BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

All:

On EYEWITNESS NEWS earlier (ABC 7), reporter Tim Fliescher (whom I've watched for years) reported on the falling of debris (onto a woman's car; thankfully, she was not injured) at the Myrtle Avenue-Broadway (BMT) elevated subway station.

In his most recent report, Mr. Fliescher referred to the remaining Myrtle Avenue "stub" as "part of a decommissioned subway line."

A "SUBWAY" line??

As, of course, we here all know, that was strictly an ELEVATED line, which carried WOODEN El cars, and NOT steel subway trains!

It never ceases to amaze me how little otherwise NY-savvy news reporters are when it comes to transit lines and their history, when covering a news story.

Not that I am at all a male chauvanist, many times the female reporters will know even less about transit/railroads, etc, than their not-too-informed male counterparts; one female reporter once referred to a locomotive as an "engine car", and the last car of a commuter train as a "caboose"!

Come on here, now!

One reporter., years ago, on WCBS (2), when describing an articulated bus involved in some sort of altercation: "......as you can see here, these buses are made up of two sections that are connected by this big accordian...."

"ACCORDIAN"??

Not a trombone or a clarinet??

And THESE are PROFFESIONALS??

The BEST was about 20 years ago, when a (male) reporter (this MIGHT have been on WNEW/FOX 5) referred to the pantograph safety gates between two Redbird cars as "COUPLERS"(!!)

Obviously, there are VERY few transit buffs/historians within the ranks of New York-area news reporters........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Recalling the days when Old Looks and the RTS once rumbled beneath the shadowy, sinewy struts of the old "Myrt"...........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3987

http://www.subwaynut.com/bmt/myrtlej/myrtlej20.jpg

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org/the subway nut.com)

[W.B. Fishbowl]

Such dead-wrong terminologies are not limited to transit coverage. There were at least two reports over the last several months of people killed in hit-and-runs where witnesses said the victims "fell to the floor." Ahem . . . outside, it's either the street or the pavement (which I use in lieu of the word "sidewalk," having been twice to London, England, in 1989 and 1990), or if near where trees are planted, the soil. (Either which way, outside it'd be "ground" anyway.) A lot of people those days don't even venture outside all too much.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[GBL Rebel]

Whoa, you want a news reporter to accurately report the news? You would have an easier task teaching a dog to use a toilet!

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[GBL Rebel]

At the bare minimum someone should double check facts before reporting as trustworthy. Unfortunately, it’s down to giving B.S. to the sheep for them to follow.

A guy on another board had a tag on the bottom of his posts. Like him or not, he was right with that tag. “Take Pride” is something that has drifted away now a days. Kind of like a carpenter, “measure twice, cut once”, this would be the pride in bring a correct story into X number of houses.

I tell guys I work with when they make a major screw up, when management asks who taught you how to do that, don’t say my name, I wouldn’t have f***ed up like that.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

GBL:

I read you LOUD and CLEAR ("TAKE PRIDE")!

One only has to look at the craftsmanship and superb carpentry skills that went into the designing and construction of wooden El cars, many of which ran for over 50 years (recall, also, the elaborate wooden cabin work on the steam-powered Staten Island, Erie-Lackawnna, and CNJ ferryboats, which were in use well into the 1960's)

Speaking of pride, one only has to go underground and look at the original mosaic and tile work found in the oldest subway stations today; no plastic, fiberglass, stainless steel, or "artsy-fartsy" pseudo artwork.

These underground masterpieces indeed reflect a long-ago, long-dead age where PRIDE and CRAFTSMANSHIP walked together hand in hand.

Indeed, most folks in general took pride in ANY job they did (recall, long ago, many "hacks" were wearing a tie behind the wheel)

Many bus drivers presented a military appearance, back in the days of uniforms, which included dress shirts, ties, and caps.

My late mother (who passed away at age 99 three years ago) always said:

"ANY job does with PRIDE is a job WELL done."

How right Mom was!

"NYO"

Too, there is Little pride these days regarding "preservation" (no...we STILL did NOT learn from the wanton destruction of the original 1910 Penn Station)

Go to Rome, and see the Collesium, still standing (albeit not in "pristine" condition!); go to Queens and find that Shea Stadium, the home of the Amazin' Mets for decades, and see, despite its modern architecture, has been demolished and replaced by the generic "Citi Field".

Shea only stood for several decades before being razed.

"Shea" still (IMHO) has a historic "ring" to it; "Citi Field" simply has a modern-day "corporate" sound to it.

Thank God for the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis, who fought (and won) the battle over the fate of Grand Central, along with her contingent of influential politicians and celebrities.

However, when one thinks about it, if an individual has little or no pride in himself, that is certainly going to be reflected in his work, whatever it may be.

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

I think you'll find this interesting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_rolling_stock

Many good photos on this page (both historic and current)

Note also the size difference between the squat deep-level "tube" stock and the "District" equipment........

(Glasgow's "SUBWAY" also operates very squat trains; this circular line originally used cable traction, but, in 1935, the little trains were electrified)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A bit of Brooklyn in London?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_Q_Stock

Closeup front end views of the clerestory cars (which can be found elsewhere on the 'net) bear a resemblence to the BMT's articulated "D"-type Triplex units, sans sign boxes.

Note the 1955 photo showing a "District" line train at Gunnersbury; the front of the lead car does hint to the BMT (the photo itself looks like it could have been taken somewhere along the Sea Beach, Brighton, or West End lines, back in the day).......

"Blimey, mate! "ere's a bloomin' go!"

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Glasgow's "Tiny Tube" subway (the modern stock look even more squat than the original trains!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Subway

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Last evening, there was an EYEWITNESS NEWS report on a LIRR derailment at the top of the 11 o' clock broadcast.

Two cars of an eastbound MU train had derailed on elevated trackage (thankfully, no injuries)

The reporter had the cameraman focus on the two derailed cars; the reporter then said: "....as you can see, these two TRAINS are derailed....."

"TRAINS"??

With all due respect to you, Mr. Reporter, I THINK you meant "cars".........

"NYO"

Ironic, that, on that same date (Nov. 22nd) a massive rush hour LIRR collision at Richmond Hill claimed the lives of over 300 people.......

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

......during the massive water main break in upper Manhattan, that cut service on the IRT 7th Avenue (#'s 1,2,3) trains earlier in the week, news footage (Eyewitness News, 7) showed massive crowds trying to crowd onto trains on other lines (CHAOS!)

The reporter made this comment: ".....straphangers were trying in vain to grab onto a strap on any train but were not having any luck....."

Duh, the last cars to still have straps were the IRT's famed Redbirds, now gone some 17-odd years now.........

"NYO"