Former New Yorker here watching the subway I took for 13 years. Thanks the trip down memory lane. NY isn’t where I am these days, but it will always be home ❤️
That beginning acceleration 👌 And also I see that recently a lot of people have been showing an interest and appreciation into the nyc railway system. I hope this population grows
Freaking awesome. I'm from Brooklyn NY born and raised. This reminds me of when I used to ride in the first train car and look into the tunnels. So fascinating.
The L train is the best Subway line in the entire B-Division. It's useful, doesn't break down, clean, and mostly always on time. Haven't rode the L much but I do like its unique line, and it for sure doesn't take any "L"s. Favorite Station: Livonia Ave. The Overpass says it all
Thank you so much for sharing. The L is one of the most reliable trains and along with all your other reasons, it’s hard to say otherwise. We hope you’re able to enjoy this L trip being that you don’t get to take it too often.
I remember riding the Canarsie Line during the early 50s when the trains didn't have any air conditioning and you could lower the front window. They were Pullman Cars with straw and red leather seats and big fans in the middle of the subway cars. They didn't have any horns but they had a Whistle. We would ride to Lorimer Street street and switch to the G train and then take the F train to Coney Island. But back then they weren't called the "L" or "F" They were called the IRT LINE, BMT LINE, and the IND LINE. The "L" train was called the Canarsie Line. During the New York City World's Fair the Flushing Line waa given a completely new set of cars that had almost panoramic windows. It was always crowded with people going to and coming from THE WORLD'S FAIR. The "A" train was always called the "A" train and Duke Ellington wrote a musical score about the "A" train. At 14th Street and Union Square on the IRT Line you had that awful announcement that warned you of the moving PLATFORMS. "PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE MOVING PLATFORMS AS TRAINS ENTER AND LEAVE THIS STATION." Even the Transit Authority Police were extremely friendly and polite. They greeted people with a great BIG SMILE. 👍 Thank you for posting this very informative video. It brings back such fond memories of my childhood years.
Great video! Epic quality, superb lighting especially traveling through the tunnels. As a former New Yorker from Brooklyn, this takes me back down memory lane when I 😉 enjoyed the view I'm seeing here. Thank you for posting this epic video. All the best to you.
We are extremely thankful for this comment and even more thankful for the fact that we are able to bring you back down memory lane. We understand this may seem like deja vu but it is due to the fact that we recently changed management so our previous comment was erased. We owe it to our fans to reply to everyone so we will take this time to say, "thank you," for your support and we hope we have continued to deserve it.
L train extension from Canarsie, but different. Would leave Rockaway Parkway to go side by side with Glenwood Road, like what the line did with Van Sinderden Avenue. It would then go south down to Flatlands Avenue, going fully along it, elevated. First station: Flatlands Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection to the B6, B17, B82, and the B82 SBS. Along Flatlands Avenue, elevated. Next stop- 82 St - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection to the BM2, B6, B17, B86, B86 SBS, and B103 bus services. Next station- Ralph Av - accessible, island platform, cool designs, and connection to the B6, B47, B82, and B82 SBS. Along Flatlands Avenue! Next stop- Utica Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection id available to the BM1, B46, B46 SBS, B82, and B82 SBS. Elevated, along Flatlands Avenue! Next stop!