Kamen Rider

honestly, even our internal MTA ability to use other sections of our agency's network are a complicated mess as to who gets to do what where and when...

though, for the record, I should point out that the Q70SBS to the airport is free for everyone at all times anyway...

well, problem #1 with that...  Who's serving 205th street? 

The direct Mikey up 6th avenue is popular with riders. Then again, 95% of these sorts of plans involve, for lack of a better wat to put it, "robbing Peter to pay Paul" in some fashion. 

2 hours ago, Ale188 said:

Why is everyone happy that the 46s are gonna retire? What did they do to you to think that?

They’re rusted. they’re leaking. the heat sucks. I have to half kneel on the seat to do my job. somebody with no brain put the crew doors at the number 2 end. I can’t train line unlock the storm doors without leaving my key in the slot. The destination sign controllers are half busted.

and possibly the most annoying thing about them is they only have one buzzer button per cab, on the operating console. All other car classes I’m trained on have at least three, one on the console and one on each set of door controls.

most starting stations where I’m on the offside

“stand clear of the closing doors please”.
Close rear section.

Check for indication the rear is locked

Close front section.

Check for indication the front is locked

Sweep back to front.

Turn key control key to “run”.

Give my partner the two long buzzer signals and off we go.

r46s, when I turn the key to “run” and I’m on the left side, I have to run over to the console, give the two buzzes and then run back before my partner takes power because they sometimes forget to give me a second to get back.

Here’s the thing. One the one hand we are talking about nearly 50 year old cars, built by a company that no longer exists, using out of date technology that no one supports.

On the other hand, brand new, state of the art equipment that is under warranty and form whom replacement parts can easily be purchased.

we are also still dealing with the effects of a massive supply chain disruption caused by COVID.

we cannot keep the R46s running forever as they are and we are not getting the R211s fast enough.

some of the 46s have to go to support the others. This is just a fact. We do not have the resources to build every single replacement part we might need ourselves.

11 hours ago, R32 3838 said:

60 is tight but they can get away with it since the R211s are brand new and wouldn't need a high spare factor. I just estimated that 80 would be needed to fill the void of the R32s.

 

This is why this agency is really retarded. They shouldn't retire anything until they have more than enough cars to cover for the lack of spares. I'm not surprised at all since all the A-A cars were already sidelined for just about a month. They still don't learn their lesson during the retirements of past fleets. If they just sideline cars in storage as back ups like they did with the R32s in 2021 then that wouldn't be an issue.

 

CI desperately need more cars and they are already sideling cars instead of sending them to coney to increase their spares.

Edit just saw that a set of 6000s were sent to coney.

 

First off, don’t use that word.

second, as I keep saying but no one seems to want to listen, the staffing shortage is still worse than the car shortage. Hell, they’re still short me for another week, I’m still on Grand Jury duty. 
 

and third, parts for the 46s are becoming too scarce. There is a point where keeping the class running means sacrificing some of them to retirement for their important components and it seems we have reached that point.

plus i… I have to admit… something about having them on my train bothered me.

also there have been a few times where CR/s (not me) have started setting up in the wrong cab because they weren’t paying attention.

Literally the only confirmed detail is the R211T and R211S will commence passenger testing within the next year.

past that, it is all up in the air.

21 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

First off we are guessing that the complaints about the signage problems in Astoria are due to the conductor shortage. We changed signs on alternate ten car  trains at Flatbush Avenue daily with 2 extra conductors. The upper sign from Dyre to 241 st. The lower signs were changed from Lexington Avenue Express to Bronx Thru Express 

Yeah... I think I can count on one hand how many times I've used my sign changer since I left School Car. It might have something less to do with how many conductors there are and more to do with only the 62s and 68s still need them. When it comes to Astoria, it's just quicker to not change them, wait for an R46 and change that. takes less than a minute and no physical effort. R68 Novembers stay Novembers, while Whiskeys stay Whiskeys unless it is absolutely necessary. Now once the R46s are gone and the Broadway line has more R68s... well... i guess we'll jump off that bridge when we get to it. 

21 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

The next question concerns the  train and some ideas about “ yard access”. problems. We’re not sure why this keeps coming up on the forums but it seems to reappear every few years. Six of us are A division folks and two have spent time in both divisions in motors. We all attended school car at PS 248 next to C.I. Yard.  trains were on the yard leads, especially from the West End side, daily. Sometimes I’d spend the night at my grandmother’s apartment in the Marlboro houses. I personally worked transfer jobs between divisions and there were  trains moving around the place nightly. We’re figuring that this is longstanding misconception. Think about this sometimes. I worked transfer jobs early in my career in motors. I worked on the  for years. Heck, we had yard access at Lenox. Problem was that our maintenance facilities were at 240th, 239th, and Westchester and the money trains were serviced at East 180th Street. The yard access complaint is somewhat bogus to us. 

