Questions

[F40]

1. What does the R after the car # mean?
2. In addition, I spotted only a few PA4s that have the side digital sign. Which ones got them?
3. How do you change the front and back rollsigns, and how many stations are featured on the rollsign?
4. On Sept. 8, '01 at the WTC station, I spotted an array of PATH station names on the overhead ceiling area, and saw 'local', 'express', and several termini. Did PATH ever have express service on this line, or any other line?
5. When is the new PATH terminal going to be used?

[Irish Chieftain]

I don't have all the answers...but the R stands for "rebuild". Digital signs I'll leave to other posters. Roll signs, that I remember, are turned manually by the conductor; I've never seen a handle such as they use on buses or on NYC subway trains, but undoubtedly there's some device...as for the stations, it would be all the present terminals, such as WTC, Hoboken, 33rd Street, Journal Square and Newark.

PATH once operated a super express—inbound, straight from Newark to WTC, skipping all stations in between. (Don't recall an outbound express.)

By "new PATH terminal", what do you mean? I think that the rebuilt WTC station is going to be it, at this point. There were speculations back in '01 that the PATH trains may end up being moved back into the old Hudson Terminal platforms as a new permanent downtown station, but I haven't heard or seen any other news lately on that.

[Tom V]

5. When is the new PATH terminal going to be used?

The Santiago Calatrava Permanent PATH hub should be complete by '09; the Lower Manhattan Developement Corp has some new renderings of the Transit hub and its underground connections to the MTA's Fulton Street hub.

www.renewnyc.com/News/MediaResources.asp.htm

[Irish Chieftain]

For the record, here is my opinion on the RenewNYC project:

(Pork Project)

[F40]

Why is that?

[Irish Chieftain]

I'm just considering the money spent on reopening the current PATH station. Giving a pile of dough to an egotistical architect to come up with an entrance that resembles the leaf of a Venus flytrap is the height of absurdity. Not to mention the "Freedom Tower", whose very name has political connotations. Further, the Bathtub could instead be a perfect location to put a new downtown commuter rail terminal, linking NJT's Hoboken Divison with LIRR's Atlantic Avenue Branch—all that would be needed after the terminal is completed are new tunnels. That would be a far better way of revitalizing Manhattan's downtown.

Meanwhile, worthy projects such as NJ-ARP's proposal to link the PATH train to the Lexington Avenue Subway are left to wither on the wayside. Imagine being able to ride the 6 train from Newark through midtown Manhattan to points in the Bronx? Or perhaps a re-routed 5 train from Hoboken Terminal to the Bronx Zoo? If the PATH system were merged with the MTA, it would mean getting rid of yet another bureaucracy as well as increasing interconnectivity (since you could catch the subway in NJ, there would be no need to pass through turnstiles, not to mention that you could probably ride your train to a point very close to your destination).

[ericware]

I disagree with that, just offer a regional smartcard like DC or Chicago, give free transfers between the two systems and then you will have an excellent train. Why overburden the Lexington Avnenue line when there is no need to.

[Irish Chieftain]

I'm not suggesting overloading the Lex line—instead, using existing service on that line to run on the PATH tracks instead of PATH trains.

One thing a Smartcard can't do is turn a three-seat ride into a two-seat ride, and so on in either direction...

[blasito]

I agree that the $$ going into the WTC transit hub is all surface flash with no real service improvement. Where is the vision for uniting transit systems and modes with new trainsets or track configurations? The PA has completely lost it's early idealism and innovation. It is failing in its original mandate to co-ordinate rail transportation in the region.

[JLo]

But it always lives up to its billing as a trough to feed the piggies that donate large sums to NY and NJ politicians.

[Terry Kennedy]

1. What does the R after the car # mean?

It was rebuilt to interoperate with the PA-4's. Once the fleet was rebuilt, the R's were allowed to fade. One of the changes in the rebuild was a modification to control the far front door of a lead PA-4 and the far rear door of the trailing PA-4, so that those doors would not open when running longer (than 8-car) trains in short stations. AFAIK, this was never put into use.

2. In addition, I spotted only a few PA4's that have the side, digital sign. Which ones got them?

I don't know the car numbers, but unlike the MTA, PATH is quite willing to run their experimental, modified cars as part of the regular fleet. There are also cars with LED end signs, different flooring, etc.

3. How do you change the front and back rollsigns, and how many stations are featured on the rollsign?

Depends on the car model. Either via conductor's key to the left of the end door (while looking up into a flap in the car ceiling) or from the operating cab. A couple modified cars with LED end signs have a conductor's key-operated selector switch to the left of the end door. I don't have the whole sign list handy.

4. On Sept. 8, '01 at the WTC station, I spotted an array of PATH station names on the overhead ceiling area, and saw 'local', 'express', and several terminuses. Did PATH ever have express service on this line, or any other line?

The signage was to allow maximum flexibility. By the time of the attacks it was pretty dingy and mostly broken due to lack of maintenance. There was direct express service from NWK to WTC at some times.

[Idiot Railfan]

1. What does the R after the car # mean?

"Rebuilt." They peeled off the "R" on most cars a few years back (did that mean the were not longer rebuilt? hmm) but the glue residue stayed behind and look awful, so those PATH logos were glued on after the car numbers to hide the crud.

4. On Sept. 8, '01 at the WTC station, I spotted an array of PATH station names on the overhead ceiling area, and saw 'local', 'express', and several terminuses. Did PATH ever have express service on this line, or any other line?

As I recall, in the 1980s there were expresses from Hoboken to WTC that skipped Pavonia and Exchange Place. Both stations were little used at that time as they were located beneath abanonded rail yards.

[drewh]

During subway strike, didn't I hear about the PA running trains from 33rd to WTC direct??

[arrow]

One of the changes in the rebuild was a modification to control the far front door of a lead PA-4 and the far rear door of the trailing PA-4, so that those doors would not open when running longer (than 8-car) trains in short stations. AFAIK, this was never put into use.

Is this what the metal plates on the top of all the door control panels are for? They say PA-4 on them and look like they are screwed shut. Was this what that was inteneded for?

[Terry Kennedy]

Yes. You'll also note that there are 2 sets of F/C/R (front/center/rear) legends on the panel.