- Flatbush Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary designs, and connection to the B9, B41, and B82 bus services. Slower speeds, Flatlands Ave is making a curve. Flatlands Avenue is now Avenue N. Stop at- Nostrand Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection to the B44 bus service. Along Avenue N, elevated. Stop at- Ocean Av - accessible, side platform, nice architecture, and connection to the BM3 and B49 bus services. The line would then turn south to go along Ocean Avenue, and turn afterwards to go along Kings Highway. Stop atttt- Kings Hwy - accessible, island platform, cool designs, and transfer is available to the B and Q trains. Connection is also available to the B7, B31, B82, B82 SBS, and B100 bus services. The line would go over the Brighton Line. Along Kings Highway, elevated. Stop at- Coney Island Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection to the B7, B68, B82, and B82 SBS. Along Kings Highway, elevated, again… Stop at- Ocean Pkwy - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection to the B82 bus service. Slower speeds, Kings Hwy is doing some curves. Stop at--- McDonald Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and transfer is available to the F train. Connection is also available to the B82, B82 SBS, and B90 bus services. The L would go elevated over the F line. Along Kings Hwy. Next station- Quentin Rd - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and transfer is available to the N train. Connection is also available to the B82 and B82 SBS. Along Kings Highway elevated… Next stop- Bay Pkwy - accessible, island platform, ordinary design, and connection to the B4, B6, B82, and B82 SBS. The line would turn to go south along Bay Parkway. Station at- 86 St - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and transfer is available to the D train. Connection is also available to the B1, B6, B82, and B82 SBS. The L would go over the West End Line, A.K.A. the D. Cropsey Av - accessible, island platform, cool designs, and connection to the B6, B82, X28, and X38 bus services. EXTENSION TO CONEY ISLAND RN The (L) would go from Cropsey Avenue station, along Cropsey Avenue. Stop at- Harway Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection to the B6, B82, and B82 SBS. Along Cropsey Ave, elevated. Next station- 27 Av - accessible, side platform, ordinary design, and connection is available to the B82, X28, and X38 bus services. Along Cropsey Ave, elevated. Next stop-! Bay 50 St - accessible, side platform, nice designs, and connection to the B82, X28, and X38 bus services. Over a bridge, since Cropsey Ave acts as one over Belt Parkway. Next station- Neptune Av - accessible, island platform, ordinary designs, and connection to the B82 bus service. The line takes a curve and goes along Neptune Avenue, since Cropsey Avenue ends anyway. The line would then turn to go along Stillwell Avenue for a bit, side by side with the (D), (F), (N), and (Q), until it makes its final stop at… Coney Island - Stillwell Av - accessible, island platform, cool designs, and transfer is available to the D, F, N, and Q trains. Connection is also available to the B36, B68, B74, and B82 bus services. Last stop! Buh - Bye!
Being the son of a transit working family, these are videos I love seeing. My father was a train operator for 23+ years and my mom was a station agent for over 25+. They ate, slept and breathed the job. These give me memories of NYC since I no longer live there. One of the first trains I remember my father operating was the L. Good stuff, keep it up. I look forward to seeing the other trains not done soon.
We want to take this time to say a special, “thank you,” to both your mom and dad, for their service to NYC. It’s because of them that NYC is the city that it is. It is an honor to give you an experience of one of your dad’s first trains and we can’t wait for you to experience the other lines. Thank you so much.
*LIST OF STATIONS IN THIS VIDEO:* 0:17 Canarsie-Rockaway Pkwy 1:14 E 105th St 2:37 New Lots Av Transfer: B15 Bus to John F. Kennedy Airport 3:35 Livonia Av Transfer: ②, ③, ④, and ⑤ trains 4:36 Sutter Av 5:52 Atlantic Av Connection: Long Island Railroad 7:10 Broadway Jct Transfer: Ⓐ, Ⓒ, Ⓙ, and Ⓩ trains 8:32 Bushwick Av-Aberdeen St 9:42 Wilson Av 11:09 Halsey St 12:30 Myrtle Av-Wyckoff Av Transfer: Ⓜ train 13:41 DeKalb Av 14:34 Jefferson St 16:02 Morgan Av 17:17 Montrose Av 18:08 Grand St 19:04 Graham Av 20:16 Lorimer St 21:19 Bedford Av 24:05 1st Av Transfer: M15 Select Bus Service 24:55 3rd Av 25:40 14th St-Union Sq Transfer: ④, ⑤, ⑥, Ⓝ, Ⓠ, Ⓡ, and Ⓦ trains 26:35 6th Av Transfer: ①, ②, ③, Ⓕ, and Ⓜ trains Connection: Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) Trains 28:14 8th Av Transfer: Ⓐ, Ⓒ, and Ⓔ trains
That mess of old El tracks at Broadway Junction was quite an accomplishment ! It's kind of like Six Flags Magic Mountain roller coasters. Aarre Peltomaa
@@wtaenyc I'm afraid I don't understand CBTC and its implications, but it appears that L has been well cared for over the years and is at the leading edge compared to other NYC subway routes.
