Coney Island Av Posted December 31, 2017 Share #1 Posted December 31, 2017 Many people on this site really like subways. This "hobby" eventually led them to discover the forums- a place that they would think of as home ever since they joined. But my question is: How did you discover the forums? I'll share my experience. I have liked the subways since I was little. They have come to be my number #1 hobby in life. I have fond memories of riding the in Astoria, and also the before the Doomsday 2010 cuts in 2009 just after karate class. After the 2010 cuts, I rode the subway on occassion, but not as often as before. However, in 2013, I took my very first NOSTALGIA TRIP on the from Grand Central to Pelham Bay via City Hall Loop. It was VERY FUN and I have went on many nostalgia trips since. I began to look at the retired nyc subway car classes, and furthered my knowledge upon this "hobby." That same year, in October 2013, so many vintage cars were scrapped and taken off property. I was shocked to see on October 22, 2013 that the last R27 car, #8145, was scrapped. I visited multiple online sources, but one of these sources in particular was "home sweet home" aka the forums. I would observe many threads on this site on occassion, but not frequently. There were so many awesome members there, such as @Around the Horn, @Union Tpke, @MysteriousBtrain, @RR503, @Lance, @Fan Railer and @Dj Hammersin order to name a few. I would begin to visit the site more commonly over time as a result. After a while of observing many threads from 2014 to 2017, and digging through the search engine, one random August 2017 day I decided to step it up, join the forums and finally begin posting. I could finally express my thoughts on the subway to a larger audience! I had so much fun posting since that day and continue to do so today! This place has really been.... home sweet home. - to 96 St Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted December 31, 2017 Share #2 Posted December 31, 2017 I was looking for information on express bus service and found a thread here where members were bashing express buses. With so much misinformation floating around, I felt it necessary to join and add a different perspective. I guess I knew I would ruffle feathers being the odd man out but it's a good thing. It provides some balance and gives some action to areas that would likely be much less lively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R68OnBroadway Posted December 31, 2017 Share #3 Posted December 31, 2017 I first came across this site around 2014-2015 when looking for some info on which 60ft B division SMEEs were still on property/preserved. I eventually came back in July 2017 and after viewing a few forums, decided to create and account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted January 14, 2018 Share #4 Posted January 14, 2018 Old head here... Harry used to be a member of this one board called Straphangers/Rider Diaries (now defunct) along with me & a couple others on here..... Straphangers as a transit advocacy group or whatever still exists, headed by Gene Russianoff, if you've seen that name floating around in the newspaper or other online articles..... Anyway, I believe Harry was a member of RD before I was (after a year or so of lurking, I signed up there around 2004/05)..... But although he didn't post much, I always found him to be a chill dude.... Long story short (well, somewhat), things came to a head on Straps back in the mid-to-late 00's (trolls/trolling, spammers, the cliquish nature of members there bullying others & the favoritism the mods played with certain members in getting away with shit [of the mods that still frequented the place !!], things like that) & people simply stopped frequenting the forum cold turkey, or frequented the place at a much lesser rate.... There were other forums (of course, Subchat being one of them), but that place, places like bustalk, railroad.net, and other transit forums that were around at the time, simply never appealed to me.... .....Then out of the BLUE, Harry came out with NYCTF.... I don't exactly remember who initially told me about the forum (it wasn't Harry himself), but after getting temp. banned for cursing all of a sudden (some troll that was saying some stupid shit; about the SF Giants being a more successful franchise than the NY Yankees, something to that effect), that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me wanting to be a consistent "contributing member" on Straphangers/Rider Diaries anymore.... I was going to seriously start up a blog, detailing all the fantrips I would go on, as well as breaking down/talking about the intricacies of bus routes (much like I still do here), but out of sheer laziness, I kept going back & forth between randomly posting at Straps & here @ NYCTF (as far as transit forums go).... As you can see on the banner, this forum is 10 years old; I signed up in 2007 when it was created, but didn't really start actively posting/being a consistent contributing member up until like late 2008/early 2009.... During that hiatus, I spent more time on non-transit forums (boxden, kirupa, canibus-central, btnhboard, couple random fly-by-night/here today, gone tomorrow, rap freestyle {"ki-style"} battle boards, couple booty boards like web underground & BGOL) than I did lurking/posting at straps..... Also engaged in (image) "sig battles" on various forums back when my paint shop pro (never cared for photoshop) game was on point..... Aww man, this is all taking it back...... So yeah, ever since then, this place, in terms of online transit communities go, has taken up years of my existence on this planet.... Lol. Thanks a lot, Harry ........