Home · Maps · About

Home > SubChat

[ Post a New Response | Return to the Index ]

[1 2]

 

Page 1 of 2

Next Page >  

(718583)

view threaded

The (AA)

Posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 13:05:32 2008

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Twenty years ago today on December 11, 1988, expanded (C) service replaced the (K) which made its' final run from 168th Street to the World Trade Center. The last two years it was the (K) but I remember it best as the (AA) and when the R38s ran on the (AA). I always thought it neat that the (AA) ran on Eighth Avenue middays and evenings turning first into (BB)s then (B)s during rush hours. Would you like to share your memories?

Post a New Response

(718584)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:08:10 2008, in response to The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 13:05:32 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I remember the AA with the R38's, with the pink AA circle bullet on the front. It was always the train we took to get to the Museum of Natural History.

Post a New Response

(718590)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:13:06 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:08:10 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I remember the "AA" but probably never rode it. Were R44s or R46s ever assigned to it?

Post a New Response

(Sponsored)

iPhone 6 (4.7 Inch) Premium PU Leather Wallet Case - Red w/ Floral Interior - by Notch-It

(718591)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Newkirk Plaza David on Thu Dec 11 13:15:27 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:13:06 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Never, AFAIK. It was the R38/40M/42M, 4 cars almost all times, except during the holiday season when it had 8 car sets.

Post a New Response

(718593)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:16:18 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:13:06 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
No, it was usually a 480' train (240' on weekends). I only ever saw R38's and after 1985 (as the K) only R42's. For 1 week in the fall of 1987 it used a set of R10's

Post a New Response

(718602)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:22:25 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:16:18 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
For 1 week in the fall of 1987 it used a set of R10's.

Was that the Last Run of the R10s?

Post a New Response

(718608)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:25:51 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:22:25 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
No, they survived until 9/89.

Post a New Response

(718612)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:32:03 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:25:51 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Thanks for that info. I'm assuming they were the green R10s that received the overhaul. So they were also the last non air-conditioned cars in passneger service.

(BTW, all subchat threads should be like this one. Railfans sensibly discussing the history and operation of the transit system. No flaming, insults or bizarre postings. Just my 2 cents!)

Post a New Response

(718615)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Bob Andersen on Thu Dec 11 13:34:07 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:08:10 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
That's exactly what I was going to say - to get to the Museum, when I was a kid. But I only remember them as R-1/9.

Post a New Response

(718616)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Steve B-8AVEXP on Thu Dec 11 13:35:52 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:08:10 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
My first AA ride was from 42nd St. to 81st and the MONH on May 7, 1967, a dreary, rainy Sunday. The R-1/9s were still the exclusive domain then; I'm still trying to remember if that train had three or four cars. It was on that ride that I first noticed the musical moaning and groaning that the prewar cars with their spur-cut bull and pinion gears were noted for. On the trip back to PABT, we ran neck-and neck with a s/b D train; I still remember the backlit Coney Island signs visible through the flittering I-beams.

I also remember when the R-32s took over base service on the AA after Chrystie St.

Post a New Response

(718618)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:37:02 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:32:03 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Actually, the R33WF singles were the last non-airconditioned cars in the system. The R30's lasted for another 3.5 years after the R10's were retired. They were scrapped for no other reason than that they lacked AC. It would create a car shortage which wasn't resolved until the R143's arrived. I still think that the R30's could have been kept until 2002, with their usage during the height of summer limited to rush hours as much as possible.

Post a New Response

(718619)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by D to E to Jamaica on Thu Dec 11 13:39:19 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Dan on Thu Dec 11 13:32:03 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
As far as I know, the AA was always 4 cars and even then yoy can always get a seat on it. My mother preferred to take that over the A which I hated ("why can't we take the fast train mommy?). There used to be an occasional slant on there too. I used to go to 168th to see them join 2 AA's into B's for rush hour service.

Post a New Response

(718620)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by R30A on Thu Dec 11 13:39:51 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:16:18 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I really do not miss the 240' weekend trains. They lasted into the mid-late 90s.

Post a New Response

(718632)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:56:37 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by R30A on Thu Dec 11 13:39:51 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Yes, they did do the 4-car C and 6-car B train thing for a while. It was really a bad idea then.

Post a New Response

(718637)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Wado MP73 on Thu Dec 11 14:00:16 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:16:18 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
It was 240' weekday evenings too. I had one occasion in 1988 when an old style roll sign train set came and it still showed AA and Hudson Terminal. I recall it as being a R27/30 but you said in the past that it had to be an R38.

And on its last day of service, it ran some R40S transferred for the restored full B service.

Post a New Response

(718639)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 14:02:05 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Wado MP73 on Thu Dec 11 14:00:16 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
In 1988 I only know of R42's on the K, but you never know.

Post a New Response

(718643)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Wado MP73 on Thu Dec 11 14:09:52 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 14:02:05 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I lived on the upper west and took music classes at the New School back then. I think I had more opportunities to ride it than you did back then. I also saw an R10 A train in early 1989. An oddity here and there weren't that rare at the time.

