179 Yards

[TheKornGuy]

Hey everyone,
I have always wondered about the underground yards right past the 179 St Terminal in Queens (F Train). Are there two levels to it? How many trains can they fit in there? Was it originally built to extend the line someday, or was it designed strictly as a yard. And how the heck do motormen get back to the station after they have parked a train?
Lot of questions I know, but hey someone has to know!

[Kamen Rider]

Hey everyone,
I have always wondered about the underground yards right past the 179 St Terminal in Queens (F Train). Are there two levels to it? How many trains can they fit in there? Was it originally built to extend the line someday, or was it designed strictly as a yard. And how the heck do motormen get back to the station after they have parked a train?
Lot of questions I know, but hey someone has to know!

yes, two levels, four tracks each, express tracks connect to the upper level, locals on the lower. yard can hold 10 600' trains in total, four (one each) on the lower and 6 upstairs. the upper level inner tracks hold two each, the outer can hold two but don't as doing that would foul the middle tracks.

I'm thinking it's sort of a 1/2 and 1/2 kinda set up when it came to design. maybe lower level was ment as yard, and the upper was ment for through service. just about every local terminal on the IND has some sort of yard acces, so i can't be hard to reason that 179th might fall into that list. 168th has 174th, BPB has concourse, Euclid has Pitken, Church has it's yard, 71st has Jamacia. heck, the only standouts are WTC and court (street aka the museum, not Square, which is basicly a repurposed mainline station), but the're in the middle of two CBDs and building a yard there would be difficult.

And as for getting back to the station, it's those two little gifts called feet.

[TheKornGuy]

thanks so much for your detailed response man!