How The NYC Subway Got Its Colors 

3:55 love the tiny F

I can’t imagine double lettering announcements this a Brooklyn bound AA train 😭

One thing I like about the 211’s is that they’re honoring the color coded letters and numbers on the train face again. Unlike the generic red symbols on the 142’s to the 188’s. I love the color layout they have. It gives each line a personality of sorts (along with the different rolling stock).

In my home city, blue is for the river and green is for local service provided by national rail. Other colors are mainly for contrast.

I remember when the BMT had numbers instead of letters from 1-15. That changed after the post war reorganization in the 1950s. That realalinement integrated the BMT with the IND having the letter only designations. The IRT remained the numbered only lines.

The 7 diamond makes sense. It's the only line where you have the same number but sometimes express. All the other lines, the express and local are different destinations entirely. The 6 though makes no sense since the exact opposite is true for the lex. Also the A should be 2 different letters since they can go 2 places; this is the only line with regular service that goes to 2 different terminals under one designation.

Before the Chrystie St. connection opened in 1967, the IRT was black, BMT green & IND red. When the colors were simplified in 79, some of the lines retained the same colors for one of the routes. For example; 7th Ave was red for the 2, Broadway yellow for the N, 6th Ave orange for the D, 8th Ave dark blue for the A & grey for the L. My theory about getting rid of the double letters: people called the RR Rarely Rapid.

As a New Yorker now living in Los Angeles, I wonder why the MTA never used the pink color like the LA Metro K line. 🤔

I love the addition of the funny 3D clips throughout the video. They are a new excellent addition to what makes up a MysticTransit video.

Another super informative video Prior to the Christie St connection the first car had 2 color indicator lights on either side of the route sign If you knew your line’s color arrangement you could tell if it was your train coming by looking at those lights

I love this video just learned something new or something I never really thought about myself 😂❤

I’m from Jersey and usually I travel to the city once a week and my favourite subway lines is the either the Eighth Avenue line, Lexington ave line or the seventh avenue line.

The like the diamond especially Broadway line back in the days it’s help when R would skip stops in Brooklyn that and the N in Astoria

I'm definitely glad you added the powder blue 🔵 8 Thrid Ave Elevated line circle because it's definitely needed right now then ever.. Keep adding the power blue 🔵 8 Thrid Ave Elevated line original color.

1:16; The 2 train logo in the 1960s is now the same logo from today. But, the other 7 trains with numbers has different colors.

Well researched!! The 1st Post Christie St map was the 1st to use colors. It also brought a bunch of new double letter routes. EE, JJ, RJ, MJ, QJ, TT and NX into the mix. Many were short lived, gone by the 1968 map.

Double letters are definitely confusing.

The diamond symbols are only used where different trains on the same route are running local and express. The 6, 7, and F have portions of the route where some trains run local and others run express. But as you mentioned, the F only shows the diamond on the trains and not on the map. I attribute this to the fact that the diamond F runs so infrequently. For the 6 and 7, every other train goes express. There's also the Burnside Avenue short turns on the 4 which run express after 167th Street, but that pattern isn't shown on the map or on the trains. I think because there is no Manhattan-bound component to this pattern, they don't bother to show it. The D express on Concourse, the J and Z running express from Myrtle Avenue to Marcy Avenue, and the 5 skipping all the stops between 3rd Avenue 149th Street and East 180th Street don't get diamond symbols because all of the trains on those routes skip the stops during rush hour. Some rush hour service extensions or branches to a different terminal get a dashed line on the map, but there is no special designation on the trains other than the normal destination signs. Examples of this are the 5 to Nereid Avenue, the A to Rockaway Park, and the B to Bedford Park Boulevard. Then there are other rush hour service patterns that aren't shown on the map, despite there being an appreciable number of trains that operate that way. Examples include the N to 96th Street and E to 179th Street.

Nice work on the video I really like it plus I somehow never knew about the colors myself.

