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Dan05979

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Posts posted by Dan05979

  1. On 8/19/2019 at 6:45 PM, 4 via Mosholu said:

    I got my first ten car ride on a night (A) train that was going local from Fulton Center to Harlem - 145th Street.  I almost didn't catch it because the distance from where I was to the train was a bit too long. One thing that I found to be an advancement in the set I was in (3247 to 3243 paired with 3238 to 3242, with 3238 being the conductor car and 3247 being the operating car) was at 50th Street, where the conductor of that train turned off the Flexible Information and Notice Display and in effect the AAS program. The side destination signs were still on and the interior displays only said the time as well as to listen for announcements from the train crew. He only announced that the next stop was 59th Street. When he got to 59th Street, he turned on the FIND system and the automated announcements came back on, pointing to the next stop which was 72nd Street.

    My first eight car ride was on the (C) train and it was something given how it ran express after Canal Street - Holland Tunnel to 59th Street - Columbus Circle for service improvement work. Every step of the way,another conductor kept interrupting Campion saying that it was going to run express after Canal Street to 59th Street  - Columbus Circle. He didn't interrupt her north of 59th Street.

    While I believe that your peeve concerning the announcement program is valid, I also have a peeve with a different part of the announcement program - its timing. I say that because it is timed a lot longer for the 179 compared to the 160. I would propose that the timing for each announcement should be reduced considerably to like a second, similar with the announcement program along Lexington on the 142/A and Canarsie on the 143. The one particular transfer announcement that I would want improved is the one for 42 Street, where the transfers are announced after about three seconds. On my (C) train that got routed to the express, it still continued to say the rest of the transfers before saying that it was going to 168th, but it was better on the (A) train because the operator came into the stop rather slowly before the conductor opened the doors there.

    The conductor never turned off the announcements, there is a glitch in the system and has to be reset at 59st. 

  2. 18 minutes ago, whz1995 said:

    Great to know the your experience as a R179 operator. 

    I took the R179 A first time yesterday and I noticed it was less smooth than the R46 tand it kept shaking. And the sound insulation is about the same as R46. Correct me if I am wrong, I think R179 on J perform much better than the one and only one on A.

    btw, MTA really needs to clean the exterior of the R179 A because there are lots of bird droppings on it.

    I only work the A line, don't know about the J, the ride felt fine, like a cloud. 

     

    11 minutes ago, RR503 said:

    This was a really interesting post; thanks for sharing. Would you mind elaborating on the technical side? 

    Sorry, that's all I can say on here. 

  3. Here's my take on operating the 179 on the A line.

    The good:

    1) The train is a rocket ship, after living on 46's and 32's I had to watch my speed because certain areas where the older trains are doing 40, on the 179 it's going 8-10+ miles faster, great!

    2) It's new, so the cabs smell fresh & clean. 

    3) it's shiny. After being on the A for so long, I'm not used to seeing something new...EVER

    4) Smiles...When I enter some busy stations, customers are smiling or surprised the A has some new stuff. The cameras come out, they stare, they mouth "is this an A?"

    5) Privacy...The cab windows are tinted, less eyeballs on the t/o's sitting down. 

    The bad:

    1) The cab is smaller than the 160's On the 160's there was a cut out behind the seat so the seat can go further back. There is no cut out behind the cab seat on a 179. If the t/o is tall or big, it's a problem. Knees hit the console, of you're a big dude the t/o is so close to the console. 

    2) The cab window sucks. Those cab windows should slide sideways like a 46 or straight down like a 68. Conductors have been complaining about the latch hitting their chins and making it harder for shorter people to see. 

    3) The placement of the speedometer is near the ceiling or where the air gauge is on a 160. That is the stupidest thing I have ever seen. speedometer and gauges should be eye level like any other normal transportation vehicle. 

    4) The master controller...THe MC is terrible, the handle is small and you have to put some muscle into holding it while operating which can start to hurt the hand, especially when the t/o is going express. Can't switch from left hand to right hand...terrible

    5) The placement of the master controller. The MC is on the right hand side and it's very uncomfortable to operate while doing a long run. Local trip, fine you can rest your hand between stops, but from Howard beach to Broad channel, forget it. 

    6) The 179's on the C and probably J line...The operating crews cannot hear the automated announcements in their cabs. They fixed this issue with the A-179 supposedly they are correcting this with the C-179's and whatever 179's that are out there. 

    I have more but it's more technical. 

  4. 2 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

    No way will it deadhead all the way to 207th from Pikin, it will most likely start at either Lefferts or Mott Ave. There's no (A) line runs that start at Eucild on Sundays (If there is, they aren't shown on the public timetable on the TA's website)

    yes there is, around sunday morning at 7ish there is a pitkin put in that goes in service from euclid to lefferts. that may be the 1st run of the 179. Am i sure? No. deadheading to 207? No. Deadheading to FR on a sunday? highly doubt it. 

  5. Supposedly the 10 car 179 will start running on the A line starting Sunday, how do I know? I work the A line. The hours were not confirmed but it MAY be all 3 tours with supervision on board to help familiarize the operating crews. & and when I write "Supposedly" it's because I'll believe it when I see it and things always change in transit. Thank you, have a nice day. 

    edit: Ok it's confirmed that the train will be running on the Am & PM tour coming out of pitkin yard. 

