Today I didn’t really have all that much time, but did have an unlimited ride MetroCard at my disposal so I decided to go on a brief trip to get some more stations in Brooklyn, as I try and finish that part of my website up. Today’s trip took me down the Culver El, above McDonald Avenue.
I began as usual on the A train, took it to Jay Street, where I transferred to the F train. I decided to get off (almost at the last moment) at Fort Hamilton Parkway to get some photos of the G train and its new run south to Church Avenue. At Fort Hamilton Parkway I photographed the new signage that says F to Coney Island, all times. G to Church Avenue, all times, a G train came in directly behind my F train. I took that train one stop to its terminus at Church Avenue, got some photos of it there, including slipping over to the opposite platform for a photo of the service sing there. The G train’s is extremely generic, G-To Queens Only, all times. Guess they didn’t want to get into any confusion of where exactly in Queens (Court Square, or Forest Hills, the G train is actually going). This G train terminated, had each car checked for passengers right on the local track, before continuing to the relay area beyond. Another G train came in shortly thereafter behind it (G train bunching, how strange), before another F train finally decided to pull in.
Now the actual part of my day photographing new stations could begin. I took the next train one stop to Ditmas Ave, because most of these stations seem to have two exits, one at each end of the platforms, I decided to do each station on its own, instead of walking between stops as I often do for elevated lines. I walked between the exits at Ditmas Avenue, before continuing to 18 Avenue, Avenue I, and Avenue N, where I did the same exact thing. At Avenue P, there is only one exit and I considered walking up from there two stops to Bay Parkway, another stop I had skipped because it only had one exit, but decided against this, instead taking a Manhattan-bound train up to Bay Parkway, where I left the station briefly to photograph it against its extremely dead (literally) backdrop of cemeteries, most of which seem to serve (judging form the Hebrew on the gravestones) the local Hasidic Community that I was in, Borough Park. Now it was time to go to an engagement in Brooklyn Heights, so I continued back on the next F train to Jay Street where I dashed across the platform to an awaiting C train that I took one stop to High Street-Booklyn Bridge. I got off there and went to my engagement in Brooklyn Heights.
When I was done, I remembered two stations in the area I had neglected to fully photograph, Court Street and Lawrence Street. So I took the elevator down at the Clinton Street entrance to Court Street and rode the R train one stop to Lawrence Street-MetroTech, where I did a full photoessay, before walking through the MetroTech office complex with pedestrian mall streets, and area I realized that in all my years going to school in Brooklyn Heights I had never been too. I walked back to the northern entrance to Jay Street, which is a complete mess because of its construction (and eventual connecting to Lawrence Street on the M,R-Lawrence Street is a bit messy to, in a much smaller way) and took the A train home.
For the day, Total Number of Swipes on my Unlimited: A meager 8