Your Favorite Subway Memories?

[Daniel The Cool]

Here's something I thought I would start since I haven't seen a thread on this.

 

What's your favorite subway memories you had whether you're railfanning or just traveling?

 

My few favorites so far I can think

 

R38 Train in 2000

4 Car R32 sets on the on weekends

R40 Slant via West End

Diamond

the Train to Coney Island

R32 Train

Riding the Redbirds on the in 1998

The first day when the went via West End in 2004

The Orange

R40 Slant Train in 2006-2007 during certain weekends when they had the to 2nd Avenue G.O with the Slants running in the northern end section

 

And of course, riding the whole northbound Train via local the way for the first time which was last year. 

 

Now share your thoughts

[4P3607]

: Late night. I was coming from SI with my dad. We had just missed the last   at Whitehall Street, and R68   kept showing up. At one point, an R32   pulls in. After about five minutes, the doors open and we find out it's in service and will go via QBL local. I took it home, at the front window the whole time, from Whitehall to Woodhaven via Broadway local. I will never forget that.

 

: The Ex-Triboro coach 71xx and 72xx buses that were out of LGA. I used to love riding them on the Q72 to and from school in 6th grade.

 

: There was also one day I was with my Mom. We were at Roosevelt, waiting for the   .At the time, there were some R42 on the   . I'll never forget this: I look into the tunnel and see an   bullet coming toward us. It's an R46   ! That was such a surprise. I forgot where I was going with my Mom though...

 

: There was also one day I got cut off from my dad when running for an R160   at 14 St. He met back with me at Roosevelt Ave

 

Yes, I copied and pasted from chat

[Turbo19]

Nice to see some lighter side discussion. Some very recent ones of 2013.

 

There was the holiday train, which surprisingly was bullshit free for the most part, more than one would expect.

 

And of course, who could forget the R32 "special" which brought out many railfans on a search, on a holiday nonetheless, and in the process showed their dedication and commitment in the community. That takes a lot, and I can't say I'd do that, so some recognition for those who went to freeze their ass off on the 25th.

[DJ MC]

R40 Slants on the orange in 2000. When I got on the train at Queensbridge, holy shit is the best thing I can say for anyone after we left the station. It was like it had a rocket booster strapped to it. That was one of my best rides on the subway in the 21st Century.

[realizm]

I can remember when we still had the R40 slants on the via the BMT West End Line before the swap. The BMT 4th Ave Line was incredibly fast back then without most of the slow timers that exists today. Heck of a ride, was one happy toddler with my dad riding up the line to Manhattan from 9th Avenue to Grand Street in Chinatown. Remember this vividly.

 

I remember also being on the first in revenue service train that went through the 63rd Street connector (officially in Dec 2001, as T/Ds were already sending select rush hour trains through the connector to Queens Blvd before then). I was on a R32 consist on the .

 

The most recent memory was being on the first set of R188's on the on day one of passenger service. That I'm sure I will never forget either since I made sure I had a camera for that one.

[pelhamfrank dyre av]

one day when i was with my dad we got on a R62  train from junius street to utica Av to catch the  then what do i see a R62  train rode it from utica to atlantic Av back in 2007 good times

[M. Friday 1986]

Good memories? They would have to be on the Redbirds.

 

One Redbird memory I have was when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I was going back home to the Bronx from Madison Square Garden with a bunch of family and friends. We were coming back from the circus (last time I actually saw the Ringling Bros., lol). A friend of mine and I decided it would be cool if we could change the rollsigns on the R26 car. And that's what we did. The R26 car in question? Car 7774. That was back in 1999. Today, that same car is preserved.

 

A second Redbird memory: Taking a girlfriend I once had back in high school to the New York Transit Museum. This was back in June 2004. We were starting out at the time. She loved the place. We looked around for a while and then spend what seemed hours on R36ML car 9542. We hung out, listened to music, joked around much of the time in there. We also had out first kiss in there.

 

And a third Redbird memory: I was starting out of high school in the summer of 2001. On the way home was riding the line on a R33ML car. a 8800-series car. Long story short, watch this one old drunk Hispanic guy try to hit on a random woman. He totally stuck out, lol. She left at Kingsbridge Road and he kept calling out towards her, Heineken in hand. Funny stuff.

[realizm]

one day when i was with my dad we got on a R62  train from junius street to utica Av to catch the  then what do i see a R62  train rode it from utica to atlantic Av back in 2007 good times

 

Yup. I can remember the R62/R62A's still being on the as well as the . Redbirds on the and . 

[pelhamfrank dyre av]

Yup. I can remember the R62/R62A's still being on the as well as the . Redbirds on the and . 

yeah,when i visit new york i'm always by the  line i would see R62's,R142/A,R143's,and sometimes an R62  train 

[peacemak3r]

Favorite memories?

 

on Brighton Local

Orange on Brighton Express

Yellow Diamond

 

on West End

Brown  on West End

 

Redbird /

 

The first R160 ride, I think my first R160 ride was on the

 

Yeah..I don't take the subway as much as I want to.

[CenSin]

Riding the on the southbound Sea Beach express track before it was put out of service for good—especially from 59 Street directly to Coney Island.

[j express]

I remember riding an R32  via Sea Beach exp on the exp track. The train went nonstop from Coney Island to 59 St.

Riding the  via Brighton to Kings Highway.

Riding the redbirds on the .

Riding the R68  via West End.

Riding the Brown  to Lower Manhattan.

Riding the  for the first time.

Riding the  before elimation.

Riding the slants on the

Riding the    in Brooklyn

Riding the  and the diamond . 

