Fifteen extras to Belmont Stakes!

I can't really help you with that, but that crowds are really big this year with a undefeated horse like Smarty.

It's a shame that the LIRR (who obviously isn't in the bussiness of servicin g horse tracks) and Belont (Who's not a RR), can't get a nice Belmont station up there and replace the ancient stick rail with CWR and maybe a bit more speed. Belmont has got to attract at least a somewhat decent 'out of town' crowd, and it would be nice to make a good impression on people - you never know who might be on the train, and if they like it, they might be the person to influence for a system elsewhere.

It might not be a bad idea to try to use M-7s as much as possible here, too.

My other concern is that the existing setup looks like a bad accident waiting to happen!

I don't see a point to getting anymore speed into Belmont. Once branching from the main line on a fairly sharp curve, the station isn't too far away. It'd probably be a waste to put in CWR(which is more expensive to maintain, right?) on such a small section of track that is used for only a few monthes a year.

CWR's a heck of a lot cheaper to maintain. No bolts every few feet to check. That's why RRs use it everywhere. Oh yeah, and with the LIRR's concrete ties, rail changes can be automated - the machine drives over the track and unclips, removes the old rail, and puts in new, and reclips. It doesn't move that fast, but still faster than a manual proceedure would be, by far.

Ok, speed? Probbably not. but CWR would still be cheaper to maintain, and improve the ride. And that track looks acient anyway.

Wow, I always thought CWR was the more expensive one. Hmm...go figure. Kinda does make sense though when you explain it.

Here's a question regarding Belmont station...

How do the doors on the M7s line up with the high-spot platforms? Are the lengths between the doors of an M7 the same as the M1/M3? Will Belmont Park trains only be M1/M3 consists?

Jay

Jay the length between the doors is the same. As to the original question, 8 cars is the max and there are 6 tracks with the highspot platforms.

I can't understand why this station is ONLY used for the racing season. The rest of the year the huge parking lots sit empty... traffic on the Cross Island is horrible... why not upgrade the station and use it as a Park and Ride?!

Because it makes too much sense.

Anyone ride or work these extra trains? How were the crowds?

All I know is that the 15 extras they ran on Saturday tied up the Queens Interlocking. I was on the 8:20 train to Ronkonkoma and we were sitting in a siding for at least 15 minutes so we could be cleared through the interlocking.

I rode the trains, i started at Flatbush and had to change in Jamaica, i was lucky i got onto the train it was so crowded, i had to run to the last car and still barely squeezed on. Coming home after the 13th race was just as bad, alot of people complaining, but not realizing, its single track at 5 mph to get back onto the main line, i was just happy to get on a train.

Oy Vey - the crowds leaving Belmont were BRUTAL!! It took almost THREE hours to get to Penn Station. I got to the gates of Belmont leading to the station concourse at 7:45, and didn't step off the train at Penn until 10:35 (missing most of the Stanley Cup's game 6 in the process). During that time, we were packed like sardines for 1 1/2 hours just waiting to get on a train. When we finally got on one (I was lucky enough to get a seat), the train quickly filled to overflowing. The doors were closed, and we sat. And sat. And sat some more, with the temp and humidity inside the train escalating to triple-digit territory. After about 40 minutes of sitting, we finally, slowly took off for Penn.

The LIRR's plan to run one every 15 minutes until 9:00 was woefully inadequate - it seems they ended up running more than that (and later than that), but it still wasn't nearly enough. The experience made me long to be sitting in a car in traffic - at least I would have been comfortable. I will NEVER, EVER take the train home from a Belmont Stakes again - it was an absolutely miserable experience.

I'm not sure what more they could have done, besides trying to run a few more trains. They didn't use all of the platforms, and there didn't seem to be much of a hurry getting trains out once they were filled. I realize the infrastructure getting into Belmont is fairly limited, but to sit on a packed train for 40 minutes without moving seems almost inexcusable. Thankfully I didn't get on the train next to me - it was packed to the gills before I even got on my train, yet it left only a couple of minutes before mine.

They really should be using bi-levels for the Belmont service. It'd add so many more seats, and more standing room as well. The fact that yall had to wait that long on the train is real screwed up though.