Was the Chrystie St Connector a waste?

They sure spent a lot of time...and billions of dollars...on the Chrystie St connector. But for what? No trains run on it, and no (revenue) trains ever have run on it. Maybe work trains use it occasionally, but is it really that important considering the time and money spent on building it?

I am talking about the part that connects the B/D lines to the J/M/Z lines.

Okay, Love Train, You have made me curious, just who is in that photograph in your Avatar ??

pennsy wrote:Okay, Love Train, You have made me curious, just who is in that photograph in your Avatar ??

Nicole Kidman. Cute, ain't she?

Yo Love Train,

Obviously Tom Cruise is an Idiot.

pennsy wrote:Yo Love Train,

Obviously Tom Cruise is an Idiot.

Hell, he was always an idiot. Letting her go made him even MORE of an idiot.

I think Kidman and Keith Urban are the perfect match. Though Kidman is taller than Urban by 3 inches. Then again, she is taller than Cruise as well! (Kidman--5'11"; Urban 5'8"; Cruise 5'7")

Hi,

No problem, I also admire mountain climbers.

pennsy wrote:Hi,

No problem, I also admire mountain climbers.

?

Hi Love Train,

Reference to climbing Mount Nicole. Mountain climbers like taller girls.

By the way, Nicole Kidman is 5' 11" in her stocking feet. In heels she is well over six feet tall. And if you have noticed her legs, you would prefer her in heels. I suspect you would enjoy climbing Mount Nicole.

pennsy wrote:Hi Love Train,

Reference to climbing Mount Nicole. Mountain climbers like taller girls.

By the way, Nicole Kidman is 5' 11" in her stocking feet. In heels she is well over six feet tall. And if you have noticed her legs, you would prefer her in heels. I suspect you would enjoy climbing Mount Nicole.

Gotcha. And who wouldn't want to climb Mount Nicole?

A lot of my friends like shorter girls. I am more into taller girls.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying short girls can't be hot. In fact, many hot actresses are short e.g. Carmen Electra (5'3") and Jennifer Aniston (5'6").

Hi Again,

Apparently, you have your work cut out for you. Best of luck.

As an aside, it really is upsetting to see these stars getting all of that ridiculous publicity that they are getting it on with their last co-stars. Now we know full well that this has been going on for a hundred years, but the studios were smart enough to squelch it. Now all is out in the open, for better or worse. Would you spend 5 million dollars for a photo of Angelina Jolie's latest endeavor ?? Hopefully she now gets along with her Dad, John Voight. Never did understand the reason for the breakup.

Quote "and no (revenue) trains ever have run on it." If you are talking about the connection from the J to the Sixth Avenue subway, you are wrong. At the opening of the Christie Street line, there began a route KK from Sixth Avenue via Williamsburgh Bridge to Eastern Parkway or beyond, using R 1-9s. As I recall, it provided local service on Broadway Brooklyn. The complaint was that the half the passengers got off at Essex Street. When the service was killed, I am almost certain the reason was general cutbacks in service rather than low ridership. Even nowadays, many riders climb the stairs from the F to the J.
In other terms, Manhattan has seen a drift of employment from Lower Manhattan to Midtown since about 1920. BMT el service dropped people at Park Row. The BMT Broadway service over Manhattan Bridge became attractive (especially in the years before so many time signals) because it went from Brooklyn to Midtown more directly than via Rector Street. The odd ball was the Broadway-Brooklyn service which bent downtown, and the KK was a remedy. Nowadays, with the political attempt to revive lower Manhattan, I doubt that the KK connection will be renewed. People will still have to climb the stairs and await another train.

Hi All,

Interesting points. Sort of reminds me of the unfriendliness of the NYC Subway system. I guess I have gotten used to the friendliness of the Southern California mass transit systems.

In other words, if a person has a problem with stairs, wheelchair, crutches, cane, walker etc. etc. in California that person is okay, in NYC forget it. Take a cab. You reminded me of all the stairs I used to climb. However, at Broadway-Nassau you had some help, you had some escalators. Still not wheelchair friendly. Here in California you have a choice, either escalator, or elevator. You also have stairs, should you be able to negotiate them. I guess you are telling us that NY Subways still don't have help for invalids, nor are they invalid friendly. Here it is a state law.

Answering Alan J. on accessibility of NY subways: I am not an expert on the matter, but, as my wife and I have had some knee problems, stairs concern me. Little by little, and at great expense, the major NY subway stations are getting elevators for the handicapped. It takes some ingenuity to find them, as the constraints of old construction and multi-level stations mean that the elevator may often be tucked off in a corner. The designers must be complimented that most of the new handicap-elevators are glass-enclosed, so that one feels safer. I have attended several public forums of the MTA, and a frequent complaint is that the elevator might be working at the boarding station but is broken at the transfer point or the end station. Go to
http://mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm
and find the wheelchairs marking accessible stations.
On the other hand, one can almost always be certain that the next transit bus coming down the street has a working device to take a wheelchair.
Joe

bellstbarn wrote:Quote "and no (revenue) trains ever have run on it." If you are talking about the connection from the J to the Sixth Avenue subway, you are wrong. At the opening of the Christie Street line, there began a route KK from Sixth Avenue via Williamsburgh Bridge to Eastern Parkway or beyond, using R 1-9s. As I recall, it provided local service on Broadway Brooklyn. The complaint was that the half the passengers got off at Essex Street. When the service was killed, I am almost certain the reason was general cutbacks in service rather than low ridership. Even nowadays, many riders climb the stairs from the F to the J.
In other terms, Manhattan has seen a drift of employment from Lower Manhattan to Midtown since about 1920. BMT el service dropped people at Park Row. The BMT Broadway service over Manhattan Bridge became attractive (especially in the years before so many time signals) because it went from Brooklyn to Midtown more directly than via Rector Street. The odd ball was the Broadway-Brooklyn service which bent downtown, and the KK was a remedy. Nowadays, with the political attempt to revive lower Manhattan, I doubt that the KK connection will be renewed. People will still have to climb the stairs and await another train.

But it kind of is a waste because only the KK used it and now it is never used in revenue service. Sounds like a waste of billions of dollars to me.

If the MTA wanted to make use of the Chrystie St connector, they can. In fact, if I were the MTA right now, I would get rid of the Z train and replace it with the V. The V will run on its normal route to Bway Lafayette, but then diverge onto the Chrystie St connector and run along the Z line in skip stop service with the J, just like the current Z, to Jamaica Center. The cars would have to be R42s from ENY. Yay, R42s back on the Queens Boulevard Line, just like the old days!

OR, this extended V could end at Queens Plaza (there is a relay track there between the express tracks north of the station), and the G can run on Queens Boulevard to 71-Continental Avs full time.

This way people who currently use the J/M/Z lines will have a second option for Manhattan, plus a one-seat ride to Midtown. Plus, people with disabilities who live on the J line won't be so badly off. How can disabled riders who need to go to Manhattan get there if they live at the Flushing Av, Marcy Av, or Metropolitan Av stations? They have to go all the way to Jamaica and get on the E train...a huge inconvenience. But with this extended V train, they can just get on and in no time they will find themselves at West 4th St, 34th St-Herald Square, or Lexington Av/53rd St.