Working the "A" Train (1981)
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2013
- From the New York Transit Museum archives, a 1981 documentary about the workers who make "A" train service possible. A production of the New York State Museum.
New York Transit Museum: www.mta.info/museum
New York State Museum: www.nysm.nysed.gov
hardworking people right here.i hope they all enjoyed a well deserved retirement.
That's the good thing about working for the city, you get good benefits even after you retire.
io89
Yeah... now you see 6 lazy assholes working together to change a lightbulb
Young & Funny yeah, and also if you were a chill and cool conductor, you would be a FAN favorite by the Train fan community and the regular people! I know a few conductors who were really cool!
@phillyslasher I bet you work for the MTA holding the ladder with the other 6 guys changing the lightbulb...
They still run the R46's on the Rockaway shuttle. I take them nearly every weekend in the summertime. It's amazing that 40 years later the sights and sounds in this video are still familiar to many people in 2021.
👏🏼
Hi and yes. I was maybe 13 when this movie was made. My grandpa would take us to Aqueduct, Broad Channel, and Rockaway. Right around the same time, me and a friend had a problem when we got off at Far Rockaway and these punks from the projects started throwing bricks and bottles at us and they were much older. Back then, my father would worry and send me off. No one back then really worried too much about a kid riding the train. Thankfully, we got away! R46 was my favorite though, especially one with working AC. We missed being able to see out the front window though! Glad to hear they are still in service.
They also still run on the A and C as well as Q
There she is, right there at 5:20, the one and only Barbara Hand! Barbara was an actual Tower Operator in the system. She'd retired from her position shortly before I began working as a Tour Guide in the New York Transit Museum in 1990, which is where I had the honor and privilege of meeting her.
Yea I was down there too with her. I knew her as a kid when she was out on the other towers, when I volunteered down there under Gail Dawnson, Barbara was there. She was an awesome person!!
Wow that's very interesting though.
Hard to believe in 1981 she was still having to use W-E circa 1920s "scissorphone" carbon phones as a microphone - and the following shot with the 1930s-era PA speaker. NO WONDER THE MTA was SUCH A MESS !!!! And these people dealt with the sh!t sandwich of equipment they were given to make work - and work they did (mostly). Any rider of the LIRR knew Harold and Jay if they were paying attention. They should rename the tower "HAND" instead of Harold...
@@musicom67 Right on, my friend!
Wow, I haven’t seen this video in over 30 some odd years!!! At 3:56 that is me when I was a Conductor working in Command Center typing train incident reports. It was a few months after this video was taken that I got promoted to Motorman.
As a Conductor I worked with this Motorman.
What was it like? Also how did the R38's preform back then? Sounds kinda weird
@Blue Skies Media Yes?
@@squiddog7086 It was a long run
I love these old documentaries. I hope these guys are all retired and happy somewhere.
When u look at it like this u see how incredible the system is. The older models in my opinion had more character to it.
They do and we’re in a Larger Variety
What not a lot of people do not know is that it is the same mechanics, just enhanced with modern technology to make it all better… but it is still the same bones and roots of the beginning; it is one of the infinite things that makes The City so special.
You should have been with me in the Mad Men era of 1960s NYC.
Schizo comment
My Grandfather Was A Train Driver On The ( F ) Train. God Bless His Soul. I wanna be just like my late grandpa Arthur Preudhomme
You mean motorman!
The double letter designations (AA, CC) used to indicate local trains. Today there is only the A, C, E.
Some additional info on this video. The Motorman was named Adams and the Conductor was Smith (Smitty) I had worked with Smitty when I worked the "extra" list, and he was the best conductor that I had ever worked with. M/M Adams had a vast knowledge of the transit system and it various trains, a real gentleman.
randyk49 kool!
Nice to know! I hope both men are or have really enjoyed their retirement!!!
Nice to know! I hope both men are or have really enjoyed their retirement!!!
Smitty is my dad. I just accidental found this video not expecting to see him. He retired in Oct 1989 and is 91 years young still enjoying his retirement. Thank you for the great compliment you gave him. 🚇
@@fnihp30 my dad Smitty is in fact still enjoying his retirement. 91 years young and still going strong.
I retired two years ago from dept of subways it was a great experience to have worked through the ranks
Gotta love this soundtrack.
Yea the MTA was short of funds so they bought a Korg electric piano from Big Dudes Music City for $250.00
what's the song called
@@jaydottt_transitfanner Sounds like something you'd hear in Super Mario.
