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Which Color Do You Like Better?


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70(EE) doesn't disagree. I tried to pick the closest route color on each trunk group. It seems like the current Eighth Avenue is a shade darker ((E) vs. 70(E)) and same with Seventh Avenue ((2) vs. 70(2)) while Sixth Avenue seems to be a shade lighter. Broadway (N), to me 70(N) seems the closest match I could get while Lexington and Flushing and the Shuttles had no close match to todays color. Nassau Street, I am basically asking if you like the brown and if the shade is too dark or if the MTA could have picked a different color.

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The logical way they lump routes using the same Manhattan avenues into the same color scheme makes me wonder if at the time they were inspired by other transit systems that having fewer routes simply identify them by color, as in "Red Line", Orange Line", etc.

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There is something called the subway map, another thing called the actual city streets and places, and people's logical connections between the two - hopefully in a compact readable form.

 

When each subway line was given its own color, on subway maps in the 1960-70's, it was easy to see the path of each individual line. However the maps as a whole looked like a spaghetti mess of different colors going all over the map, since many lines used the same color - for example the E, #3 and M were all light blue. In order to show each line - and there were many subway routes (part-time, rush hours only, regular hours, off-hour shuttles, etc) - the subway map becomes a distorted view of Manhattan and the city as a whole.

 

The set of subway maps that were more graphic, and straight angled further distorted the shape of the city, and where things were in relation to each other. Believe it or not, but there are debates among map makers about effective subway and transit maps.

 

The effort by the MTA in the 1980's and 1990's was to simplify the subway map - thus a single color for the major trunk line was used for all branches. This map was suggested as a way to better show the shape of the city, where things are in relation to each other, a relative sense of distances, plus some information about the various lines, buses and routes.

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I like the older system better since it put more emphasis on the route letters/numbers over the color. The color system could be more confusing to a tourist since they might think that each color is its own route. (i.e. if one wanted to go to Uptown Manhattan they might take an (E) instead since it is blue like the (A) and (C).)

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The (F) was the only B Division line to not have a double-lettered variant back in the day.

 

The (A), (;), (C), (D), (E), (G)(H), (J), (K), (L), (M), (N), (Q), (R), (S), and (T) all did.

 

No not true. The (D) was never doubled letter nor the (B) (Except QB which i don't count)

 

But the rest yeah.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Subway_nomenclature#After_Chrystie_Street

 

As for which color system i prefer, the current, even tho i wish i lived in the 70s and 80s to see how the system was!

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If you look carefully at the present-day subway map, you'll see it looks a bit like a rainbow in the central (Manhattan) part, starting with a dark color on the left side (blue - Eighth Avenue), then going through the warm and bright colors (red, yellow and orange) back to green for the Lexington Avenue line.

 

(A)(1)(N)(B)(4)

 

I don't think that's a coincidence ;)

 

BTW SecondAvenueSagas has some great articles on the design of today's subway map.

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The BB was doubled pre-Chrystie. The DD was used when that water main burst whilst they were constructing the 6th Avenue express tracks.

 

As for the colors, I generally like the current ones, but I think it's a bit unkind to color-blind people to use red and green on the mainline IRT.

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Guest lance25

I know one thing - if the (MTA) doesn't order cars that can display the route in its actual color before the R62s & R68s are retired, it won't matter what the bullet colors are as they'll all be red.

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I know one thing - if the (MTA) doesn't order cars that can display the route in its actual color before the R62s & R68s are retired, it won't matter what the bullet colors are as they'll all be red.

What about the interior FIND displays? They'll still show it.

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i like the current color bullets better

 

IRT 7th avenue line (1)(2)(3)(9)

 

IRT lexington avenue line (4)<4>(5)<5>(6)<6>

 

IRT flushing line (7)

 

BMT brighton line (:P(Q)<Q>

 

BMT west end line (D)(M)

 

BMT culver line (F)

 

BMT sea beach line (N)(NX)

 

BMT jamaica line (J)(Z)

 

BMT myrtle avenue line (M)

 

BMT canarsie line (L)

 

IND 8th avenue line (A)(C)(E)(H)

 

IND crosstown line (G)

 

IND rockaway line (A)(S)

 

those are the bullets i like and colors more easier to identify

if i did NOT identify all current bullets and colors please CORRECT me

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