BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

(SEE PREVIOUS POSTS)

An interesting (and colorful!) view at Corona Yard, 1964 (an unidentified "State" car can be glimpsed on the far left; and check out that awesome assortment of vintage autos; man, how well I recall such autos being seen on the streets every day, when I was growing up!)

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?38838

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["I.R.T. LINES"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here we have #9440 ("STATE OF RHODE ISLAND") at the Corona Yard, in 1964...............

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?19894

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["COME TO THE FAIR BY SUBWAY!"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Thanks for the "heads up"!

If Your's Truly is correct, there were (oddly enough) no "State" cars for either "Noo Yawk" or "Noo Joisey"?

Seems strange, specially since the Fair was located in QUEENS, which also, BTW, is located in the State of "Noo Yawk"(!!)

There had to be a little story to this.......

"NYO"

["FOLLOW THE BLUE ARROW"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

WF interior paint..........

I have also seen a few pictures showing "R-14"/"Arnine" interiors repainted in in blue/orange for the '64 Fair.

I wonder now how many cars received this eye-catching interior paint?

"NYO"

['WORLD'S FAIR EXPRESS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

1939/1940 FairWe know, of course, that the "Bee-Em-Tee" rebuilt a number of old elevated gate cars into more modern units classified as the "Q"-types, and were painted in the Fair's stylish blue and orange scheme.

Some of the venerable "Standards" (aka "Brooklyn Battleships") were temporarily equipped with (illuminated) metal signs which read:

"WORLD'S FAIR TRAIN CONNECTION"..................

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?132267

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["B.M.T. LINES"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The "Eye-En-Dee" was the only one of the New York subway systems to build an entirely new line to serve the 1939/1940...............

https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/IND_1939_Worlds_Fair_Line

(photos included)

Just imagine had this line not been torn up after the Fair closed in 1940, and later became part of a postwar IND expansion, further into Queens.......

["NYO"

["INDEPENDENT SUBWAY SYSTEM"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here are two rare views of IND trains running on the temporary World's Fair line:

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2355

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?71098

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

It is not at all that hard to imagine modern IND trains running in a median strip of the Van Wyck Expressway today, a type of operation commonplace in "Shik-aga" and San Francisco (BART).........

["THIS STAIRWAY FOR WORLD'S FAIR TRAINS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Interestingly, the "Eye-Are-Tee" was the only "Noo Yawk" subway division to purchase NEW cars for the 1939/1940 Fair.

Though more "modern" than the older rolling stock, the overall design was indeed far from "futuristic", in keeping up with the modern, flashy tone of the Fair.

They WERE, however, the FIRST Interborough cars to dispense with both vestibules and railroad roofs, with the exception of the ACF-built deck roof "Hi-Vs"; they were also the first IRT cars to have end roller curtain signs.

Thankfully, one example of this "oddball" type remains with us today.

In my collection, I have a number plate from #5698.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?7170

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?125661

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?133731

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["I.R.T. LINES"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Enjoy these wonderfully nostalgic subway photos from the '64 Fair (how well I recall these wonderful, long-ago scenes!)

https://www.worldsfairphotos.com/nywf64/subway.htm

["TAKE THE SUBWAY TO THE FAIR!"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Interesting, also, to remember that the "Eye-En-Dee" (unlike the "Eye-Are-Tee" and the "Bee-Em-Tee") was the only subway division to not either purchase new equipment for the 1839 Fair, or to rebuild older equipment.

Given the futuristic nature of the Fair, one can easily picture the BMT ordering several sets of "Bluebirds" (a few years prior to the actual delivery of the units they did purchase) for direct service to the Fair.

Indeed, such sleek, "advanced design" trains would have been indeed more "in sync" than refurbished El cars..........

"NYO"

["BROOKLYN-MANHATTAN TRANSIT""]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A comparison..........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6815

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?128002

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["FOLLOW THE BLUE ARROW"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's a truly nostalgic scene at the Willets Point (World's Fair) station in 1964..........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4308

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

Here we have a shiny new "Bluebird" (#9676) front and center (note, also, the car's "INDENTRA" hoop, as well as the vintage incandescent platform lights)

Hard to believe that sixty years has passed since this timeless phot was taken............

"NYO"

["SUPER EX"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

This rare photo dates to late 1963, as the new "Bluebirds" were being delivered, several months prior to the Fair's opening.

Talk about a "mixed consist".........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?157990

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["7 TIMES SQUARE"]