I like that the two city-built IND trunks in Manhattan are blue and orange just like the city flag.

I think there was brown diamond r train. It for bay ridge to chambers street. Banker special.

I was wondering about that for a while now. Glad, my question is being answered in this video :)

It makes sense having the letters trains only one digit compared to 2 back then. Even though some people still get confused with the A train going to Lefferts Blvd and Far Rockaway.

The color from 1979 was done to identify specific trunk lines and branches, the eighth avenue line and the sixth avenue line pair up so we'll based on the ideals of the IND that they were given specific colors to compliment the two trunk lines of course this only implies to the branches of the north and east, Washington heights, concourse and the Queens Blvd line with the first six letters of the two Manhattan trunk lines but only two maintain the original pattern while the IRT did a similar matter using two complimentary colors as only two are pair up sharing the two lines in the outer borough the 2 and the 5.

The powder blue 🔵 8 definitely need to come back to 8 Thrid Ave Elevated line.

the diamonds denote special rush ONLY service experess service (that typically operates in one direction). The 6&7 fall under that category and the F express should be on maps too. The Z would not be diamond because it's Skip-Stop not express

They should probably change the Q line to turquoise to match the future 2nd Ave T line. This will help delineate the Q from the N, W (Am I going to 2nd Ave or Queens?)

The array of colors and single and double letters were the best thing about the subway back then.

The big problem is that you still can't tell what's running local or express quickly. Yes the 1 and 6 are usually local but not always due to maintenance where trains swap tracks and start skipping stations you're expecting them to stop at.

I miss the double letter designations for locals. I also miss the light up signs at the front of the trains that denoted Express or Local service.

old lines were peak back then seems like

I liked this show. I'm a subway buff.

The powder blue 🔵 8 Thrid Ave Elevated line could definitely be brought back and the Diamond 8 for the express trains during the week days rush hours and the weekends the circle 8 powder blue. The Green circle 8 does not match with Lexington Avenue lines at all because there was never no green 8 until the R62AS R62S came out in the 80s and 90s. I love this video of what you did. You finally had the power blue 🔵 8 in there wich definitely needs to be brought back on the 8 Thrid Ave Elevated line im telling you. I have definitely saw the Dubble letter trains. Like the AA CC RR FF GG QB SS .

I think all rush-hour express/limited stops service should have diamonds. That way, anyone who takes a slow minute to read the maps will know what and how the lines are running.

I agree with the diamond services noting the express service from single lines. Unless there’s a better idea.

Yes they had the purple 🟣 F and the pink QJ trains.

The real question is, should we be referring to lines by the color rather than the letter or the trunk?

The powder blue 🔵 8 Thrid Ave Elevated line had helped out the 2 5 trains and the BX 15A buses and the BX 28 bus and millions and millions of people on Thrid Avenue line . The 10 or the 12 trains will definitely help out the 6 Pelham line. The 11 would definitely help out the 7 Flushing line between 14 Street Hudson yards and 20 college point whitestone Queens elevated while the 7 Flushing line being extended to Bayterrence. The 13 trains could definitely help out the 1 Broadway line if they don't bring back the 9 trains.

Diamonds are for peak direction express, which would require their to be a peak direction. Most subway lines are through running. They're just using F diamond because two trains per direction per day isn't worth taking a new letter and the Z train is skip stop nonsense not express or local.

Side Signs of the R-1 to R-9 had the letters A -H, single and double. R-40 and 42 had missed letters (P, U, X) in black. Since the beginning, A,C,E and doubles were 8av, B,D,F were 6av. AAs became Bs rush hour. ( Before Chrystie st, 34/6av, Bway -Lafayette, and 2Av were major terminals, also on the side signs). Always been CC, GG, LL(straight from '14'), RR(where I started in 1983). Too late for HH.(GG,LL,HH were super specific to their use, the HH came out of the abandoned Court st(now the Transit Museum) station to the Rockaways.) 5:01 The IND was kinda straightforward, but the BMT was a mess(JJ, RJ, MJ, QJ, T, TT, NX, QB, QT). Mind that it only has three physical ends: Astoria, Jamaica, and Coney Island. IND has four(207, Concourse, Queens, Fulton). IRT has a whopping five(Eastern Pkwy, Pelham, Westchester, Woodlawn, and Broadway) Yet they only have to decide to go up or down either east or west. I always told people to learn where the tracks go(they don't change), not so much the letters.

