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816
817

Mildly Interesting: The inside of the S train looks like a library (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by swever

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[–]kamoh 76 points77 points ago

It looks just like one of those early 3D games where the textures are all mapped to obviously flat surfaces.

[–]tellamahookaFinancial District 11 points12 points ago

I got a full-blown flashback when I looked at it.

[–]danhakimi 0 points1 point ago

The trick is, those are real books.

[–]angelmusikal 0 points1 point ago

a sign of human evolution?

[–]bunnymonster 19 points20 points ago

Some of the books actually have questions instead of titles on the spines, as the train (it covers a few cars) is an add for Ask.com

[–]Leechie 4 points5 points ago

brb asking ask.com how they have the money to advertise like that

But then again, they try to get you to download their browser extension when you download Java...

[–]Travisty 3 points4 points ago

Ad is short for advertisement.

[–]shippfaced 11 points12 points ago

But WHICH shuttle?

[–]jogga 4 points5 points ago

Times Square

[–]game1622 2 points3 points ago

Definitely the Times Square one. If you zoom in, you can make out the words "Times Square" and underneath it, "Manhattan". Although the only really clear word is square.

[–]speaker_fan_1337Rockaway 4 points5 points ago

First thing I thought of too... There's three of them in our subway system.

One in Manhattan, 42nd street conecting the major stops

One in Brooklyn, connecting A/C and B/Q lines

One in Rockaway Park, as an extension to A

[–]fun_young_man 3 points4 points ago

Are they ad wrapping the Franklin Ave shuttle now?

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]footnotefour 5 points6 points ago

Pretty sure you just missed the sarcasm.

[–]SirDerpingtonThe3rdBillyburg 21 points22 points ago

That is classy as fuck.

[–]Buy_the_Ticket 45 points46 points ago

I've NEVER heard it called the S train before...

[–]swever[S] 215 points216 points ago

http://i.imgur.com/Cbvdh.gif

:)

[–]schadenfroh 9 points10 points ago

Perfect.

[–]drquinn22 30 points31 points ago

I know. It weirds me out... It's the shuttle.

[–]johnnybluejeansPark Slope 9 points10 points ago

Which S are we talking about here? Manhattan S? Brooklyn S? Rockaway S?

[–]hobbified 3 points4 points ago

Fun fact: even though they're all the "S" publicly, MTA internal stuff works better when every train has a unique symbol, so for those purposes they're the "S" (Franklin), "H" (Rockaway), and "0" (Times Square). This is why we'll probably never see another "H" train.

[–]redwoods 11 points12 points ago

Heh. "Pubicly."

[–]hobbified 1 point2 points ago

Oops.

[–]411eliMidwood, Brooklyn 0 points1 point ago

H? when was that a thing?

[–]hobbified 0 points1 point ago

Not since the 80s. Here's a flyer from a time when there was an H (and a K!)

[–]arthuresqueUpper West Side 10 points11 points ago

I'm a life long NYer and I *always * call it the S train. I wish I had a GIF for that.

[–]blueberries 26 points27 points ago

fellow life long new yorker here...it's the shuttle

[–]GypsyPunk 18 points19 points ago

I hear both and don't see why it would matter?

[–]petruchi41Chelsea 8 points9 points ago

Feeling superior to others.

[–]mheadroom 2 points3 points ago

This is very important.

[–]AllanBz 1 point2 points ago

New Yorker-than-thou.

[–]arthuresqueUpper West Side 5 points6 points ago

Truth.

[–]mullse01 5 points6 points ago

HERE WE GO

[–]blueberries 3 points4 points ago

this is surely the most newyork thread going on in reddit right now

[–]fun_young_man -1 points0 points ago

I think of the shuttle as the one in Brooklyn.

[–]Gamion 0 points1 point ago

Take the ride.

[–]mullse01 1 point2 points ago

i remember I accidentally called it "The S" shortly after I moved here, and my coworkers teased me all day for it.

Needless to say, it has henceforth become "The Shuttle".

[–]nonhiphipsterCrown Heights -1 points0 points ago

What do you call it...the shuttle?

[–]InterPunct 8 points9 points ago

The workmanship on this is really amazing. If you look closely at the seams, the lines around the signs and windows, everything says this must have taken a shitload of time, but how much time could they really have had to keep the train out of service?

[–]throwawayi9i9 9 points10 points ago

Getting paid $75,000 per car sure helps.

