M. Friday 1986

For anyone who missed it today, The New York Transit Museum's Facebook page posted this picture of inside R42 4572 up today: Also a correction from them: "***CORRECTION: The French Connection featured cars 4572-4573 (R42s) under the BMT West End Elevated on 86th Street in Bensonhurst, NOT these R36 cars*** Thanks for your comments!"

Random Observations - 11/5/13 Just got out of a meeting down in Brooklyn and riding the line to get to the Brighton Line to get home. Among the things i saw at Coney Island Yard: R16 6305 is painted almost completely in silver. Car looks really neat; they didnt get much of the upper roof, though. No painting done to 6339 it seems. A BMT Standard is hooked to the R16s. No pictures, as it was getting pretty dark. Also, the lone R46 is car 5576. It's no longer a lone car; a B-car was hooked to it. So I assume this car and the rest of the 4-car unit was there for some sort of long term work.

Might be old news to many. In case no one saw this yet.... From the New York Transit Museum's Facebook page: "Ten years ago today the R36 Redbirds made their last runs in active service. They were brought out for the 1964 World’s Fair but didn’t receive their distinctive red coloring until the 1980s. R36 World’s Fair cars 9586 and 9587 will be coming to the New York Transit Museum soon, pending a new paint job! You may recognize them from the unforgettable car & subway chase scene in The French Connection (although the car numbers were changed for the film)!" Also being added to the fleet, this BMT Pump Car: "Say hello to a future member of our collection: The original BMT Pump Car! The left image shows the pump car in 1940, and the right image shows the car now. After layers of paint are removed, the car will be restored to its original maroon color. Pump trains were used after Superstorm Sandy to drain flooded tunnels. Courtesy of New York Transit Museum

Random Notes - For those interested: R36WF cars 9586-87 were out of the 207th Street Shop today, hooked up to the R42 French Connection pair (4572-73). Looks to have had lots of patch work on the Redbird pair; both cars were covered with sandy-colored patches around them. All stickers were also removed from the cars. So I assume that whatever repairs these two needed are now done and I would suppose they're up for repainting soon. I wonder if the other Mainline Redbirds at Concourse Yard will get this same treatment soon. No scrappings seem to be taking place at this time still.

So guys, sorry if this has been asked and answered before...I was wondering about something: Country: United States City: New York System: New York City Transit Location: 207th Street Shop Car: R-110A (Kawasaki, 1992) 8005 Photo by: Daniel Negron Date: 2/14/2013 So these cars were being converted to new Pump Cars last February. My question is: what kind of progress has been done so far on these cars, if any since February? Also, a related but separate question: I read somewhere one car of each, an R110A and R110B is to be preserved. Is that true? Thanks, guys.

Today's scrap notes, 10/22/13: R27 8145 and R30 8463 have finally left to New Jersey a little before 2pm this afternoon. Four trucks were used: two for the railcars and two for the cars' trucks and other parts. Both cars have been stripped of glass and windows it seems. As a gag, pieces of paper were put on the end rollsign windows of 8145 - New Jersey. Like the school cars that left yesterday, 8463 still had advertisements up inside. Photos of this move will be up tonight. In other notes, R40 cars 4280-81 and R42 4572-73 have joined up with the Arnines at 207 Street Yard. The R95 Revenue Collection Cars, I did not see their location in the yard (pehaps inside the shop?). No cars next up on the scrap line at this time.

Today's scrap notes, 10/21/13: R30 ex. Coney Island School Cars 8424-25 were trucked out of Manhattan today on the way to Newark at about 2pm this afternoon. Photos of this will follow this evening, so keep an eye out for that, folks. Next up on the scrap line: R27 8145 (terrible!) and R30 8463 - the Pitkin Pair.

And it's sad that it could be going. I've always thought that, unless there was a big problem with the car, be it a rusted frame or rotted floor or something dangerous that it cannot be preserved, there's no reason why 8145 can't be saved. Just why it cannot be saved or preserved, is something I would like to know. That's if we ever do know; people closely related to the happenings on the inside might have some sort of knowledge to what's going on, but won't or can't share the reasons, whatever they might be. Either way, it's still unfortunate. Time moves on though... My way of thinking is this: take the R12/14 combo (5782 and 5871, respectively) at 207th Street Yard for example. Those two cars have sat outdoors for a few decades. About half of that time was spent in the open sea air of Coney Island Yard. They've endured practically all the elements - blizzards, rainstorms, hurricanes, to name a few. Yet these cars are saved for preservation. We have an R10, 3189, that sat immobile but protected from weather inside Pitkin Yard for over 20 years. It got saved for preservation. Why not 8145, which along with 3189, sat protected from the elements for years? What problems does the car have that, not even the Railway Preservation Corp., wanted to preserve it? And why wasn't the New York Transit Museum interested in this car? At least we have R30 8506. And I'm happy, grateful, and satisfied with the collection we have and of the collections of elsewhere. I'm glad they saved an R44 even. That's why when I visit the museum, I give a donation any way I can so that they can keep going with what they do. It's only that, adding an R27 to the collection - or any collection for that matter - is a great opportunity: not only it's the only remaining R27, but it's a specimen of Redbird subway cars on the BMT. And it's been a place where employees have gone thought training (no pun intended) to help move this city. It's just unfortunate that 8145 could be leaving us soon and there is an opportunity to save some part of history. Just my $0.02

According to this post on subchat: http://www.subchat.com/read.asp?Id=1254401 "There are those two R30s from CIY waiting for scrap on the dock track. I heard they and that R27 are NOT getting shop time to get stripped of their 2CYs and M.G.s. Very sad the shops aren't as friendly as they used to be" So it seems they're sending off R27 8145 after all... Unfortunate though, especially since it'll be going off with parts that could go on other preserved cars, like that 2CY compressors and such. Oh well...

