My day began with a trip on the 1 train down to 96 Street. Just south of 103 street I got lucky, reversing on the middle track I saw the main reason I went downtown today:
It was to ride the Low-Vs making short expess runs between 96 Street and 42 street on Saturday from Noon to 6pm for the month of September to promote the HBO prohibition-era set series Boardwalk Empire for its second season. I got off the 1 train at 96 Street–(2 photos) and waited for a 2 train to pass through before the countdown clock scrolled: “train approaching on the local track, please stand back.” the Low-Vs though switched over to the express track.
It was a relatively crowded train with the advertisements not overpowering and fitting into the decor of the car, you didn’t feel like you were riding an advertisement, unlike for example the Tropicana Juice Train wraps running right now on the shuttle:
I got on, and took them to 42 Street-Times Square–(5 photos)
From there I crossovered and waited for a 3 train and then a 2 train to pass by before a nice super quick run to 72 Street–(4 photos) and left the train for good, wishing the route they were running was longer but happy I had found the train so quickly and not camping out at 72 Street for awhile.
Next I was on a downtown 1 train to 59 Street to go to the Museum of Art and Design (I get free admission there too) to see an exhibit on dioramas and this one in particular, Canal Street Cross-Section, by Alan Wolfson More Info about it on MAD’s Website and a neat video.
I then made one final Railfan stop to see what 57 Street-6 Avenue–(5 photos) was up to with an unusual service pattern. Only Queens-bound F trains were stopping, Manhattan rerouted to 53 street because of construction for the Second Avenue Subway. The M trains terminating there running to Metrpolitan Avenue to Replace L service only shuttling between Broadway Jct and Canarsie.
The signage at the station was incorrect just this:
The only way to know that downtown service could be obtained on the M was on a small handwritten sign on the token booth, and by looking and the summery of all the service changes one of which was posted on the platform. Soon the M train came in on the uptown track since the downtown one was taped off:
I took the M down to 42 Street to reverse and took it back up to 47-50 Street-Rockefeller Center to get this of the destination signs (a feature I’m going to reintroduce there really easy to make):
Then it was the D to 59 to the A that came immediately in after it and home.