Vintage Subway Trains Back For Holidays
MTA NYC Transit will once again be rolling out the vintage train cars for riders to enjoy this holiday season. Here is more via the official press release I received:
MTA New York City Transit and the New York Transit Museum are putting extra magic on the rails with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s annual holiday tradition of rides to the past via its vintage fleet. These subway cars will help customers experience the most magical time of year the way that New York straphangers did long ago.
A special eight-car subway train that is typically displayed in the Transit Museum is put into service for special Sunday rides. This “Shoppers Special” takes customers between Lower Manhattan to Queens on four consecutive Sundays from Thanksgiving weekend to the week before Christmas, all for the swipe of a MetroCard.
The “Shoppers Special” consists of R1/9 subway cars, also known as City Cars, which ran on the lettered lines from the 1930s to the 1970s, serving subway lines that may be unfamiliar to current customers, such as the AA, BB, CC, EE and H. The jazz composer Billy Strayhorn would have taken a City Car to Sugar Hill when Duke Ellington told him to “Take the A Train.” These subway cars, which were ordered for the Independent Subway System (IND), have rattan seats, ceiling fans, incandescent bulb lighting, drop-sash style windows, and roll signs. They became the model of NYC Transit’s modern subway cars, with the same dimensions as the modern R160s and the foundation for the design of the upcoming R211 cars.
“We owe a great deal to these City Cars, because they were durable work horses that remained in our fleet for 40 years. They are the foundation of every subway car we have designed since, and they continue to serve as a reminder of our past and how far we have come in design and customer comfort,” said Wynton Habersham, NYC Transit’s Senior Vice President of Subways. “Our customers love riding these vintage classics every year, and we love showing them off.”
Seven of the cars on the “Shoppers Special” are nearly identical except one: No. 1575, which appears much more modern than the rest of the consist. No. 1575 is the prototype for the subway car class that followed the R1/9, with amenities such as fluorescent lights and smaller ceiling fans. Customers can visit the train year-round at the Transit Museum, though it sometimes makes guest appearances for special occasions such as anniversaries and the holidays.
The “Shoppers Special” runs via the 6 Av Line between 2 Av and Queens Plaza beginning the Sunday after Thanksgiving, on the following dates: November 27, December 4, December 11 and December 18.
Departure times:
Leaves 2 Av10:05 a.m.
11:13 a.m.
1:03 p.m.
2:33 p.m.
4:03 p.m.
Leaves Queens Plaza
10:44 a.m.
12:14 p.m
1:44 p.m.
3:14 p.m.
4:44 p.m.
For more information, visit http://web.mta.info/metrocard/promos/RideVintage/RideVintageSubwayBus2016.htm More photos of past holiday vintage trains are available here.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Metro North To Provide Buses For Select Trains
On October 19th & 21st, MTA Metro-North Railroad will be providing bus service for select off-peak Waterbury Branch trains. Here are the details via the press release I received:
MTA Metro-North Railroad will provide substitute bus service for select, off-peak Waterbury Branch trains on Wednesday, October 19 and Friday, October 21.
Southbound buses will operate 15 -30 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. Northbound buses (from Bridgeport to Waterbury) will follow the train schedule, however the trip may take an additional fifteen minutes. Metro-North urges customers to listen for announcements and check local or express bus service to their destination while boarding. Schedule details are below.
The service change will accommodate track work and help ensure the on-going safety and reliability of the Waterbury branch.
Southbound: Wednesday, October 19 and Friday, October 21
Between 11:40 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., buses will replace trains at all Waterbury Branch stations, making all scheduled stops to Bridgeport. At the Bridgeport station, customers will connect with regularly scheduled trains for continued service to Grand Central Terminal. Buses will operate 15 – 30 minutes earlier than scheduled trains. Customers can view bus departure times at this link:
http://web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/Waterbury_bus_10_12.pdfNorthbound: Wednesday, October 19 and Friday, October 21
Trains departing from Grand Central at 9:04 a.m., 11:34 a.m. and 2:04 p.m. will connect with buses at the Bridgeport station for all regularly scheduled stops to Waterbury. Buses are timed to meet scheduled trains, but the trip could take an additional fifteen minutes.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Service Diversions 10-13-16
I have just updated the Service Diversions through the end of next week.
Make sure to follow @TransitBlogger on Twitter as I am using it more often. Also if you are into indie music make sure to follow @IndMusicReview & @SurgeFM!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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LIRR Train Derailment
Catching up on transit news from the last few days, the world of rail transportation had another black eye over the weekend as a LIRR commuter train derailed after sideswiping a maintenance train just east of the New Hyde Park station. Sarah Maslin Nir & Emily Palmer of the New York Times has more:
Thirty-three people were injured, four seriously, when two Long Island Rail Road trains, one carrying about 600 people, sideswiped each other on Saturday night, the authorities said.
The collision, involving a single-car maintenance train and a 12-car commuter train as they traveled eastbound, sheared chunks off the commuter train cars, several of which derailed just east of the New Hyde Park station in Nassau County. Frightened passengers were trapped in the darkened cars for nearly an hour as rescue crews worked to free them.
The Long Island crash occurred just over a week after a New Jersey Transit commuter train barreled into a station wall at the Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey, killing a woman and injuring more than 100 other people, and raising concerns about the safety of the area’s trains.
The collision occurred just after 9 p.m. on Saturday on the Main Line when a track maintenance train, moving on an adjacent track, entered the track space of the commuter train. The cause is being investigated by the Federal Railroad Administration.
There was a moment when Liana Salgado said she thought, “All right, I’m dead.” Ms. Salgado, 19, was on her way back from New York Comic Con on Saturday night with friends, all dressed as comic book characters. She said the train suddenly gave a tremendous jolt, sending her coffee flying. Ms. Salgado said she injured her shoulder but declined medical treatment.
Ray Martel, 41, a radio producer who lives in West Hempstead, N.Y., was on the train when it came to a screeching, shuddering halt. He described himself as shaken but unharmed. He said the collision, as well as the crash in Hoboken, had made him concerned about the safety of trains. “I think we need to spend more money on infrastructure; we need more safety features,” Mr. Martel said. “I’m not scared to ride them, but now I think we need to make this a priority.”
Click here for the complete report.
For starters, I am very glad that no fatalities occurred as a result of the accident. I also wish those injured have full recoveries as soon as possible.
It is way too early to determine the cause & I definitely do not want to speculate on the cause. So I will anxiously await the full report as to what happened as we need full answers on why this happened, who was at fault & could anything have been done to prevent this from happening.
With the recent New Jersey Transit accident in Hoboken that resulted in a fatality, rail safety has become a huge issue again in our region. It is a shame that it takes accidents & sometimes death to get the topic out in the forefront when it is something that should always be.
Hopefully time passing won’t lead to the issue being pushed to the back burner with our elected officials & media because it is not a sexy issue to rally around. Commuters deserve the safest possible transit options & infrastructure possible as anything less is completely unacceptable!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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W Train To Return In November
Astoria/Ditmars Blvd-bound W departing the 36th Ave station.
train line fans rejoice as your favorite Astoria line stepchild is returning to its oh so glorious roots when the MTA returns it to service on November 7th.
The line will be returning back to the service hours & route it operated on prior to its cut due to budget issues a few years ago. The service will only run on weekdays between Astoria-Ditmars Blvd & Whitehall St. So sorry if Astoria riders were hoping for late night or weekend service as it won’t be happening.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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