10 car tight fit

I noticed that there was some extra room at the front and back of the A train when stopped at Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street station. Is this true with all IND/BMT stations? Are some a tighter fit than others? Does this matter?

Original IND stations were set up for 11-car trains of 60' cars.

Motormen like the extra distance since they don't get into trouble if a train performs badly and has long brakes. (With that said, 99.99% of stops are right on the mark)

Stations with tight stopping tolerances are notorious, like 36th/4th in brooklyn where they might as well tack the 10-car stop right to the home signal.

I can't really speak with great authority about the B Division stations, but the IRT stations vary greatly in length. Many are so tight that the 10 car marker is past the end of the platform and is attached to the tunnel wall. 103 St N/B on the 1 comes to mind. Other stations may have an extra 10, 20, even 40 feet of platform at either end beyond what is needed for a full length train. By rule, none of it matters, since the marker for any particular class train has to between the edge of the train and the pantograph.

rjbrody wrote:I can't really speak with great authority about the B Division stations, but the IRT stations vary greatly in length. Many are so tight that the 10 car marker is past the end of the platform and is attached to the tunnel wall.

Of course the #7 runs 11 car service (561'). The platforms here were lengthened in the early 50s, with full 11-car service beginning in 1964 just prior to the World's Fair with new R33/R36 cars. The southbound local platform at Willets Point is unusually long; the eastern section of the platform was part of the original 1928 station.

rjbrody wrote:By rule, none of it matters, since the marker for any particular class train has to between the edge of the train and the pantograph.

What's the edge of the train?
And you confused me with 'pantograph' since these subway trains' current collection is via 3rd rail. Are you talking about the extendable gates on the end of subway cars that's supposed to keep people from falling as they walk between cars? On the front car they'd be retracted, so there's not much room, I'm guessing less than a foot, between the carbody's front end and the folded 'pantograph' gate. I'm also guessing even when they're extended they probably stick forward less than 2-3 feet, otherwise there'd be a 4-6 foot gap between cars.

Patrick, the pantograph is the name of the hinged spring-loaded contraption on the end of each car R62 class and under except R42/44/46. These 75' cars and the "New Tech Trains" have inter-car barrier springs. These devices are supposed to keep people from falling between cars or from boarding between cars. When I referred to the end of the train in the previous post I meant the end of the car. There's about 14 inches of space where the STOP marker must be when the train stops in a station. I've never operated a new tech in service and forget how much leeway there is.

Patrick, I meant the corner of the car body, or the leading edge of the train. Sorry about the confusion. The pantograph, or pantograph gate, is the name of the hinged spring-loaded contraption on the end of the (R62 and under) carbody that is intended to keep people from boarding between cars or falling while crossing from car to car. The new tech trains (R146 etc.) and older tech 75 foot R44 & R46 have inter-car barrier springs which resemble Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms. A car with a pantograph gate has 12 - 14 inches of space where the STOP marker has to line up for a proper staion stop.