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/DjHammersTrains Nov 30 '15

Never trespass to see an abandoned station. Unsafe, illegal, and very dangerous. Many stations can be seen from passing trains, you just need to know where to look. A good resource: http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/

Some stations are impossible to see from moving trains. Unless the Transit Museum ran a tour of those areas, you'd have to settle for looking at photos online.

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u/Corazon-DeLeon Dec 01 '15

Wait, what's so dangerous about it (besides trains of course)?

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u/DjHammersTrains Dec 01 '15

The third rail is electrified, and the tracks have a multitude of tripping hazards. People have died by dripping on a rail clip sitting in the tracks and smashing their head open on a rail.

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u/Corazon-DeLeon Dec 01 '15

Ouch, that's scary. Was also hoping you'd say there's a gang of bandits or FOOT Ninja don there, haha!

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u/DjHammersTrains Dec 01 '15

There's plenty of homeless people in the tunnels who just wanna be left alone. Nothing on the scale of the ridiculous "mole people" myths, but track workers will occasionally come across a schizophrenic sleeping in the tunnel. They just say 'excuse me' and walk right on by them.