Event Trains (Barclay and MSG/Penn)

Wouldn't have that name if it practiced safe humping!

Now you know why an M7 has this sign....


All credit for the pic to a smugmug user under handle "jovos".

So how did opening night go? Any train debacles?

NY1: 1200 extra westbound riders.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/ ... nal-friday

Nice to hear the 1st night went well,with the NHL in "Lockout" mode,there might be some interest in "Brooklyn Nets" games.

VD yard,aka Vanderbilt Ave freight yard is about 1/2 mile away from Flatbush ave(Brook tower(aka"FT")),it's a relatively simple "switchback"type move from the yard to the station platforms.
In the past,there was a tower called "Van"(aka "VD") at the yard enterance that has since been remote controlled to Brook
now called Brook 2. The yard was south of main track 2,all underground to boot!
VD yard was 1 of the last locations to use DD-1's to haul freight and Express in.I'm not sure when freight service ended.
At some time,a small running repair facilty refered to as the "Dunton Annex" existed in the yard.
The yard has 5 working tracks to layup 42 cars( 21 pairs),at 1 tme,the yard had 12 tracks.

So, for now, the service is working better than we all anticipated? I haven't heard any stories of any crazy breakdowns of service.

vd yard was not underground,quite the contrary,there was even (back some years ago a ramp to the abandoned 5th ave el). van tower was underground kinda

It's now official: according to AP sources, Islanders moving to Brooklyn in 2015.

If the team still exists after the NHL lockout,suprized they're still in Uniondale!
IS the Nassau County Coliseum in that bad shape??
Can remember when they were both expansion teams welcomed into the Coliseum ages back.
IS the Circus next to move to Barclays Center??

Backshophoss wrote:IS the Circus next to move to Barclays Center??

Wouldn't surprise me in the least if that happened, I'm sure someone with money in Garden City would just love to see that outcome for sure. As for the state of the Coliseum, well it's a relic from a bygone era. A relic that is falling apart slowly and not worth the time to fix up and apparently isn't worth the time to build a new arena either. Sooner or later it'll just be known as the unused eyesore that I pass by everyday after work.

By money, you mean a developer of some sort.
Not sure if the Bonds Nassau County used to build the Coliseum have been paid off,
and the building allowed to fall apart.
The circus train could overrun Fresh Pond yard.

The Coliseum was a fun venue to see an event. I've been there many times over the years. Personally, as far as hockey goes, I follow the Rangers. But, it will be sad to see the Islanders move from the Coliseum. However, it is nice that they will be staying local. I wonder how the move to Brooklyn will change the rivalery if at all. The team will certainly need to grow it's tallant if it intends to do any better in Brooklyn than they are doing in Nassau. Otherwise, the draw of the fancy new arena will lose it's novelty, and the team will quickly go back to one of the lowest drawing teams in the NHL. As it is, I don't think the current islanders are that big of a loss, as while they have the most events at the Coliseum (41 home games), there are other events that will draw many more fans than the few remaining diehard fans.

Now to tie the railroad back into the topic. I guess as far as how much longer the Circus would visit the Coliseum depends on how long the venue lasts after the Isles move. If the circus was to visit the Barclay's Center, where would the train set up for the stay? Is there a location close enough to the arena to where it would be convenient to transfer everything from the train to the arena? With the Barclay's Center so close to MSG, would it even be worth while to have two separate events so close?

When at the Garden,the Circus train would layup at LIRR/NY+A yard next to Amtrak Sunnyside Yard.
IF the circus were to move to Barclay's Center,
with VD yard down to 5 working tracks,nearest yard could be Fresh Pond on the lower Montauk,
the circus train could overrun Pond yard,unless some of the remaining trackage "upstairs" on the
Bay Ridge Secondary is useable for Laying up the train.

They could bring it into VD yard overnight/on weekends when the yard is not in use, unload the cargo (Fresh Pond->Bklyn is a long way unless they have another sort of shuttle transportation) then store the train wherever (Fresh Pond/Hillside/Sunnyside/etc.) until they need to pick up the cargo again.

From the Garden Mitchel Secondary to the Coliseum, it's about a one mile walk. Hunters Point Ave to MSG via the Midtown Tunnel is about a 3 mile walk. Looking at Google Maps, Fresh Pond to Barclay's is about 5 miles. With the increase in rail traffic, I doubt Fresh Pond would be able to accommodate the circus train for the length of the stay at the arena. Moving the train to one location to unload it, then to another location to store it during the show, then reverse that when done, would be a tremendous expense, which I doubt the circus would want to pay.