I really do hope they save 8145 as well. I do wonder what's up with the car though...looks to be hooked to a train of Arnines. We'll probably find out soon enough.

Another scrap update: Another pair of R33WF cars left from 207 to scrap yesterday. Car numbers unknown. Next up on the scrap line: R30 cars 8424-25, the Coney Island School Cars. The pair didn't seem to have been stripped of anything at all, still have the doors covered in plywood. R27/30 Pitkin pair still hooked to the Arnines. For now.

4280-81 have been there for a couple of months, just moved around the yard. Perhaps they're up next for a repaint and repairs? Just my guess.

That's what I'm actually hoping for. That R27, despite the consensus from some posters elsewhere that it should be gotten rid of just because we already have an R30, for example, 8145 does look solid. Unless there's a really good reason to (like bent or rusted frames or something beyond repair), there's no reason to get rid of it. The way I see it, If we can keep an extra R12 car and an R14, we can certainly keep this one. I wish I knew...saw then both from Riverside Drive on the GWB. I'm thinking they could be some R33WF cars.

Small scrapping update for those interested: Two more Redbird cars were trucked out this afternoon. They made their way across the George Washington Bridge at about a quarter to 2pm today. Up next for scrapping: Rider Car RD407 (ex R33ML 8869) that derailed and got damaged a while back.

What specific kind of condition is that car in; meaning what kind of problem(s) does 8145 have, if i may ask?

I heard the same as well. Time will tell I guess.

I'm hoping they keep 8145. Would be two birds with one stone - sole remaining R27, and it's already painted in the Redbird scheme.

So guys, I'm right now I have a view of 207 Street Yard...remember how juat last weekend the TOMC made a trip to Brooklyn? Well right now i have a view of a 4 car train of R27/30 school cars hooked up to the Arnines. It's too far to see exactly what the consist numbers are, but i'm going to assume one car is R27 8145 and the other is R30 8463. Don't know about the other two cars (maybe 8424-25 from CIY), but this is a good photo opportunity.

Hmmmm....I could be speculating here, either it could be the Track Geometry Car since they've been doing track work past Euclid...or if that was the TOMC and they're not at 207 like I saw yesterday, then something could be going down perhaps? Maybe to pick up old equpiment? The TOMC did when they picked up R36WF cars 9586-87 at Concourse Yard weeks ago. Just a guess here...

Today's random observations: Track replacement went down at Concourse Yard this weekend. They had quite a number of work cars there. They seem to be building some sort of shed under the boulevard bridge near the ramp to the Jerome Line. They've also did some weed and plant cutting along Paul Avenue. The R68 C Train that ran yesterday was parked near the tunnel. Elsewhere in the yard, I noticed R26 7774-75 had no third rail shoes, nor the wood beams that support the shoes. Was wondering why they were removed, or how long ago they were gone. Also for some reason, a flatcar was hooked up to the pair. Thanks! : )

Thanks man! : ) For those interested, this was at Pitkin Yard. Anyone can see the R38 pair and the D-Type on the same track by walking along Lincoln Avenue. The view is on a downhill ramp heading towards Linden Blvd. Just walk up that ramp and halfway up, you can see them. You can also spot a pair of R30s (school car 8463 and Rail Adhesion Car 8558) and R27 8145 at the corner of Linden Blvd. and Eldert Lane. Walk up the driveway closest to the corner and look through the fence. 8145 is on track 9, 8463 on track 8, and 8558 on track 7. I really hope the R27 is preserved. It does need lots of work.

Thanks! Perhaps that pair can be put on display at the museum one of these days.

For the second question, the only remaining R38s that exist are 4028 and 4029. I took this picture myself just earlier this evening:

I hope so. It would be something to m/u with 8506. Also: Earlier this evening, R36WF cars 9586-87 were in the process of being moved from Concourse Yard. They made up the 5th and 6th cars of a 10 car consist, all of them the R33ML TOMC. Perhaps heading to 207 Street Yard? Took pics, thought not of the best quality. Will try to put them up soon. MF '86

Today I was meeting some friends for a late afternoon lunch in Ozone Park. Since work ended rather early for me I decided to make a Transit Museum run to kill some time. (I’ll load some pictures soon eventually). R44 5240 gives off a somewhat annoying, continuous, high-pitched sound undercar. It sounds electrical. What’s causing that sound and is it something that can be shut off? Also, I walked by Pitkin Yard along Linden Blvd just a little while ago and I remembered asking about R27, 8145 a while back on here, so I went to check it and the other school car 8463 out for myself. When I saw 8145 today, its portable A/C units were pulled out from the windows and end roll signs removed. And it’s really dirty exterior-wise. For something that’s supposedly owned by the Transit Museum, it’s certainly been let go. I hope it's being truly preserved and not otherwise. MF '86