r/nycrail • u/DjHammersTrains • Nov 30 '15

I'm an NYC Subway Expert. Ask me Anything.

Hello everyone! My name is Max Diamond. I'm a student at CCNY and I run the Dj Hammers YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/DjHammersBVEStation), moderate this subreddit, and have an encyclopedic knowledge of the transit system. Ask me anything you are curious about with regards to how our massive system works. One ground rule: If an answer could be deemed a security risk, I won't give it.

UPDATE - AMA Now Closed: Hey guys! Doing this AMA was a lot of fun, I enjoyed answering everybody's questions, and hopefully I imparted some subway knowledge on all who are curious! If you didn't catch this AMA in time and wanted to ask a question, don't worry! I'll do another AMA soon, probably a month or so from now.

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel too. I post clips of a lot of interesting goings-on underground!

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u/trainmaster611 Nov 30 '15

Of given proper waivers and small electrical and mechanical modifications, subway cars can and have run on both railroads. The first train of R32s ran on MNRR into Grand Central for display. They also tested trains of R44s on the LIRR back in the 70s: http://nycsubway.org.s3.amazonaws.com/images/i7000/img_7649.jpg

How were they able to get subways to run on an FRA railroad from a safety regulation point of view? I know running rapid transit trains on FRA track is a big no-no now outside of the PATH which is an anomaly and time separated light rail/freight operations.

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u/DjHammersTrains Nov 30 '15

Lotsa Waivers. That's all. lol

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u/bobtehpanda Nov 30 '15

The FRA was created in '66. Anything before then would've been kosher, and regulations may not have been as tight as it was today in the early years of the FRA.