My father was a Conductor on the IRT #2 Train for 24 years.
Frankly Speaking my dad was a T/O on the IND line for 29 years, #1 on the F line for 24 years. My brother and father of my kids both worked IRT division. I was the only fool that worked for MaBTOA. I wanted to go to motors so bad, but there was no division switches when I was there.
As a former Conductor, former Train Operator, and a current Train Service Supervisor, this video makes me smile 😁😁😁
Nice seeing the R46 when they had the Rockwell lightweight trucks, and that controller.
Those times where people working are so relaxed and more professional
As a rookie Transit employee (motorman) all I can say is the more things change, the more they truly stay the same!
It's been 8 years, how your career going?
@@cjuice9039 8-and-a-half to be exact. Only another 16 to go before retirement
@@JorgeCat78 Hope you next 16 years goes well. Respect for replying to such an old thread
as the Cinderella song says...
The R46 debuted on the A line 1975 making it the oldest subway trains we have now. I remember them when they were new!
I take the A train to work and I enjoy the R46 rather than the new trains
@@Ezekiel144k What are your thoughts on the brand new R211 subway cars?
The R44 is the oldest (currently run on the SIR which counts as the subway) first ran in 1971
@@nycfanner_205 True! And when the last R44s were delivered in 1974 I had long hair over my ears, long sideburns and a mustache. 😁
I love watching old NYC videos.
08:23 i love how that conductor talked
That’s my dad and what’s funny is that he doesn’t talk like that. We’ve been cracking up listening to this video.
@WHITTY IS10NYCTOMG He sounds like hem was in the 50’s. Haha
I've rode on the A train and other routes in the New York Subway system for over 50 years. I've heard the song many times, even sang it! I like the behind-the-scenes look at how the system works and the people who work there. I like the footage from the old days. it gives anybody who has never been on the subway an idea on how it works and what they do to keep New Yorkers and the thousands of visitors moving.
ahh back when everything was manual
psychic friend freadbear uh uh uh
psychic friend freadbear hello what doing
psychic friend freadbear still pretty much is... A lot of it over 100 years old
Two-Face yea but there’s ATO and CBTC
So true
Thank you for your service
I just don't understand why the best video on earth only has 146K views??
Lou Rawls operating the train!
"You'll never find... a subway train like mine"
Was that really Lou Rawls????
Steve Kapschock LOL! Hilarious!
It always have to be a pig to think he’s funny
Excellent footage! Thanks for posting!!
This video is amazing, inspiring & educational. Videos like these should be on the History Channel
Love this video, I operate the A train now for about 11 years and they still use the same equipment, very reliable and durable, I can’t wait to see the new trains come in.
To this day, i always wanted to become a NYCTA motorman. So hard to always see when is the next exam and hiring. Learned to fly planes, drive 18 wheelers, but this is the real dream job i always wanted since i was a child.😔🚉
Yea man! I agree! I live in the Chicagoland area (suburbs) and it seems hard to become a train operator for CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) here too.
*This is historically awesome!*
I love these vintage videos of the New York City Subway!
My mom used to take the A train in Nostrand Avenue and I used to ride the train with her when I was 2 yrs old.
Fascinating insight into the day to day running of the NYC subway. Thanks for uploading!
The A- train was a very brutal line back in da day especially riding through Brooklyn. The last car was always dark and full of thugs and if you rode the last car, hide your valuables cause they would definitely try to rob you.
This was the era of Bernie Getz !
Still, it does help educate people about the nature of subway operations. I'm sure if you compare 1981 to 2013, there will be advancements in technology while retaining the same general concept.
I was 6 in 1980 when riding my first subway car which was an R46 on the F from Herald Square to Rockafeller Center! Well that set I rode was clean! Second time, I ride an R40M set on the AA in 1984, then a few months after ride the dirty cars on the 1 and 2! Things got much better after 1989 rolled around, but the way things were in the subway would make anyone afraid to ride it especially in the overnight hours!
Now in 2022 it is much worse, all the attacks on innocent people.
I operated the R-46 train. This was the 1st train with new technology.
You had the 1st of its kind captain chair that swiveled. The brake handle & the throttle were connected onto one lever. So easy to conrol. Up for speed down to slowdown or stop. I used to operate with my left hand while my right arm, bent at the elbow was out the window. Just like a Cadillac. Comfortable as hell!