I always refer to the lines by letter or number. I never pay attention to the colors. When someone refers to the orange line, for example, I know they are not native New Yorkers.

Trunk colors for the subway is much better than all train logos with different colors.

Let’s go back to what these lines should be: 🔴 lines are full time daily service 24/7 🔲 lines should be part time service, meaning trains only operate 19/7 🔶 lines are peak hour operations 🛑 lines operate weekdays only. Same way as it is on bus maps from 2010 & beyond

Its, not It's, but great video 🎉

Diamond services mean peak express WITHOUT an alternate local service. This means they're used when the line of the same name is providing the same local service. That's why the 6, 7, and F have diamond express services and not the 5, D, and J/Z, because their local alternates are the 2, B, and M, respectively. This video should also go more in depth, there actually was an online presentation by the NY Transit Museum explaining why the lines got their colours. Basically the trunk adopted the colour of the service that ran the longest length, hence why the 2, A, and N never changed colours, they make the longest trips on their trunk lines. 6th Avenue was originally supposed to be purple and Flushing orange but because blue and purple don't contrast enough, considering 6th and 8th Avenue lines interline a lot, it was decided to put 6th Avenue as orange so they contrast on the maps and signage, and by default, Flushing went orange. L was black and got lightened to grey, J/Z were brown when that colour became available, G was already green and got lightened to lime green to contrast with Lex trains. Here's the full video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qQ3K-B3pKgI.html

1:07 Why is the train numbered CB23??

The 8 line sounds too much like the A line, so it became the 9. It’s also why we don’t use H. An I would look too much like a 1, I think K is still reserved for the 8th Avenue line. I’m not sure why they don’t use O, but P is avoided for sanitary reasons “Go downstairs and take a P.” T will be the 2nd Avenue line if we live long enough to see it get to Phase 3. U sounds too much like “You” which might be confusing, “whaddya mean take a me?” “Not you, U!” V is the same as K, but for the 6th avenue line, X was actually on the old roll signs, but that was used for trains with no passengers I believe. Y is the same as U, “which train goes to ____” “Y” “Why? None of your business why!”

The double letters confused the heck out of everyone.

The video was informative but I already know most of this stuff already

I drive the 2/5 trains

Car #2449 Door Is Almost Falling Off

i’m upset that F and M swap is not happening. what are your thoughts?

Confused 😐 information ℹ️ 😮😮😮 4:40

I Live On The 6

I work on the bluuuuuuue 8th Avenue express

Let’s gooo

First. (The colors Mason, what do they mean?!)

(R) Train!!!

There should be a “I” “O” (P) (T) (U) (X) (Y) and (0) train (8) train

who actually owns path lines.

Now imagine if the A division has double numbers

Proposals (Z) loses skip stop and becomes goes on maps D express on concourse is

These fools today still won't pay attention tion

Diamond routes still qualify as Rush-Hour services, but only for peak-direction Express on those lines which still retain it, the and . Almost all the other non-Express diamonds have been abandoned, since those services mostly followed other Local lines but took different routes during Rush-Hour, and they no longer exist or were consolidated into other routes. Although there's still some relics of this peak/off-peak swapping pattern, such as the on WPR, or the on Concourse, when the (B) takes over Local service during Rush-Hour. IMHO, if they deinterlined the system and brought back peak-direction Express service on lines like Jerome, West End, and Culver (south of Church Av), then we might see a resurgence of the Diamond designation for those services.

3:55 love the tiny F