BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

These truly nostalgic photos date back to 1958, when the last open-platform "BU" gate cars were retired from service on the Myrtle Avenue El.

Here we see an "old time" motorman, along with two gatemen/guards, the very last of their breed.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?56297

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?56296

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?96611

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Bridge-Jay"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's an interesting view of an R-12 coupled to an R-15, after they had been transferred to the IRT mainlines; here you can clearly see the outdoor conductor's "plungers" on the R-12.

Of course, it's obvious that the conductor's position on the R-15 was inside, unlike the R-12......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2898

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

[ACF"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Interesting comparison cab views from an R-30 and an R-44.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?88800

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?139205

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

[NYCTA/MTA"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Another interesting (and important) aspect of the duties of motormen of so many decades ago, recall that that the early IRT motor cars were "Hi-V's' (High Voltage).

What this meant was that 600 volts of DC power was fed directly from the third rail to the controllers, and then to relays that turned on the motors, accelerated them, and, also shut them off.

When some cars were converted to use "Lo-V" master controllers, battery power was fed into the master controllers, and then to relays that controlled the feed of 600 volts DC power to the traction motors.

After 1915, all new INTERBOROUGH subway cars were designated "Lo-V's" (Low Voltage).

Interestingly, unless you were an INTERBOROUGH man or a subway enthusiast, the Hi-V's (with the exception of the 1907 deck roof "Gibbs" cars) were virtually identical to the Lo-V's......

"NYO"

["INTERBOROUGH"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Comparing Hi-V's and Lo-V's.....

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?94810

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?36429

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["I.R.T."]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Easily the most distinctive early IRT cars were the deck roof GIBBS (Hi-V) cars, built by ACF in 1907.

The deck roofs gave these cars a distinct "trolley" appearance.

They could, and did, MU with the more conventional "Hi-V's" which utilized the more conventionall railroad-type roofs.

These distinctive cars lasted in service for 50-odd years; thankfully, one was preserved and today resides up at Shore Line......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?43573

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6882

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["ACF"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's a rare photo of a new BRT Standard at Kings Highway, undergoing testing.

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show45950

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

Note, in this photo, that the car has been fitted with trolley poles.

Several of the earliest Standards were temporarily fitted with trolley poles for testing on the new "SEA BEACH" line; these poles were, of course, removed after initial testing was completed (how ironic that former BRT/BMT cars up at Shore Line today use trolley poles to operate!)

On an interesting note, the first 100 Standards (2000-2099) were all single units, to enable double-ended operation; furthermore, these cars were equipped with cab signals and speed controls for operation on the Sea Beach line.

This system was not a success, and traditional wayside signalling was installed........

"NYO"

["Brooklyn Rapid Transit"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here are two more rare photos from 1915, showing new BRT "Standards" undergoing test runs on the Sea Beach line, utilizing newly-installed third rail......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?132294

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?132295

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Sea Beach Express"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

One small group of IRT Lo-v's that were particularly interesting were the "STEINWAYS"; these cars were built for service to Queens via the Steinway tubes under the east River, which had been originally built for trolleys.

The gradients of the tunnels were such that the existing motor cars might have encountered difficulty in maintaining schedules.

It was then determined that no trailers would be used in the news Queens operation, and that the new motor cars should have a gear ration that would improve performance.

Because of the special motor gearing, these cars were known as "STEINWAYS".......

"NYO"

["Pressed Steel"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's two views of Lo-V's running on the Flushing line (today's #7)

These cars were later sent to the "main lines", beginning in 1948, when the new R-12's and, later, the R-14's, began arriving.

The arch-roofed R-15's (the first IRT cars with arch roofs) entered Flushing line service in 1950.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?45223

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?45197

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["INTERBOROUGH"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

BMT's lightweight experimental trains (the "GREEN HORNET", "ZEPHYR" and the "BLUEBIRD".......

Basically, these sleek, futuristic articulated trains were supposed to usher in a new generation of BMT trains, modern trains that would also be light enough to be able to run on the spindly old elevated lines that then ran in Brooklyn.

This was truly an exercise in futility, as Mayor LaGuardia was a sworn enemy of the el (and the streetcars) and wanted then them GONE, period.

These new lightweight trains would have been ideal for traveling to and from Park Row via the Brooklyn Bridge (which could not handle street equipment), and would have eventually replaced the antiquated wooden cars.

But, alas, this was not to be.

The "GREEN HORNET" (the first New York rapid transit train to use door chimes) was plagued by a number of issues, particularly after 1938.

It sat idle for some time in the gloom of the BMT shops, where, in 1942, the Government ordered it scrapped for its aluminum content, to help with the War effort.

The sleek Budd "ZEPHYR" (the ancestor of the famed "Brightliners") ran until 1954, after serving out most of its service life on the Franklin Avenue shuttle.

The stylish "BLUEBIRDS" ran for sixteen years, before being retired in 1956.

Sadly, no examples of any of these unique trains exist today.....

"NYO"

["Franklin Ave."]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The sleek "GREEN HORNET", while still in service......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46923

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46926

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46928

(courtesy:nycsubway.org)

["7-Prospect Park"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The "Brightliners" forgotten ancestor, the "ZEPHYR"........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46944

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?47345

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?75915

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["16-Canarsie"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The resplendent "BLUEBIRDS", the last of the experimental BMT lightweight articulateds.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6710

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?128002

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46908

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Canarsie"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Perhaps the most unique (and the most ungainly!) rapid transit rolling stock in New York were the "C"-types; these unusual trainsets were made up of rebuilt open-platform elevated cars, and rebuilt with enclosed vestibules and sliding doors.

These cars LOOKED like articulated units, but (unlike the "D"-type Triplex) they were not.

These "home-built" cars (and the IRT's MUDC's) were the only cars on the system to utilize doors that were hung outside the car bodies.

These ungainly (but interesting!) trains were retired in 1956, along with the last original portions of the old Fulton El in Brooklyn........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?7989

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?97835

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?78227

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?112792

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Fulton St. Line"]