Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #263884  by MNRR PA OPERATOR
 
I havent seen this since i rode one in January, and before that I havent seen this in YEARS! Yesterday I was on a Queens bound R32 consist posing for E service arriving in union turnpike around 4:25PM. However, I look to the left staring out the Railfan window, and I see a R46 with the big blue E sign!!! I wish i was able to get off the E train at union turnpike to catch it, but Motorman already had indication and train I was on began to move. I guess Jamaica yard is going to start with that again or was that jus a u'll never see that again maneuver?

 #264038  by burkeman
 
What's good how is everything? I kinda new that the E was getting the R46 when I saw some of the R trains with the R32. I seen this alot, it seems like they change up from time to time. When I use to work on 14 Street I notice that almost every E train that I saw was a R46 then it changed back to the R32.
 #264396  by MNRR PA OPERATOR
 
Hey burkeman, good to see u havent spoken to you, hope everything is good. My Uncle is a B Division Motorman, and he explained why R32s are always on the E line. The reason he knows this is because some of the Train Operators he works with is, some of them work the E as a Relief job. The story is, back in the late 80's early 90s there were nothing but R46s. Alot of Train Crews got spoiled, and werent having their brake handles with them while on duty, and the Motorinstructors knew Train Operators didnt have their ME-42 brake handles. So they got the yardmasters to start putting all R32s on the E. Upon arrival of the first R32s on the E, Motormen literally went running to the locker rooms to grab their brake handles! Due to this, those who didnt have their brake handles, were removed from service and other diciplinary action. Many people retired after that. After that it was discovered a 10 Car R32 can could hold more than a R46. As you all know, R46s are restricted to 8 cars max, due to the 75 length. So although the E only has 23 trains a hour(last I heard) and the F has 50 F trains in the morning, with 46 in the afternoon, the E remains the most crowded of the queens boulevard lines, so a R32 is better suited.

 #264434  by arrow
 
I believe you about the reason being that the R-32s hold more because of the 75 footers being restricted to 8 cars, but frankly I think the rest of your post is ridiculous.
 #264739  by MNRR PA OPERATOR
 
hey dont be mad cause i work for MTA and I know the facts

 #265111  by Robert Paniagua
 
They should withdraw all or most R32s off the E and place them with R44s from the A and R46s from the F and G lines which should have the R32s instead, since the E is all in tunnels and the A & F routes have open air portions and with the R32s from the E, then the A/F trains can have corner cab cars for head-end viewing on the open air portions.

I've also seen two R44 trainsets on the E a few times.

 #265156  by arrow
 
I doubt that will happen, the MTA intends to retire the R44s soon.
 #267520  by Head-end View
 
Well Rob, guys like us can fantasize about a perfect railfanning world, but it ain't gonna happen. They're not gonna rearrange the whole fleet just for us...........too bad though. (Chuckle!)

But Rob, the E-line thru most of Queens, even though it's underground is an interesting route to ride. It runs express on the 4-track line between (if I remember right) Queens Plaza and 71st/Continental Ave. That's a long haul at good speeds, passing the locals, watching signals, etc. In fact it's been years since I've ridden that line thru Queens. I'll have to do it one more time before they retire the R-32's and we lose the view forever. :wink:

 #268300  by KLCS
 
R32's are on the E beacuse they have 8 more sets of doors per side than the 75 footers, thus creating less dwell time at stations.
 #281110  by Head-end View
 
Well I took that ride on the E, but the front windows were so dirty I could hardly see out. Something odd happened too. I got on at Roosevelt Ave-Jackson Heights on a weekday about 12 Noon Jamaica bound. Now I'm not positive it said "E" on the front but it was an R-32 following an R-44 or R-46 "F" train. So I assume it was an "E". But when we approached Union Tpk. the announcements said this was an "F" train to 179th St. And when I got off at Union Tpk, the side window destinations signs did say "F-179th St." Could 2 "F" trains be running back-to-back and I misread the front sign, or do they sometimes change the route as the train approaches Union Tpk? A real puzzler......I almost never ride this line nowadays so I don't know what the normal practice is.
 #281295  by MNRR PA OPERATOR
 
