SUBWAY - Random Thoughts Topic

[CenSin]

13 hours ago, Maxwell179 said:

Just seen 1228 on the  and the side panel said “ LNGTON AV EX “. Am I bugging or wasn’t it always spelled out fully as “ LEXINGTON AVE EXP “ ?

If real, the MTA’s buggin. They deleted all the wrong letters. Maybe LXNGTN instead?

[NoHacksJustKhaks]

Just saw a R179 on the Rockaway Park . Never seen that shuttle (or a R179 for that matter) with S on it, though I have heard it run in the past

[darkstar8983]

11 hours ago, CenSin said:

If real, the MTA’s buggin. They deleted all the wrong letters. Maybe LXNGTN instead?

Well remember that a few years ago, they had  trains displaying WAKFLD-241, the  displaying BKLYN BR, and the  to this day displays MAIN ST or 34-HUDSON or Q BORO PLZ, which makes no sense considering there is space for the full stop text

[Trainmaster5]

I’ve been kicking around some questions with my fellow retirees and we figured that we’d ask you fellow posters for your opinions.

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 

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. 

We are entertained by many of the posts, especially the route changes, where the “ Little Lionel’s” , as an old poster labeled them propose some of these things. Of course there is a person who seems to be fixated on Ninth Avenue, Bay Ridge and the Nassau loop. One person in our circle now lives in Alabama but he is still entertained by the people on the forums. For that reason we all thank you posters.

Be careful out there. Carry on.

[Maxwell179]

15 hours ago, CenSin said:

If real, the MTA’s buggin. They deleted all the wrong letters. Maybe LXNGTN instead?

I swear, I was at GC and watched the 4 train come in and leave, it said LNGTON , I thought the same thing when I saw it , I did a double take and all but no ‘X’, I would figure if they’d abbreviate it , it would at least be shortened to just LEX , maybe it was a glitch, idk

Edited September 12, 2023 by Maxwell179

[ArchytectAnthony]

This morning when taking the northbound, the auto announcements said "This is a manhattan bound train" instead of the usual "(F) local train" announcement. This only happened between Bergen st to York st though. Later when going home a different northbound train said the normal announcements. I can't remember the car numbers but it was like 96xx.  Just thought that was interesting.

[darkstar8983]

13 minutes ago, ArchytectAnthony said:

This morning when taking the northbound, the auto announcements said "This is a manhattan bound train" instead of the usual "(F) local train" announcement. This only happened between Bergen st to York st though. Later when going home a different northbound train said the normal announcements. I can't remember the car numbers but it was like 96xx.  Just thought that was interesting.

Maybe they’re doing what they did in the A division - only designating Express/local on sections of track where an express service can be provided, which shortens the announcements and saves memory on the hardware. However a true saving on memory would be to delete programs / route options that are shortened versions of the usual route:

Example:  shuttle from Queensboro Plaza to Ditmars Blvd, or the  to Bay Ridge-95 St starting from Whitehall St

Edited September 13, 2023 by darkstar8983

[Kamen Rider]

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

[Calvin]

The Redbirds and Bluebird train that was in the MTA NY Transit Musuem's mind to run along the Flushing Line this November is not happening. The trip will instead run between Old South Ferry Station up to the 239 St Yard via Lexington Av both going through the Bowling Green circle. 

 

Also, the AA R46 pairs (6216-6258) aren't that easy to find now on the  lines. Majority are the usual 4-car sets but I've seen more often, the R211s on the  line. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Calvin

[Lawrence St]

Speaking of R46’s, what’s the physical difference between the R44’s and R46’s, excluding mechanical components?

[CenSin]

2 hours ago, darkstar8983 said:

Maybe they’re doing what they did in the A division - only designating Express/local on sections of track where an express service can be provided, which shortens the announcements and saves memory on the hardware. However a true saving on memory would be to delete programs / route options that are shortened versions of the usual route:

Example:  shuttle from Queensboro Plaza to Ditmars Blvd, or the  to Bay Ridge-95 St starting from Whitehall St

Took them long enough. Like lol… do I need to know my Coney Island-bound train was local at Neptune Avenue?

[Calvin]

11 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Speaking of R46’s, what’s the physical difference between the R44’s and R46’s, excluding mechanical components?

The R44 has a mini cab door that the crew goes through and that there's a rectangle glass part to where you're standing or entering and exiting the train. 

https://orenstransitpage.com/transit-photography/united-states/new-york-city/new-york-city-subway-retired-rolling-stock/r44-cars/

 

The R46, however has a larger sliding door in entrance. No glass portion unlike the R44 on the interior. 

https://www.myclallamcounty.com/2020/05/06/historic-new-york-city-subway-shutdown-for-cleaning-deemed-successful/

[Vulturious]

43 minutes ago, Calvin said:

1 hour ago, Lawrence St said:

Speaking of R46’s, what’s the physical difference between the R44’s and R46’s, excluding mechanical components?

The R44 has a mini cab door that the crew goes through and that there's a rectangle glass part to where you're standing or entering and exiting the train. 

https://orenstransitpage.com/transit-photography/united-states/new-york-city/new-york-city-subway-retired-rolling-stock/r44-cars/

 

The R46, however has a larger sliding door in entrance. No glass portion unlike the R44 on the interior. 

https://www.myclallamcounty.com/2020/05/06/historic-new-york-city-subway-shutdown-for-cleaning-deemed-successful/

There's also different shade of color on the sides in between in bumps on the R44, forgot why that's the case.