Post a New Response

(718646)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by William A. Padron on Thu Dec 11 14:12:11 2008, in response to The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 13:05:32 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
My earliest "AA" line memories go back to the day when the R-1/9's were the domain there, while the R-10's were dominating on the "A" line, during the early 1960's when I lived nearby the 163rd Street station (pre-fall 1966). So many memories that would be said here, but I have seen and rode basically all the 60-foot cars that operated on that pioneer IND route, from the R-1/9's to the R-42's.

-William A. Padron
["Wash.Hts.-8th Av.Lcl."]


Post a New Response

(718647)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 14:12:18 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:56:37 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Ya I remeber them cutting the 10 cars B to 6 Cars during the middays. I was in John Dewey from 1986-1991.

Post a New Response

(718650)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 14:14:56 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Bob Andersen on Thu Dec 11 13:34:07 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Did anyone make the final (K) run (or one of the final (K) runs) on December 10, 1988? To me, the letter (K) is associated more with Sixth (Avenue Of The Americas) than with Eighth Avenue.

Post a New Response

(718655)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Andy on Thu Dec 11 14:19:13 2008, in response to The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 13:05:32 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I rode the AA for the first time in 1959 and then it was strictly R1-9 consists. After Nov. 1967 it was mostly R32s with some R27-30s making an appearance.

For a long time, till Nov. 1967, it was the only original IND double letter route (which meant a local train) that had a comparable single letter express train. In 1967 the E/EE combo became the second such pair. The T/TT also qualifies but that was a BMT southern division route that didn't receive letter designations till around 1961.

It was also a rather boring ride because it was all underground without an express run. However, if you rode the head car and took advantage of the large railfan window in the R1/9s the views were great. NB between 42nd and 50th Streets where the E trains diverged; or NB from 103rd to 110th Streets where the uptown express went down and up to return to the "normal" alignment, are two examples.

Post a New Response

(718659)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 14:22:18 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 14:12:18 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
When the double letters were dropped, it must have been a pain changing the rollsigns from (K) to (B) from the days of changing them from (AA) to (B).

Post a New Response

(718661)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by BMTLines on Thu Dec 11 14:23:35 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Andy on Thu Dec 11 14:19:13 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I only used it to get two stops from 59th Street to 81st whenever I visited the Museum of Natural History. All I remember are the R - 1/9s.

Post a New Response

(718662)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 14:25:04 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by BMTLines on Thu Dec 11 14:23:35 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
It's odd how so many of us remember it as the "train to the museum".

Post a New Response

(718665)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 14:27:18 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 14:22:18 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
On the R42's, the B and K were close together. At this time they used temporary black and white signage.

Post a New Response

(718667)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Railman718 on Thu Dec 11 14:30:19 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 14:12:18 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I was in John Dewey from 1986-1991.

Remembers beating up Kids from John Dewey...

Not saying it was you now Robert...

;o)


Post a New Response

(718668)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 14:32:12 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Railman718 on Thu Dec 11 14:30:19 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
John Dewey vs. Lafayette, every day on the B. Now it's the D. Sometimes the M.

Post a New Response

(718688)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 15:22:30 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 14:32:12 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Got that shit strait.

Post a New Response

(718689)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 15:24:01 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Railman718 on Thu Dec 11 14:30:19 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Look, your from the Bronxs. What were your doning down in Brooknly? Shouldent you have been in school at this time?

Post a New Response

(718693)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Railman718 on Thu Dec 11 15:32:28 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 15:24:01 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I was in August Martin High School in 1986 there slick..

Post a New Response

(718694)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Wado MP73 on Thu Dec 11 15:33:48 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 14:14:56 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Not the final run but on 12/10/1988, yes. And the next day on a Redbird C.

This pic was taken a day earlier.




Post a New Response

(718703)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Uncle Chester on Thu Dec 11 16:28:15 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 14:25:04 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Including me. That was my ride when I played hookey from school in 1967 to go see the T-Rex and Triceratops exhibit and eat a gang of soft pretzels and hot dogs. ;-)

Post a New Response

(718720)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Kew Gardens Teleport on Thu Dec 11 17:21:17 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:16:18 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
(240' on weekends)

It must have been fun running along the platform for that one...

Post a New Response

(718727)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by MJF on Thu Dec 11 17:42:22 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Kew Gardens Teleport on Thu Dec 11 17:21:17 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Yep. Especially when I forgot that I had 4 cars, not 8 from the previous rush-hour B trip I made, and took it to the 8 car marker at 163 St. ;-)

It was also funny to watch the pax run for the first 4 car B train of the day come from 57/6 and stop at the middle of the platform at 47/50.

Post a New Response

(718731)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by R42 4787 on Thu Dec 11 17:53:08 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Thu Dec 11 13:37:02 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
The R30s were retired early (1993-94) mainly due to the completion of the R44/46 GOH program and that projected B division rolling stock would have be sufficient with rebuilt cars. Also in 1994, some of the GE propulsion units and doors from the R30s would then placed on the R36s as part of SMS.