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B35 via Church Posted January 14, 2018 Share #5 Posted January 14, 2018 On 12/31/2017 at 12:08 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said: I was looking for information on express bus service and found a thread here where members were bashing express buses. With so much misinformation floating around, I felt it necessary to join and add a different perspective. I guess I knew I would ruffle feathers being the odd man out but it's a good thing. It provides some balance and gives some action to areas that would likely be much less lively. I remember when you first came on the scene.... Nobody couldn't say SHIT about an express bus without you putting your two cents into it IDK if you ever posted on subchat, but regardless, you just might have just single-handedly killed off the vociferousness of the express bus haters around these parts (which is something I was getting sick of myself).... Got real old, real fast.... The whole "luxury" crap.... You used to post on SI Live, didn't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted January 14, 2018 Share #6 Posted January 14, 2018 48 minutes ago, B35 via Church said: I remember when you first came on the scene.... Nobody couldn't say SHIT about an express bus without you putting your two cents into it IDK if you ever posted on subchat, but regardless, you just might have just single-handedly killed off the vociferousness of the express bus haters around these parts (which is something I was getting sick of myself).... Got real old, real fast.... The whole "luxury" crap.... You used to post on SI Live, didn't you? Yeah, there was a lot of misinformation going around. Despite how bus service has worsened, I'd still say they're pretty useful. I never got into subchat, mainly because I find the layout horrendous and not aesthetically pleasing at all. I don't know how anyone uses that site. Just being frank about it. This site was always easy on the eyes and laid out in the way that made sense. Smart move by Harry given who uses the site. SiLive.... Years ago an article was posted that had me in it, which I did NOT expect, and I contacted them and asked them to take me out of it. They had interviewed me briefly at the MTA meeting on Staten Island about the service cuts. Boy I've never had a crowd like that clapping and so enthused about what I had to say. The board members were clearly pissed, but everything I said was true. I read an article from there every now and then but I don't post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGA Link N Train Posted January 30, 2018 Share #7 Posted January 30, 2018 I remember first coming across this sight around 2012. I found a few fantasy maps and whatnot. However I didn't download any. I didn't join in 2012 cause I was too young to join at the time. By May-June 2017 I found some historical maps and when I checked the site, it was Transit Forums. Then in early July of 2017, @justhafacts (whom I know in person) recommend this site to me and then on July 20, 2017 I joined the forums. It wasn't until August that I started posting frequently here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union Tpke Posted February 1, 2018 Share #8 Posted February 1, 2018 On 1/14/2018 at 3:12 PM, Via Garibaldi 8 said: Yeah, there was a lot of misinformation going around. Despite how bus service has worsened, I'd still say they're pretty useful. I never got into subchat, mainly because I find the layout horrendous and not aesthetically pleasing at all. I don't know how anyone uses that site. Just being frank about it. This site was always easy on the eyes and laid out in the way that made sense. Smart move by Harry given who uses the site. SiLive.... Years ago an article was posted that had me in it, which I did NOT expect, and I contacted them and asked them to take me out of it. They had interviewed me briefly at the MTA meeting on Staten Island about the service cuts. Boy I've never had a crowd like that clapping and so enthused about what I had to say. The board members were clearly pissed, but everything I said was true. I read an article from there every now and then but I don't post. Can I see the article? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted February 1, 2018 Share #9 Posted February 1, 2018 11 hours ago, Union Tpke said: Can I see the article? Do you know how long ago that was? Like 2010. I don't even know what the name of the article was. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missabassie Posted February 2, 2018 Share #10 Posted February 2, 2018 I found this place the same way I find lotsa stuff.... by accident I was poking about looking for spirit only knows what in 2011, was a lurker for a while, then joined. This was the first forums I joined, hence my questionable behaviour early on, it's definitely been a learning experience for me..