by Robert Paniagua
All righty, so I decided to invade the NYCTA yet again on July 6th (luckily before the post-London stepped up security), and this is what I did.
I started out at New Haven MNRR station and rode on 8845 all the way down to GCT. I had a nice talk with the train conductor and even the train operator, he was nice and friendly. Then at Grand Central I took the Shuttle to the A train at 42nd street, where I got an R38 Silverbird (yeyy!! corner cab!). That was R38 4073, and rode on board till Broad Channel where I switched to an R44 Rockaway Park Shuttle Train 5410. I was able to see thru the painted over cab-access door window, they cut a hole big enough to see the engineer drive that WABCO controller thing.
Then I left with everyone else at Rock Park itself where I again went to the Rockaway Sunset Diner, grabbed a bite there, and then re-boarded the Shuttle on R44 5438 till Broad Channel where I was met by an R44 A Train, car 5398. Stayed on that train till 42nd Street where I switched to the 7 train and got off at Grand Central, and then I got on MNRR car 8901, the 5:01PM to New Haven (8901 was the middle car of the train) which was packed citing the afternoon rush on a weekday, didn't get a seat till South Norwalk, which was the first stop for that train (it skipped 125th Street and everything else in between) and then got back to New Haven at 6:35, and then drove back up I-95 to my Holbrook home at 9:40 later that evening....
So, not a bad adventure, all done and accomplished in ONE day!
I started out at New Haven MNRR station and rode on 8845 all the way down to GCT. I had a nice talk with the train conductor and even the train operator, he was nice and friendly. Then at Grand Central I took the Shuttle to the A train at 42nd street, where I got an R38 Silverbird (yeyy!! corner cab!). That was R38 4073, and rode on board till Broad Channel where I switched to an R44 Rockaway Park Shuttle Train 5410. I was able to see thru the painted over cab-access door window, they cut a hole big enough to see the engineer drive that WABCO controller thing.
Then I left with everyone else at Rock Park itself where I again went to the Rockaway Sunset Diner, grabbed a bite there, and then re-boarded the Shuttle on R44 5438 till Broad Channel where I was met by an R44 A Train, car 5398. Stayed on that train till 42nd Street where I switched to the 7 train and got off at Grand Central, and then I got on MNRR car 8901, the 5:01PM to New Haven (8901 was the middle car of the train) which was packed citing the afternoon rush on a weekday, didn't get a seat till South Norwalk, which was the first stop for that train (it skipped 125th Street and everything else in between) and then got back to New Haven at 6:35, and then drove back up I-95 to my Holbrook home at 9:40 later that evening....
So, not a bad adventure, all done and accomplished in ONE day!