Vintage NYC Subway Trains in Operation

[J3a-614]

Thought this might be of interest:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/01/emboardwalk-empireem-brin_n_945691.html

[Woody Elmore]

I rode those old IRT 600 volt cars going to high school and college. An interesting fact about the light bulbs is that they were threaded in reverse of regular household bulbs. So if you stole one you couldn't use it at home.

A popular activity anong the more demented was to unscrew the bulbs and throw them out a window when the train got to an elevated section of track. Another "fun" thing was to ride between cars. No locked doors like they have today. It was popular in the hot months because those old cars were sweat boxes even with the windows open. The real subway fans rode in the first car next to the motorman's cab; the doors had big glass panels and it was interesting to see what the motorman saw.

The older cars had rattan seats. If you were sitting by yourself when the train suddenly braked, you'd go sliding!

A fan trip is an annual event. The museum is in downtown Brooklyn one subway stop away from Manhattan and is worth a trip just to see the old rolling stock.

[the Bach-man]

Dear Woody,
Back in the late 50s, when I was in Jr. High (which was 7-8-9 in those days) our annual class trip was to the American Museum of Natural History.  The teachers would hand us a couple of pages of questions and admonish us to be back at the bus by 1:30.  My buddy Doug and I, having answered the questions on the bus, would head downstairs to the IND and grab the D Train to Coney. Like you, we'd ride in the front car and watch the motorman and the signals. Lunch at Nathan's, lots of pictures with our Kodak Instamatics, and back to the bus!  A great day!
We never missed the bus, nor any questions! 
Later when I became a teacher, I'd think back to those days and count my students about every ten seconds when we were on a class trip!
Ah, the Old Days...
the Bach-man

[Woody Elmore]

Part of my high school journey was on the IND.  I had to transfer to the "D" to lower Manhattan. I remember when the new "A" train cars were introduced. This line had been popularized by Duke Ellington's song, "Take the A Train." The new cars had fans at each end of the car (which did little good) and flourescent lighting - wow! You could actually read something! I was stuck having to use the "D" line which had the older cars (which were built in the late thirties.) The IND stood for "independent" as it was built by a private company that was independent of the city (as were all the other lines - IRT, BMT, BRT, etc. and were merged when the city took over.).

Those old IRT cars with their 15 watt bulbs and were dark and dismal even in the sunlight. I rode them for many years and have lots of fond memories of my subway travels. 

Anyone die-hard train fan coming to the city for vacation should go to 59th Street and take either a "D" or "A" to 125th street. It is the longest non stop express run on the system and, excluding problems, the trains seem to fly.

And, Mr. Bachmann, I also used to go to Coney Island for Nathan's hot dogs (never on school time.) A hot dog with a papaya drink was something to look forward to! When I became a teacher I also spent trip time counting heads on field trips!