Well I can tell you that since they have been putting R32s on the F line it has been confusing for some commuters. I have lived in southern Queens all my life, frequently using the 179th street station and Parsons Archer stations. My Mother used to be a F train commuter until around 1998 or 1999 when she had to be removed by EMT because a bottle exploded and cut up her leg. Since then she has been taking Long island Railroad, getting her to work Faster. However, even now that I work for Metro North, I still remain faithful in riding the Queens Boulevard line. Until late 2004-2005, thats when it was once upon a time you could say a R32 meant E train, and a R46 meant it was an F. But ever since u have been seeing R32s run on the F line, it has been very hard to tell the difference since the sign above the Motorman's head says E and F virtually the same exact way, one has to trust the side signs. The way u can always tell is, the Motormans car and the Conductors car MUST BE RIGHT. A Motorinstructor taught me that. a Train Crew wont be written up for wrong signs on whole consists, but if u are an F, ur head car and ur conductors car better say 179TH STREET, CONEY ISLAND AND SO ON.
What i usually do is pay attention to the lineups at Van Wyck. BTW, most E trains run on the express track queens bound at union turnpike.....

what i mean by the lineup sign is the sign at van wyck blvd briarwood saying:

KNOW YOUR ROUTE
F-LINE ACCEPT BOTTOM GREEN TO 179TH STREET
E-LINE ACCEPT BOTTOM YELLOW TO PARSONS-ARCHER
ATTENTIVENESS!!!
TRAIN CONTROL!!!
SAFETY STOPS!!!

so if you ride to Van wyck and the lineup turns to a bottom green and u know u want to go to Parsons archer, GET OFF. Bottom Green opens up the switch to send the train to the right, making sutphin and hillside next stop. Bottom yellow sends a train straight with the switch closed, making JAMAICA VAN WYCK, JAMAICA HOSPITAL NEXT STOP. Thats the E lineup.

knowing your lineups can help you when ur in these kinds of situations! I remember once, i was on a J shuttle entering Dekalb, and it almost took a bottom yellow. I actually mentioned outloud and the Motorman was sooo glad to hear me say THATS NOT THE LINEUP! He was like are u MTA? i was like yea.... He got a Bottom Green which sent him to prospect park which is his destination. IF he took a bottom yellow he would have been going down 4th avenue!!!!
 #283412  by Head-end View
 
PA OP: Thanks for all that info. You say they're running some R-32's on the F-line nowadays. Hmmmmm............I heard that a couple of years ago too. One time I actually waited thru 4 F-trains at Manhattan, 34th St. trying to get one for a trip to Brooklyn. For years I've been wanting to check-out the Smith-9th St. viaduct complex from the front window, but haven't been able to 'cause they were only running R-44/46 types on the F which of course you can't see out of. Wish I'd done it years ago when they ran R-40/42's on that line. Maybe I'll give it another try sometime soon..........

BTW, I did see one of those lineup signs when I rode back to Queens Plaza on an E-train. I wanted to stop and study it, but I kept walking so the motorman wouldn't think I was acting suspicious. I'll look at one another day.

 #283430  by Love Train
 
Robert Paniagua wrote:
I've also seen two R44 trainsets on the E a few times.
No, you haven't. R46s maybe, but not R44s.

R44s are restricted to the A only, and no other line (besides the Rockaway Park Shuttle, of course, but that doesn't count).

 #283845  by Robert Paniagua
 
Well, R44s ran on the E many years ago, like the ealry 90s or the late 80s.

For years I've been wanting to check-out the Smith-9th St. viaduct complex from the front window, but haven't been able to 'cause they were only running R-44/46 types on the F which of course you can't see out of. Wish I'd done it years ago when they ran R-40/42's on that line. Maybe I'll give it another try sometime soon..........

Well, I got an R46 once over the Smith/9th Flyover, and the railfan cab access door window was unobstructed and unfuzzy, I got to see thru and see the motorperson and even took pics out the window, I'll have to give you the link for those pics.
 #288881  by Head-end View
 
Geez Rob, just re-reading your post here, I should have thought to check the cab-door windows of all those R-44/46's I saw on my trip around the system this week. Hmmm, even a tinted window might be okay for the outside part of the trip. I just assumed you couldn't see thru any of them. That's the way they used to be. Oh well, maybe next time. :wink: