Tom Beckett's Collection
4/24/2024
View Photos
·
Home
·
Newest Photos
·
Editors' Picks
·
My Picks
·
By Date
·
By Photo Album
·
By Location
·
By Map
·
By Railroad
·
By Locomotive Model
·
Search
·
Frame/Serial XRef
·
Most Photographed
·
Rolling Stock
·
Main Site
Members
·
Log In
·
Register
Viewing Album: Dad in transit
By:
Tom Beckett
Dates:
1/1/1950 - 3/1/2012
Album Info:
Dad took a lot of photos all over, including on various forms of transit. He rode all over, and this album has shots mostly from New York, but also Boston, DC, and Toronto as well.
Page Controls
View:
Grid
List
Pics Per Page:
10
20
30
40
50
100
Title:
In the shadows
Description:
One of the drawbacks to elevated transit was that it kept sunlight from the street. Heres a good example as we see Jamaica Av under the BMT line that came from Manhattan via the Williamsburg Bridge. The end of the line is seven blocks away, at 168th. This line would come down in 1977, cut back to Queens Blvd. It would take another 15 years before a replacement would be opened, a subway line that went to Archer Av and Sutphin Blvd, somewhat short of the original line, but adjacent to the LIRR Jamaica station. The subway would also have the advantage of servine both the Jamaica Av BMT, and the Queens IND line.
Photo Date:
2/19/1961
Upload Date:
4/16/2016 4:21:01 AM
Location:
Jamaica, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Bridge,Transit,Passenger
Locomotives:
Views:
175
Comments:
0
Title:
Old classics
Description:
Everything in this photo is long gone. The R 16s overhead on the Jamaica Av elevated, delivered around 1950, are gone, as is the brown paint scheme and the structure they are riding on, which was closed here in 1977. Note the police call box on the pole at far right-along with the beat cop on the corner. Theres an upward pointing arrow bus stop sign, another feature of urban life now a long ago memory. And Woolworths.........
Photo Date:
5/20/1961
Upload Date:
4/16/2016 4:25:58 AM
Location:
Jamaica, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Bridge,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
NYCTA 6336(Electric M.U.)
NYCTA 6480(Electric M.U.)
Views:
367
Comments:
0
Title:
Rear window
Description:
We lived on 161st St in the Jamaica section of Queens til I was five. Our apartment was midway between the Queens IND and the Jamaica Av BMT line. Dad worked at the NY Times, so we most often took the IND, but occasionally wed make a foray onto the BMT-more fun because it was elevated. This was taken from the rear window of a Brooklyn bound train at 160th St, looking back toward the terminal at 168th. Theres a train in the station there, most likely R 16s, which were common on that line then-I recall their round windows in the front doors. The line came down beyond Queens Blvd in the late 70s. This photo is from November 1963.
Photo Date:
11/16/1963
Upload Date:
9/21/2014 1:21:33 AM
Location:
Jamaica, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Signal,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
357
Comments:
1
Title:
Lined up
Description:
Dad took me to the Worlds Fair in 1964, and again in 1965. We took the LIRR from Little Neck to the Worlds Fair station, and walked over to the fairgrounds. On the way, we crossed over the IRT Flushing Lines Corona Yard. New R 36s had been acquired just prior to the fair, and here they are, all lined up in the yard. As if that were not enough, dad caught a train approaching the Willets Point Blvd station. Looks like a publicity photo for the Transit Authority.
Photo Date:
9/12/1964
Upload Date:
4/19/2016 3:48:11 AM
Location:
Flushing, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Scenic,Yard,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
354
Comments:
1
Title:
Over the yard
Description:
Dad liked to get grab shots from the train as it passed Sunnyside Yard, and occasionally fate smiled on him, and he got something interesting. Today was one of those days. We see a Flushing bound IRT train passing over the yard on Queens Blvd, as work goes on at Yard A down below, as a LIRR S 2 goes through its chores.
Photo Date:
2/15/1965
Upload Date:
4/24/2016 4:51:51 AM
Location:
Long Island City, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Bridge,Yard,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
138
Comments:
1
Title:
Rawson St
Description:
My mom had several doctors in Manhattan. When she had an appointment, shed prefer to drive into the city(much to my chagrin when I got my license and she wanted to go to the city. I HATE driving in Manhattan-and I learned there) my dad would come out on the IRT to meet her, and he would drive in the rest of the way. That way he could watch us while she had her appointment. Typically, hed come out to 33rd/Rawson St on the Flushing Line, which was convenient for a pick up, and to the 59th St bridge, which is how they went in, since the doctors were on the upper east side. Dad got this shot of a Main St bound train on the opposite side, as a Times Sq bound train approached in the distance.
