The New York Subway System is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Our chief correspondents in New York, Johnny and Russ will be keeping us posted on the events associated with the celebration, and there will be lots of pictures. JT has alread sent several to me to prepare for posting. I hope this grows into a long thread, loaded with stories and pictures from the past. To start things off is something any of us will remember from rides on the older subway cars. Now, here is something on which straphangers could really get a grip. Johnny sent this picture to start our getting a handle on the past.
"Innumerable millions of passengers had polished the wood of the turnstile with their hips. From this arose a feeling of communion -- brotherhood in one of it's cheapest forms." SAUL BELLOW "HERZOG" 1964
"It was in no shelterd nook It was by no babbling brook When romantic'lly we met. Ah, the scene I can't forget We were thrown together in the Subway Express." James O'Dean and Jerome Kearn "The Subway Express," 1907
On the subway's maiden voyage, Oct. 27th, 1904: F.B. SHIPLEY OF PHILADELPHIA BECAME THE FIRST MAN TO EVER GIVE UP HIS SUBWAY SEAT TO A WOMAN.
"Faces, hats, hands, newspapers, jiggled in the fetid roaring subway car like corn in a popper." JOHN DOS PASSOS "MANHATTAN TRANSFER," 1925
1.9 billion people ride the subway system each year, in a fleet of 6,400 subway cars, to 468 stations, 156 of which are elevated stations.
A couple of subway car cards from many years ago. Photographed by Johnny Trains. This one had to be from the 1940s.
Here are some more pics from Johnny. I will let him explain but I will also give my own reflections on these: Pic #1 is are a group of R6 subway cars making their way across Broad Channel in my hometown of Queens,NY. When people think of the subway they can't imagine some of the nice places they actually go through above ground! These cars are some of the first cars I rode on when I was a tike. They ran well into the 70's on some lines.: Shot #2 is of one of teh busiest elevated junctions in the world, Broadway Junction. Several lines cross here: These are the new subway cars, in use only for a year or two. They are very hightech and quiet. They are built by Bombardier but some early cars were built by Kawasaki as the two companies competed for the lucrative contract: Russ [ 04. April 2004, 03:24: Message edited by: rush2ny ]
Here are two of my own pics. Pic #1 is a Flushing bound #7 train: Here is a Manhattan bound A train at the Grant street station, the first station underground after the elvated portion: Russ
Russ/Johnny--Back in the 1950's, when my dad and I were going from Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn to the Polo Grounds, what lines would we have taken? I only remember BMT and IRT back then. What would today's be, and yesterdays?
Fitz, The great thing about this city is that there are always more than one option. From Ebbetts, you could have taken The BMT (Franklin Avenue Shuttle) 3 stops from Prospect Park to Franklin Avenue and transfer downstairs to the IND (A Train). The A-Train would get you all the way up to the Polo Grounds. You also could have taken the Brooklyn IRT From Franklin Avenue and again Transfer to the IND at Chambers Street in Manhattan. Russ
Here is another pic from JT illustrating some of the nice sections of the subway system. This pic was taken in Hamilton Beach, Queens, NY. Hamilton Beach is basically an island in Jamaica Bay midway between the mainland boro of queens and the Rockaways, a series of beaches. It features exceptional scenery as it runs through a protected wildlife reserve. Russ
NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM SUBWAY CENTENNIAL NOSTALGIA TRAIN EXCURSION "BROOKLYN ON THE BRIGHTON": New York Transit Museum Subway Centennial Nostalgia Train Excursion "Brooklyn on the Brighton" Departing from 57th Street and 7th Avenue, Monday, May 31, 2004 at 10 a.m. A fun-filled day awaits a select group of passengers onboard the New York Transit Museum's "Brooklyn on the Brighton" Subway Centennial Nostalgia Train excursion Monday, May 31, 2004. Departing from 57th Street and 7th Avenue (Q line) in Manhattan, at about 10 a.m., the Museum's Nostalgia Train will travel down the Brighton Line to the Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn. "Brooklyn on the Brighton" passengers will have two hours to have lunch, walk on the boardwalk, build a sand castle on the beach, ride the world famous Cyclone roller coaster; take a spin on the Ferris Wheel, play games of chance or find a 'treasure' at the local flea market. The return trip from Coney Island to Manhattan will stop at the Pacific Street Station to allow Brooklyn passengers to de-board and travel along the West End Line before concluding the day at 34th Street and Sixth Avenue (B & D Lines) at about 5 PM. Reservations are required: Museum members $25, non-members $30, children 3 - 17 $10. For tickets please call (718) 694-1867 for the exact meeting place. New York Transit Museum Nostalgia Train excursions attract a wide cross section of people. Everyone has a chance to experience the 'bouncy' rattan seats and the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. Rail enthusiasts, couples and families with their children cheerfully converse as the train rolls non-stop through subway stations. An added bonus of riding the New York Transit Museum's Nostalgia Train is watching the faces of usually somber, unflappable - I've seen it all - New Yorkers on the subway platform soften and smile in amazement as the vintage rail fleet rolls by. The IND subway cars used in this outing will include four