TheNEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - NOVEMBER, 2008 Bulletin New York Division, Electric Railroaders’ Association Vol. 51, No. 11 November, 2008 The Bulletin IND EXTENDED TO EUCLID AVENUE 60 YEARS AGO Published by the New On November 28, 1948, A service was ex- a simpler circuit was available. R-42s were York Division, Electric Railroaders’ Association, tended from Broadway-East New York to the first cars equipped with a solid state in- Incorporated, PO Box Euclid Avenue. Test trains started running at verter, which converted the direct current 3001, New York, New 12:01 AM and revenue service began at 7 from the third rail to high frequency alternat- York 10008-3001. AM. Additional service was provided by 40 R- ing current. 10 cars, which were just delivered. The old-type windmill fans were replaced For general inquiries, OPENING CEREMONIES by eight 12-inch bracket fans mounted two contact us at nydiv@ Stores in the vicinity of the Euclid Avenue on a fixture. To maintain uniform car tempera- electricrailroaders.org station were decorated with bunting and a ture, the car heaters were thermostatically or by phone at (212) small crowd that gathered near the subway controlled. Shock absorbers dampened vi- 986-4482 (voice mail available). ERA’s entrance was waiting for the Mayor to arrive bration and side sway. website is in his automobile. A newspaper photo shows Following is a summary of delivery and in- www.electricrailroaders. Borough President Cashmore and Mayor service dates: org. O’Dwyer putting dimes in the turnstile slots at DELIVERED IN SERVICE Euclid Avenue. Editorial Staff: Date Car(s) Date Car(s) Editor-in-Chief: While about 250 representatives of civic Bernard Linder and transportation groups were present, First August 19, 1803 November 1830-1838, News Editor: Mayor O’Dwyer officially opened the $47 mil- 1948 19, 1948 1843 Randy Glucksman lion extension. Accompanied by Borough Contributing Editor: Last June 30, 3340- July 22, 3346-3349 1949 3349 1949 Jeffrey Erlitz President Cashmore and transit officials, the Mayor inspected the Pitkin Avenue Yard in a Production Manager: five-car train of the new R-10 cars, which CARS IN SERVICE AT THE END OF THE MONTH David Ross cost $70,000 each. Date Number of Date Number of Cars Cars R-10 CARS These new technology cars were illumi- 1948 66 April 269 nated by twenty-four 72-inch and two 48-inch November cold cathode fluorescent lamps. Light inten- December 102 May 296 ©2008 New York sity was 15 foot-candles at the reading plane, Division, Electric much higher than that of the older cars. 1949 151 June 355 Railroaders’ January Association, Power for the lamps was supplied from the Incorporated third rail through resistors. Because fluores- February 191 July 399 cent lamps do not operate well on direct cur- March 241 August 400 In This Issue: rent, a timer reversed the polarity frequently. Sixth Avenue When solid state equipment was perfected, (Continued on page 4) Subway—Track Plan ...Page 2 1 NEWNEW YORK YORK DIVISION DIVISION BULLETIN BULLETIN - NOVEMBER,OCTOBER, 2000 2008 SIXTH AVENUE SUBWAY TRACK PLAN 2 NEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - NOVEMBER, 2008 IND Extended to Euclid Avenue 60 Years Ago A train of R-10 cars in original paint scheme in 207th Street Yard. R-10s in the mid-1960s paint scheme at Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue. Bernard Linder collection Bernard Linder collection SIXTH AVENUE SUBWAY SERVICE CHANGES by Bernard Linder When the subway was opened, D trains started running in the new subway. This is a complete record of D ser- vice changes. DATE NORTH TERMINAL SOUTH TERMINAL October 30, 1940 205th Street Chambers Street October 30, 1954 205th Street Coney Island via Culver Line Church Avenue October 7, 1957 205th Street Coney Island via Culver Line Church Avenue Euclid Avenue—4 rush hour layups and put-ins September 13, 1958 205th Street Coney Island via Culver Line Saturdays Kings Highway—AM rush layups and afternoon put-ins November 26, 1967 205th Street Coney Island via Brighton Line Brighton Beach April 27, 1986 205th Street 34th Street-Sixth Avenue December 11, 1988 205th Street Coney Island via Brighton Line April 30, 1995 205th Street 34th Street-Sixth Avenue—10 AM to 3 PM weekdays and 4 PM Saturday to 10 PM Sunday Coney Island or Brighton Beach via Brighton Line—other times November 12, 1995 205th Street Coney Island via Brighton Line Brighton Beach July 22, 2001 205th Street 34th Street-Sixth Avenue February 22, 2004 205th Street Coney Island via West End Line V SERVICE KK SERVICE CHANGES On December 17, 2001, V trains started operating On July 1, 1968, trains started running