It does seem to more be coming from the armchair Line Superintendents... but to a certain extent it makes sense. When someone suggests the idea of moving the R back to Astoria is usually when this argument comes up the most. Going with your 3 example, you had Lenox on the 3's route... The R would have nothing on route, and all put ins and lay ups would require deadheading, which they see as unnecessary and or wasteful. If an R train needed to be added or removed from service, say needed to be Shopped on Arrival... "on paper" it feels easier to do that at Forest Hills and roll her down into Jamacia Yard vs having to run light up to (depending on circumstances) 36th or 59th and then lite down the west end or Sea Beach.. for every put in or lay up

So… I just got to meet Charlie Pellett…

… I give them one day… ONE DAY… and what do I get? 
 

Surfers!

So, I am currently on paid leave for Grand Jury Duty. Yesterday, I had to go in to work since the courts were closed and per contract, when you’re not going in to court, you have to come into work.

they gave me a job, I do it, they ask if I want to do one extra trip…

Pull into a station, I see a bunch of kids standing around at the far end of the platform…

We start to leave and two of them leap onto the side of my train.

they ran when I pulled the brake.

this grand jury gig is four weeks. I give them 1 day and this is what I come back to.

On 8/30/2023 at 10:52 PM, Calvin said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwkexxvr2o_/?img_index=2

A photo found from Instagram user, subways_io: the R211T models sports an undercarriage lighting system.

I told you guys about that feature back in March.

side note, the lighting does not train line, both crew members need to turn it on independently.

… and people wonder why I was so willing to do Grand Jury Duty…

The MTA owns Metro-North and LIRR and have final say on everything ether of them do.

Why do you two hang on to this insane nonsense? Nothing ether of of you have said is true and you’re sitting there having these crying fits when I call out your misinformation.

fact: the MTA owns both railroad companies outright and by extension all thier properties. This is like arguing that the person who runs Disneyland doesn’t have to listen to Disney Corporate.

fact: the MTA has final say on all decisions affecting these companies. If the MTA is okay with Amtrak running to Ronkonkoma, the LIRR must abide by that decision. Also the Ronkonkoma extension is still on their maps and website.

fact: the only Amtrak owned and operated trackage the MTA currently uses is the east river tunnels and Penn station.

Fact:The only east of Hudson trackage Metro-North uses but does not own is the trackage owned by CDOT.

all of this is readily available, public information.

you want to live in a fantasy world, that’s on you two. You’re not dragging the rest of us along for the ride. It’s misinformation like what you’re spouting here is how dangerous rumors start.

10 hours ago, Nitro said:

Did you forget about the Empire Corridor a corridor that Amtrak owns from New York City to Niagara Falls. The Metro North Railroad doesn't even own most of the Hudson Line. Amtrak & CSX do and lease it to Metro North for repairs and maintenance.

See… this here, this is why I do not trust a word of what you’re saying. The only section Amtrak actually owns is the Empire CONNECTOR from Spuyten Duyvil creek down to Penn.

the rest is owned by the MTA (Spuyten Duyvil to Poughkeepsie) and CSX (the rest)

Amtrak leases, operates and maintains the line from Poughkeepsie to Schenectady, but doesn’t own it.

are you going to call that BS as well…?

8 minutes ago, Nitro said:

Now you're just making up bullshit. This is getting even more funny because you work for the MTA and you don't know wtf you are talking about. Long Island isn't going to accept Amtrak's deal because they don't want anything to do with Amtrak to begin with. I don't know where you got this "Everyone from LI rides Amtrak" from but you know it's bullshit

Wow you are thick headed…

you were the one insisting before that Amtrak and CSX own the Hudson line and rent it to Metro-North and you have the nerve to tell ME I don’t know what I’m talking about? 
 

the MTA has final say. Not LIRR. If the MTA works out a deal with Amtrak, then that’s what happens. The LIRR must accept it because the MTA owns the LIRR.
 

2 hours ago, Nitro said:

Exactly LIRR will never give up their trackage to anyone. Unless it has something to do with MTA then they'll accept it.

2 hours ago, Nitro said:

That would screw over capacity on the trains that Ronkonkoma Express & Montauk Trains run per hour by adding 4-5 Amtrak trains. What you should be "worried about" is how many people are going to ride Amtrak in Long Island. It's probably less than 10,000 people while everyone else in Nassau & Suffolk Counties use the LIRR.

you don't seem to get the idea that THE LIRR HAS NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER.

If MTA HQ signs off on it, they MUST accept it. and given what the MTA is asking of Amtrak for Penn Access, a little quid pro quo might just be in the cards.

