Visit to the NYCTA Transit Museum - 4/09

* since this post was moved, i'll change its content *

I took a visit to the NYC Transit Museum on 4/9... well worth the $5 spent. Though the exhibit on the LIRR was not up yet, they had quite the exhibit on the Triboro Bridge (errr..... uh... RFK Bridge). The real gems were downstairs, with all the subway cars, from 1908, into the 1950s and 60s - restored, in excellent condition, and with all the old ads in them. It was really cool.

Check here for the pics from a great visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shadyjayvt/ ... April92009#

In the photo with the wall signs, "Employes [sic] are cautioned against crossing the tracks." Or knowing how to spell I guess.

Did you transit to the transit museum ? I've planned out a virtual five-borough tour of NYC using public transit from the Bronx to Queens to Brooklyn to Staten Island to Manhattan, and the transit museum and Brooklyn Botanical Garden are two of the stops.

Thanks for the photos.

Is it true (per that sign) that active trains go through the basement of the museum ?

The "basement" of the Museum is the platform, and cars are occasionally moved in and out. However, the Court Street station (that's what it was called before the Transit Museum moved in) is a stub, and no trains can go "through" it. If you've been to the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, the trackways on the outer edge of the station lead to the Transit Museum, and you can occasionally see crews moving trains around that are destined for the Museum.

etna9726b wrote:Did you transit to the transit museum ? I've planned out a virtual five-borough tour of NYC using public transit from the Bronx to Queens to Brooklyn to Staten Island to Manhattan, and the transit museum and Brooklyn Botanical Garden are two of the stops.

Thanks for the photos.

Oh it was definetely a full "transit" to the museum...
starting with earlier in the week, Shore Line East/Metro North from Old Saybrook CT to Grand Central, then the day I went, the F train from 2nd Ave (Lower East Side) to Jay St/Borough Hall, then return from Bergen St to 2nd Ave. Despite me being quite hung over from the night before, I made it on time, actually ahead of schedule, as the night before I went, I was out till 5am. Oh the things I do for my trains!

Excellent photos, good work. Brought back lots of memories. Did lots of homework assignments on those cars. By the time I got to my station, homework was done and the rest of the evening was mine.

do you remember if any recently retired cars were there? (like that R32, R38, or R40S)

I'm no expert on subway cars - but I'm pretty sure I got pics of every car that was there, or at least the majority.

Is this museum privately owned as a 501c3 non profit or is it owned by the NYCTA?

Thanks
Xian

xtcbct wrote:Is this museum privately owned as a 501c3 non profit or is it owned by the NYCTA?

Thanks
Xian

The NY Transit Museum is a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It is required by the MTA to be 100% self sufficient. It does this by admissions, getting donations, sponsors and members (of which I am one) and having tours and other educational programs. Proceeds from sales of merchandise from the online store and the stores in Grand Central Terminal and the Museum itself benefit the Museum programs.

I know it is covered under 501 non-profit but I am not sure if it is a c3.

Thanks for the photos. Looking through them, the newest car I saw was an R-17 (from a mid 1950s order for the B Division). When I worked for the NYCTA in the 1980s, they were mostly found on the J and L trains (former BMT Eastern Division).

When I was an employee, I used to wander down to Court Street now and then to check things out. I even threw switches in the little tower (good photo of the model board, by the way). The model board shows the six tracks through Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, although the tower itself only controls a double crossover at the throat of Court Street, plus associated signals.

One item that was there in the 1980s but has vanished was a fascinating three-dimensional model of the subway system on a table. It really helps in understanding complex junctions like DeKalb Ave. or West 4th Street, where there is a lot of over-and-under.

I worked for Track and Structures, and one nice "perk" of the job was frequent trips on our geometry car, which provided a wonderful railfan view of the right-of-way. I am ashamed to say, though, that in five years with the TA I never covered quite all of the system (never got north of Gun Hill Road on the line to 241st Street in the Bronx; otherwise, rode the whole system.

NYCTA is unappreciated by railfans. It is far and away the most complex rapid transit system in the Western Hemisphere, and is up there with London and Paris. Just one statistic: when I was there, we had 180 towers, and nearly 700 tower operators on the roster. Despite an ongoing capital program, a number of those remain.

NellieBly wrote:Thanks for the photos. Looking through them, the newest car I saw was an R-17 (from a mid 1950s order for the B Division). When I worked for the NYCTA in the 1980s, they were mostly found on the J and L trains (former BMT Eastern Division).

Those were R16s. The R17s were IRT cars. Both dated from 1955.