The SIR's R44 oddly enough doesn't have this.

[RandomRider0101]

23 minutes ago, Vulturious said:

There's also different shade of color on the sides in between in bumps on the R44, forgot why that's the case.

The SIR's R44 oddly enough doesn't have this.

Those were the carbon steel stripes on the NYCT R44s.

Edited September 13, 2023 by RandomRider0101
More info

[N6 Limited]

They’ve installed 6 new fare gates on the south side of Sutphin Blvd . They are narrower than the original test gate (which still remains), but still wide enough for someone with small luggage or stroller.
 

From my brief observation, it appeared to be fairly easy to use for those using OMNY to get through. Though, I saw someone struggling with an AirTrain MetroCard.
 

[Trainmaster5]

4 hours ago, Kamen Rider said:

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. 

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

I certainly understand the reasoning behind the  at Jamaica yard but isn’t that yard already overcrowded ? Are they still laying up trains between stations? Me and my crew are waiting for someone to suggest building a storage facility under Prospect or Central Park. Justifying it by “ fleet expansion “. I’m not running the system but I always thought that the  and the  should swap assignments at Astoria making an  pairing. Just an idea. Thanks for answering our questions. Be safe. Carry on.

[habbyy]

On 8/29/2023 at 12:51 AM, Chris89292 said:

Yeah I’ve noticed something like that too, the whole 63rd street project is causing problems on the QBL, could be over exaggerating but the passengers see it that way

I just realized, you perfectly called this out. Its kind of interesting that you had the foresight to see this as being an issue, mean while the mta didn't? Very strange that they say now they are pushing these changes to early 2024 cause they didn't realize 63rd street would cause delays because of work equipment  trains etc.

 

A side note, being that they are supposedly pushing these extra train changes to early 2024, how come the schedule hasn't changed? Every morning i see a different service change when i get ready to go on the r, whether its " we are running as much as we can" or " delays on southbound r trains while we move work/equipment trains  from qbl" something like that not verbatim, and i love how they say "delays to southbound" meanwhile on the northbound from 86 we experience these delays just as much, but they never note that it will affect NB.

 

 

 

[Lawrence St]

5 hours ago, habbyy said:

I just realized, you perfectly called this out. Its kind of interesting that you had the foresight to see this as being an issue, mean while the mta didn't? Very strange that they say now they are pushing these changes to early 2024 cause they didn't realize 63rd street would cause delays because of work equipment  trains etc.

 

A side note, being that they are supposedly pushing these extra train changes to early 2024, how come the schedule hasn't changed? Every morning i see a different service change when i get ready to go on the r, whether its " we are running as much as we can" or " delays on southbound r trains while we move work/equipment trains  from qbl" something like that not verbatim, and i love how they say "delays to southbound" meanwhile on the northbound from 86 we experience these delays just as much, but they never note that it will affect NB.

 

 

 

With all the complaints they’re getting, I wouldn’t be surprised if the  is kicked to QBL local to help the  at all times.

[JustTheSIR]

7 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

I certainly understand the reasoning behind the  at Jamaica yard but isn’t that yard already overcrowded ? Are they still laying up trains between stations? Me and my crew are waiting for someone to suggest building a storage facility under Prospect or Central Park. Justifying it by “ fleet expansion “. I’m not running the system but I always thought that the  and the  should swap assignments at Astoria making an  pairing. Just an idea. Thanks for answering our questions. Be safe. Carry on.

Yeah, on the express tracks between Kew Gardens and Jamaica 169 iirc. 179 layup must be chock full too on the weekends

Edited September 13, 2023 by JustTheSIR

[Calvin]

The  is back in service after the incident Tuesday PM rush involving trains out of service due to vandalism. Hope things are better and won’t be repeated. 

[MJHmarc]

27 minutes ago, Calvin said:

The  is back in service after the incident Tuesday PM rush involving trains out of service due to vandalism. Hope things are better and won’t be repeated. 

With like Zero spares now

[habbyy]

https://imgur.com/a/DcUCOmX

can anyone explain what this is about

[Vulturious]

1 hour ago, habbyy said:

https://imgur.com/a/DcUCOmX

can anyone explain what this is about

Yikes, sounds like an R46 having issues. Luckily, the operator was able to get the train back up and running before it was taken out of service. 

[R179 8258]

How do you guys calculate headway for trains service? And an example could be use like how many trains per hour , spares , etc lol im kinda new here compared to all of you guys

[R32 3838]

On 9/12/2023 at 10:36 PM, Calvin said:

The R44 has a mini cab door that the crew goes through and that there's a rectangle glass part to where you're standing or entering and exiting the train. 

https://orenstransitpage.com/transit-photography/united-states/new-york-city/new-york-city-subway-retired-rolling-stock/r44-cars/

 

The R46, however has a larger sliding door in entrance. No glass portion unlike the R44 on the interior. 

https://www.myclallamcounty.com/2020/05/06/historic-new-york-city-subway-shutdown-for-cleaning-deemed-successful/

R46's had that prior to GOH but during the GOH it was removed

 

On 9/13/2023 at 7:29 AM, Lawrence St said:

With all the complaints they’re getting, I wouldn’t be surprised if the  is kicked to QBL local to help the  at all times.

It would kinda suck during rush hour since this would cause to back up service since the would have to switch to the local track or have to wait for the to leave before proceeding thus backing up trains. CBTC doesn't make it any better, in fact it's worse.

Edited September 16, 2023 by R32 3838