Those were some beautiful trains they had back then! What a great man, he really enjoyed and cared about his job. It looks really fun!
For reference, the IND/BMT fleet at the time was R10, (maybe the R11 I’m not sure), R16, R27, R30, R32, R38, R40(both types), R42, R44, and R46.
Very diverse system at the time. Compared to today, now we have less than half of that.
only smees left are R46 R62 R62A R68 and R68A
My dream job is to be an MTA train conductor.
Take test
Please change your YT profile picture as it appears to be a mockery of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Mocking Our Lord Jesus Christ is a grave sin that places souls on the wide path to Hell if the souls do not repent/receive forgiveness for their sins prior to death. Peace!
I hope you got this
at kingston throop avenues you will see a r40 slant
In the 80's and part of the 90's the A used R40 slants all the time. That wasn't anything unusual. Then after the C stopped using the R10's and R16's they used R40 slants so they were on the line for many years.
R40 slants were also used on the B line in the mid 80 until they were scrapped in the mid to late 90's.
@@jonbase6004 but they retired I. 2008
@@ninofromkitchennightmares1497 Your right, my mistake because in 2005 I use to see them on 168 St. where I was working at the time being used on the C line.
Thank you for your hard work and service.
Pre-G.O.H. R-46's
Rockwell International Trucks
P-Wire Braking System
G.E. Slide Controller
You could cut The Radio in to transmit Command Center's announcements directly over the P.A.
All Door panels had Guard Lights,
Automatic/manual Identra Setting side signs (automatic Side Signs), enter 2 digit code = press start, and all side signs would go to that Route/Destination. i.e. 54 was (E) to 179th St. Jamaica, etc.
Hostler Auxiliary backup Controller,
ELE44 Skate Key controls MDC. (Before the "Vapor Key" was introduced in 1985
The old "Command Center", room 300 at 370 Jay Street.
...And the Classic Defining N.Y.C.T.A. Blue Stripe
This is when when the system had personality.
Now its as interesting as a hospital bathroom.
Oh gimme a break. The r143/160/179s are nice. They represent the future of the transit system. These times were nice But the reality is, you have to get with the times
Well one thing I can say is the Kawasaki r68s stay looking so shínny and pristine. And they still ride smooth. Air conditioning is flawless
No need to worry, the R211 Trainsets will be a break from the Gray and Teal of the current subway car interiors.
You are correct sir! The hostler was great. Used to override the deadman with a toothpick!
at 9:35 I remember the NYC Transit police patrolling with their wooden night sticks.
Such sweet footage!
man i miss those tokens wait 1981 i was 10 years old living in brooklyn
This is so awesome. Would love more!!
The A train always seems to get hellish again after it is "fixed"
An amazing entourage of dedicated, and knowledgeable people running a very daunting operation - the largest of its kind in the world - and pioneers who built it.
To me this is new school stuff. I'm from the era of Low V's, R1-R9's, R10's R14's, R16's.
WOW! How old are you?
+MrVegita22 Obviously over 50
+Nick Apples I was asking him for his age not an estimation fam
MrVegita22 Well some people don't like giving out info like that.
The Low V’s through the Arnines are pretty cool. However the Smee fleet of the R-10 through the R-44/46 are amazing 😉
👋👋👋👋👋This is a touching Film of the New York City Subways until I'm crying. All those car fleets in this picture are all retired from service. Those memories touch my heart as a train buff & model railroader. Thanks for these memories and the staff that worked at that time when i was in high school when at that time when all this action was on the subway rails. 😢😭🙂
The R46 is still in operation, fortunately!
I love those blue pregoh stripes!
i like you
Eastwood S the r160 has something similar to them the cuomo wrapped cars
I like the pre goh to
@@mbtabusandtrainannouncemen8131 imagine R160 PRE-GOH 😳
This brought me back. I always wanted to be a subway engineer.
Anthony Mollica the correct title is train operator. I should know. That's been my job for 24 years.
Very cool brings back fond memories!
gotta love the R44s On the (A) Train But R46 instead in this video
Back then there's no R160s :(
The New York subway is light years ahead of Toronto. I feel like this is Toronto in the year 2000
Enjoyed this, thank you for sharing it.
You gotta love the according phone!!! Like from the Adams Family
Back when the R44s and R46s had rollsigns.
In the 80s, they started putting in the digital signs. They first did it on the E line. In the 80s, the E ran exclusively R46s for many years. Then they changed them to R32s in the 90s after the R46s were rebuilt and they liked the shorter dwell time on the R32s.