Post a New Response

(718737)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by South FERRY on Thu Dec 11 18:23:21 2008, in response to The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 13:05:32 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d

Slants on the AA where the interior car lights DID NOT WORK and you'd go thru tunnels not being able to see whom was seated (?) next to you or across from you..... or what they were doing.

I even remember one person lighting up a cigarette lighter just to read the MAP on that train between stations.

Heat in the Summer and A/C in the Winter.

Loved it and missed it when it disappeared seemingly overnight.

(to my 11 year old mind, I'd thought the cars AND THE route had been eliminated altogether--- not realizing the cars were merely re-assigned and the route designation dropped).

Post a New Response

(718739)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by South FERRY on Thu Dec 11 18:29:12 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Uncle Chester on Thu Dec 11 16:28:15 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d

I makes three. Deboarding at the Museum stop... where the station lighting was once nothing more than "String lights" down the platform connected by an (extension cord).... and when it rained, the platform had cardboard boxes laid out by the staircases....

A FAR CRY from the current station's renovated/improved condition.

I also remember the AA being associated with a trip to Macy's but that might be the Herald Square side (no?)

Post a New Response

(718746)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 18:47:52 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Railman718 on Thu Dec 11 15:32:28 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Still that's Queens, Not Brooklyn. You cut school, should I get the cops after you. Na I guess you made you for it now, your the Goody Too Shoe at work. You won't even leave work 1min early.

Post a New Response

(718753)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Railman718 on Thu Dec 11 19:02:10 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by North-Easten T/O on Thu Dec 11 18:47:52 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Er dont be "fooled" by my "goodie two shoes" exterior Robert..

I Can be sssoooo Bad Sometimes....

;o)



Post a New Response

(718782)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Newkirk Images on Thu Dec 11 20:26:16 2008, in response to The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 13:05:32 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
R-32's on the (AA).







Bill "Newkirk"

Post a New Response

(718789)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Thu Dec 11 20:41:21 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Newkirk Images on Thu Dec 11 20:26:16 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
First photo ... wrong markers. :)

Post a New Response

(718811)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by WayneJay on Thu Dec 11 21:46:15 2008, in response to The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 13:05:32 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I remember the AA well. It was pretty unusual in that it operated all times except rush hours, then of course the service cuts of the late 70s also cut AA service between 1 AM-5 AM.

Remember it vaguely with R10s. Remember it with R38 and R42 for a long time with an occasional R32. I thought it was really cool when the AA started using slant R40s. Before the started running 8-car K trains most of the time, I remember them putting coupling two 4-car AA trains together to create rush hour B trains, then reversing that operation after rush hour.

Post a New Response

(718812)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by WayneJay on Thu Dec 11 21:48:23 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by D to E to Jamaica on Thu Dec 11 13:39:19 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
As far as I know, the AA was always 4 cars

Agreed - I don't recall seeing it with 8-car trains until it had become the K.

Post a New Response

(718817)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by WayneJay on Thu Dec 11 21:58:56 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by South FERRY on Thu Dec 11 18:29:12 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
We rode it to the museum/planetarium too, but since we were coming from the Concourse, we'd catch the AA at 125. We also used to ride it if we were going to PABT or further south on 8th Ave. After getting off the D at 59, we'd usually ride the first train A or AA that came along.

Post a New Response

(718831)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Michael Wares on Thu Dec 11 22:23:38 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by WayneJay on Thu Dec 11 21:48:23 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
I remember seeing the trains being lengthened at 168th Street for the rush hours in the mid-1960s.

Post a New Response

(718837)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Michael Wares on Thu Dec 11 22:31:13 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Michael Wares on Thu Dec 11 22:23:38 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
To follow up on my own post, I just realized that if the trains were being lengthened for the rush hours they were probably becoming BBs, so they weren't 8-car AAs.

Post a New Response

(718889)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 23:52:23 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by Michael Wares on Thu Dec 11 22:31:13 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
Remember when the (B) served both 57th and 168th Streets during rush hours and the (AA) served CPW during middays?

Post a New Response

(719020)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Newkirk Images on Fri Dec 12 08:07:18 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by SelkirkTMO on Thu Dec 11 20:41:21 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d
First photo ... wrong markers. :)

Dyslectic motorman ?

Bill "Newkirk"



Post a New Response

(719094)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Dec 12 11:13:37 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by 67th Avenue on Thu Dec 11 23:52:23 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d

I indeed remember that!

Post a New Response

(719096)

view threaded

Re: The (AA)

Posted by Chris R16/R2730 on Fri Dec 12 11:15:17 2008, in response to Re: The (AA), posted by R42 4787 on Thu Dec 11 17:53:08 2008.

edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr
fiogf49gjkf0d

The R30's were declared surplus, but that was big mistake. Had they had AC, they'd have remained in service. They were only 30 years old when retired.

Post a New Response

[1 2]

 

Page 1 of 2

Next Page >  


[ Return to the Message Index ]