  6. The 179 operating cabs are smaller than the 160's There is less room for the t/o to operate with the seat all the way back & down. The master controller is very uncomfortable to operate on a long run. The C/R's have a hard time with the cab window latch right up on their chins when doing their platform observation. It's even tougher for shorter c/r's to look out the window. There is absolutely no space to climb between cars on these 179's Unless you are built like a pencil. There is no way to climb up between cars or remove car barrier springs when doing yard moves. I personally never operated one but I hear all the complaints from my fellow co workers. Yes they are shiny & new but they are big lemons. They should have gotten input from operating crews on what should be improved from the 160's to the 179's but they didn't 

  7. On 8/26/2018 at 4:25 PM, Jemorie said:

    I think the (A) line crews and dispatchers hate the R32s for their older age, their half-width cabs, and those who tend to hog the RFW which leaves the T/Os unable to open their cabs wide open for their whole pick. It's why they tend not to have as many R32s on the line and is why to this very day, they still have around 5 sets of R32s on the (C). The R32s' blind faces also don't feature seats for C/Rs to sit down either. It's also why the (C) and (J) swap occurred in the summers of 2013 and 2014 before officially becoming permanent from the summer of 2015 onwards.

    I do not think the (A) line crews and dispatchers care much about the R46s' lesser amount of doors causing longer boarding and dwelling times, because even if the (A) was half 60 footers, mostly 60 footers, or all 60 footers, it probably won't reduce much of the delays and bunching since ridership keeps on increasing as time passes, the (MTA) still has not decided to remove the numerous timers along the line, and keep the South Channel Drawbridge closed for the entire rush hour frame.

    I know I'm talking too much here and overthinking here. I'm just saying that when it comes to the longest line in the system like the (A), it's fairly understandable why the line can't be perfect in terms of time performance and even speed too. Blame the timers and the aging signalling system (and to a lesser extent the passengers) for that. So whether the (A) has 60 footers, newer cars, overall better equipment or whatever, the (A) will always still fairly have problems along its route.

    I'm telling you...the answer as to why a handful of R32s are still on the (C) is fairly obvious. What could we do?

    Of course though, as you see my posts in the R179 Thread, I have no problem with trying to get as many 60 footers on the (A) as fast as possible.

    I'm a A line operator and yes this is all true. WE ALL HATE THE 32'S except for the few who like them just because they're massive annoying buffs and are still living in the past.
    MOST.OF.US.CREWS.ON.THE.A.HATE.THE.32 especially when going local for 2 whole trips. For the operator the cab seats are uncomfortable after a while, & your hand (left) and arms start bothering you too. Yes you can stand but who wants to be standing for 2 hours.
    For the conductor, they have to stand the entire way because there is no seat in the #2 end where they operate from in a 10 car set, plus we could give 2 fks about more doors, "rail fan winders" "nostalgia" and whatever else comes with a 32.
    Plus us operating crews cannot communicate with each other privately while on the road.  
    Certain good dispatchers try to get rid of the 32's when rush hour is over and lay them up. Yes, even the dispatchers don't like the 32's
    As far as operating with the cab door open the entire trip, some do it just to get fresh cool a/c that never reaches the cab for some reason, but as far as supervision is concerned, some do "frown" on that activity. 

    My questions is, even though I'm hearing bad things about the 179, WHEN THE FK are they coming to the A? The longest line in the system. 
     

  8. I just finished my last day of road operations today. Monday, I start road posting for the next four to five weeks. I am truly fortunate, and grateful.  :)

     

    If anyone has any road posting tips or information, please post away. Thanks.

    Listen to your instructors and if they want to operate don't take it personal. Sometimes we get tired of standing. and don't let go of the master controller!! It's happened many times to me and I don't want to call that shit in.

  9. Again, what is this Concourse Yard working the (C) business? I thought if you signed in on the manual and they put down what job you are working for example C-203 then you get paid what that job does, what you are writing is since he signed out at 168 he gets deadhead to 207Y which is 28 minutes, So he's only getting paid 8 hours for posting not what C-203 or whatever job he posted pays.

  10. Why would you sign in at CCY for a (C) job? #2 you don't get dead head because the job you posted is less than 8 hours but includes dead head back to 207Y so you are not loosing money. if you did C-203 or 204 then the jobs are penalty because of the built in dead head.

  11. Correct work programs is what I meant, but read the timetables also so you have a feel for whats going on. So you know when the 1st (A) goes local at night or express in the morn ect ect. Work programs & schedule cards don't give that information out. And at every terminal there's 2 huge books with all of this but alot of them have pages missing or out of place, other people looking at them or what not. Do what I did, saved it on my computer then put it on my iPhone and pad. Always on me in case of an emergency.

  12. Yes come to work knowing nothing, don't be a know it all a$$hole because your going to look and feel really stupid. My partner and I have had many students operating the train and only 2 have been dicks. Act polite to others and you will get the help & love.

  13. I as well got the word the R32s are likely staying on the (J) PERMANENTLY along with the R42s so that the R179s can retire them both on the same line .  If your a railfanner why are you all complaining , people have been complaining how they have wanted the (J) and (Z) to be back to R42s to have the rfw now you have both R32s and R42s , please stop with the complaining . Besides why should the (J) and (Z) riders be complaining they still pay 2.50 like everyone else why should they get special treatment if anything the (C) riders deserve the R160s since they never get any new equipment at least they now have something for now will it be weird riding the (C) of course since we are all used to it being just R32s. We all pay the same fare and we all will have to still take the trains no matter what is on what line because we must get from point A till Point B. Just like the (6) riders losing their R142As and now being re downgraded to just R62As with a few R142As left , some of the riders are complaining but when you ride the R62As on the (6) they are jampacked wich proves my point. on people still riding the trains.

     

    Carry on with the topic.

    It all boils down to this....there metal rectangles with wheels underneath them. Carry on.

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