Photo Date:
6/14/1965
Upload Date:
4/24/2016 4:48:34 AM
Location:
Long Island City, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
95
Comments:
0
Title:
Rockaway from the air
Description:
Another shot dad took from a plane-he was fond of shooting the NY area when he took off or landed-shows the Jamaica Bay area. The line at left is the NYCTA IND to Rockaway, seen here crossing the bay on Broad Channel. The station there is down at the clump of houses at the top center of the frame. The moveable bridge just before reaching Rockaway is still in place, and still working. This is the A train, which went to Far Rockaway, with service to Rockaway Park, at right on the peninsula, handled by a shuttle during the day and at night, and the E train during rush hours. At the time, it was double fare to ride here. The line was acquired by the NYCTA in 1954, after the LIRR abandoned it following one too many fires on the wooden trestle across the bay. It was rebuilt by the TA as a concrete viaduct.
Photo Date:
11/6/1967
Upload Date:
4/14/2016 3:48:30 AM
Location:
Broad Channel, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Scenic,Bridge,Track
Locomotives:
Views:
89
Comments:
0
Title:
Cleaning up
Description:
On his boat trip, dad got a look at the IND 207th St yard. One of the maintenance trains there was this vacuum train, an ex IRT Low V and several retired newer IRT cars that appear to have been fitted with vacuum nozzles and some kind of motor. Note the large air ducts between the cars. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see this in action.
Photo Date:
8/16/1973
Upload Date:
3/17/2016 4:30:11 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
RollingStock,Yard
Locomotives:
Views:
266
Comments:
0
Title:
Old guard
Description:
This retired R 3 was at the yard, along with the newer cars. It will likely be scrapped, though some of its class are still in service after 40 years.
Photo Date:
8/16/1973
Upload Date:
3/17/2016 4:34:13 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Roster,RollingStock,Yard,Passenger
Locomotives:
NYCTA 435(Electric M.U.)
Views:
197
Comments:
0
Title:
Yard view
Description:
Another look at 207th St yard from the Harlem River, this time with an R 3A looking like it's headed for the scrapper, and new R 44s.
Photo Date:
8/16/1973
Upload Date:
2/29/2016 4:10:04 AM
Location:
Manhattan Inwood, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
RollingStock,Yard,Passenger
Locomotives:
NYCTA 435(Electric M.U.)
Views:
184
Comments:
0
Title:
Something for everyone
Description:
Dads boat trip took him past 207th St yard, which had quite a variety of cars. In this view, there is an R1/9, R 10, R 42, an IRT car, probably an R 28; and a couple of IRT Low Vs, now in maintenance service.
Photo Date:
8/16/1973
Upload Date:
2/29/2016 4:07:15 AM
Location:
Manhattan Inwood, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
RollingStock,Yard,Passenger
Locomotives:
NYCTA 3329(Electric M.U.)
NYCTA 67(Electric M.U.)
NYCTA 20383(Electric M.U.)
Views:
319
Comments:
0
Title:
Low Vs on the dead line
Description:
A couple of IRT Low V cars sits at 207th St waiting for the end. These cars had been retired in the mid 60s as the R 33s came on line, and were slowly being cut up here.
Photo Date:
8/16/1973
Upload Date:
3/17/2016 4:39:13 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Roster,RollingStock,Yard,Passenger
Locomotives:
NYCTA 9131(Electric M.U.)
NYCTA 20383(Electric M.U.)
Views:
226
Comments:
0
Title:
Cut up
Description:
Once the backbone of the IRT fleet, these Low V cars are now so much steel scrap, having met their end at the 207th St yard. There appear to be some sections of R1/9's as well. The TA was taking delivery of new R 44's at the time; the R 46's would arrive in another two years, and the R 42's had come on line about three years previous, so at this time the older IND and BMT cars were being retired en masse, though some would hang on til the late 70's.
