Eric B

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!

On 3/3/2023 at 10:18 PM, SubwayDude1919 said:

Thanks for digging and trying to help figure this out. I agree it's definitely in the area. Its just so weird that the IRT would build this tunnel and then cover it up. 

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.

On 11/23/2022 at 5:43 PM, RSMG106 said:

Hopefully so. 126th street is not available, and Amsterdam is not available due to prep work. The only place to put these units are at Eastchester. They cannot scrap historical vehicles if there is a good reason.  

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!

51 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

The SI R211 will test on NYCT trackage then be sent to SIR, they will be refitted where they can be sent to BIE by trip cocks just so they can safety run on NYCT trackage as trip cocks aren't needed on SIR due to them using a different signal system.

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:

On 6/10/2022 at 3:30 AM, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

 trains are running to/from 207th Street on Independence Day

Extra Service

trains run between Euclid Av and 168 St and via the to/from 207 St

Jul 2, Saturday, 5:30 AM to 11:30 PM, Jul 3, Sunday, 6:45 AM to 11:30 PM and Jul 4, Monday, 5:30 AM to 11:30 PM (includes Independence Day)

What's happening?

Track maintenance

Posted: 06/02/2022 08:34AM

 

The following weekend after that, trains are running via Culver, and trains are running via West End. Southbound service will operate via 8th Avenue from 59th Street to West 4th Street. Southbound  trains will operate express in Manhattan to accommodate. 

On 6/11/2022 at 12:37 AM, Vulturious said:

Quite a few things happening with the  lately. We got three weekends in a row where  trains are either cut back entirely or rerouted:

• The weekend before Independence Day,  trains are cut back to Bay 50 St yet again.
• Then the Independence Day weekend with  trains cut back to 161 St.
• Lastly, as you mentioned,  and  swap with soutbound  trains running via the  from 145 St to West 4 St with normal swapped service in Brooklyn for northbound.

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. 

On 5/29/2022 at 9:53 PM, Q43LTD said:

They added brown... haven't seen that color on a bus map since the '90s

On 5/29/2022 at 10:10 PM, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Personally, brown is a color I would avoid when depicting anything. It's just not all that appealing. 

If they changed the Q50 to light blue/cyan, they could have used lime for the Bx25. 

The M125 could have also been light blue, if they changed the M35 to purple (which wouldn't conflict with anything). 

There was no reason to change the Bx18's color. In fact, that brown meshes with the red & purple on University Avenue (and not in a good way). The lime provided a contrast there.

On 5/30/2022 at 12:18 AM, GojiMet86 said:

That brown also mixes up with the yellow......

On 5/30/2022 at 8:09 PM, B35 via Church said:

I agree, but mostly for a different reason....

With the new Bx11 covering the 174th portion (of the current Bx36), this would've been a prime opportunity to have the Bx36 run with the Q44 b/w [Boston/180th] & [Cross Bronx Service rd./White Plains rd (WPR)], with the Bx36 being left alone b/w Washington Heights & West Farms ... Instead, they have this new Bx36 running along Tremont to WPR.... There isn't a real need to have the Bx36 running along WPR north of the Cross Bronx, all things considered...

Given that the Bx36 has to contend with Washington Bridge traffic to/from Washington Heights (and Washington Heights in & of itself), I would say that it absolutely matters....

You make it sound like the Bx36 & the Bx40/42 are somehow interchangeable for the vast majority of Bronx riders or something.....

I get that they wanted to highlight/differentiate the new changes to the network & what not, but I would've stayed away from brown also (although I like how the Bx25/26 looks along Allerton).... Agreed with that brown clashing horribly over there around Macombs/University... FWIW, the West Bronx in general could use more red (and purple, for that matter)... There is too much blue (the skyblue & the regular blue) & orange in that region of the borough, south of High Bridge & south of Morrisania.... Conversely, there is too much red in the NE Bronx...

Speaking of the NE Bronx, for starters, I would change the Q50 to purple & the Bx24 to skyblue... You'd simply have to add a route marker at Dreiser loop for the Bx23 to separate it from the Q50... Part of the problem too is that there are too many separate layers in Co-op City... What I mean by that is, every route that serves Co-Op doesn't necessarily have to be a different color...

With the M125, yeah, that makes sense... All you'd then have to do is change the M104 to anything other than red... The Bx32 could be changed to purple, with the Bx21 being changed to red.....

The light green isn't as conspicuous because the base map is too bright/white...

Something else about their use of the light green, is that they use it for all the Bee-Line routes... Those routes should be colored gray IMO....

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!

On 5/14/2022 at 12:06 PM, RTOMan said:

They are survey marking the tracks East of Kew...

