9th Street (R) - The SubwayNut

The 9th Street Station is a typical 4th Avenue Line local stop that saw the 1960s cinder blocking and covering of its original 1910s Vickers dual-contracts era name tablets and trim-line. The station has two side platforms, and tiled walls between the local and express tracks. The stations original exits are about a third of the way from the southern end of each platform, directly on them. The Manhattan-bound platform has turnstiles and the full-time token booth, with a single staircase up to the NE corner of 4th Avenue & 9th Street. Along the walls of this cramped platform side fare control area the a brief portion station's original mostly brown trim-line can be scene, there are 9s on it at regular intervals as would be expected. The Bay Ridge/Bensonhurst-bound platform has only a High Entrance/Exit Turnstile, and a High Exit Turnstile up to its one staircase at street level. There is evidence here of a former turnstile area in the form of a dark gated off portion at the entrance, meaning this area was bigger at one time.

Full time fare control for the southbound platform is shared with the F trains fare control area on the west side of 4th Avenue, between 9th and 10th Streets directly at street level, underneath its Culver Viaduct. The transfer to the F/G train on their Culver Line Viaduct is from a single staircase at the southern end of each BMT platform, these each lead up to a seperate fare control area (covered in the 4 Avenue station), before stairs lead to a further intermediate mezzanine before staircases lead up to each F train platform. Passengers can transfer free between BMT R train directions but must climb this series of staircases all the way up to the IND's elevated platforms to reach the free crossover before coming back down again, ascending and then descending four stories (8 total flights of stairs) to get between each subway platform.
Photos 1-3: October 21, 2005; 4-8: June 5, 2009; 9: June 9, 2009; 10-16: June 29, 2009; 17-20: November 1, 2012

The accent of color along the tall and narrow openings on the tiled wall that is between the express and local tracks at Union Street.

The conductors stop board at Union Street with an additional one installed for 8 car R160 trains behind it.

Looking down the simple Manhattan-bound platform at Union Street.

A close up of a Union Street station sign on the platform wall, with the 1960s arrow pointing for the exit beneath it.

Another view down the simple Manhattan-bound side platform at Union Street.

The ceiling gets extremely low right at the northern end of the station at Union Street.

Another view of the narrow end of the Manhattan-bound side platform at Union Street.

Looking down to the two street stairs for the Bay Ridge-bound platform mid-block

One of the Bay Ridge-bound streetstairs

Two steps up to enter the station

Going down to the now unstaffed Bay Ridge-bound fare control area

The waiting area and exit on the Manhattan-bound platform

A small section of the historic and original tile and trimline with 9s in the fare control area on the Manhattan-bound platform

The token booth and turnstiles in the extremely narrow fare control area for the M,R Manhattan and Queens platform

Terra Cotta reliefs over what were once restrooms I believe under the historic trimline

Streetstair for Manhattan and Queens, nothing about the connection to the F train via the platform

An unsigned train of R46s (an R train) stops in the station

The High Exit turnstiles to the Bay Ridge-bound platform

MetroCard Entry, or go through the open Emergency Exit

Looking down on the tiny fare control area on the Bay Ridge-bound platform