from 168th from Continental Avenue via Sixth Avenue local tracks Street, Jamaica via Broadway, Brooklyn and Sixth Ave- th to Second Avenue during weekdays from early morning nue local tracks to 57 Street in rush hours. This is a until late evening. complete record of service changes. (Continued on page 4) 3 NEWNEW YORK YORK DIVISION DIVISION BULLETIN BULLETIN - NOVEMBER,OCTOBER, 2000 2008 NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY CAR UPDATE by George Chiasson Fall is here, and so is the next group of 5-car R-160A- was delivered to 207th Street Shops by Friday, Septem- 2s from Alstom. A total of 420 of them will be joining the ber 19 and transferred to Pitkin the next week for initial Subdivision “B” fleet through sometime in 2010 at preparation and testing. A second set (8668-72) arrived Coney Island and Jamaica, releasing another batch of the following week and yet another (8673-7) by Sep- older equipment (Phase I R-32s, Morrison-Knudsen- tember 30. Through October 13, 2008, R-160A-2s overhauled R-42s, and perhaps even some R-46s) in 8678-87 had also been delivered for a total of 25, or half their wake for reassignment to other services or disposi- of that total portion of the contract. As of October 13, tion. This is in addition to 125 more R-160Bs that will none had as yet been accepted for passenger service continue to arrive from Kawasaki as eventual replace- but the first 15 were far along the break-in process, be- ments for the remaining slant R-40s. As for the rest, the ing based out of Coney Island. Of note is that their Phase II R-32s are reaching the end of the line as this burn-in was being performed on N and Q (as would be narrative is written, while the R-40Ms have all been expected), and also on F, which is projected to receive gathered on A, perhaps as part of the groundwork for 5-car Alstom units assigned to Jamaica at a future date. retirement of the 194 R-38s in daily service on C (and In addition, train crews who are working F during the often A). And so, we move on to this month’s reading: present scheduling period are gradually being qualified Subdivision “A” Events in their operation. As summer drew to a close on the weekend of Sep- Through September 30, 2008 R-160A-1s 8629-40 tember 20-21, so did the use of single R-62As from the were accepted for passenger service on J/Z, L, and revenue fleet on refuse trains. As previous, they have M for a total of 328 cars. On Sunday, October 12, R- been largely composed of single EP0-series R-127/R- 160A-1s 8641-8 were placed in J service as a solid 134 work motors at either end, or World’s Fair R-33 sin- train, while the final 4-car set (8649-52) was also acti- gle units as an alternative (but not together). Through vated, using first-delivered R-160A-1 8313-6 as a part- early October, one nightly work train devoted to the Lex- ner. This completed the 340-car R-160A-1 portion of the ington Avenue Line was also using R-33 cars 8888/9. original acquisition, which is supplemented by 208 R- Over the first weekend of October, various sets of R-62s 143s and now just 70 Morrison-Knudsen-overhauled R- began sporting custom external advertising for The His- 42s as of October 13. The R-42s at East New York were tory Channel, including all 25 assigned to 4 and 1506- expected to remain on hand to provide equipment for J 1510, the first unit transferred to 3 back in 2003 (see and Z on weekdays, as well as the “Special J” service Around New York’s Transit System on the back operating most weekends between Essex Street and page). Prospect Park until a large track project inside Subdivi- R-160 Progress sion “A”’s Joralemon Street Tunnel (the underlying rea- As anticipated, the first “five-pack” (R-160A-2 8663-7) (Continued on page 7) Sixth Avenue Subway Service Changes (Continued from page 3) DATE NORTH TERMINAL SOUTH TERMINAL July 1, 1968 57th Street 168th Street-Jamaica — rush hours Eastern Parkway/Atlantic Avenue/Rockaway Parkway— before and after rush K SERVICE CHANGES DATE NORTH TERMINAL SOUTH TERMINAL January 2, 1973 57th Street Eastern Parkway/Atlantic Avenue/Rockaway Parkway (3 rush hour trains) The last train ran on August 27, 1976. 4 NEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - NOVEMBER, 2008 FIFTH AVENUE ELEVATED ANNIVERSARY Fifth Avenue trains started running 120 years ago, Power House was placed in service on March 1, 1903. November 5, 1888, from Atlantic Avenue via Hudson Service from the southern part of Brooklyn via Fifth Avenue and York Street to Fulton Ferry. The next day, Avenue began on the following dates: service was suspended because of an accident at the ! Culver—July 10, 1899 right angle crossing at Myrtle and Hudson Avenues.