Photo Date:
8/16/1973
Upload Date:
3/17/2016 4:42:18 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
RollingStock,Yard,Passenger
Locomotives:
Views:
132
Comments:
0
Title:
On a PCC car
Description:
Dad went to Boston for a meeting of a pulp and paper industry trade group in October of 1973, and used MBTA to get around. They were still using PCC cars at the time-as they would for a few more decades. This is an interior view of a car on the Green Line.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 4:36:06 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
RollingStock,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
MBTA 3050(PCC)
Views:
224
Comments:
0
Title:
Closed up and rolling
Description:
The car dad just got off has closed up, and will be rolling out momentarily. Streetcars on surface lines were pretty common. Seeing them in the subway was odd.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 4:41:49 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
MBTA 3050(PCC)
Views:
249
Comments:
0
Title:
Tight curves
Description:
In the older cities of the northeast, elevated lines were sometimes convoluted as they worked their way along streets that were laid out in some cases, over 200 years earlier, which in Boston was not too much of a stretch. This reverse curve on the Orange Line is one such. As more modern cars came into use, transit agencies found the clearances dictated the size of the equipment. Heres why.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 4:47:56 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Signal,Transit,Track
Locomotives:
Views:
174
Comments:
0
Title:
Park Street
Description:
The Park Street station on the Red Line. Note the standard high platforms. The Red Line runs standard transit cars in the subway portion. If youve ever seen exterior photos of a train crossing a river bridge when watching a show or movie filmed in Boston-say, Rizzoli and Isles-thats the Red Line. Transfer here to the Green Line.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 4:53:32 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger
Locomotives:
Views:
134
Comments:
0
Title:
Green Line
Description:
The Green Line station at Park St, set up for the low floor of PCC cars. Change here for the Red Line.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 4:58:49 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Track
Locomotives:
Views:
158
Comments:
0
Title:
You are here
Description:
The MBTA map underneath the station sign. Were at Prudential Center.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 5:01:19 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger
Locomotives:
Views:
128
Comments:
0
Title:
Into the darkness
Description:
The PCC car on the Green Line accelerates rapidly as it rolls on into the gloom of the tunnel.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 5:04:56 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
MBTA 3050(PCC)
Views:
238
Comments:
0
Title:
Signs
Description:
There are lots of signs here at the Red Line station at Downtown Crossing. Change to the Orange Line here.
Photo Date:
10/22/1973
Upload Date:
3/7/2016 5:10:00 AM
Location:
Boston, MA
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger
Locomotives:
Views:
124
Comments:
0
Title:
Going nowhere
Description:
A red over red on the 8th Avenue line, and nobody is going anywhere.
Photo Date:
12/28/1973
Upload Date:
2/19/2016 4:48:44 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Signal
Locomotives:
Views:
99
Comments:
0
Title:
Another day on the IRT
Description:
Dad was good at getting candid shots of just about everything, and the subway was no exception. We see a rider on the IRT doing what most of us do on the train. Read the paper, pass the time.
Photo Date:
1/12/1974
Upload Date:
2/20/2016 4:04:15 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
129
Comments:
0
Title:
Sign of the times
Description:
The graffiti era in New York was in full swing in the 70s. The teens of the less advantaged parts of the city found they could "tag" subway cars pretty much at will, and often would spend several hours working on a train in a yard. The city, which had little money in those years-1974 was the year of the famous Daily News headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead" and with bare bones security, many parts of the system were largely unattended. Some of the graffiti was quite artistid, but most of it was just someones street name. Dad caught this tag on a Flushing train.
Photo Date:
1/13/1974
Upload Date:
2/23/2016 4:32:00 AM
Location:
Flushing, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
RollingStock,Transit,Passenger
Locomotives:
Views:
105
Comments:
0
Title:
Coming in hot
Description:
The New York system put the "rapid" in rapid transit. The trains would come into a station at a pretty good clip, managing to stop at the end of the platform. Overshooting a station was rare-I almost never heard of it happening. This Times Square bound No 7 train arrives at Woodside.
Photo Date:
1/13/1974
Upload Date:
2/23/2016 4:35:04 AM
Location:
Woodside, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Night,Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
137
Comments:
0
Title:
Old subway cars never die
Description:
They just labor on in the dark. A BMT D type is coupled to a retired IRT Low V, something you'd never see in regular service, at 57 St on the BMT Broadway Line, waiting for a signal to head downtown to continue their late night maintenance chores.
