SUBWAY - Random Thoughts Topic

[LegoBrickBreaker101]

9 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

@Union Tpke while on the topic of closed station entrances, I will never understand why Bedford Park Blvd is the only station on the Concourse line with an exit to an underpass, and then another random exit at 203rd St. I know it used to have a full length mezzanine, but why was it built this way?

Kingsbridge Road also has an entrance to an underpass as well, along with two other entrances at the street level (Kingsbridge and E. 196th)

[Lawrence St]

6 minutes ago, LegoBrickBreaker101 said:

Kingsbridge Road also has an entrance to an underpass as well, along with two other entrances at the street level (Kingsbridge and E. 196th)

Did it have a full length mezzanine?

[shiznit1987]

On 10/28/2020 at 2:21 PM, B35 via Church said:

As long as 100% of this city's workforce doesn't consist of robots, I flat out refuse to say (or suggest) that the subways should be shut down, full time.... I don't care how downward of a trajectory ridership trends are/will undergo, otherwise.

The truth is somewhere between bringing the subway back to where it was pre-COVID and shutting it all down. 

If we are witnessing a true tectonic shift away from the concept of the office and thus of "Downtowns" and the such, the impacts on NYC as a place will be massive entirely apart from the subway itself. Public transit will be needed and will most likely exist but will need to be remade into a completely poly-centric form.

One questions if NYC itself will genuinely continue to exist in the form it currently has for so long rather than begin a natural, slow shrinkage as people begin moving places with lower COL and higher QOL. I can forsee a "planned shrinkage" much like what Japan has been planning for. 

LIRR and MNRR would be the modes totally doomed by this. The subway will continue, but there would be no rush hour, just a constant 15 minute headway on all lines with no express service. Think something like what the late night map looked like but with better headways. 

 

 

[shiznit1987]

On 10/28/2020 at 2:35 PM, Deucey said:

I have a feeling that if WFH becomes the norm for more than 50% of the population, you'll either see this or the subway becoming like the MNRR - distance fares and reduced headways.

Don't you work in tech, what has the bellweathers been from your perspective? 

[Deucey]

2 hours ago, shiznit1987 said:

Don't you work in tech, what has the bellweathers been from your perspective? 

I work in tech and real estate. Real Estate by default is remote (and the exodus due to Covid is messing up too many paychecks here).

In tech, practically every job can be done remotely - since 99% of tech in NYC start-up life is a website that sells something to someone. It's only the founders who a) don't trust employees and/or b) are worried about "culture" who are itching for/forcing staff to go back to the office.

They're not winning that fight for now. But I'm fairly certain that remote work is going to be a semi-permanent thing in e-commerce, programming, and services after Covid ends and 2021-22 cold season and flu season begins. 

[B35 via Church]

4 hours ago, shiznit1987 said:

The truth is somewhere between bringing the subway back to where it was pre-COVID and shutting it all down. 

If we are witnessing a true tectonic shift away from the concept of the office and thus of "Downtowns" and the such, the impacts on NYC as a place will be massive entirely apart from the subway itself. Public transit will be needed and will most likely exist but will need to be remade into a completely poly-centric form.

One questions if NYC itself will genuinely continue to exist in the form it currently has for so long rather than begin a natural, slow shrinkage as people begin moving places with lower COL and higher QOL. I can forsee a "planned shrinkage" much like what Japan has been planning for. 

LIRR and MNRR would be the modes totally doomed by this. The subway will continue, but there would be no rush hour, just a constant 15 minute headway on all lines with no express service. Think something like what the late night map looked like but with better headways.

Yeah, service cuts are inevitable.... The question is, to what extent should they happen, short of pulling the plug on everything....

[TheNewYorkElevated]

14 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

@Union Tpke while on the topic of closed station entrances, I will never understand why Bedford Park Blvd is the only station on the Concourse line with an exit to an underpass, and then another random exit at 203rd St. I know it used to have a full length mezzanine, but why was it built this way?

Bedford Park Boulevard was one of many of those IND stops that was designed to handle a huge number of passengers in anticipation for population increase in the city (but that never happened, it started to decrease during the 1970s). 

14 hours ago, Lawrence St said:

Did it have a full length mezzanine?

Yes. But like any other IND stop with a big mezzanine, half of it is closed off. 

14 hours ago, LegoBrickBreaker101 said:

Kingsbridge Road also has an entrance to an underpass as well, along with two other entrances at the street level (Kingsbridge and E. 196th)

A few stops along the line also have entrances to the underpass as well at numerous other east-west streets that intersect Grand Concourse, with Fordham Road as an exception. 167th and 170th also have underpass entrances, but they've been long closed off. The underpasses were built for the long gone trolley lines when the IND was expanding into the Bronx during the early half of the Great Depression. 

[Lawrence St]

Does anyone else hear an R160 slowing down at the end of Selena Gomez's song Lose you to love me?

[Maxwell179]

16 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

Does anyone else hear an R160 slowing down at the end of Selena Gomez's song Lose you to love me?

 I think it’s just the music but it sounds like it tho

Edited October 31, 2020 by Maxwell179

[Union Tpke]

23 hours ago, TheNewYorkElevated said:

Bedford Park Boulevard was one of many of those IND stops that was designed to handle a huge number of passengers in anticipation for population increase in the city (but that never happened, it started to decrease during the 1970s). 

Yes. But like any other IND stop with a big mezzanine, half of it is closed off. 

A few stops along the line also have entrances to the underpass as well at numerous other east-west streets that intersect Grand Concourse, with Fordham Road as an exception. 167th and 170th also have underpass entrances, but they've been long closed off. The underpasses were built for the long gone trolley lines when the IND was expanding into the Bronx during the early half of the Great Depression. 

