What Got You into Transit?

[gregorygrice]

What made you like Transit (Trains, Buses, Subwys)? This is the thread to share what got you into transit and railfanning.

 

It started for me when I started whatch Thomas the tank Engine when I was a little kid. After that It just sprung up from there. I basically grey up with trains. Then a couple of years ago I started railfanning and taking pictures. And look at me now! I know almost everything about trains, and most transit systems, and still learning.

 

How about you guys, and ladies? I'm curious to know.

[Forest Glen]

I used to live in Bushwick near the elevated train. I was so fascinated by how the train was above the street, almost as if it was flying. When I moved to Queens in 1990, I lived two blocks from the LIRR. I also liked Thomas the Train. The first time I went to Essex Valley Railroad I was in heaven.

[SevenEleven]

I got into the hobby because I used to ride the trains ALL the time as a child. My dad became a B/O since he came to the U.S., and used to take me around the depot as a child. It was only a matter of time until I got absorbed.

[mark1447]

Its been in my life for a long time. Tho from 1995 thru 2004 i wasn't much of a fan, since i didn't know much. Redbirds during the 90s and early 2000s were/is my fav.

 

I did enjoyed Thomas & Friends when i was a kid and loved playing with train models..

 

2001-Present, got more into trains.

 

2004-Present, started checking out NYC Subway.org and got some info on fleets.

 

2008-Present, I got into buses!

 

Of course transit is part of my life, not all. I got interest in the Information Technology(IT) and photography too!

[error46146]

What made you like Transit (Trains, Buses, Subwys)? This is the thread to share what got you into transit and railfanning.

 

It started for me when I started whatch Thomas the tank Engine when I was a little kid. After that It just sprung up from there. I basically grey up with trains. Then a couple of years ago I started railfanning and taking pictures. And look at me now! I know almost everything about trains, and most transit systems, and still learning.

 

How about you guys, and ladies? I'm curious to know.

The R40 Slant railfan window on the West End B. Good times...

 

Unfortunately such times can no longer be lived again B)

[TransitStop]

i just started liking buses dont know why lol

[GojiMet86]

It probably started with Thomas the Tank Engine. It also helped to have the and Amtrak a block away. Then I got a few German train models, and I got into drawing maps. The R - 40s also fascinated me. I always tried my best to get the window.

[NX Express]

Well, I guess I rode the subway so much I started liking it. Then, I looked at fantasy maps.

 

When I was searching for some, I stumbled upon this site. That's how I came here!

[Jashawn R.]

Here is my story. Since my parents didnt have a car when my mom was pregnant with me, she took the subway everywhere. After I was born, I was on the subway almost everyday. By the time I was 4, I knew the whole map by heart. Then I found Railfanwindow.com and nycsubway.org a couple of years ago. Then while looking for some older maps, I found this website, and now I am here today!!!

[R110B]

baisicaly since i was in a stroller with my mom on the train a lot.,

Thomas the tank engine

and plus when i was 4 to7 i lived above pitkin yard/Linden plaza and saw all the Layed up &©trains Plus in 96 the R110B on the ,

and Buses started in 1998.

Trains since birth

Buses since 1998.

[St Louis Car 09]

It started when I was in Kindergarten when we went on field trips to the aquarium via subway.From there it escalated to the mid 90s collecting bus and subway maps and receiving my first train sets.from there the rest is history.You can find out my complete history when It is released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

[Queens Surface]

I was really interested in buses since i was a kid, I remember in the Jamaica Bus Line Days, i use to ride a GMC or TMC on the Q110 all the time going to and from school.On a very rare occasion a MCI Classic would pop up on there. I use to sit in the back of the bus and hear the transmission slip. Then around 2007/08 I started taking photos with my cell phone cam and i got a real camera. This is how we end up to today.

[CenSin]

I used to ride the trains all the time at the young age of 3. I would get grandfather would take me on the . I think I made track maps too, but I don't have any copies left.

[D.J.]

Interesting shots on SEPTA schedules back in the late 90s

[B35 via Church]

- my love for maps (studying & drawing them)... At a young age, I wanted to see where the "lines" go... (figuratively & literally)

 

 

- had an aunt that was a token booth clerk... had an uncle that worked over on Jay st in one of the offices (still don't know what his position was)... my father was a bike messenger (who passed up a chance for working for the MTA due to his foolish ideas/beliefs/conspiracy theories); but he knew where every dam bus line, and subway line in the 5 boroughs went, w/o referring to a map [I'm just like my father in that regard... and then some]... I would eavesdrop on their conversations, whenever they spoke about w/e happened during the course of their days, regarding transit...

[on my father's side... my aunt, uncle, and my father were brothers & sister... real close...]