Beautiful I miss nyc
My Grandpa was a foreman of the track workers in NYC at this time. I still have the pocket Watch (engraved 1984) the MTA gave him in retirement.
Loved operating the R-46 on the
B-end (no cab for Motorman) with the pushbutton hostler. Used to overide deadman with a toothpick!
Its really good. The NYC Subway system has come along way :)
Awesome documentary, chock full of facts and figures as well as the personal touch. Rode the subway through the 1970s til the year I left New York: 1981, the year this was filmed!
Those are my stops! Grew up between Nostrand Av & Kingston-Throop Avs stops in the 80s and 90s.
I MUST drive/operate a NYC Subway Train in this God given lifetime!!!
Omg this is so Cool, it looks like one of the best jobs in the world
R40 slant at 4:35
Gaby Rojas you must be a buff
Gaby Rojas cool find
Omar Velez dude just because she found an r40 slant train doesn’t mean she’s a buff
Correction it a R40 slant Pregoh
Wait no
I wish there was one for the F train out of 179th Street. My Dad was number 1 there for over 25 years until retirement in 1995
Really nice on how the Rapid Transit was like back in the old days
8:40 TOKENS!
Great video.
Jesus. their communication equipment/phones look like they are from the 1920's, probably are.
Those old fashion bucket seats
But you cannot forget the classic hard black seats
awesome video
I wish I was alive when those trains were around.....but DEAR GOD THE GRAFFITI! These trains have and will see better days.
Will? Where, Underwater? Lmao
The Graffiti is what made those trains
More like made those trains look look ghastly.
There under water
If to go to Atlantic u will find some MTA train in the water
Even if I didn't know that this documentary was from 1981, I would've been able to tell that this was from the 1980s. The A train models were different and people used subway tokens instead of MetroCards.
I worked on the Metrocard project as a tester!
Should post more videos like this this is great
Crazy how we go from this, to what we now have is the Subway Action Plan.
Worth noting that ALL those subway models are still in service. The MTA decided recently not to replace the A train model seen in this video. A new model was tested to replace it but not implemented. Those old token booths that had the change exchanging hands had the coins flushed up against the window. I don't know if that was some sort of protocol but that's how it looked back then. Some of the models in the video were reduced in service but can still be ridden. Graffiti crime has been improved greatly. There is no longer any double lettered trains.
The only ones left are the R32, R42, R44, & R46
37 Years Later And The A Train Is Still Terrible. The (A)wful Express. Lol. Excellent Documentary. 👍
LOL good one
Can't be no worse than the G(arbage) local.
Take the voice from the r110a onto the R142 cars (R142A, And R142S). You did an awsome job with The voice.
+Doh 45688, Including The R142.
WOW Look at the P-Wire R46 cab with Regulation Speed or Manual Speed
That was probably before they deactivated the last step of the field shunting. Still on Rockwell's too. 80 MPH, no problem.
...And don't forget the "Hostler Auxiliary Controller" & The "ELE44" Key
2020 - not much have changed. Classic video of NY.
Good Stuff i would love to see a modern version of this.
I was thinking the same. They honestly could do the same with today's video equipment and it would look pretty dope.
wow i am loving it the train from far rockaway to manhattan thats a long trip i been it on it trust me i am from there
I love when the trains goes fast especially when it goes express
So this is what the world looked like when I was born? There are things of the past I miss. I guess we can't have those days again, can we?
Awsome!
Loved it
I miss the R44s.
Hunter deja I believe what I meant by this was that I miss how frequently they used to run. Two years ago; I'll never know what I was thinking 😂😂😂
Hunter deja Nah, the A and R got the 46's. The 44's are on the SIR.
Rail Around New York,
the F too
The Metro_ologist I thought the R44s were on the F
Hunter D bruh my name is Hunter D wtf
Amazing moving of people
The R44s were in the words of the T.A., "lemons" with problems in the "trucks" (wheel sets). They had to share R40s with the AA/B line. The R32s weren't bad either.
Venom the god That was the R46. The problems on the R44 were on the technology advancements since they did test them out before procurement.
nope, the 110A is a converted pump train, & the 110B is all kinds of jacked up
Same these days were so good but if you remember how bad the graffiti problem was you would think again 1 car last 1 week
This was a cool video.
showing my stations near my home.
Where can I find more vids like this?
Awesome
Damn, those trains!
Good job