)/(D) swap), but did make sense as to simplifying the service. The public seems to be fine with it (where the original Chrystie plan had been forced on them against their wishes. The new pattern has some elements of the old pre-Chrystie layout, such as the full time Bway service and the two weekday services to Astoria, with both Queens lines having local service to lower Manhattan). I back then imagined the day when that would be as long established as the old Chrystie pattern, or if a new round of bridge problems would surface when the work they did would "wear off"; but the time flew, and the bridge work seems to be holding up this time (for now), and so we've passed the duration of the old pattern, and for the forseeable future.

MicroLED's are still a ways off. This is where they are down to the size of TV pixels. You can see two displays at the Samsung837 Experience by the High Line, but the costs are prohbitive, and smaller displays aren't out yet. They do have regular LEDs that are pretty small (like the ones by the food stands at Moynihan), but those are probably more expensive, and you really don't need such a resolution for the route sign; these are fine. (The tiny LED's might be good for the FIND, though).

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/04/24/mta-plan-to-run-brooklyn-queens-train-line-on-city-streets-a-grave-mistake-advocates This is actually the first time I'm hearing about any opposition to this part of the plan! Good! I've always thought this would ruin the whole line!

Every day, I see these signs and am amazed how years ago, we feared LED's could never mimic an actual rollsign. I then hoped smaller LED's would be needed. But they're using fullsized 4mm LED's with a wide pitch (RGB's can't be placed too close together due to heat), and it look far clearer that any rollsign ever could!

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.

I see them more likely sending 22's to and then sending the 160's to (whch will be sufficient for the CBTC), and the 68's then on (Unless they decide to give the something new in almost 40 years, and put some 211's there, and keep more 160's in Queens).

Can't wait for the inside shot, to see what the final design of the connecting piece looks like!

Wouldn't it be funny if it pressed them to bring the 32's and 42's out of retirement? Only, there aren't enough left to replace the 46's and 68's, but they could figure replacing as many as possible is better than doing nothing.

The 98 should run across Eliot. Grand is winding, narrow and packed, and now they're going to have both 98 and 58, plus the 57/59. local, LTD or SBS, they will always be delayed and bunched, and provide no benefit. Eliot is a straight, fast capacity that should be used. Since they had planned, IIRC a QT6 or something like that, that was almost like an express, and tthen they could have it run nonstop (with the 14 providing the service). This would be for Ridgewood riders going to the malls, or Flushing (or anywhere else on that side of Queens), while the other services would be for Grand. Why force them along this slow busy stretch they are not going to?

All cabs have the switch, and there's one on the outside of each door (but it's up. I heard they managed to wrestle one open from the inside, but then couldn't get the next one to open, but the switch was right up, to the left). I know I used to see a switch on the inside on the 44's that people used, but that looked like it was something that was supposed to have a screwed on metal plate over it, and it looks like they figured out they could remove it and access the switch.

I would think if they had to go back that way (Court Sq., etc), they should start over there, and then go through QBP along the way. (Too much of a destination to completely avoid).