Photo retrospective of the NYC Subway system

Thanks for that Ijag. We just loved looking through those photos. I have so many thoughts. Here are a few.

1) Things haven't changed that much! There is actually a transit museum in New York City (in Brooklyn) that is really cool. I took my 10-year-old nephew there last year. It's in a since-abandoned subway stop, and they have old trains. There have been "innovations" but the subways (not elevated cars) they were using in the early 1900s are not significantly different than they are today. Things like air conditioning, automatic doors, LED signs, etc. have been added.

2) I have such vivid memories of the graffiti from when I was a kid. It's amazing how much cleaner things are now.

3) Some of the older cars bring back memories. What is amazing is that on some of the lines there are still 20 or 30 year old cars in commission. They have slowly been upgrading each line, though. The 4,5,6 on the east side and 1,2,3 on the west side have newer cars. It was neat seeing one of the old red 6 train cars in one of the photos. Those were still running until a few years ago. The one major line that needs a massive upgrade is the A, C, E -- the cars are older than Spnited. I have read there are plans to upgrade soon and they have have started introducing new cars with the electronic signs, etc. on the E line already.

4) It wasn't covered in those pictures, but they have been introducing cameras on the subway cars. A handful of E trains already have them operational. They are hoping to have a live system to catch crime happening.

5) I got a kick out of the woman in the 70s who was ducking the turnstile while a cop was standing nearby with his back to here -- because they raised the fair from 20 cents to 30 cents. Today it is $2.25. It is still the best deal on earth.

6) They showed them digging the new 2nd Ave. line. It will help so much on the east side, which is only serviced by the 4,5 and 6, which are overcrowded. It has caused so much disruption for business, but it looked cool. It said they have been getting through just 50 feet of rock a day to just get the tunnel going. With the maze of wires and sewer pipes down there, it must be a logistical nightmare. But from what I can see from street level, I think they have been making progress.

 

With all our trips to NY, we've never done much on the subway. The Queen is not a fan of trains, underground or the possibility of seeing a rat. We did take it once to Shea and it was fine, so I'm hoping on our next trip - whenever that turns out to be - we take better advantage.

We'll see.

That trip to Shea was four years ago. I still have the fare cards, with value. Are they still good?