Photo Date:
1/15/1974
Upload Date:
3/8/2016 4:47:50 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
NYCTA 35682(Electric M.U.)
NYCTA 20380(Electric M.U.)
Views:
251
Comments:
0
Title:
This is not the train you are looking for
Description:
Riders expecting a ride downtown crowd toward the door of this retired BMT set now in maintenance service. Theyll have to wait a little longer to get out of 57th St, but there should be an N or RR soon.
Photo Date:
1/15/1974
Upload Date:
3/8/2016 4:41:00 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
NYCTA 35682(Electric M.U.)
Views:
201
Comments:
0
Title:
Dyre Av Line
Description:
We took the IRT no 5 train to Dyre Av, once the NY Westchester & Boston. It was a marvelously engineered right of way, with wide tunnels. Dad caught this southbound train in one of the tunnels, I believe near the Esplanade station.
Photo Date:
2/11/1974
Upload Date:
12/5/2014 1:44:53 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Tunnel,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
160
Comments:
0
Title:
IRT snowplow
Description:
Believe it or not, the NYCTA has snowplows mounted on retired Low V cars. We spotted this one at 238th St yard on an ERA fantrip.
Photo Date:
3/10/1974
Upload Date:
12/4/2014 4:01:02 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Roster,RollingStock,Yard
Locomotives:
NYCTA 38190(MoW Equipment)
Views:
301
Comments:
0
Title:
Not so rapid
Description:
One of the functions of some subway yards was as a bone yard for retired buses. East 239th St on the White Plains Rd line in the Bronx was one such place, and there are many early 60s vintage GM fishbowl coaches here, along with some 1955 GM buses, which were all but gone from the NYCTA by this time.
Photo Date:
4/14/1974
Upload Date:
2/24/2016 2:22:14 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Roster,Yard,Transit
Locomotives:
Views:
148
Comments:
0
Title:
Portrait of the author as a subway nut
Description:
Yes, thats me in April 1974, just before by 15th birthday. I was on a quest to ride the entire NYCTA-not all at once-and dad would ride along with me to the Bronx, since he was a little jittery about me going up there alone at that time in history. I think he trusted me not to do anything stupid or dangerous, he just didnt want to hear a lot of crap about it from mom if anything unfortunate were to happen while I was on one of these jaunts. Anyway, thats me on the #5 Dyre Av line, at the last stop, waiting to head back to E 180th to ride the #2 up to 241st St.
Photo Date:
4/15/1974
Upload Date:
2/6/2016 3:40:35 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
201
Comments:
1
Title:
Baychester Av
Description:
The Dyre Av line was built on the abandoned right of way of the short lived-and marvelously appointed-NY Westchester & Boston, and electrified railroad that opened in 1913, and ceased operations in 1938. It was handicapped from the start by lack of a Manhattan terminal, its riders having to change to elevated trains in the south Bronx to reach midtown. It was lavishly built, with a wide right of way. The IRT, by then owned by the city, acquired it in 1941, building a connection from the White Plains Rd line at E 180th St. Were headed north at Baychester Av on a spring day in April 1974.
Photo Date:
4/15/1974
Upload Date:
2/6/2016 3:47:38 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Track,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
144
Comments:
0
Title:
Morris Park
Description:
The IRT trackwork at Morris Park, where there were a pair of layup tracks on the beds of the NYW&B express tracks.
Photo Date:
4/15/1974
Upload Date:
2/6/2016 3:52:47 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Transit,Track
Locomotives:
Views:
178
Comments:
0
Title:
Yard leads
Description:
The leads to the 239th St yard on the White Plains Rd line. I always found the track layouts for such places fascinating, how they built it all essentially up on stilts. It was even more amazing that the IND did all of this work underground, such as on 53rd St between 5 Av and the 8th Av subway.
Photo Date:
4/15/1974
Upload Date:
2/6/2016 3:54:58 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Signal,Transit,Track
Locomotives:
Views:
203
Comments:
0
Title:
Jerome Av yard
Description:
We also rode the #4 Jerome Av Line to Woodlawn. Dad got this shot of the yard at the end of the line, mostly empty except for one train set. The rest are out on the line, as rush hour approaches.
