I used this short stretch from RI Ave to Dupont Circle to get to The Clash show in Feb 1979. They didn't expand the system to a usable size until 1983 or so. Then it could get you around. 1979 not so much. Massive holes all over the city to dig these tunnels made a mess for all the 70s and early 80s.
Some fun things to know and tell. The system is not an antique and a LOT has changed since this video. The original 1976 cars built by Rohr had buzzy DC motors and were rebuilt with the sing-song AC propulsion motors in 1996 but these are only 290 out of 1,130 total cars. You don't need to replace cars that have good frames--the original Rohr and the original Breda cars are the exceptions to this, of course. Most of those elevators you think are "out of service" are actually turned off during rush hour to prevent people from being pushed onto the tracks. Most lines have been using eight-car trains since the early 2000s. It required power upgrades to most substations within the District and computer upgrades on the trains and at master control to avoid over- and under-running the platforms. A six-car train doesn't matter, but an eight-car train overrun is a problem. The new Silver Line's power system specifications were downgraded to save money--it can't run as many eight-car trains as closely as originally designed. The rails are 6mm closer than standard gauge supposedly to make a more comfortable ride. Metro was originally built with little to no provision for riders with disabilities. A costly lawsuit delayed opening Metro until the stations could be retrofitted for them and the MetroAccess ambulatory service was added. Next time look for the awkward location of most of the elevators--especially within the District.
+DJVSzoneoutmix Metro did run two-car trains on Sundays on the Blue and Orange Line for a while--in the '90's I think, since Sunday ridership was low on those lines at one point.
WMATA 1000-1001 will be preserved; 8000-8005 is the money train but will also be retired and replaced with Alstom 6182-6183, and also because the 8000-series numbers will be used for a future Metrorail car order
"Just train after train moving people" Except for single tracking, smoke, safe track, derailments, power failures, flooding, broken escalators, broken elevators, random closing times, and so on.
What is it with this seemingly general inability of US cities to built and especially *maintain* public transport? Lack of funding? Political disinterest? Bad organization? Washington Metro is (was?) one of the nicest and most modern subway systems on the entire North American continent, second only perhaps to Montreal's Metro. Why and how did this deterioration in Washington DC happen?
NorthSea 1981, basically metro built a beautiful system in the 70’s and then ignored the new system until it wasn’t new, because the whole system was built at once, the whole system needed to be replaced at once, and so for the past 10 years or so, the transit agency has been trying to fix and replace the thousands of cars, hundreds of miles of track and outdated sensors for automatic travel. I should add that metro is trying their best with Safetrack and Rush Hour Policy, however during this period of time it’s just difficult to get around the construction and delays
I have been waiting years for to be posted. It appears to be a different cut from the version that was produced and released by WMATA before the first segment opened. The film was shot in the spring of 1975 shorty after the first of the 1k cars arrived on the property. The seens in the stations were shot over two separate weekends. Rhode Island Avenue on the first, Metro Center on the second. The surface entrance escalator seen was shot on a weekday at Judiciary Square F street entrance.
@@RohrDC It took several months for the manufacture of the real cars to produce enough cars to open the first segment of the rail line. If memory serves cars were delivered in pairs from the manufacture every 15 days. After taking delivery of the rail cars, several months was spent testing and certifying rail cars as well as all of the systems that supported their operation. The testing and certification of the rail cars and the systems that support their operations were in there early stages at the time of the film was being shot
While Metro may not be the greatest now, looking at the aesthetics of New York's trains (and cramped tunnels) in the 1950s and 60s gives a bit of appreciation for the groovy and "modern" 70s feel of Metro. NYC ELS & SUBWAYS 1950'S & 1960'S MOVIE FOOTAGE.
I think NYC's subway system was chronically underfunded for decades and not well-maintained at all which led to it being one of the dirtiest and ugliest subway systems in the world. That cool sleek retrofuturistic 70s chic in Washington DC actually does look really awesome, almost timeless in regards to station architecture.