Love the quality and camera angle. Keep em going! 👌👌But I would first upload the whole route, then the snippets. That’s at least my view. But what do I know, I’m just a random viewer. Love the channel either way!
Another winner! I remember reading certain books about the subway and seeing photos about the L Canarsie route as the last route for many future retired cars like the Standards, the R-1/9 trains and others. Over the years, the Canarsie was an experiment of sorts for the new cars of the future like the R-143's and signal equipment to keep everyone safe. The ride between Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn and First Avenue in Manhattan is really good. I think that was the section that may have suffered some damage because of Superstorm Sandy a few years ago. It looks real good. The tunnel crossing on our subway route between downtown Pittsburgh and the North Side is so boring, the trains crawl under the Allegheny River!! Give me the underwater crossings in New York, the one on the Market-Frankford line under the river in Philly, or the line under the Potomac River on DC Metrorail anyday!! I like 'em fast! Another good experience, folks!
@@wtaenyc You're welcome to come anytime. The Port Authority's subway isn't a 24-hour experience, though. They open at 5AM and close at around 12:30 to 1AM. Though the downtown section I talked about is slow, there is an underground portion on the Red Line between the boroughs of Dormont and Mount Lebanon stations that is relatively fast. The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel between Station Square and South Hills Junction is relatively fast, too. The Red Line is currently detoured via the Overbrook line (Blue and Silver lines) because the Palm Garden bridge is out for repairs. An operator noticed the bridge deck shifted, and service was immediately detoured. After the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in the city's Point Breeze neighborhood last month, the authority wanted to avoid another disaster. There is a Red Line shuttle running between Overbrook station in Castle Shannon and Potomac Avenue station in Dormont which includes that tunnel I described earlier.
We appreciate you for your support and for sharing this information. It’s something that we are sure hundreds can now come to our video and learn by reading the comments.
First, we’d love to thank your dad for his service to New York City. We love that you are able to experience something that most of us experienced as a kid. Thank you so much for sharing and we hope to maintain your support.
Thanks for sharing that. We hope that you were able to enjoy this experience and it was good enough to give the feeling as if you actually did get the chance to ride. 💯🫡
First time here. I thought this was a CGI until I read that it was filmed with an I Phone. Very well done. Did you notice the rat at Montrose station just before leaving on the right side under the blue light?
@@wtaenyc yes that will be an amazing for you guys to check out. Me and a very good friend of mine as well as a few dedicated New Yorkers I've been trying to help bring any New York City subway line to train Sim World 2 if you check out my channel and has plenty of gameplay and dedicated videos for your team to check out and I hope you guys join us on dovetail forums that way you can see all the work we have done as far as articles and information goes on why the New York subway line would be an amazing addition to the game.
@@wtaenyc do you have any other ways of contact? Such as Facebook or Instagram? One more question sorry for the bombardment LOL what are you planning on doing a front view drive on the F train line because I know that's one anticipated and personally one of my favorites. I also want to take the time to thank you personally for what you do and I seriously love the content.
I would like to see Coney Island Stillwell Avenue on the F train line to 179th Street Jamaica. That would be probably the biggest viewed front view video . that was only recorded once like 13 years or so ago but I'm definitely looking forward to it.
I remember it as the LL when we went back to Brooklyn (visiting) in 1973 but can't remember if it was still LL or just plain L when I went back to Brooklyn in 1983. I used to walk from Cornelia St. to Myrtle-Wycoff station. I either took the subway (L/LL) or the elevated train (M).