[–]TheCanadian666 1 point2 points ago

Next time read the names of the books. Some are mildly funny.

[–]Milhouse242 0 points1 point ago

I'd say that's more than mildly interesting.

[–]stinatown 0 points1 point ago

A few years ago, the car was cloaked in an ad for Mad Men that made the train car look like it was one from the 1960s. It was pretty cool.

[–]Pie4WeeblAstoria 2 points3 points ago

I still don't understand the S train, why is there any reason for it to exist when the 7 hits the same stops?

[–]snoharm 34 points35 points ago

S train runs more or less constantly, so it's always easy to get between the two highest-traffic stations in the city. Not only that, but imagine the horrific crowding between the two stations if the 7 took the whole capacity.

[–]thebackhand -2 points-1 points ago

the two highest-traffic stations in the city.

Pedantic: Penn Station is the largest train station (by passenger volume) in North America.

But yes, you have the right idea.

[–]fun_young_man 5 points6 points ago

When measuring Penn Station are you accounting for commuter rail traffic? Amtrak traffic? He is just discussing subway ridership.

[–]ohv -1 points0 points ago

yeah because nobody ever takes commuter rail then a subway.

[–]lafayette0508 -1 points0 points ago

The only time I've ever tried to take it, it was closed.

[–]Gamion 3 points4 points ago

After Midnight? I almost ONLY take the Shuttle when I go between the two. Only take the 7 if it's after midnight, and even then I sometimes prefer to walk (unrelated, I don't have anything against the 7).

[–]lafayette0508 0 points1 point ago

Yeah, it was probably after midnight. I'm guessing now that when you said the S runs more or less constantly, you meant that the train comes with great frequency when it is running, rather than that it runs at all times. Although every other train runs pretty much at all times, so that's why I expected to be able to take it when I needed it.

[–]Gamion 1 point2 points ago

I didn't say that, but yea I'm sure that's what OP meant. There's only 2 trains and when one leaves the station the other is arriving. So even if you miss you're train, you are waiting in the car at most 5-10 minutes before it begins to move.

[–]lafayette0508 -1 points0 points ago

Oh oops, sorry. I always forget to check usernames. I'm really slow on getting novelty account posts too because I miss the names.

[–]snoharm -1 points0 points ago

Guy you meant to talk to here: Yes, that is what I meant.

[–]lafayette0508 0 points1 point ago

Haha, thank you for making it clear in the body of your post who you were! And, I get the S train thing now.

[–]Gamion -1 points0 points ago

No worries. :D

[–]Usrname52Forest Hills -1 points0 points ago

5-10 minutes? When do you have to wait 10 minutes on any Subway at crowded times? It would be faster to walk from Times Square to Grand Central at that point.

[–]Usrname52Forest Hills -1 points0 points ago

There are actually a lot of subways that don't run past midnight. We just don't really think about it, if it doesn't affect us. Except for what gets me home, I have no idea what runs late night.

This is pretty cool about the S. I might need to try hopping on it for the first time in my life.

[–]lafayette0508 -1 points0 points ago

I guess that's true, but it's just express trains not running while their locals keep running all night, right? There's no stations or stretch of subway like the shuttle that just suddenly is not serviced after midnight on a regular basis, right? (Other than scheduled work.)

[–]Usrname52Forest Hills -1 points0 points ago

For the most part, I think that's true, although I don't know enough to realize if there were gaps.

But the 7 covers where the shuttle would be there, so what's the difference?

[–]lafayette0508 -1 points0 points ago

That's true.

[–]throwawayi9i9 18 points19 points ago

Rush hour capacity.

7 line platform is an additional 40 feet below at Times Square, 60 feet at Grand Central. And imagine thousands of additional people on those escalators.

And the shuttle was there first.

[–]CraigFLBensonhurst 6 points7 points ago

Well, the original IRT system went like this: 145th St. on what we now know as the 1 2 3 trains south to the tracks where the S train runs on now, and turns south at Grand Central to the old City Hall station on what we now know as the 6 train. If you look closely at the S train platforms, you can kind of tell that it used to be a tiny station with entrances on each side and no connections between platforms, much like most of the local stations along the IRT lines.

Here's a map

I guess they figured, why not just do something with the trackage between Times Square and Grand Central?

[–]untogethered -1 points0 points ago

The only letter train running on number tracks?