Some of the original names for the stations during planning were certainly different from what is today. For example, Zoological Park (Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan),and Nicholson Lane (White Flint) and of course, Union Station-Visitor Center
@@Mathew8980 as opposed to the Vietnam war, watergate, assassinations, segregation, random bombing, rapidly climbing violent crime. We’ve improved somewhat, it’s a matter of perspective. We still have work to do, we will never stop improving, that’s the fight.
I wish the newer metros looked like this. The 7000 series lacks character and the seats are horrendously uncomfortable in comparison to the 1000-6000 series trains. The older ones may look outdated but they are far more appealing than the 7000 series (at least in my eyes). Plus it's a style the district knows so well. An icon if you will.
Oh and I wish the escalator hum would come back. It's not gone entirely but it's disappearing very quickly. I know reliability was a problem but I wish they could fix that and keep the hum that signifies to anyone looking for the metro that they've found it.
I laughed when I saw the traffic jams that Metro was supposed to help reduce. Traffic is far worse...and so is Metro service. Regular and quite lengthy escalator outages. Old trains that need to be replaced, not repaired.
It looks like the Rohrs had a low-tech version of the FIND system on the R160s in NYC. Very cool. Anyone know if the Rohrs were "silent" like the 2000 series cars were before Alstom rehabbed them? I know they originally had DC motors prior to 1996 when they were rehabbed in Brentwood.
The strip map was on the same sign roll as the exterior destination sign. They disappeared and were replace with exterior flip dot sign because of their unreliability.
Ah yes, all the technical stuff and then that count down before the movie starts! But what IS all that? What are the letters that flicker for a second in the count down? What kind of film is this?
OK ... just a suggestion, but can we get a real suburban commuter system up and running? If you look at Boston, Philly, and NJ (Transit,) they have excellent suburban systems. To have a metro going out to Dulles is insane. It will take forever. One of Metro's many problems is that it's trying to be too many things. Urban rail, and suburban rail at the same time. It's doomed to do a mediocre job at both.
markatl84 I'm guessing maybe when Metro first started operating there weren't as many people using it, and it was still new, so the drivers were more laid back, but nowadays its crowded and everyone is rushing, including the driver
The video states it's suppose to minimize traffic jams and longer wait. Total deceitful. Sometimes I find myself waiting for the train more than 30 mins. And they still jacked up the fare. I'm just baffled about this video.
And I'm baffled by the fact that the US capital city of Washington DC is doing such a poor job maintaining its Metro system. It's actually one of the nicest and most modern and well-designed subway systems in the entire North American continent. I was shocked to find out that it had so many accidents, frequent delays, and other issues.
John Cambron And yet at 4:54 the video seems to mention Wheaton Station ... “Wheaton to Stadium Armory 32 minutes” Wheaton Station didn’t open until 1990. Odd.
There’s been change. Tysons and Reston got train service in the form of the Silver Line, easing congestion at East Falls Church, West Falls Church, Dunn Loring, and Vienna. New train cars have replaced older cars as well.
Metro is useless on the weekend with their closed stations-shuttle bus, busted escalators and single tracking. Alternatives to Metro are DC Circulator, Capital Bikeshare, Uber DC and various parking lots and garages. Its possible to live without Metro on the weekends.
single cars? now there are 12-15 cars during rush hour at Metro Center and Union Station stops (Red Line). And the urine smell from the Farragut North and Farragut West stations is immeasurable. Hey Jim Hacker....BAAAAAHHHHAAAAHHHAA
All trains on WMATA are at 6-8 cars, though after Van Dorn Street (Blue; originally Yellow) and L’Enfant Plaza to Anacostia (Green) opened in 1991, they ran two car trains on the Green Line during slow periods.
Starting to think the employees there are a joke. Soon I think everyone there will be from India. They have a blatant uppity attitude(I'm better than you) when dealing with them on any level. Also I still see they have not fired the old white guy who makes fun of asians at the white flint metro as they walk by him
This short video clip is a joke. The metro system was brand new back then so it was nothing to complain about as much. 40 years later our DC metro system is complete trash. You can't depend on metro for anything anymore. Not even to get to work on time. New York City's metro is one of the oldest and it never seems to have any problems with it. Our metro system has been running for over 40 years and it's a problem every single day every single week with it. Our DC metro system is just complete trash👎🏻