Thank you for sharing that memory. Times have definitely changed and we imagine it’s surreal seeing this video vs what you grew up knowing/riding. We appreciate your support, however, and thanks again for the history lesson that many will certainly appreciate; we sure do
Fascinating perspective, well below the train operator's point of view. Did you mount the camera on the front coupler? Also the sound of the AC propulsion is much more prominent than I can remember hearing, even outside a train. Very intense experience!
Thank you so much. We recently changed management so our comments were unfortunately erased. We appreciate the fact that you are able to hear the difference in sounds from this experience and we hope that we continue to earn your support.
For 20 years I had hated the sound of the R143s, and then I watched this video today and I think I've changed my mind...now that I can hear more of the nuances, especially through headphones, it's better than I thought.
Wikipedia the best Not to be confused with R142 (New York City Subway car) or R142A (New York City Subway car) The R143 is a class of New Technology Train cars built by Kawasaki Rail Car Company for the New York City Subway's B Division. Delivered between 2001 and 2003, the cars displaced R40/As and R42s that operated on the L service in conjunction with the BMT Canarsie Line's signal system being automated. The R143 was the first "B" Division order of the NTT series, and the first 60-foot (18.29 m) B Division car built for the New York City Subway system since 1969. A total of 212 cars were built, all arranged as four-car sets. First delivered in late 2001, they entered a 30-day period of revenue service testing on December 4, 2001, and officially entered service on the Canarsie Line on February 12, 2002. By March 2003, all cars had been delivered.' The R143s are numbered 8101-8312. The 212 cars were expected to provide enough service for years, but the fast growth of the Williamsburg neighborhood overloaded the L by mid-2006.[6] The R143s are the first 60-foot (18.29 m) B Division cars built for the New York City Subway system since the R42 from 1969, the first NTT model for the B Division, and the first automated fleet in the subway system. They are currently based at East New York Yard and assigned to the L and J/Z. The R143s are very similar to the R160s and R179s, but all three have technical differences.[7][8][9] Initially, none of the three were able to interoperate, but modifications made in 2022 with the R143s and the four-car sets of R160As have allowed the two to operate together in one train.[10] Like the R142s, R142As, and R188s, the R143s feature electronic strip maps. Originally they only depicted stops on the L, but since 2020 they were retrofitted to include the J/Z. These newer installations depict the L and J/Z routes using two separate maps side-by-side, using the same 63-light console. Unlike the rest of the NTT fleet at the time, the R143s are equipped with interior LED screens, which take the place of the MTA Arts for Transit cards that are usually located there. These screens can display advertisements, public safety announcements, and other information.[11] Several cars of the NTT fleet were similarly retrofitted with LCD screens after they were delivered. However, the LCD screens have the capability to display multiple colors instead of only red, orange, and green. Communications-based train control The Transit Authority had projected that 212 Kawasaki-made R143 subway cars would be enough to accommodate ridership demands for years to come, but ridership has risen higher than expected. Therefore, sixty-four new R160A cars manufactured by Alstom were equipped with CBTC so they could run on the L along with the R143s. History Timeline of contract The contract for the R143 was put out to tender in January 1998. The initial contract called for 100 sixty-foot cars that would come in five-car sets. The new cars would be expected to have automatic PA announcements, high efficiency lighting, emergency intercom and customer alarms, AC propulsion motors, speedometers and event recorders, electronic information display signs, artwork, a central diagnostics monitoring system, microprocessor-controlled air compressor, brake and communication systems, roof-mounted microprocessor-controlled HVAC, and to be compliant with ADA requirements.[12] Kawasaki Rail Car Company was awarded a $190 million contract for 100 new B Division cars in late December 1998, with an option for 112 more cars.[13][14] The new design was based on the A Division's R142A, which Kawasaki also built,[5] and incorporated many features from the R110A and R110B prototypes. The cars were built with an average cost of about $1.5 million per car. Delivery Delivery of the cars began in late 2001. A 30-day revenue acceptance testing with one train of eight cars (8101-8108) began on December 4, 2001.