[–]CraigFLBensonhurst 4 points5 points ago

Internally the 42nd Street shuttle is designated 0, so... Kinda? :)

[–]wroteit 1 point2 points ago

S train is special beast. Only line in NYC that runs in 3 boroughs and disjointed, making it the longest and shortest line in NYC.

So yeah, weird S...

[–]g33nProspect Heights 10 points11 points ago

The Franklin Ave Shuttle is the only one with both internal and external S designations. The 42nd Street Shuttle is known as the 0 train in the MTA, and the Rockaway Park Shuttle is known as the H.

[–]fun_young_man 2 points3 points ago

NerdGasm.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]wroteit -1 points0 points ago

I'm referring to Staten Island Railway line (granted it's SIR, not S).

[–]zulhadmHell's Kitchen -1 points0 points ago

Tourists

[–]LeonimuZCypress Hills -1 points0 points ago

It was made for faster connection between Times and Grand Central (think rush hour). The most transited stations and the 2 stations that have every train line/service if you combine them.The Shuttle is like every 2-5 minutes while the 7 is every 10.

[–]hbomberman 0 points1 point ago

Took the S two or three months ago and the inside was completely made up like this as a promo for History's Hatfields and McCoys. They had even installed screens on the top (where ads usually are) that played videos from the show.

[–]Hotdogsforsale 0 points1 point ago

I took when it was a Tropicana ad.

[–]wmittensromney 0 points1 point ago

Times Square shuttle or Prospect Park shuttle? or some other one I haven't heard of?

[–]swisherleigh -1 points0 points ago

I am taking that train

[–]pilsner407 -1 points0 points ago

cool!

[–]sinerexThe Bronx 0 points1 point ago

amazing almost 900 people never use the train to find this interesting... FYI this was on the Times SQ shuttle last year.

[–]oniqueBushwick 0 points1 point ago

This is the coolest thing I have seen all day.

[–]moshimochi 0 points1 point ago

I love it when they do this! I've only seen a few times, but the were all pretty great - I loved the one where they make the whole interior look like the sky (I think it was for Icelandic Air). Wish they did it to all the trains though, instead of a few, but...$$

[–]funkifize 0 points1 point ago

they do these full blown advertisements on the shuttle a lot, I remember at least a couple years ago seeing one for toilet paper, and a few more since then.

[–]iamthepalmtree 1 point2 points ago

What is this advertising?

[–]mymomsaysimcool 3 points4 points ago

It's an ad for Ask.com

[–]drgirrlfriend -4 points-3 points ago

I'm pretty sure this is for a new TV show. Maybe it was 666 Park Avenue? I can't remember but one of the shows that is advertised on every bus/subway/taxi etc

[–]braylonkeller 1 point2 points ago

Yes, it's an ad for 666 Park Avenue.

[–]willatworkAstoria 4 points5 points ago

This one is for ask.com. I believe the 666 Park Avenue ones were before these.

[–]pizzaonabagel 4 points5 points ago

I think the 666 Park ave is still on Track 1, ask.com is on Track 3. (IAmA boring person who commutes a lot, Ask me anything)

[–]braylonkeller 0 points1 point ago

The books are on the inside of the 666 cars. They do have search items on the book spines though which I didn't understand, so I guess it is ask.com?

[–]MasterShake718 -1 points0 points ago

am i being trolled or is this for real

[–]helcatHell's Kitchen 1 point2 points ago

Was this recently? Because I want to go find this if it's still out there.

[–]swever[S] 5 points6 points ago

yup it was today! and it was the one that goes between Grand Central and Times Square

[–]helcatHell's Kitchen -1 points0 points ago

Thanks!

[–]GorillaFate -1 points0 points ago

This is completely out of the way of my commute, but fuck if I'm not taking the S train Monday.

[–]kingturtle 1 point2 points ago

OP, NYC has jaded you. it is EXTREMELY interesting, not mildly. ;)

[–]AtrumDelorox -1 points0 points ago

I've been on the S once... I never saw that. I imagine it's in one specific cart?

[–]snoharm 9 points10 points ago

Decorations like this are generally temporary.

[–]mr_k_pilkington 3 points4 points ago

They do it pretty frequently on the S. I remember a few months ago they had one for that McCoy v. Hatfield show.

[–]likerazorwire419 0 points1 point ago

I'm assuming this is the Manhattan shuttle, not the Brooklyn one?

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