[CenSin]

I remember riding an R32  via Sea Beach exp on the exp track. The train went nonstop from Coney Island to 59 St.

Riding the  via Brighton to Kings Highway.

Speaking of via Brighton, I rode it express from Coney Island (before the service cuts). Thus, the went express from Coney Island all the way up to 34 Street–Herald Square via Brighton and Broadway.

[R10 2952]

-Redbirds

-R62As on the

-R38 on the

-R32s on the /

-That one time when the was running R32s, R38s, R40s, R40Ms, and R42s all at the same time

-R40s on the

[Eric B]

The variety of mixed train consists on the IRT.

The still fresh smell and blue interior of the still fairly new 42's and the mystique of the slant 40's, which were totally foreign in the BMT in the 70's.

The brand new R44's, including the one with the carpet.

Riding the front and seeing the labyrinth of tunnels.

[ScreechyFlange]

Beating my friend at Subway Surfers on the .

[MattTrain]

Mine was seeing R-32s and R-46 on the in October 2001.

I miss seeing R-32s on the as well as the .

I liked the R-40s on the and

[pelhamfrank dyre av]

Mine was seeing R-32s and R-46 on the in October 2001.

I miss seeing R-32s on the as well as the .

I liked the R-40s on the and

their were R46's on the   ?,and also i caught a R40 slant  train back in 2006

[2 Train Master]

Very interesting...well only being 18 and growing up by the line I miss those cats on the they kicked ass up and down Lex jolting/swaying from side to side the experience as a child as far as I remember I loved it! I wasn't a fan of the Redbirds they weren't appealing to me as a kid having a dirty look and creepy interior compared to R-62's which I called the "silver train" which was obviously had better lighting and a brighter appearance. Living up by Woodlawn station I remember reaching the top of the stairs with my parents and was delighted to see 2 "silver trains" but there were times when the Redbirds were there which was a mood killer. Also I remember my knees being on the seats looking out the windows as my mother took me to pre-school/day care from 170th-Woodlawn.

 

Another memory is early 2000's seeing the R-142A's testing on the the 2 sets always met at Burnside Av around 7-8pm weekdays. Then months later I seen something unusual R-142's in regular service on the before the 142A's. So I never seen R-142's testing on the just 142A's. And those were my favorite memories as far as I can remember. Recent memories have to be the lone R-32 and

[Missabassie]

Lessee... I remember back when the C train was suspended for switchwork at WTC, and the E train was running to Euclid Av. So on the last weekend, I decided to ride from Rockaway Avenue to Jamaica Center at the RFW. Great ride...

I remember the first R160B on the back in 2009. CI bound 9167-9163 + 9172-9168. Rode it from 179 st to Stillwell.

I remember R46s on the though that was right after the overhaul and it didn't last very long...

And lastly, though it's not a pleasant thought, I remember... August 28, 1991. The yung'uns here may not know of it but that was the day of the train disaster. I was barely 10 at the time (I wasn't on it thank the moons) but I remember it quite well.

Aaahh memories...

 

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

[peacemak3r]

Another fond memory, I forgot what caused this, but when the was suspended and the was extended past Coney Island to the Brighton's Kings Highway station.

[46Dover]

The first time seeing an R68 on the train in 1986 when it first came out in Coney Island when it ran on the Broadway line.

 

Waiting on the Times Square Broadway Station going to Coney Island in 1986, waiting for a train, instead getting an R42 train with 205 Street Bronx-Brighton Beach sign curtains.

-Redbirds

-R62As on the

-R38 on the

-R32s on the /

-That one time when the was running R32s, R38s, R40s, R40Ms, and R42s all at the same time

-R40s on the

Did you ride the train where they actually mixed the R42s with R40S cars?

their were R46's on the ?,and also i caught a R40 slant train back in 2006

R46 on due to 9/11 suspension of

[Juelz4309]

My fondest memories hands down go to the redbirds of the 4.5...Front window views and the sounds!!! startups and braking were the best!!!

[Theorem Ox]

My fondest memory is riding the vintage subway trains for the first time during the 2004 subway centennial. I've enjoyed riding the Arnines, the Train of Many Colors and the wooden Brooklyn Union gate trains.

 

An interesting (to me) segment during that time:

While I was riding in the Brooklyn Union train (which ran from Astoria Blvd. to 39th Avenue and back on the express track), the Arnine set (which was running on a truncated W train route; to Canal Street) caught up with us on the return leg. The motorman of our BU train lined up next to the first car of the Arnine set at 30th Avenue and waited until it was ready to depart. Then, the motormen of both trains raced to Astoria Blvd. (Of course it was a very lopsided race!)

 

It must've been a hell of an incredible sight for those watching at Astoria Blvd... I know the operator of the R40 slant on the Manhattan bound track was sitting there idle for a long time. I did take a few photos, though now I regret not taking a step back or two (for an even better composition!)

[MHV9218]

I miss the era when there was an RFW on nearly every train (save for the pesky R44s and R46s with their full cabs). I distinctly remember being too little to see the front window of any redbird or other SMEE equipment, and being thrilled whenever an R40 slant would pull in and I could see out the front. Those huge front windows were low enough for even the littlest of kids to see out, and it was a treat getting to see the mysterious tracks of the subway from a first hand view. Eventually I was tall enough to see out the front of the other trains, but the slants are always special to me as the first trains that let me see the subway. Of course, today, you're lucky if you can find a car with a front window at all -- only the C, J, and 7 still have that privilege. It'll be a sad day when the RFW is gone entirely.