Thanks, I needed that!
All the conductors I’ve talked to are kind and helpful, despite the lack of respect from passengers.
great posting…thanks
See, the subway in New York can be fun!
It is amazing how many times I’ve said that to fellow railfans over the years and they don’'t believe me. But those who have been along on one of our Ridewithmehenry trips have changed their attitude when they discover the intricacies of the system, the trackwork, the structures, and the frequency of trains and find that this is railroading in a whole different way!
The video is very interesting. But it raises a question or two in my mind.
Other than operating the doors, what are the duties of the conductor? Also, given the level of automation in most other activities, could the doors not be operated by the driver? Does the subway train really need a conductor?
I lived in New York for eight years during the 60s and 70s. I thought I knew the job duties of a subway conductor. Turns out in retrospect that I did not really understand them.
The motorman operates or drives the train. The Conductor is responsible for the passengers’ boarding and unboarding, doors opening and closing on proper side per station and without stranding or clipping customers, passenger safety and comfort (i.e., lighting, temperature control, etc) and whatever else needs be taken care of other than the control lever and brake handle.
Union says so.
And actually I quite agree with them. NYCT is not some little back woods town operation, you got over 2000 people on each train, if something goes wrong in a tunnel, it sure is nice to have another hand around.
Some lines do run OPTO (One Person Train Operation.) In such cases, trains can only be 300’ long instead of 600 feet long. Many platforms are on curves. Some lines have TV monitors (and automatic operation), but you really do need that second person on the train.
ROAR
In addition to the points Lion mentioned, they are helpful to out-of-towners who need guidance. When I was there, there was considerable service disruptions from track work. A person saying “Yes, this train will make it to Times Square” is very helpful on a day of crazy operations (this was following Sandy). And they often know the fastest ways to get places.
My understanding is that the L, Canarsie - 14th St & 8th Avenue, is entirely automated and also entirely OPTO wiith full-length trains, but that might be 480 feet, eight cars instead of ten, 600-feet, for that line, unless the plaforms were all lengthened. By entirely automated, the operator, the one man in the motorman’s full-width front cab, closes the doors by manual control, but after that everthing is automatic up through opening the doors at the next stop. I believe the announcements are also automated, from a digital recording. But operators are still trained to run in manual mode and this is possible in emergencies. Note that the L shares no tracks with other lines. I believe the next conversion is supposed to be the 7. There, using IRT equipment, the longest train is 550 feet assuming 11-car trains. The other regular line with OPT is G, without automation, but with only 300-foot trains, 4 75-foot cars or 5 60-foot cars. But I don’t know if this is off-peak only with 2-men during the rush, or if short trains continue during the rush. Some other lines are OPT with short trains 1 - 5 AM only.
The day we rode (Oct. 9) the L from Myrtle to Canarsie and back to Broadway Jct. the trains all had motormen since there were all kinds of flags, slow orders, stops, and work being done on the tracks. Although the L doesn’t share tracks, it does have a connecting track to the J line at Broadway Jct. and what looks like a shared track i into the yard.
Dave, you’d probably be confused and almost lost today. One guy with our Ridewithmehenry trip back at the end of May who grew up in Brooklyn was almost turned upside down because the F is where the D used to be and the B where the F used to be and…well, that is less than 10 years since he’d been there! I’m not even sure I understand all that was vs all that is. The Culver Viaduct from 9th Ave to Ditmas being gone and all…I remember the Myrtle Ave line with open cars in the summer going south from the Jamaica Avenue BMT line! Lots to see today…especially if you remember what used to be…
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Hey, I forgot to ask, who are those two good-lookin’ young ladies? The one on the left has bewitching eyes!
Ah, if I was 30 years younger and 30 pounds lighter. No, wait a minute, when I was 30 years younger and 30 pounds lighter I was already married six years!
Oh well…
The CTA L and subway lines seem to cope with only a driver.
I am aware that the el structure from Ditmas to the grade level east of 9th Ave, is removed. But the lower level structure under the tracks still used by the Q between W8 and Ocean Parkway is still there evejn though the tracks used on occasion by the old 1 are removed — unless they have been restored along with the switches for the Culver east of W8th. Could have been restored for more flexibility.
For a time the surfance tracks between Ditmas and 9th Avenue were still in place for South Brooklyn, but they got removed when t he MacDonald Avenue ex streetcar but then only South Brooklyn got removed. Now I believe the property has been sold and doesn’t exist as a RofW anymore.
As I often say, Dave, there is so much to see that is there and more that isn’t. There are still two levels south out of Stillwell Ave, one for the Q and the other for the present F trains. And wherever you go on the system there are remnants of this or that which only one who saw them back when could possibly explain. Broadway Jct. is a good example, and most of Coney Island, too! Did have an excellent “guide” last month to Metropolitan Ave, Canarsie, and the Rockaways, John Garcia, of the Electric Railroaders, who was able to point out all of the missing parts and then some. His suggestion that we exit the M train at Fresh Pond Rd. to seek lunch even yielded a venue I always wondered where it was! I remember as a kid in the back seat of my parent’s car driving along a street and a trolley car popped off a private right of way from under an elevated structure. And here at Fresh Pond Road, I found it although covered with weeds and brush under the structure and surrounded by businesses and eateries and banks…and the present bus garage, nee trolley car barn!
My understanding of the present situation is:
The lower level link between West 8th and the Brighton at Ocean Parkway has not been restored, just bare structure.
The N and D (Sea Beach and West End CAN use any of the eight tracks at Stillwell, in that there are switches and connections that permit this.
The Q can use any of the four easternmost tracks, all of which are connected to the upper level to W8th.
The F can use three of the westernmost tracks, all the the very westernmost, which last observed was stub ended at the south end. But perhaps it was reconnected. It was stub ended when the switch to the Nortons Point Trolley was removed (and the elevated trolley station and ramp to the PRW removed), which allowed movement from West 8th to the PRW and el structure of the trolley line. Has this curve been restored since, so the F can use any of the 4 westernmost tracks?
Corrections appreciated.
The D trains are directed to two stub end tracks but further west/north I believe the can be shunted elsewhere, N trains appear to have same choices but sent to the middle platforms. F trains and Q trains cannot change station locations with Q trains to stub tracks and F to run through tracks but don’t. I am not adept at putting pics up here but do have some on disks…if ever I figure out how…
LION is pretty good with pics…
Now…
Wait, we are talking about Stillwell, and I believe there is only one stub track, the westernmost one. If it is indeed still a stub track, because for years I heard that it was going to be reconnected to the lower level to W8th, but I never saw it done. All other trracks have connections both at the south and at the north. The four easternmost tracks all connect to the upper level, the next three to the lower, and the furthest west may still be a stub at its south end. The D coming from West the West End can use the westernmost tracks, and that would be logical for minimum interference with the N on the four-track approach from the north. This means the Q in on the platform adjacent to the D platform, the Q is just east of the D.
However, I am going to contact friends a the TA and ask for a track diagram and will report back. That should answer the question. Possibly my memory and what sources of information i have had have been in error. Thanks
Western most track, D train, is stub…and so are several others in the terminal…