Today I had access to an Unlimited and swiped it 15 times basically getting more of Midtown Done.
The day started in disappointment: I was planning to take the M98 downtown since my most important destination was the Upper East Side but I got to the stop one minute after the schedule claimed the last bus of the AM Rush left at 9:44, didn’t see it waited five minutes but I think it was running early when the M4 came the other people waiting at the stop all got on it. Oh well, at least I didn’t really need to be anywhere I then went down into the A train at 181 Street and as I was waiting to go downtown a R32 came through I thought it would be fun to ride and assumed it would be going downtown so I ran across the mezzanine overpass and just got on. We were held for quite a while at Dyckman Street where I noticed another R32 signed for the A laying up. We got to 207 Street and it was announced that the train was going to the Yard and Out of Service, Oh well. I did get a ride home recently from West 4 St (with some friends on R42 equipment, even rarer).
I got the next typical R46 downtown and read two chapters of my book which I took to 59 Street–(1 photo added), and took the D train to 7 Avenue for my first photo essay next I got on the E to 53 Street and Lexington Avenue, left fare control briefly took a few more photos (have tons), and went up to 103/Lexington for a photo essay before doubling back to 86 Street and back up to 96 Street before going south to 23 Street, up to 33 Street back down to 28 Street and continued downtown to Union Square where I took the R to Prince Street reversed took the N to 49 Street, and the N, Q, or R back to Times Square for a few photos (and think I found a station entrance post in front of a building that leads to nowhere) for the Shuttle to Grand Central. There I had quite a long photo stop because I wanted to finally explore and photograph Grand Central North a kid of bizzarly long but quite simple series of passageways with neat artwork on them. Then I was off on the 7 train to Willets Point for more photos and walked out onto the walkway across the Corona Yard and got pictures of the entrance to the Mets-Willets Point LIRR train station, I need to buy a ticket there and get pictures of it actually in operation. Then my camera’s battery died.
My 1 stop remaining on the 7 is 111 Street until I can finish that branch which I will do when I’m in the mood to take a break from complicated Midtown. Coming home I took the 7 to Queensboro Plaza to the N or Q to Astoria Blvd and waiting far to long for the M60 when I had just gotten on an overcrowded bus and the driver just opened the doors and walked out (before I dipped my MetroCard) another M60 came in also full with announcements “No One Is To Enter Through the Back Door, This Bus Won’t Leave If You Do.” (except for a man who evidently had already paid), the previous M60 I was briefly on and screamed by. The bus left for a one (long) stop ride across the Triborough Bridge to 2nd Avenue where the driver was changing and I decided to walk down 125th to Third Avenue to take the M98, which came fairly soon and was empty with just 4 other passengers but got stuck in traffic on the Harlem River Drive, I dozed off for part of it and all of a sudden realized I was on Fort Washington Avenue as the only passenger and got off and went home.