174th-175th also has a closed underpass entrance.

[Maxwell179]

 

[Trainmaster5]

While we’re on the subject of stations I wonder if anyone remembers the signage at Winthrop St on the IRT ? The exit on the s/b platform is actually leading to Parkside Avenue at Nostrand. Between the staircase and the end of the platform were tiles saying “ to Robinson St “ . My friends and I remember the tiles and when we asked about it around our neighborhood the older folks, a generation or so older than us, said that Robinson Street was the name of the street in their childhood. We tried to find out when the name change took place but never found out why. The public school, PS 92, two blocks to the west always had a Parkside address as far as we can tell. The old timers have passed on years ago so we have resorted to some guessing. The Brighton line station is called Parkside so we’re thinking that the name change was done at the intersection of Parkside and Flatbush Avenues. One friend who is interested in old movie theaters points to a website called “ cinema treasures” which shows a movie theater on Nostrand at Robinson St called the Linden which was a bingo hall when we were kids. I’ve been looking at the site for long gone theaters in Brooklyn and the rest of the city since he pointed it out to us and it seems to be comprehensive like subway dot org or our own NYCTF. My fellow posters of any age would probably be surprised by the descriptions and old pictures of the buildings and the trolley, bus, and El pictures that the movie theater fans have amassed. Just a heads up for anyone that might be interested. Carry on.

[trainfan22]

Suphtin Blvd and Parsons Archer on the reopened today, however only one pocket track is open at Parsons and it feels like an slow speed order is in place between Van Wyck and Stuphtin in both directions.

 

IDK why they didn't just keep the cut back to Van Wyck until the track reconstruction was 100% complete?

 

Also some trains are rerouted to 179th via the express tracks on Hillside in both directions, if anybody is interested in riding that stretch of track...

[Vulturious]

4 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

Suphtin Blvd and Parsons Archer on the reopened today, however only one pocket track is open at Parsons and it feels like an slow speed order is in place between Van Wyck and Stuphtin in both directions.

 

IDK why they didn't just keep the cut back to Van Wyck until the track reconstruction was 100% complete?

 

Also some trains are rerouted to 179th via the express tracks on Hillside in both directions, if anybody is interested in riding that stretch of track...

If anything, they could've kept it as like some shuttle going back and forth like what they did with the , only operating on 1 track

[QM1to6Ave]

5 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

Suphtin Blvd and Parsons Archer on the reopened today, however only one pocket track is open at Parsons and it feels like an slow speed order is in place between Van Wyck and Stuphtin in both directions.

 

IDK why they didn't just keep the cut back to Van Wyck until the track reconstruction was 100% complete?

 

Also some trains are rerouted to 179th via the express tracks on Hillside in both directions, if anybody is interested in riding that stretch of track...

The email update I got from the MTA today lists some pretty bad headways during rush hours for the new few weeks/months. Ugg.  

[Lance]

16 hours ago, Vulturious said:

If anything, they could've kept it as like some shuttle going back and forth like what they did with the , only operating on 1 track

So, there'd be a shuttle on top of the through service to Van Wyck and the overflow to 179 Street?

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

1 minute ago, Lance said:

So, there'd be a shuttle on top of the through service to Van Wyck and the overflow to 179 Street?

I interpreted it as a Union Tpke - Jamaica Center shuttle (and then the main service operating to/from 179th Street), although I could be wrong.

[NewFlyer 230]

1 hour ago, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

I interpreted it as a Union Tpke - Jamaica Center shuttle (and then the main service operating to/from 179th Street), although I could be wrong.

That would make sense. I can see those Jamaica Center bound  train's being very packed and probably running on 20 minute headways at best.

[Trainmaster5]

Switching gears for a moment. After taking a quick look at the election results nationally is there anyone who sees a glimmer of hope for the MTA or mass transit nationally on the horizon? I forsee hard times ahead. My opinion.  Carry on. 

Edited November 4, 2020 by Trainmaster5

[Deucey]

1 hour ago, Trainmaster5 said:

Switching gears for a moment. After taking a quick look at the election results nationally is there anyone who sees a glimmer of hope for the MTA or mass transit nationally on the horizon? I forsee hard times ahead. My opinion.  Carry on. 

We're getting higher fares, lower service levels and UK/EU-style austerity.

All because red staters are more mad about being told to wear a mask by their governors and scientists than they are about a pathogen that kills or causes long-term damage being let run rampant by their president.

[Lex]

2 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

Switching gears for a moment. After taking a quick look at the election results nationally is there anyone who sees a glimmer of hope for the MTA or mass transit nationally on the horizon? I forsee hard times ahead. My opinion.  Carry on. 

Exactly how bad it'll be depends on how the totals look once they finish counting the mail-in ballots.

Either way, I can agree that we're all in deep shit.

[Lawrence St]

So all three of the recent derailments have occurred with an R46. Earlier's incident resulted in an R46 derailing on the .

[danielhg121]

22 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

So all three of the recent derailments have occurred with an R46. Earlier's incident resulted in an R46 derailing on the .

This isn't indicative of a fleetwide problem by any means though. 

[Vulturious]

40 minutes ago, Lawrence St said:

So all three of the recent derailments have occurred with an R46. Earlier's incident resulted in an R46 derailing on the .

Wasn't one of the derailments a work train today as well as an R68A? Because from what I heard DJ Hammers said online he said one happened to be a Work Train. I'm not sure about the other, also 3 today? I thought it was 2.

[Around the Horn]

26 minutes ago, Vulturious said:

Wasn't one of the derailments a work train today as well as an R68A? Because from what I heard DJ Hammers said online he said one happened to be a Work Train. I'm not sure about the other, also 3 today? I thought it was 2.

I heard a work train stalled, not that it derailed also