[15][16] According to Kawasaki, the test was "extremely successful".[5] The cars began running on the Canarsie Line (L train) on February 12, 2002, where they have been assigned to.[17] All 212 cars were delivered by March 2003.[18] Along with displacing older equipment from the Canarsie Line, the R143s also displaced the R42s on the now-extended weekend M shuttle service on the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line, when that line became the first BMT Eastern Division line to be placed in a weekend One Person Train Operation (OPTO) service. The R143s on the M were later displaced by the R160As in February 2008. OPTO service was also tested on the L during mid-2005, but it ended due to safety issues. Cars 8205-8212 were originally delivered with experimental Siemens MITRAC traction systems, that would be later found in R160B cars 8843-9102. Today, a similar traction system to those are found on Vienna U-Bahn's Type V trains. These cars were eventually refitted with the Bombardier MITRAC traction systems found on all other R143s.[21] On April 18, 2004, an eight-car R143 train overshot the bumper at Eighth Avenue after the operator suffered a possible seizure. The lead car, 8196, presumably suffered damage while the rest of the consist did not.[22] By 2007, it had been repaired and returned to service. On June 21, 2006, another eight-car R143 train overshot the bumper, this time at the end of the tracks in the Canarsie Yard after the operator suffered a seizure. The first car, 8277, suffered significant damage and was stripped of damaged parts before being sent to the Kawasaki plant in Yonkers to receive repairs. The other cars in the set (8278-8280) suffered minor body damage and were moved to the 207th Street Yard and repaired. Eventually, 8277 was sent back to New York City Transit property and repaired. By 2016, car 8277 was finally recoupled with 8278-8280, but the consist needed component upgrades to become operational.[23] The set returned to service in December 2017.[24] In 2017, a set of R143s was equipped with measuring gauges to test out the curve radius and gangway flex in the existing 60-foot-long cars in order to collect data for evaluating the future R211T order, which was delivered beginning in October 2022.[25] In September 2020, the interior strip maps for these cars, which originally only depicted stops on the L route, were replaced with combined strip maps that includes stops on both the J/Z, whose cars are also maintained at East New York Yard, and L services.
I rode on this line every Saturday for three years from 8th Ave. to Lorimer St., beginning with the BMT standards in their final years, then the R-7/9s that had been transferred from the IND, to R-42s. My strongest memory was how the BMT standards would build up a full head of steam in the 14th St. tunnel before the laborious uphill climb in each direction. You could hear the gear pitch slowly drop from G# above middle C to as low as B below middle C as the train labored up the grade. My second strongest memory was how an 8th Ave.-bound train would empty at Union Square. I mean people just POURED out of the train. Sometimes we would, too, transferring to the BMT Broadway line for a nice, brisk express sprint uptown.
This is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this lovely comment. We are sure that there are folks that can learn a lot from this comment while others can possibly relate. We know that we are certainly amongst those that are learning so we appreciate this comment and this lesson.
Thank you so much for sharing your suggestion. We appreciate you sharing your opinion on something the channel can do, and we hope that regardless, you are all to appreciate all that we have done and continue to do. Stay blessed and again, thank you.
Great question. This flashing green is from the new signaling system, called CBTC, and the flashing green lets the train operator know that the system is working as designed, and they will follow the on screen prompts on the TOD screen. (Located in the cab) Thank you so much for your service to this city and it is an honor to assist you with an update of the system we imagine you know very well.
@@wtaenyc full routes for all of these lines. 1 from 242 St VCP to South Ferry 4 from Woodlawn to Crown Heights Utica Av (or New Lots Av if you manage to get the late night route) 6 from Pelham Bay Park to Brooklyn Bridge City Hall (maybe go on the City Hall Loop) and finally the 7, from 34 St Hudson Yards to Flushing Main St
Great observation and question. Those tracks to the right for both time stamps are tracks that connect to the J line and train yard located to the right.
