The Ozone Park Ramp Up Junction

In Ozone Park, Queens, there is a junction that can be the point of much confusion endured by JFK bound tourists and casual A Train riding NYC residents alike.  It is a common occurrence that commuters bound for JFK Airport will mistakenly board a Lefferts Blvd bound A train and scratch their head when they never make it to the Howard Beach station. This piece of infrastructure is the first of two sequences where A Train, while retaining the same route designation (A) splits in to multiple terminus points.

This next section reveals a small, but complicated piece of NYC Transit lore.  Some of the terms used here may seem somewhat esoteric to people who aren't familiar with the basics of New York City Subway system history.  There is a series in the works in which I will discuss, in further detail, some of the fascinating history of the system and its development.  But until then, all that really needs to be communicated at this point is that much work has been done over the last several decades to try to unify the subway system.  In many ways, however, the system is still a hodgepodge of of different lines created by competing and conflicting interests.
One doesn't have to look very hard to see evidence of this.  The most conspicuous clues that are readily evident  are details like how the system is separated into an A Division (fomerly IRT, Routes with numbers) and a B Division (formerly IND, BMT, Routes with letters), which have completely different train sizes.  Or some of the awkward ways in which transfers are made within connected stations.  The junction above, however, is more subtle, and is resultant from dual contracts, and deconstruction and reconstitution of old transit lines.

This junction is where the 1) IND Rockaway Line,  2) IND Fulton Street Line, and 3) BMT Fulton Street Line.

1. IND Rockaway Line:  Originally part of the Long Island Rail Road System (more on that at a later date), which was rehabilitation and adapted to fully connect the Rockaway Peninsula into the subway system.

2. IND Fulton Street Line: Originally part of the Independent Subway System, beginning in downtown Brooklyn and went to East New York.  Much of it was built during the 1930's and 1940's.  In the late 1950's, this line was connected to this junction.

3. BMT Fulton Street Line: Formerly an elevated line which was operated by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corp., that spanned Fulton Street.  Most of it was demolished however, and the only remaining section runs along Liberty Avenue From 80th-Hudson Street  to Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd, which was integrated into the IND Fulton Line via this junction.

In short, any peak time Brooklyn/Queens bound A Trains all travel the same route along the Fulton Line until it reaches this point, after which one train may continue along the even older, elevated Fulton Line, or it heads to the Rockaways.  I really enjoyed talking up this single photo, and I hope you, the reader enjoyed it as well.

Best Value Shopping // Low Clearance

Personally, I find tiny, interlinkable minutiae to completely irresistible  If there were some kind of desire in play to lure me into an ambush, all one would have to do is stage an elaborate scene that could be sandwiched into a title.

This area we are looking at here is 61st and Roosevelt in Woodside, Queens, a significant transit location.  Transit options include the LIRR, 7 Train, multiple bus lines, and is only two stops away from the larger Jackson Heights-Roosevelt station at 74th, providing access to all the Queens Blvd trains (E,F,M,R) and more bus routes.

Ghosty Train Traffic

These behemoth girders for the ascent of the railway that spans the Hellgate Bridge in Astoria.  These tracks carry the traffic of Acela, standard Amtrak stock, and freight.  This is but one piece of the Northeastern Corridor infrastructure, which in turn is one of the only viable interurban commuter rail networks in the United States.

Under It

With all the the new bike lanes being implemented all over Brooklyn, I still feel much safer walking.  Between oblivious drivers, drivers resentful of the new lane's existence, uninformed cyclists who don't understand proper operation of a bicycle in the urban setting, people who park their cars in them, oblivious pedestrians,  and joggers that utilize them, it shows how new much of urban America has to go to get acquainted to these new lanes.  Taken under the BQE in Williamsburg.

Culver Viaduct Discontinuation Syndrome

Long needed, ongoing construction on the Culver Viaduct has caused an array of disruption of G and F train riders in South Brooklyn.  The most persistent of these disruptions has been the closing of the Smith-9th Station.  I'm not a resident of Gowanus, but I can only image how much they want their Smith-9th Station back.  Its been even worse for Red Hook, whom have no direct subway service, that station is the closest link.  According to the MTA, this should reopen in Fall 2012, but then again, it was originally supposed to open by Summer of 2012.

Train Bomb

Train has been suspended, pending graffiti removal.

Battle of Transportation Modes

Going to the subway station via a hazardous crosswalk occupied by psychotic Brooklyn drivers under a passing J train.

X52 Sunset

Across the street from the Atlantic Terminal.

Warped Reality

Taken along the Prospect Expressway, over the Ft. Hamilton Parkway Crosswalk.

Crazy Willies

How does he do it folks?!?  Because he’s crazy!!!

Taken on McDonald Avenue in the Boro Park area of Brooklyn.