And it's four or five trains PER DAY. Actually, correction, three round trips per day. So six trains total.  So maybe that means one every three to four hours at max. they have enough room for that. and, again, the LIRR uses AMTRAK's rails every day, but they "refuse to work with Amtrak"? That doesn't make sense. also, you haven't given an ounce of evidence to you claim. 

the idea is the people who ride this will stay on the train to travel further. This is not a Ronkonkoma to Penn service, this would be a Ronkonkoma to WASHINGTON service. Or Roanoke, or Norfolk or wherever.  This isn't them trying to get into the commuter rail business to compete with the MTA, this is them trying to open up the island to direct intercity travel for the first time since WWII

Also you have yet to admit that you don't know who owns Metro-North's rails, and somehow have the authority to tell me, someone who works for the MTA, what's what...?

5 hours ago, Nitro said:

Did you forget about the Empire Corridor a corridor that Amtrak owns from New York City to Niagara Falls. The Metro North Railroad doesn't even own most of the Hudson Line. Amtrak & CSX do and lease it to Metro North for repairs and maintenance.

5 hours ago, Nitro said:

You're mad that I'm debunking the bs that you are saying. Long Island will not give their trackage to anyone else because they are an independent railroad company from Metro North, NJ Transit Rail Operations, & CT Rail.

I’m “mad” you’re claiming false information as fact and are getting angry when an MTA employee corrects you.

the MTA owns all of Metro-North’s current east of Hudson trackage in New York State. 
the LIRR is onboard with the Amtrak expansion, in part because IT is the one that uses Amtrak owned right of way, specifically the East River tunnels and Penn Station.

we have spent millions of dollars expanding the capacity of the Main Line to Ronkonkoma. Four or five Amtrak trains each way squeezing in will not have and adverse effect on railroad operations.

the LIRR is not an “independent railroad company”.

2 Broadway says jump, the LIRR says “How High?”

10 hours ago, Nitro said:

Metro North doesn't own all of their trackage. Most of it's owned by Amtrak which owns the NEC and the EC.

Metro-North only does not own the CT sections of the New Haven Line, which are owned by CDOT. It has owned the New York sections of the New Haven line, including where it is part of the NEV, since its inception, as the state bought the line in the Penn Central bankruptcy.

10 hours ago, Nitro said:

It's not going to happen Long Island is not willing to cut their service on behalf of Amtrak invasive policies. LI has more issues than you think. You want to add another one in there, Sure LI is totally willing to accept that.

That’s presumptuous of you, considering it would only be a few Amtrak trains a day.

Of my class of 10, we’re down to four. Just because people are going through the process doesn’t mean they’re staying.

1 hour ago, zacster said:

I'd have thought they would do that in the first place.  Why wasn't QBlvd done that way?  It seems crazy that they designed a system without a decent way to let non-compliant trains through given that there are so many cars like that.  I guess though that once the R211 order is done it'll just be the R68s left, and maybe those will be gone soon after.

As far as which lines get which cars and when, I'd say everyone should take a deep breath and exhale, repeat if necessary.  It'll be what it'll be.

They did. That’s how work and trash trains move through the corridor. It’s just that the QBL has such sky high frequency at certain hours…

I think we will be able to make do in the short term.

the system being installed is designed to allow non-reporting trains to enter its territory. It’s just that doing so causes issues with the CBTC enabled trains moving at their best flow levels.

Google has recently driven thier street view car past the main Lincoln Kawasaki complex and you can now see a lot of cars outside the factory, five of which are not wrapped up and are clearly R211s. 4115, 4116 and 4117 are sitting front and center. two more are off in the distance, hard to see their numbers.

We’ve been explained that to him for years and he doesn’t listen...

7 hours ago, Comrade96 said:

I actually have an experience to add to reasons why. Currently the tracks that take the G from court sq to queens plaza arent normally used by trains, and for some odd reason are controlled by RCC. I was on an F that had to be rerouted via crosstown due to signal problems at jay. It took us at least 10 minutes to go from court sq to queens plaza, and some more time to leave queens plaza for a diverging lineup, thats just not sustainable

Your were probably going through there when RCC takes control of the interlocking from Queensboro Master.

when they have control over the complex from Court Square up to the 63rd street connection, it can get dicey when a train needs to move to or from Crosstown.

when RCC takes over, that move is an absolute headache.

4 hours ago, Chris89292 said:

The T sets will likely be running on various lines with high capacity, until the crews have collected enough information, I kinda find it useless since it’s just 2 Open gangway sets that will be running on the system, I doubt the MTA will change the design halfway the 211’s delivery 

The two Ts we have are prototypes. We can still make changes. Hell, we bought two to test the two different gangway connections.