Not sure when but there will be Full Shut downs past CTL on the Weekends, which they will start running cables and dropping down transponders and switch work at Parsons Hillside and 169.

Trains are already Localized at 179 meaning the folks at the CBTC area at RCC can see the trains in that station.

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

5 hours ago, R32 3838 said:

 

They'll probably run them both together which would make sense. They have more than enough R160's for the weekend to run on the alongside the since they have lay ups in the yard, Along hillside, union turnpike, ave x yard and CIY.  So They wouldn't have to borrow anything like the R179s or R211A's from the .

They're labeling the shuttles to Astoria as

32 minutes ago, VIP said:

Where is this stated? This would mean the  would Need R160’s 

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 .

On 5/8/2022 at 8:10 PM, Vulturious said:

In all honesty, this idea isn't that bad of an idea. I decided to make an edit of how the idea can be implemented:

There are provisions north of 57 St-7 Av that would've had a Broadway local trains split just before a switch north of the station from express to local to run along CPW or Morningside Av or whatever street the BMT wanted to build. I decided to take that idea and use it as another connection to the 63 St line. 

The only issue with this idea is the Broadway local train that is running to 2 Av must be based out of Coney Island, there are direct ways of doing so straight from Montague St tunnel. You can have trains routed via West End or to the Brighton line.

 

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!

On 4/13/2022 at 9:53 AM, Wallyhorse said:

More likely IMO it will hasten the demise of these cars and press the MTA to get replacements (including open gangway cars) quicker than they would have otherwise. 

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.

2 hours ago, shiznit1987 said:

Having both the Q58 and Q98 the way it's set up is inefficent. The Q59 should take over the Q58 into Corona/Flushing and become a SBS in it's own right. The current Q98 plan will simply be the Q58 SBS.

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?

6 hours ago, MHV9218 said:

The C/R still has a remote switch, but given there's no emergency intercom, useless in a situation like this. The cars were delivered with a defeat switch at each end so that passengers could unlock in an emergency, but those were removed (as were the fire extinguishers).

Yeah, but removing the emergency switch was a really stupid idea.

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. 

22 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

If one is starting at Queensboro Plaza, then the other one should avoid QBP entirely. 

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).

22 hours ago, GojiMet86 said:

Q39 - Good idea to have this line (or maybe another line) cover Vernon with connections to both Queensbridge and Court Square. Almost all riders north and south of Queensbridge were using the Q103 for the station.

That was the other thing I forgot. Both 39 and 67 go back the other way (to either Vernon or 21st), before starting to head east, and it feels like a long time, and you're still in LIC. I think the one that goes to Ridgewood should just go straight out on Queens Blvd to Van Dam, and let the other one (the shortened line) pick up all those out of the way corners).

For the Cipher-zone (the invisible hole smack in the middle of the city), the best thing is the Q14 via Eliot, but it still only goes to Fresh Pond/Putnam, not Ridgewood terminal. Also, the 55 finally going all the way into Jamaica, and the 47 coming down to Metropolitan and Fresh Pond.

Most everything else is still the same isolation (either by stopping short of connections, or just tortuously winding indirect routes).

They swapped the 39 and 67 east of 48th, but still have the 39 taking the ridiculously long angled route through 100% industrial areas between 48th and Rust. It sould stay on Rust to 48th, and move the 67 to 55th Ave. and drop the under the BQE section.
I see they also ditched the 59th/60th shortcut (some kinds at the last hearing were saying they couldn;t make the turns, but I think they should really consider doing something about that, and keep it off fresh Pond). 
If that weren't bad enough, when swinging over from Forest to Fresh Pond, it doesn;t even take the ovious direct path on Eliot, like the 39 does, but stays on Metropolitan to the hard left turn incredibly busy intersection with Fresh Pond. Are they kidding? They're making things worse!

The 18 is straightened along 65th, but still doesn't come down past Grand.

The 73 still ends on the 23 loop on Union Tpk, and doesn;t go the severl blocks to Myrtle!

The 58 now takes Roosevelt instead of Horace Harding,which is slightly more direct, but turns off before reaching the intesection with Main, and ends up using the same loop several blocks away. They should have it turn from Roosevelt onto Main (which is no turns except buses), then end on the loop.

I think the 98 at least (or something going across to Flushing) should use Eliot. Grand and Corona is just too long, winding, busy and narrow.

The expresses are all unchanged, going 2 miles past Maspeth to Rego Park, to come all the way back to Fresh Pond. The exit in Maspeth is one mile from Fresh Pond @ Eliot, and this is stretched to four miles, half of which on the slow packed LIE! This to-scale map shows how utterly ridiculous it looks. Of the three expresses they have now, can't at least ONE of them go direct, using the Maurice Av.  exit?