Old IRT Style Station

The Lobby on the Brooklyn Bridge bound side of the 33rd Street station on the Lexington Avenue Line.  This is a local only station which the 6 train services and was opened in 1904.

Choose your Weapon

Take from the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza bus terminal on the South Side of Williamsburg.

The Tales that Tiles Tell within the Subway

 

The New York City Subway system is an old rapid transit system, which is the source for many of the issues it faces, however it is also responsible for much of it distinctive character.  Much of the stations in the system are either over or approaching 100 years old, a different time when greater detail was focused on the aesthetics of the architecture of public spaces and infrastructure.  One of the most distinctive features within the New York City Subway systems is its mosaic tile work.  What’s even more interesting is the story that this tile work has to tell.

The operation of the system has a complicated history, which is worthy of its own post in the future, but lets just say that in the past, before a single agency operated it, there were three separate companies operating their own lines throughout the city.  The Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), and the Independent Subway System (IND) all competed in servicing the passengers of the city’s boroughs.  Each company has their own style of tile work that was implemented in the stations.

IRT Style

This is from the 86th Street Station on the Seventh Avenue-Broadway Line (Manhattan, 1 train).  I fully admit, I indulged myself a little in the composition of this photo, but I felt only a wide angle photo would tell the complete story here.  Much like the IND style, the station name is plainly identified within a mosaic.  Unlike the IND style however, is the use of frieze around it and as a border.  The older the station, more of this is used.  This station was opened in 1904 and most of the original tile was removed in renovation years ago, this small section still exists.

More of the station featured above, showing a more human perspective.

The Bleecker Street station on the Lexington Avenue Line (Manhattan, 6 Train) uses faience tablets to identify the station name.  Like the previous station, much of the original work has been removed, by a few remain preserved.

IND STYLE

The Metropolitan Avenue Station on the Crosstown Line (Brooklyn, G Train) features a very standard form of tile work featuring plain lettering that is used widely on the old IND lines.  The IND lines tend to be newer than the IRT and BMT lines and the style and the tile work tend to have a more streamlined look.

This work is a little more unique and is located on the Smith-9th station on the Culver Viaduct (Brooklyn, G and F Trains).  This station (and the viaduct as a whole) is undergoing renovation, and I hope this remains untouched.

Many station also use individual letter tiling to identify the station.  Carries much less prestige, but hey its easier to maintain I guess…The modern attitude of how infrastructure is treated.

BMT Style

The tile work in BMT stations tend to be a little more intricate than IND tile work and use monogram frieze work.  This work was taken from the 42nd-Time Square station on the Broadway Line (Manhattan, N, Q, R Trains).

Taken from the Prince Street Station on the Broadway Line (Manhattan, N and R Trains), demonstrating a BMT Style name tablet.

‘Modern Style’

This tile work is typical in stations that have been renovated or relatively new stations built in the ‘60s and ‘70s.  Many stations in Brooklyn use this light blue tile, such as Court Street Station (R Train) (Pictured).  Many other stations use similar tile in that 1960’w rusty-red color, such as the Lexington Avenue-63rd Street (Manhattan, F Train) and 125th Street Station (Manhattan, A,B,C,D Trains).  Others use an off white, such as the 57th Street Station (Manhattan, F Train).

Pelham Bay Bound

The Bronx as from the 6 train on the way to Pelham Bay Park…

The Light Pit

Taken at the corner of 8th and Broadway, near East Village and NYU…

The Corner of Red, Green, and Grey

Taken at the corner of Bedford and Myrtle, a street corner in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.  Bedford avenue is an arterial in the area that carries quite a bit of traffic.

Coming into Coney Island

I am, not the train…  A candid sidewalk scene along Stillwell Avenue, in Coney Island Brooklyn.  I offer my apologies for the thin posting frequency as of late, I’ve been quite busy.

Hot Air!

As in which generates more of it? The two engines from this commuter jet or the US Capitol Building in the distance? Taken at the Washington National Reagan Airport...

NYC Subway, Rolling Stock Profile: The R42

 

The R42 cars are the second oldest cars in revenue operation on the New York City subway system.  They were built around 1970 by the St. Louis Car Company.  You will mainly see these cars in service during rush hour in peak directions as the J and Z train engage in a skip stop pattern to and from Lower Manhattan to Jamaica.  Much like the R32 trains, they are rusty and rickety.

NYC Subway, Rolling Stock Profile: The R160 Car

The R160 A/B cars were building by Alstom and Kawasaki and are currently the newest models operating in the New York City subway system. They are a 'B Division' car, which means they run on the old IND and BMT lines and are too large to run on the IRT lines. These cars contain many modern features such as LED information boards indicating stops and transfers, LCD monitors for information, an automated easy to understand public address system, and a smoother ride.

This post is part of a series, to view it in its entirety, click here.