That’s a great question. The flashing green is a part of the new signaling system transit is using, referred to as “CBTC.” The flashing green let’s the train operator know that the system is working as designed, and to follow the onscreen prompts in the cab, to know how to operate. For the L, the ATO is fully active almost all of the time where the train operator simply has to let the system know that they are there and aware, as the train makes the movements on its own.
Great observation and question. We believe those tracks aren’t actually abandoned, but are used for transfers of trains to and from the train yard, located in the area.
@@wtaenyc I know some of the tracks do lead to the yard, but there are so many abandoned iron girders with abandoned trackways and I am so confused by what they once were.
Thanks for sharing. It's cool to know that the Boston MBTA and the NYC trains, share these smilier sounds. It would be an honor to bring this same experience to the MBTA in the future; we'll manifest that. 🫶🫡
We appreciate you for sharing your opinion on our channel and what we can do moving forward; it’s greatly appreciated. We look forward to sharing all that we have with you and we only hope that you can at least, appreciate all the work we’ve done, as you graciously share any further opinions.. With that being said, we can’t wait for you to see the return video and appreciate your support.
I FEEL LIKE I AM 24 YEARS OLD AGAIN AND WORKING OVERTIME OPERATING THE LL LINE. WAIT. I DON'T THINK IT'S 1968 ANYMORE. THE OLD TRAINS ON THE LL LINE WERE A LITTLE AWKWARD TO OPERATE BECAUSE THE POWER HANDLE AND THE BRAKE HANDLE WERE ON OPPOSITE SIDES IN THE MOTORMAN'S OPERATING CAB. THE ONLY OTHER TRAINS LIKE THAT WERE THE "Q" CARS FROM METROPOLITAN AVE, ELEVATED TO JAY STREET. THE "Q" CARS WERE THE GATE CARS REMODELED. "Q" CARS EVEN HAD A SPECIAL BRAKE HANDLE THAT THE DISPATCHER GAVE TO THE MOTORMAN FOR THE DAY. NO ELECTRIC BRAKE. BRAKES APPLIED ONE CAR AT A TIME. THAT OVERTIME WAS REALLY DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE BRAKE. I ALMOST NEVER DID OVERTIME THERE. SIGNED "OLD TIME MOTORMAN, TSS.
Thank you so much for your service to NYC. Thank you for sharing how things were with the older model trains as well; we are sure many can learn how challenging it was for us to do our service.
I recommend you reshoot this with the camera 3 feet higher. Right now you are below the platform level. You have a good view of the trash on the tracks, but a poor view of the city skylines from the elevated lines. I have ridden this train many times (30 years ago), and you can see more standing at the front window than you can see in this video. This camera looks to be below the window level, so it is not a view any passenger would have.
Thank you for sharing your recommendation and we must admit, you have a great observation as it relates to the angle. Our camera is in fact below the platform level, like you stated, and it is unfortunate that because of the camera being there, you aren't able to appreciate the work and quality of the video. Yes, the angle shows mostly the tracks and subsequently, the trash that is unfortunate not to be thrown in the garbage bins, but being that the newer trains no longer have the RFW (rail fan window) like you did 30 years ago, this was the only angle that the team was able to utilize given the resources that are provided. As we move forward, we would love to bring you guys an experience from a higher angle but as it relates to the safety of, not only the trains but the entire city, we will be content with the angle we do have until those future possibilities are able to materialize. Thank you again and we look forward to bringing you content in the future that you will be able to appreciate; Sending positive blessings to you and your family.
So you're saying there's no front window to look out any more, like 30 years ago. Well, that's unfortunate, but I suppose there are good reasons for that. Given the conditions, you're doing an excellent job!
We appreciate you for sharing that and no, unfortunately the system recently retired the last train that had the RFW, the R32. Now, all trains have a full length train operator’s cab.
Great observation. Thank you so much for sharing that. We can’t wait to see a cleaner system where everyone disposes of their trash in a better manner.