At least the vendors are trying to provide a service – I don’t see why we should be targeting them.
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I don’t mind vendors. It’s nice to grab a snack if you’re in a hurry from them if they’re around. They really don’t bother you either. The “showtime”/dancing types and vagrants are a nuisance and need to go, however.
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I photographed two old subway plans for the 1964 World’s Fair.
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Collection by Miss Mackensen
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Those are cool vintage subway maps. The NY Transit Museum has two cars preserved in that blue World’s Fair livery as well.
Even back then you can see the massive transit desert in Queens.
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Fifteen cents and even back then they were stressing the trains were safe because they were express.
More information on the previous train line. I’m guessing Moses killed it becoming permanent.
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“The lost subway” How does one loose a subway? I was 13 when the Worlds Fair opened. Went many times via the LIRR. Great memories.
I mean it’s kind of wrong to label the 1939 World’s Fair route as “lost” when it was built as a temporary line that was only to run for the duration of the fair with the station being built on wood piling foundations and of temporary wooden and steel construction. The line itself was deemed unsuitable to be made permanent and certain components were built just to last for the duration of the fair such as a wooden trestle so retrofitting would have been expensive which contributed to its demolition.
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I think the point that the youtube poster was making is the right of way was lost.
Somewhat off topic, Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures | The New York Public Library
It’s free and they have a large bird’s eye illustration of the 1939 fair. It goes into great detail. Worth going to if you’re in the area.
The critical Rockaways resiliency project will be done by May and is currently on-time and on-budget.
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Overhead electrification could be possible for potential electrification of some LIRR lines. NJT Through running can be very much possible.
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That would also mean a train could start in Port Jefferson or Oyster Bay and travel to Grand Central Madison, which does not permit diesel trains. Assuming a LIRR train with the pantograph folded on its roof can fit into the 63rd Street tunnel.
The through-running would be amazing. Imagine a train begins at Port Jefferson with its pantograph upright, then the pantograph lowers at Huntington where the train switches to third rail, only to have the pantograph go up again at Pennsylvania Station for the ride to Trenton.
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Modified M8’s could easily be used with this being potentially the most cost-effective option, as no new bespoke trains need to be ordered. They just need LIRR-compatible top-running third rail shoes for the 3rd rail electrified trackage. As long as the tunnels can fit the 14-foot height of the M8’s then they should be good to go. (M9, the latest car series, is 12 feet tall).
Starting in Fall 2025, new faregates that are hopefully harder to evade fares with are going to be tested and installed in select stations.
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A set of R188’s (used on the 7 train) were fitted with rubber tube attachments to dissuade subway surfing.
The MTA should put vertical ones, much like what commuter railroads use as well as someone determined enough may still be able to climb around them. This is a good start though.
BART is another rapid transit agency that uses vertical rubber in addition to the top one. This might also make it safer to walk between cars if necessary as well.
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MTA always late to the party but I applaud this move. The trains are not play things for contestants vying for a Darwin Award.
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This solution however does not address the issue of subway surfers riding on the back of the trains. The R211’s make this more difficult with a door that is flush with the rest of the car ends but the R142, R188, R179, R160, R143, R62 and R68 series cars (basically everything that is not a 211 and is in active service) are all susceptible. The R46’s have a flush end as well but those cars are starting to get replaced by 211’s and won’t be around for much longer.
In one of my last visits to the city, I had the “privilege” of seeing someone subway surf by hopping on the back of the train from the platform at Queensboro Plaza:
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They’re called rubber “bellows” even though they’re above and not “bellow” the train?
Reminds me of Saul Bellow, the great writer from Montreal.
Speaking of Montreal, did you know that the Montreal metro runs on rubber tires instead of steel wheels like the NYC subway?
So, in a sense, the Montreal metro is a “rubber tube.”
And that’s how it all comes full circle, my friends.
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