[Grand Concourse]

My grandpa used to take me on the subways a lot when I was a kid. I rememeber my furthest trip to the last stop on the 4 at Utica on an R62. And then for hs I had to use the subways and used to enjoy taking different routes home. I used to draw a lot on the subway maps and then once I got the hang of MS paint, I drew up some fantasy maps of my own.

[Kingsbridge Bus]

I remember riding the train everyday & my parents used to take me to University Ave to eat an Ice Cream while I watched the buses go by. I gave my own name to certain bus models based on how the looked to me

[LRG]

I got into trains by means of Thomas the Tank Engine...lol (sometimes, sometimes, if it comes on and there's nothing else on TV, I'll watch it).

 

Also, I lived in between Church Avenue and Winthrop Street on the and the until I was 8 years old (smack in the middle as well; three blocks from each stop). As far as I can remember, my dad took me on my first train ride on a redbird train. Redbirds and the coveted R110A dominated those two lines (I also remember riding R62As on the as well). So the Redbirds got me into the subway, BUT the R40 Slants on the (Q6) kick-started my hobby as a railfan.

 

Like B35, I studied the subway map and I often assisted others in getting around when my dad wasn't sure as to where a person needed to go. It was weird, but I knew what I was talking about. At my dad's office, he would often take me there on the weekends, and I had the subway map and bus maps from every borough taped on the wall where people sat and waited.

 

I also remember riding the Staten Island ferry back in 1998 (a year after it became free). We continued riding the ferry until 2002, which was the last time we took it. In December 2007, I rode the ferry for the first time in five years, and also rode an express bus as well on the same day, although I really didn't get into buses that much until a few months ago cuz of my friends.

[TrainFanatic]

As a toddler, I used to love watching Thomas The Tank Engine and playing with electric and wooden train sets. I also loved watching those R62 trains fly into Sutter Av. Now Im a total TrainFanatic. My current home lines are the Brighton line (Church Av) and the train (Church Av). After school I ride the train many stops till Coney Island then transfer to the just for the heck of it. In the morning I do just the opposite. I also loved taking the train as a kid with my dad to his house. In which I still do today, but of course independently. Luckily I got to take the transit by myself starting at the age of 11.

[DOB2RTO]

Always loved buses and motorcoaches (Bee-Line though), that's what got me into the DOB, since Liberty Lines can be nepotistic. A ride on a brand new R142 train on the line, got me into RTO, even though my fascination was and is still with MNRR and LIRR. NJT ALP 46 and those multi-levels now got me fascinated in those trains.........

[Jashawn R.]

Like B35, I studied the subway map and I often assisted others in getting around when my dad wasn't sure as to where a person needed to go. It was weird, but I knew what I was talking about. At my dad's office, he would often take me there on the weekends, and I had the subway map and bus maps from every borough taped on the wall where people sat and waited

 

I still do that today!!!!

[KNIGHTRIDER3:16]

It all (S)tarted with the (E)ast BDWY station and Manhattan Bridge ,I would love to play in the park under the MTTN BRDG. and hear and look at the trains <R>umbling by .I would hope one day to be A T/Op .

 

If you blv this or not ,I'm not really into buses that much with the Exectption

of the RTS and Gruman/Flex

 

I'm all (S)ubway:tup: <R>

[M3 Express]

When I was younger, I lived along the Harlem Line. So everyday I would see the M1 or the M3 passing by. I would just sit near the window and see them pass. I remember, once going into Grand Central, I saw the shoreliners, I was just amazed. So, I have a close connection with Metro North and the Harlem Line.

 

I really like the fake wood interior and the over use of NYS Seals. That and with the many other things made MNRR cool.

[SubwayGuy]

How about you guys, and ladies? I'm curious to know.

 

That's sum wishful thinking in bold and underline...

 

For this SubwayGUY though it was riding them damn trains as a kid. Always liked looking out the front and wanted to run them myself. Later on through Branford I got the chance. Like most of my interests, wanted to learn as much as I can about it, especially behind the scenes. Hence why I don't really care much about taking photos or "railfanning" or weird GO's, but why I like being able to know how to take things apart and put them back together, or how to safely run different trains, or how the signals work, or all the ins and outs of the job from employees.

 

Employee chatter is good times, still better if you know what the hell they're talking about. Take it from someone who's heard both, it beats the piss out of the railfan chatter that populates most "railfan trips"

[LRG]

Employee chatter is good times, still better if you know what the hell they're talking about. Take it from someone who's heard both, it beats the piss out of the railfan chatter that populates most "railfan trips"

 

Can't blame ya. Good to talk to those who know about the job firsthand and learn the nooks and crannies. And we're never too old to learn.