SUBWAY - Random Thoughts Topic

[I love Trains99]

How did terminate at 121 St before 1988 extension to Jamaica Center? I read that  ran singled tracked from 111 St to 121 St and they terminated only on the Manhattan bound track. Anyone living around 1985-1986 can you elaborate on this terminal set up at 121 St for me? 

Should the  go down 2 Av instead of the ? I feel that  going to 2 Av will kill the enthusiasm of riding . What do you think?

[Union Tpke]

How did terminate at 121 St before 1988 extension to Jamaica Center? I read that  ran singled tracked from 111 St to 121 St and they terminated only on the Manhattan bound track. Anyone living around 1985-1986 can you elaborate on this terminal set up at 121 St for me? 

 

Should the  go down 2 Av instead of the ? I feel that  going to 2 Av will kill the enthusiasm of riding . What do you think?

 

The is local and there is NO connection between the local tracks and the BMT 63rd Street Line. The system was not built for railfans as we would like to think.

[MysteriousBtrain]

Should the go down 2 Av instead of the ? I feel that going to 2 Av will kill the enthusiasm of riding . What do you think?

The reason the is even bring back is because of the going to 2nd. You can't really send the over to 2 Av unless the 57 St bellmouths are connected to 63rd Street and the skips 49 St in the daytime. Also, it is a lot cheaper to run 3 services than running 4.

The only other line capible of going to 2 av is the , and it is a lot better off at Astoria than 2 Av.

[CenSin]

The is local and there is NO connection between the local tracks and the BMT 63rd Street Line. The system was not built for railfans as we would like to think.

It would have been reasonable to do so though. It’s redundant redundancy (since the 6 Avenue Line also has a track connection), but it’s also low-hanging fruit. It’s not like the local trackways could be connected to anything else in the future anyway.

[checkmatechamp13]

It would have been reasonable to do so though. It’s redundant redundancy (since the 6 Avenue Line also has a track connection), but it’s also low-hanging fruit. It’s not like the local trackways could be connected to anything else in the future anyway.

 

All the local trains would have to do is cross over to the express track south of 57th Street or south of 42nd Street. No point in building another connection on the other side of 57th Street.

[Fresh Pond]

Does anyone know what the alarms in the R188 are for?

 

I was in the conductor's car of a train this afternoon. It stopped at 46 Street and stood with the doors closed for several minutes while this alarm went off three times. It almost sounded like a phone ringing but clearly came from the cab.

 

If it means anything, this particular car (7396) does not have the orange sticker the denotes a CBTC equipped car.

Train crew intercom. All of the NTTs do that.

[CenSin]

All the local trains would have to do is cross over to the express track south of 57th Street or south of 42nd Street. No point in building another connection on the other side of 57th Street.

Well, from the Broadway Line, the express tracks would be potential single points of failure in each direction.

[Union Tpke]

It would have been reasonable to do so though. It’s redundant redundancy (since the 6 Avenue Line also has a track connection), but it’s also low-hanging fruit. It’s not like the local trackways could be connected to anything else in the future anyway.

 

I agree that they could be connected, but at the moment they aren't connected.

[Calvin]

One of the train sets now has the updated strip maps. 

Edited May 16, 2016 by CH3348

[MysteriousBtrain]

Do Nereid Av trains usually run express between Gun Hill and 3 Av? Saw 2 trains use the express track at Burke av and Pelham Parkway.

[Calvin]

Do Nereid Av trains usually run express between Gun Hill and 3 Av? Saw 2 trains use the express track at Burke av and Pelham Parkway.

some of them due to congestion with the train

[CenSin]

some of them due to congestion with the train

They’ll have to merge eventually. I can imagine the track rage at Jackson Avenue when those Manhattan-bound and trains pile up to get into 3 Avenue–149 Street. Whose bright idea was it to have a two-station bottleneck there, and why was the IND the one to connect the Dyre Avenue Line to the local tracks only? I thought over-engineering was the norm for the city-owned system.

[Javier]

[Union Tpke]

 

I saw this font a few months ago at 77th Street and Lex. This is weird. Javier did you hack into the system?

[Javier]

I saw this font a few months ago at 77th Street and Lex. This is weird. Javier did you hack into the system?

Hehehehe 

[paulrivera]

Speaking of Nereid trains, they were still running around deep into the 9pm hour after that incident at Brooklyn Bridge during the rush. I understand they start coming down from the Bronx at around 3pm or so doing different runs, so if they manage to get down to Brooklyn but can't get back uptown, do the normal Nereid trains wait it out elsewhere (Utica/New Lots/BG loop/etc.) and come out in the evening or do they do something else?

 

edit: Oh. Turns out something happened on the 7th Avenue during the rush too. Hmm...

