Today I was meeting a friend near the Times Square Area in the late afternoon and without an unlimited ride MetroCard at my disposal decided I would try and see if I could figure out Times Square superstation with its various exits, nooks and crannies once and for all, especially now that the stations renovations have been finished, giving the station a completely different look than the complex of ramps I remember from transferring during my youth, now its basically all staircases with a couple of escalators in well needed paces.
I began by, as always taking a R44 A train downtown, making a point of being in the front car to be at the extreme southern end of the 8th Avenue Station that is a mega-station with in itself. I than walked and photographed the entire length of that station’s mezzanine, plus the smaller one that’s Exit only at the extreme southern end of the staiton. Next I did a photo essay of the long and always crowded (I never noticed how good New Yorker’s are at staying to the right) tunnel underneath 41 Street and ended up on the deep subterranean world that is the seven line’s mezzanine, that also has the 7th Avenue IRT cutting above with platforms up to it. There are also two staircases one escalator from the mezzanine and one from the 7 platform to the upper level mezzanine that has the actual exits as well as access to the N, R, W and the shuttle platforms off at its other end. I also made a point of walking down the N, R, W platforms and the 1,2,3 platforms to look at the full service exit with turnstiles each of them has towards their southern ends to 40th Street. I hope I also managed to photograph every piece of Arts for Transit Artwork in the station.
I then had a bit more time and decided I would try to do the same at Grand Central Station where I feel I need a bit more time, at least to figure out where each exit staircase leads into the actual station from the main (and dimly lit may I add) mezzanine of the Lexington Avenue Line with the 7 line beneath deep underground about to go under the East River.
On my way home I was going down to get on the uptown A train at 42nd Street and liked what I saw, a R42/R40M mixed consist E train on the local track and an uptown A train of R42 slants left, (according to this one, I don’t know how creditable source), there are only three or two trains of slants left. Thinking that this might be my last ride on the slants in regular service, I decided to continue taking the slants for some final photos up to 207 Street and took some interior shots before getting of and walked down the platform, a train of R44s on the opposite track that was there when we arrived had its destination signs programmed to say “Metro-North RR”, no idea what that was about except for the train being completely out of service. I walked up to the front of the train for a photo, and thought I remembered 207th having more room at the ends of the platforms but there wasn’t a whole lot but did get a couple of photos in addition to something I’ve never scene before. The incoming T/O opened up the storm door and started pouring water on the cab’s window. I guess he wanted to see, I walked to the back of the train before it left to get some final photos of the back at 181 Street, a stop where I knew there would be room and went home.
Here are my photos (probably the last I will ever take of them in revenue service) of the R40 Slants:
One end at 207th Street:
The other leaving 181st Street: (#4370)
