Second Ave Subway Construction thru Phase I open

On point 2 - as far as some railfans go - IRT, BMT and IND will always be relevant be it historic or current reference. Actually NYCT still occasionally uses it in some radio transmissions ("Superintendent XXXXXX, call the BMT desk or call the IRT desk... etc")

As for the BLT - go easy on the mayo, too much makes the bacon soggy. Also I'd rather eat the spaghetti not untangle it.

That was an interesting suggestion Allan made about how the F and the Q could someday get reversed. Of course it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Wasn't a similar reversal done years ago in Brooklyn between the West End Line and another BMT branch? The D and B I think.

But seriously folks, the E and F lines have existed on Queens Blvd. since that subway was built and it would be a really wacky change given the long history. But who knows what new generations of TA managers might do at any point?

The F would never go up Second Ave and stop running to Queens or they lose access to 6th Ave. It wouldn't even be considered. Sending the Q up Queens Blvd to replace it is useless because the R train already serves customers in that location wanting to access Broadway.

Customers wanting to access 6th Avenue from the SAS would just transfer across the platform at 63rd Street. The only issue I see is the inability to access any line other than Broadway or 6th Ave (which are practically right next to each other) from Second Ave. Transfers are available to the 7th and 8th Ave lines at Times Square. No need to have a transfer to the Lexington Ave Line because customers coming from the east side could just walk a few blocks to one of those stations.

Volks, not sure but I may have actually been a resident of NYC during '61-'62. The terms IRT, BMT, and IND were quite active. Starting from 77th and Lex, I was very comfortable riding anywhere on the IRT, but I once got badly lost, and at the wrong time of day, on the IND. So I guess when my Niece proposed a visit during '15, is when I first said "you're on the BMT?" and to which I got the "huh".

Finally, nothing private about my questionable residency.during 61-62. My Mother and Father had rented the house in Riverside and moved into their "NY Outpost". Both my Sister and I we're off at college - mite crowded during breaks. That was when my train hating Father made his not so nice remark to an active railfan who showed up some twelve hours late "why can't you just fly like everyone else does? We're paying for it and this nonsense will STOP".

Allan and Gilbert, you guys make good points. I think it's mostly us older folks who consider the division names relevant based on our own historical perspective. I remember as a kid in the 1960's noting that most subway entrances had the titles on them such as Independent Subway System, Interboro Subway and BMT Lines. And I still often think of the subway in those terms. Railfans who consider those designations almost irrelevant are probably the younger crowd many of whom were born long after 1967, when the "B" Division effectively became one system with the opening of the Chrystie St. Connection.

But whatever your frame of reference to the NYC Subways is, it's all good!

Did The Journal ever tee off on the editorial page:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-yorks-s ... 1483488649" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair Use:

The heavens parted on New Year’s Eve, and New York City opened a new subway line—about a century after the project was proposed and merely decades after ground-breaking in 1972. State politicos and local newspapers are giddy, yet lost amid the self-congratulation is that this is also by far the most expensive train track in the history of the world.

The story is an example of what not to do as Donald Trump prepares a new program for roads, bridges and tunnels. The Second Avenue subway is meant to connect Manhattan’s far east side to midtown and relieve overcrowding on other lines. This first phase of the new line—amounting to 1.6 miles in a single neighborhood, with three new stations and a renovated stop—cost some $4.451 billion

By contrast, be sure to check out the article on the Gotthard Tunnel in February TRAINS. Sure the cost was $12B, but then it's 38 miles long - and "uh, not exactly" a "cut and cover" jub.

I went into NYC and rode the new Q-Line extension yesterday. Looks generally very good and I especially like the wide island platforms at the stations along Second Ave. But one thing did concern me. When I went "topside" at the 86th St. station to check out the area, I noticed that the station entrances on the N/E corner of 86/2nd are equipped with two escalators each but no stairwells. That surprised me as most such locations have a parallel stairs along with escalators. In fact the long escalators from the fare-control level to the platform do have a stairwell.

And knowing the history of glitches with new construction on these projects as well as some deplorable history re: escalator repairs in the NYC Transit System, how long does anyone think it will be 'til any of those escalators break-down and don't get fixed for weeks or months? And can you just see the affluent upper east-side riders having to awkwardly walk down those broken escalators 'cause there is no stairwell down from the street?