Edited May 17, 2016 by paulrivera

[Lance]

Do Nereid Av trains usually run express between Gun Hill and 3 Av? Saw 2 trains use the express track at Burke av and Pelham Parkway.

Depends on the dispatcher and the road conditions at the time. Some trains will run the scheduled route (express between 3 Avenue and E 180 Street, then local to Nereid Av), while others will either run express for the full route or drop out at Gun Hill Rd.

 

They’ll have to merge eventually. I can imagine the track rage at Jackson Avenue when those Manhattan-bound and trains pile up to get into 3 Avenue–149 Street. Whose bright idea was it to have a two-station bottleneck there, and why was the IND the one to connect the Dyre Avenue Line to the local tracks only? I thought over-engineering was the norm for the city-owned system.

Two things with that idea: 1) By the time the flying junction was built, there was no IND. While run by former IND personnel, as the Board of Transportation, it was an entirely different animal than its predecessor. Just as with the 11th Street cut to connect the Queens Blvd line to the 60th Street tubes, the Dyre Ave connection was built on the cheap as a simple means of giving direct Manhattan service to the Dyre Ave line. 2) When the connection was built, the ran from 241 Street and thus did not cause the merging delays that it does now from Dyre Av.

 

<pic removed>

It could possibly be the original programming for the signs. It pops up every so often on some signs.

[B3 Via Av U]

Yesterday my northbound train was held at Church while the was given clearance to depart and had priority at Prospect Park interlocking. 

[Trainmaster5]

They’ll have to merge eventually. I can imagine the track rage at Jackson Avenue when those Manhattan-bound and trains pile up to get into 3 Avenue–149 Street. Whose bright idea was it to have a two-station bottleneck there, and why was the IND the one to connect the Dyre Avenue Line to the local tracks only? I thought over-engineering was the norm for the city-owned system.

Lance told you why the East 180th St flyover connected to the local tracks. The was the Dyre Avenue line when the tracks were connected to the mainline. Jackson Avenue is a little more complicated because

1- the White Plains Road Thru Express used the middle track

2- the Seventh Avenue Express from Bronx Park and later Dyre Avenue used the local track at all times

3- the Second Avenue El also used the local track from Freeman St to south of Jackson before diverging to the Bergen Bypass and the Third Avenue El.  The original ironwork is still visible south of Jackson Avenue.

It's my opinion that there are more delays today at Jackson because all trains are funneled to 149th-3rd Avenue and the ATS system slows things down with train IDs and such where before, with three services passing Jackson Avenue, the towers at Freeman St and at Brook Avenue ( south of Jackson ) could expedite things at the choke point. It was always my experience that a good tower operator could always give or change a track lineup faster than the ATS system. I don't know if that's still the case. Carry on.

[Calvin]

Since there was a mentioning about Nereid Av, how many trains depart from that station during the AM Rush?

[B3 Via Av U]

Anyone here been on R68A no. 5036 before or know what route it's working now? It has an amazing howling motor, one of the first ones that I ever heard.

[Calvin]

7746-7750 returned to Jerome Yard

[Daniel The Cool]

Anyone here been on R68A no. 5036 before or know what route it's working now? It has an amazing howling motor, one of the first ones that I ever heard.

It was on the yesterday.

[LTA1992]

I've been researching and researching for the past few months as I've gained renewed will to work on my subway expansion proposals, for a legitimate reason as to why cut-and-cover construction can not be done in the modern city. People like to say traffic reasons, but when the original IRT subway was built, traffic along the right of way below 42nd Street was way worse than it is today. Population densities in the Manhattan of 1900-1904 were much higher than they are today.

 

So why? Why can't it be done? I can't find anything to explain why this cheaper and faster construction method cannot be used. And by anything, I mean anything substantial. Not just the usual throwaway answers.

 

At any rate, despite this lack of information I am ready to enter the next phase of my proposals creation. The surveying of the routes and more importantly, station locations. For the sections that I've run into on occasion, I must say that my choices were satisfactory. What surprised me the most was the intersection of Main Street and Northern Boulevard. It is not only perfect for a four track express station, but also for the diversion of the Northern Boulevard Line and the Queens-Bronx Line.

[Around the Horn]

I've been researching and researching for the past few months as I've gained renewed will to work on my subway expansion proposals, for a legitimate reason as to why cut-and-cover construction can not be done in the modern city. People like to say traffic reasons, but when the original IRT subway was built, traffic along the right of way below 42nd Street was way worse than it is today. Population densities in the Manhattan of 1900-1904 were much higher than they are today.

 

So why? Why can't it be done? I can't find anything to explain why this cheaper and faster construction method cannot be used. And by anything, I mean anything substantial. Not just the usual throwaway answers.

NIMBYs and the inability of politicians and transit officials to stand up to their nonsense.