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Sith Posted February 3, 2018 Share #11 Posted February 3, 2018 Wow, where do I begin lol..... My first forum was Riders Diaries, and that place didn't feel all that welcoming to me(I think I even got lambasted by B35 at one point during my noob days as Majinvegeta or something LOL). Then came TransiTALK(the old TTMG forums) and the Motorman's Forums somewhere in-between, and then came NYCTF. I honestly can't believe that it'll be 10 years in 22 days since I became a member of this place. What kinda lured me to the forums(and YouTube) was the amount of people that shared the same interests that I did with public transportation. It was something that I thought would never exist. The fact that I've met a lot of cool people from the forums also adds on to the aspect of why I think that this place is the place to be. It's amazing to see how much this place has evolved since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kosciusko Posted March 19, 2018 Share #12 Posted March 19, 2018 Always like the subway, stumbled upon this place looking for some plans for the SAS phase II back in September. I was always more into the planning/political side of transit but this site taught me that the technical/operating part of the subway was also cool. Lurked until about January and then started posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK 6 Ave Local Posted April 1, 2018 Share #13 Posted April 1, 2018 I was just looking at things about subways, I was actually planning on making a forum myself and then I found this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRT Bronx Express Posted April 26, 2018 Share #14 Posted April 26, 2018 I actually don't remember the details. I joined before 2008 ended and never logged back in until 2010. I was very active for those 2-3 years or so and I stopped being active by 2014. I dunno, maybe I may come back here? I guess it all depends on my mood now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyD Posted August 26, 2018 Share #15 Posted August 26, 2018 I stumbled across this forum back in January and joined in February. I eagerly wish to be a part of the MTA and I happened to find these forums looking for useful information to get employed by them, specifically the metro north. Shout out to the mods and many other good people on this site for the useful information I have learned on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHacksJustKhaks Posted September 29, 2018 Share #16 Posted September 29, 2018 On 12/30/2017 at 9:22 PM, Coney Island Av said: How did you discover the forums? I seem to be a rarity on here in that I wasn't into trains and buses until around a year and a half a go. I used to actually like cars and automobiles a lot more in my childhood, since I live in a transit desert and cars became the dominant form of transport among my parents (and gossip among friends and family). I used to see having to ride the subway to Manhattan as a nuisance, and I even swore to myself i'd never ride the city buses again after doing so for the first time. I wanted a car, preferably a Lexus LS or BMW M3 (no joke, lol) as soon as I turned 16. That all changed when I decided to document my trip to Times Square with my new phone, part of that included taking photos of the subway system. I really enjoyed taking photos of it (more than cars at the time) and it made me more interested about transit in this city in general. That's when I started to frequently lurk around here in 2016 and 2017 to find out more and it really helped fuel my newfound interest. Made my first post in 2017 asking a question about the Q53/Q52 SBS launch dates. Though I never looked at the more political and technical side of the subway and buses until I made many posts after my first a month later. Ever since then, I really don't regret joining and posting here whatsoever to this day! While im still a automobile (and lately plane) fanatic in many ways, this forum helped teach me sides that deserve attention as well, and I cant really say much more than that . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted September 30, 2018 Share #17 Posted September 30, 2018 I think my first forum was Straphangers Campaign's Rider Dairies that venture me to join New York City Transit Forum, Subwaychat, then Railroad.net forum because I began to take interest in public transportation. Everyone here were kind and warm welcoming and I had great time in those forums including Forest Glen who took me to see movie at Jamaica Multiplex for remake of Taking Pelham 1-2-3. After I ventured with vegan friends, we not friend on facebook friend anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Young+ Posted October 1, 2018 Share #18 Posted October 1, 2018 So this is my story: When I was less than 10 years old, during the mid to late 1990's, I went on my very first Fan Trip. Those were the days when the New York Transit Museum physically issued tickets for those things, compared to now they just check your name off a list and ask for identification, especially if it's a shop/yard tour. I don't recall the specific date, however I do recall that we met at 59th Street/Columbus Circle, went to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street, wrong-railed into the museum, and then we went to Rockaway Park in the D-Types, aka "Triplexes". While waiting for the train after lunch, I was talking to a subway "buff" on the platform and he told me about nycsubway.org. From there I found subchat, and then from there I found this site. Once I found this site, I found the Employment Section, and for those of you who have been following me, the rest is self-explanatory... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RR503 Posted October 5, 2018 Share #19 Posted October 5, 2018 I was working on some timer-related project and wanted help finding locations. Googled, found this site, and here I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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