Delays and Overcrowding in the 1970s and 80s was WORSE than anything today

[BroadwayBuffer]

I agree 100% The R42 had been rusting for as long as I can remember and I don't remember anyone back then complaining as they ran like workhorses. The R42s at Jamaica are still the best ones out there and they will go when it's time.

 

Some people have gotten used to NTTs, the bright, clean, no rust appearance and when they see an R-42 roll in looking like an eyesore, it's "ewww" to them. Of course as I've seen, old timers and even most people who grew up riding don't seem to care much an R-160 from an R-42 since some of them remember the grit of yesterday. But yuppies and college students from out of town seem to be thrown by it. They may think they're New Yorkers ,but I don't think they'll ever know what that means.

[R44 5278]

Trains come and go, but the subway is certainly a shadow of its former self.

[BroadwayBuffer]

Trains come and go, but the subway is certainly a shadow of its former self.

 

The same can be said for a good portion of NYC, particularly Manhattan.

[SubwayGuy]

The same can be said for a good portion of NYC, particularly Manhattan.

 

Exactly work ethic and elbow grease is dead. Welcome to the culture of spoiled brats and snobs.

 

This is the product of gentrification, a bunch of complainers working paper jobs. Sadly this city, and maybe the country as a whole, are in a decline until this problem gets sorted out.

 

Who CARES what the train "looks" like some of these people need to just shut the hell up, get in, not block the doors, and get to work doing something useful for a change.

[BSmith]

Exactly work ethic and elbow grease is dead. Welcome to the culture of spoiled brats and snobs.

 

This is the product of gentrification, a bunch of complainers working paper jobs. Sadly this city, and maybe the country as a whole, are in a decline until this problem gets sorted out.

 

Who CARES what the train "looks" like some of these people need to just shut the hell up, get in, not block the doors, and get to work doing something useful for a change.

 

There's always been spoiled brats and snobs. I think maybe the culture has more people who have a sense of "entitlement" today then in previous eras I can remember. But I have to ask my elders about that for perspective.

 

I think reasonably clean trains are a good thing. If I compare the NY system to others, it does well for some, not so well for others. But it is 24 hour, that makes the demands higher.

 

But, how to get people away from doors is a big challenge. In all honesty, the old R32/R38 did it best. And that's with narrower doors. Offset doors, center place poles away from the doors, the passenger flow just seems to work best. Still, you can design the trains as well as possible, you'll need passenger cooperation. And people need to respect public property, brand new or old makes no difference. Keep feet off of poles, off of the doors, objects off of the seats, close your legs when you sit so you don't take up too much space, move away from the doors until its your stop, elderly and handicapped seats are for the elderly and handicapped, turn your iPods down to a volume that only you can hear them, and in general, be aware that there are lots of fellow subway riders using the system and a lot of workers involved in making it run. Lots of people take things for granted as though you push a button and magically, the subway runs.

[SubwayGuy]

There's always been spoiled brats and snobs. I think maybe the culture has more people who have a sense of "entitlement" today then in previous eras I can remember. But I have to ask my elders about that for perspective.

 

yeah that was the word i was looking for...most think graduating from any college means an office job paying >75K a year and if not go to law school, and they think that degree "buys" them something when all it is, is a very small first step. all they care about is money and buying s*** they dont need and because of that they are miserable so they just complain about everything. sometimes i wonder if they really feel entitled to things or if they are just miserable people in general. but yes there are a ton of spoiled self-entitled brats and they seem to multiply by the day

[Andrew]

Agreed. At 23 I'm a youngin' too, but I am sick of everytime the holiday arnines run and I go for a ride seeing a bunch of foamers screaming about how rusted roofs on old SMEE cars make them feel "unsafe" or over and over again about how the R160's are "boring". Yeah riding an R16 in the early 80's was anything but boring - you never knew what was gonna blow up!

 

Good Post.It is good to see Young People such as yourself who are an asset to the hobby.

 

As far as the trains blowing up,The R10s had Glowing Red Hot Grids that sometimes caught on fire.Most of the time though,it would result in an explosion of sparks across the platform.Think of an M100 Firework blowing up in the station,thats what it sounded like.

[SubwayGuy]

Good Post.It is good to see Young People such as yourself who are an asset to the hobby.

 

As far as the trains blowing up,The R10s had Glowing Red Hot Grids that sometimes caught on fire.Most of the time though,it would result in an explosion of sparks across the platform.Think of an M100 Firework blowing up in the station,thats what it sounded like.

 

Interesting...

 

What I know of the R16's, they had an issue with their cooling grids where debris could get caught in them...their grids were stashed under the car in a big box (why the R-16s and R-17s are called "flat bottoms" or "flat tops" i forget which). Since the box was enclosed no air could cool the grids so they were cooled by forced air (a breeze created by the spinning motor generator) but debris could get stuck in there and cause all sorts of problems then BANG and the train can't move.

 

I've seen "cherry red" grids once or twice in my life and man is that a sight. Lights up almost like a toaster. I dare the buffs to try and find a shot of that today rather than photographing rollsigns and car #'s :cool::cool::cool:

[Joe]

In 1987 when my mom was 14 she got robbed at knife point on the train late at night.

 

Considering some of the wonderful developments the passes through, that unfortunately doesn't surprise me at all. I hope your mother at least wasn't physically hurt.

[Qns Blvd Dom]

1 hr to get from kew gardens to 71 Av!

Hell no!

I'd walk.

 

Better off with the Q60 bus! I bet a lot of people choose to take the Q60 over the subway back in the 70's and early 80's!

[RokuSix]

The city was a mess back in the 1970s and 1980s. People complain now, but really, it's a walk in the park compared to how it used to be.

[jimbob60]

Express bus ridership was much higher in the late 70's/early 80's. I had a a summer job on East 34th St in the summer of 1980 - a very hot summer and took the QM12 Triboro Bus to work rather than the then N 9now R) and 6 downtown. Many R46's were out of commission then with truck problems. The bus was packed then - often a an aisle of standees in a 53 seater. Triboro was a decent company back then. I never recall a broken A/C on an express bus then. Triboro seemed to go downhill in the 90's. The QM 12 should be discontinued now. There would be 70+ passengers on a rush hour bus 30 yrs ago - now there are barely 15.

[Jashawn R.]

o.....m.....g..... thats horrible