Passenger Trains > (NY) MTA shoppers' special with museum equipment

New York's MTA (formerly NTCTA) is running their Arnine (car orders R-1 through R-9, delivered from 1930 to 1940) Transit Museum fleet every Sunday in December as a shoppers' special as a regular revenue train on the M route (M is weekday only) between 2nd Ave/Houston Street, Manhattan, and Queens Plaza in Queens. I rode on Sunday Dec 9.

2 photos at 2nd Ave:
1. south end: R-6 1300 (1936 Pressed Steel)
2. north end: R-4 484 (1932 ACF)
3. 23rd St/6th Ave northbound

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The eight car consist included the first R-1 (100) and the last R-9 (1802).

4. 23rd Street/6th Ave southbound
5. R-1 100 (1930)
6. R-9 1802 (1940)

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Nice pix. Does Santa really want to travel in that ancient equipment that I rode as a boy? (LOL)

stone23 Wrote:
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> Nice pix. Does Santa really want to travel in that
> ancient equipment that I rode as a boy? (LOL)

Definitely! The Arnines are much faster than the current fleet, since they were retired before speed governors were installed as the result of an "incident".

Have they moved door control to the inside or is a conductor still expected to stand between cars to operate the doors?

nm2320 Wrote:
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> Have they moved door control to the inside or is a
> conductor still expected to stand between cars to
> operate the doors?

They still have the door controls between cars. I suspect that's a major reason why the shoppers' special operates only underground.

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It always amused me that the two private subway operators in NYC put the conductor inside the car, but the "people's subway", started under "Red Mike" Hylan in a deliberate attempt to bankrupt the "traction interests", put the poor guy outside, between the cars.

I suppose he could stick his arm out the window and hit the trigger, but then would have to walk from one cars to another to do the other half of the train.

Was the remainder of the historic fleet safe from Sandy?

Always great to see vintage TA equipment running.
The original 1925 B&O SIRT cars, very similar to these Rs, also had end-door controls, a tad drafty in winter, made for soggy conductors when wet, only one short tunnel near the SI ferry terminal.
Wish I were there again for Christmas, this ride.

The other ancient cars came out fine from Sandy.

Does this surprise unaware people on the platforms???

Definitely! Spokespeople on the train announce its destination to the people on the platforms and that it is a regular train, not a charter.
Many cellphone cameras get used.

Summer Nostalgia Trains using some of this equipment would also get stares when cruising half-speed through stations, air whistle blowing. Great fun.

This is the ultimate in "Heritage" equipment. 70-80 years old, and still able to run a revenue
passenger rapid transit schedule. All of us who were in the NYC area in the 1960's-70's remember them well.
With 1700 of these cars built, they handled all the IND services, other than the R-10's on the A train, until 1967.

As for the outside conductor position....'
The original IND system had only 1 station that was outdoors...Smith/9th st in Brooklyn...which is where the F and G lines
climbed up over the Gowanus canal. Later on, the A line in Queens was extended outside over remnants of the BMT Fulton St El to Lefferts Blvd and over former LIRR trackage to the Rockaways. The F line was also extended over the former BMT Culver line Elevated, to Coney Island.

It's like being able to ride PRR MP-54's again...or the old heavyweight MU's on the South Shore, Or the bullets in Phila,
or the Bombs in SFO, or PE cars in LA, not to mention all the long abandoned interurban lines.

You CAN go home again...at least in NYC

New York subway cars used to be criticized for obsolete design and extra-heavy construction, but the old ones are hard to beat for durability.