Odd sighting.

Last night while taking a queens Bound E train from 23rd Street to Lexington Avenue, while the train was stopped at Seventh Avenue, I saw going the other way a train that consisted of an R-33 at each end with several R-62's between them. Why would a consist of current and retired IRT cars be running on the Independent Subway?

There are only 2 reasons i can come up with:

1. Maintenance move to CI
2. 7 and 6 train R62A swap

Heres a way on how it works (although it may not be the official mta way):

7 train leaves corona yard and goes to qns boro plaza on the QUEENS bound track
Takes the diamond crossover just east of the qns boro plaza platform and heads into bmt 60 st. tunnels
Switches to the jamaica bound R track to QNS plaza. Gets onto the express tracks at qns plaza and heads west on the manhattan track. I am not sure why the train was backing up (maybe they missed the switch and wanted to tail your train)
After passing 7 avenue, the train would switch onto the uptown IND 8 avenue tracks and run express all the way to 200 street where it would go onto one of the yard leads
In the yard, the train would get onto the 1 train flyover and merge onto the 1 track. The train would then run down the center IRT Bway/7 Avenue track to 103 street then do a switching maneuver south of 96 street to the 2/3 tracks. It would run on the irt lenox ave. line to 145 street, and follow the 2 into the bronx. At any point on the 2/5 line, it could reverse and head down the 5 tracks into manhattan, get to the local 6 tracks, head to the westchester yard and voila, theres the next r62a 6 train.
As for the R33 cars, those were the work motors. Why they were there, im not so sure...

Its a major feat to relocate a 7 train set

Here are 4 other ways i forgot to post earlier:

1.

After the train enters to 60 street portals, it keeps running to 57 street where it switches to the express tracks through the crossovers south of the station. It heads north on the 63 street connector (did i get the name right) and switches to the F tracks through a crossover west of the 63 st. station. It can then run to 47-50 rock center and back into the ind 53 st line

2. (Will not work in your scenario)

After entering the portals (N,Q trains), the train can run all the way to the Montague tunnels, switch the J/Z Broad street station, run to bway junction, take the flyover to the L train, get hitched to those fancy new diesels and towed thru the linden shops to the 3 line, get uncoupled from the diesel and proceed north to 96 st., etc.

3. (Will not work in your scenario)

Same as option 2, just routed using ind 6 avenue line with a changeover at the christie st. connection

4.

Same as option 2 just routes thru the 8 avenue line to the 6 avenue line at 4 street and then thru the christie street connection

tjensen wrote:There are only 2 reasons i can come up with:

1. Maintenance move to CI
2. 7 and 6 train R62A swap

Heres a way on how it works (although it may not be the official mta way):

7 train leaves corona yard and goes to qns boro plaza on the QUEENS bound track
Takes the diamond crossover just east of the qns boro plaza platform and heads into bmt 60 st. tunnels
Switches to the jamaica bound R track to QNS plaza. Gets onto the express tracks at qns plaza and heads west on the manhattan track. I am not sure why the train was backing up (maybe they missed the switch and wanted to tail your train)
After passing 7 avenue, the train would switch onto the uptown IND 8 avenue tracks and run express all the way to 200 street where it would go onto one of the yard leads
In the yard, the train would get onto the 1 train flyover and merge onto the 1 track. The train would then run down the center IRT Bway/7 Avenue track to 103 street then do a switching maneuver south of 96 street to the 2/3 tracks. It would run on the irt lenox ave. line to 145 street, and follow the 2 into the bronx. At any point on the 2/5 line, it could reverse and head down the 5 tracks into manhattan, get to the local 6 tracks, head to the westchester yard and voila, theres the next r62a 6 train.
As for the R33 cars, those were the work motors. Why they were there, im not so sure...

Its a major feat to relocate a 7 train set

There are no switches under 53rd Street between the tracks used by the E and the tracks used by the B/D.

R33WFs are used as lead cars on such moves because they have trip arms on both sides. They were added to the design for the Flushing cars to allow them to make a trip to 207 or CI without a BMT/IND car coupled to lead them there.

You also forgot the connector to the Jerome Ave El from Concourse yard.

Kamen Rider wrote: You also forgot the connector to the Jerome Ave El from Concourse yard.

Oh yea! Didnt an R10 get mixed into an IRT set there and sent into one of the local platforms?

Yes.

Yes it did.

like I said, that's why the 33WFs for the flushing line were dual tripped, so those "Pilot Cars" would not be needed and would not get mixed up with their sometimes look-alike IRT counterparts. Seriously, compare an R10 to and R12, unless you're doing your job right, you being told to go to the bathroom in a cup is the LEAST of your worries.

This is also the reason why you almost always see 9306 leading when she's out with the other museum IRT SMEEs on the B division.