of the R 1 - 9 series of subway cars, first introduced in the 1930s and were in operation through the mid-1970s. These "City Cars," were built to incorporate the speed of the IRT cars with the larger passenger capacity of the BMT subway cars. This class of IND subway cars also introduced a new design element, 4 sets of double doors on each side that enabled passengers to board and de-board faster. Each 60-foot long car contains 60 seats and its riveted steel shell and utilitarian green paint, epitomized the somber industrial look of the depression years. Other innovative amenities introduced in R-10 models manufactured after 1942 can be viewed in car #1575, which was a prototype for subway cars built and operated after WW2 and sported a gray and orange paint scheme. These post WW2 subway cars included the introduction of fluorescent lighting, small twin bracket mounted fans to replace the large paddle fans in older cars and the introduction of Velon, a plastic material that resembled the traditional woven rattan seat upholstery. These cars operated through the 1980s. Cars built for the IND throughout the 1930s retained the same basic design and mechanical systems and even inspired a classic swing song entitled, "Take the A Train" by Billy Strayhorn. For additional information and to purchase tickets the public may call (718) 694-1867 or log onto www.mta.info. (MTA, Joe Calisi - posted 5/19)
MTA ROLLS OUT SUBWAY CENTENNIAL MAP: With the most up-to-date subway map on one side and a collection of vintage system guides on the reverse, subway riders can now use the new special-edition Centennial Map to find out how to get where they're going, while at the same time, learning where the system has been, announced MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow today. The Centennial Map is part of the MTA’s year-long celebration of the New York City Subway Centennial (1904–2004) and commemorates the history of the New York City Subway. More than 1 million of the maps will be available for distribution beginning June 1st. “This map is a tangible piece of subway history everyone who uses the system on a daily basis can carry with them,” said Chairman Kalikow. “Through reproduction of the old maps depicting the original independently owned subway lines, New Yorkers can see how the subway system and the City nourished each others great expansion. It is that unprecedented growth that we hope to build on as we continue to move forward.” Subway customers will find the traditional subway map on the front of the Centennial Map and six historic subway maps featured on its reverse side. A short history of the subway system is also provided. It explains how three independently owned systems, the IRT, BMT, and IND, were eventually merged into what is now the system that we are so familiar with. The front side of the map includes the latest changes in subway service, including the May 23rd, 2004 restoration of F and Q train service back into the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue Terminal after a more than an 18-month-long rebuilding effort. Other changes include improved graphic representations of part-time subway line extensions as dotted lines and the clarification of the diamond route symbols, showing them as indicators of additional express service only. To learn more about the history of the New York City Subway and for a complete list of Centennial activities and events, log on to /www.mta.info (MTA - posted 6/11)
NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY'S CENTENNIAL - SEEKING MISS SUBWAYS!: As the New York City transit system celebrates its centennial, Ellen Hart, a former 1959 Miss Subways and currently owner of Ellen's Stardust Diner and Iridium nightclub, wants to help put its best face forward. Ellen is organizing a Miss Subways reunion and is asking all former Miss Subways to contact her for a New York City extravaganza she is planning for June 21. Miss Subways can either call 212-956-5151 or go to :www.ellensstardustdiner.com. to RSVP. The reunion will include a brunch, an optional trip down memory lane via the IRT, photo opportunities and a chance to reminisce about the cache of being selected Miss Subways. A special show at the Iridium by the incomparable Les Paul is also being planned for the Miss Subways and their families. Ellen noted, "We are a part of history. What better time to come together and celebrate the greatest subway system in the world as it turns 100?" Some 300 women held the title of Miss Subways from the contest's inception to its demise in 1976. Ellen Hart has the world's largest collection of Miss Subways posters, which are on display in Ellen's Stardust Diner. Headlined "Meet Miss Subways," the first ones appeared in May 1941, introducing "Lovely New Yorker Mona Freeman, selected by John Robert Powers, Famous Beauty Authority." Miss Freemen went on to become a successful model and then to star in some 20 movies. The contest inspired Leonard Bernstein's 1944 musical On the Town, which featured a "Miss Turnstiles." Beginning in 1963, riders were asked to vote on their choice of Miss Subways. Photographs of six women were placed in subway cars and riders would send in letters voting for their favorite. Winners were given bracelets with gold plated (later silver plated) subway tokens. Many also received marriage proposals and modeling or acting contracts. With high hopes that the Transit Authority will create a new contest, Ellen Hart looks forward to reminiscing with her sister Miss Subways on June 21st, and looking back on the history they -- and the New York subway system -- have made. (Randy Kotuby - posted 6/16)