Photo Date:
4/15/1974
Upload Date:
2/6/2016 3:56:28 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Yard,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
121
Comments:
0
Title:
Freeman St
Description:
On days off, or school vacations, dad and I would sometimes take off for some of the more far flung parts of the NYCTA, especially the Bronx, which at the time was, well, not the place you wanted to spend a lot of time. I was on a quest to ride all of the system at the time, and dad was sympathetic. He also had cautioned that if I wanted to go there, he wanted to go along, not that he questioned my judgement about riding to some parts of the city, but that if anything should happen, he knew hed never hear the end of it from my mom, who was worried about everything. I was with him on that one, because Id never hear the end of it either. In any event, here we see the Freeman St station coming up as we ride the No 5-Dyre Av train, in a view of classic NYCTA elevated tracks.
Photo Date:
4/15/1974
Upload Date:
2/15/2016 3:15:23 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Track,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
147
Comments:
0
Title:
Going nowhere
Description:
A red signal on the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan is at stop. The trip arm next to the rail will prohibit any further movement til the signal clears.
Photo Date:
4/15/1974
Upload Date:
2/6/2016 4:00:59 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Signal,Transit
Locomotives:
Views:
123
Comments:
0
Title:
Headed home for the night
Description:
Dad did a lot of photo shoots in Queens, for which the easy way to get to them was the Flushing Line. Hes on the platform at 61st St/Woodside as a Times Square bound #7 approaches.
Photo Date:
6/14/1974
Upload Date:
2/15/2016 3:19:23 AM
Location:
Woodside, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Night,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
105
Comments:
0
Title:
Waiting to go
Description:
The view toward the north end of the Main St station in Flushing as a Times Square bound #7 train waits for the signal to go.
Photo Date:
6/14/1974
Upload Date:
2/15/2016 3:24:53 AM
Location:
Flushing, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
110
Comments:
0
Title:
K train
Description:
A shot my dad took of the K train at 57 St/6 Av station, which was the Manhattan terminus of this route. The K ran rush hours only from here to Eastern Parkway on the Broadway BMT, via the newly built(1970) Grand St connection, and the Williamsburg Bridge. This was a typical train set for the line. I rode it almost daily in those days, and I dont recall ever seeing anything else on these trains. But the Broadway line was a poor stepchild anyway, with the J and K getting R7s and 9s most of the time, though the J got R 16s and some R 27s.
Photo Date:
6/28/1974
Upload Date:
2/1/2016 4:54:51 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
210
Comments:
0
Title:
Warm glow
Description:
One of the appealing things about the older cars is the use of incandescent bulbs. They give off a much warmer light than fluorescents. Even in a 40 year old subway car, it has an inviting appeal. This is the K train at 57 St/6 Av. I miss those old cars.
Photo Date:
6/28/1974
Upload Date:
2/1/2016 5:00:50 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
NYCTA 1556(Electric M.U.)
Views:
168
Comments:
0
Title:
Dreadnought
Description:
When it came to transit cars, the R1/9 series was serious business. Those things were built to take on anything, as this photo shows. This is the J train at Marcy Av on the Broadway line in Brooklyn. Next stop is Delancey and Essex on the other side of the Williamsburg Bridge.
Photo Date:
9/24/1974
Upload Date:
12/4/2014 3:39:39 PM
Location:
Brooklyn, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
NYCTA 1441(Electric M.U.)
Views:
333
Comments:
0
Title:
Into the dark
Description:
We were riding a K train to Brooklyn, which uses the Williamsburg Bridge. As we were coming out of the tunnel, this M train with a set of R42s was rolling off the bridge into the tunnel, headed for its turnaround at Broad and Wall
Photo Date:
9/26/1974
Upload Date:
12/4/2014 3:38:00 AM
Location:
Manhattan, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Tunnel,Bridge,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
210
Comments:
1
Title:
A view of the bridge
Description:
Dad and I were riding the A train, not to Harlem as memorialized in song, but the other way, to the far flung strand of Rockaway. On the way down, we were caught by the south channel bridge between Broad Channel and Rockaway, open to let a barge through. I didnt even think this was navigable water-Jamaica Bay is not deep-so show what I know. The line has a history. It was once part of the LIRR, which had a wooden trestle over the water. It was a headache to maintain, given the salt water environment, and occasional fires. Finally, in 1950, part of it burned, the LIRR didnt have the money to rebuild, and sold it to the City of New York, which rebuilt the causeway in concrete and steel, opening it in 1954 as an extension of the A line via a connection at 96th Street and Liberty Av in Queens. The line north of that connection point, to the LIRR Main Line in Rego Park, retained service through 1962 to Woodhaven Blvd, when it was abandoned. When NYCTA took it over, the segment from Broad Channel to Rockaway was an extra fare zone, the City charging double the fare to ride there. You had to put another token in the turnstile to get out if exiting at any of those points. Entering, you put two tokens in. Needless to say, this did not sit well with the locals in Rockaway. Abe Beame, a resident of Belle Harbor, won election for mayor in 1973, in part, for his promise to eliminate the extra fare. This was one promise that was kept in an otherwise tumultuous time for New York.
