The Leaders Post

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The Leaders Post

The Leaders Post

Subway Observations – Part 2

Probably one of the rarest things you’ll ever catch in the subway system… an R46 subway car running on the (B) line! This is EXTREMELY rare, as the (B) line only uses R68 and R68A subway cars. This R46 ran on the (B) as a put-in, because some R68A type subway cars had been vandalized.


A set of R68/R68As move past Ocean Parkway, en route to Coney Island Yard to be cleaned due to being spray painted. Although not visible, the second car of this consist was vandalized.

R68A car number 5028 is rocking the old MTA logo as opposed to the new one.


A not-in-service train consisting of R160 cars, signed as an (R), moves past 25 Av on the express track, bound for 36 St/4 Av. This train is deadheading via the West End Express line to 36 St, where it can begin service on the (R) line.


A not-in-service train consisting of R68A cars, signed as a (B), moves past 25 Av on the local track. It’s unknown what this train was used for, or why it was taken out of service, but it’s safe to presume that this train was bound for the storage facility.


Two R160s are laid up at Kew Gardens-Union Tpke on the IND Queens Boulevard Line. For some context, a lot of R160s are stored at Jamaica Yard. There are more subway cars assigned to Jamaica Yard than to any other rapid transit yard in the city – even more than Coney Island Yard! As a result, there is constant crowding in the yard. Due to the crowding, many trains are stored on the express tracks on the Queens Boulevard Line, as seen in the photo above.


An (N) train, consisting of R68 cars, erroneously has its exterior rollsign scrolled to an upside down <W>. The <W> rollsign was first conceived in 2001, when there was scheduled peak-direction express service on the Astoria Line in Queens. It proved extremely unpopular, and was discontinued by early 2002.


A (B) train, consisting of R68A-type subway cars, erroneously has its middle rollsign scrolled to an (A). This happened because this particular set was used in (A) service the previous night, and the crew did not change the sign back to (B).


An (N) train, consisting of R46-type subway cars, erroneously has its middle rollsign scrolled to (E). It’s not 100% confirmed why this happened, but it’s safe to presume that this happened due to a jammed mechanism.

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