Photo Date:
9/26/1974
Upload Date:
12/4/2014 3:48:02 AM
Location:
Broad Channel, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Scenic,Bridge,Track,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
220
Comments:
0
Title:
IND yard
Description:
Among other places the ERA trip visited on this excursion, were several yards. Here we are riding through Concourse Yard in the Bronx, home of a wide variety of cars that ran on the CC and D trains. The CC, a maid of all work local that ran from Bedford Park Blvd to Chamber St(It wasn't the World Trade Center yet) was assigned R1/9's and R 10's. The D train, which ran to Coney Island, got R32's and R42's mostly. At the time, the R 42's were some of the newest cars on the system-and the AC mostly worked.
Photo Date:
10/27/1974
Upload Date:
2/24/2016 2:18:06 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Yard,Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
NYCTA 4706(Electric M.U.)
NYCTA 3421(Electric M.U.)
Views:
194
Comments:
0
Title:
Great perch
Description:
Or it was. The platform at 161st St and Jerome Av was a great place to watch Yankee games at the original 1923 stadium. My grandfather, a Bronx native, spent many an hour here in the mid 20s, seeing the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, and the rest of Murderers Row, as well as former classmate Hank Greenberg when the Tigers were in town. The new stadium-the version that opened in 1976, seen here while under construction-blocked the view, ending what was a stunning viewpoint for a day at the ballpark.
Photo Date:
10/27/1974
Upload Date:
2/24/2016 2:26:27 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit,Passenger
Locomotives:
Views:
117
Comments:
0
Title:
Where the magic happens.
Description:
And in the 70s, when things were rotten, it there was a lot of magic performed to keep the trains running. This is the inside of the shop at Concourse Yard, seen from the ERA trip.
Photo Date:
10/27/1974
Upload Date:
2/24/2016 2:28:00 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Yard,Transit,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
100
Comments:
0
Title:
Some survive
Description:
Despite having been off the roster for at least ten years by the date of the photo, there were still some Low Vs around in maintenance service. One is stowed at the old NYW&B platform at E 180th St, now yellow to denote its new status.
Photo Date:
10/27/1974
Upload Date:
2/24/2016 3:28:04 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Roster,Station
Locomotives:
NYCTA 38190(MoW Equipment)
Views:
225
Comments:
0
Title:
Forgotten but not gone
Description:
The NY Westchester & Boston was an electric railroad with big dreams and poor financials. The road was built to a high standard, and in it 25 years of operation had only one late train. The down side was that it did not reach Manhattan, requiring a train change in the south Bronx to get there. This doomed its long term prospects, and in 1938, it gave up for good. The NYCTA aquired the right of way north of E 180th St, though a section of the line remained in the area, used for various non revenue purposes. The ERA trip got into the old NYW&B portion while running the Dyre Av Line, getting the transit fans some really rare mileage.
Photo Date:
10/27/1974
Upload Date:
2/24/2016 3:42:47 AM
Location:
Bronx, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Station,Transit
Locomotives:
Views:
202
Comments:
0
Title:
Portrait of the author as a young foamer
Description:
Yes, I, too, had one of those striped engineer hats. Nowadays, Ill still wear a hat with a railroad theme, but its a lot more subdued. Im in the conductors cab of an R 36.
Photo Date:
10/27/1974
Upload Date:
2/24/2016 3:47:53 AM
Location:
Corona, NY
Author:
Tom Beckett
Categories:
Transit,Passenger,Action
Locomotives:
Views:
140
Comments:
1
Page
1
of
3
1
2
3
Next->
Site Design ©2001-2020 Tim Huemmer
Photos © respective authors
Contact:
info@rrpicturearchives.net
