81-717

In all fairness, some people were stupid enough to fly drones near airports, or shine laser pointers directly in pilots' eyes, both of which are a serious safety hazard.

NYC Subway: 5 new videos added. I decided to briefly pop by in New York on Wednesday in order to catch the last R42 run, since I didn't have any other videos of them from my previous visits (though in the future I'll probably avoid final runs). I left my house just before 3 am on Wednesday morning in order to catch a 6 am flight to JFK and arrive by 8 am. I then took the AirTrain from the airport directly to Howard Beach on line A, and got there around 9, nearly an hour and a half in advance, so I filmed some R46s and R179s. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to stay on the final run until the end, because I had to catch my return flight at 15:26, so I mostly stayed on the outdoor section (between 80th and Far Rockaway). The whole trip, including leaving and returning to Toronto, was within the span of 12 hours (I landed in Toronto around 17:30). Here are a couple of shots of the sunrise seen from the early morning flight to JFK (taken 06:45 and 06:54 am).

Yes, I heard the news today. I am seriously contemplating whether I should fly over there for 1 day to see the R42s in service for the first and last time. Where did you hear that about the R32? I thought they still have a year or 2 or 5 left (but I guess that's the R46s). Edit: I'll be there for the R42 last run. Just really hope the posted date and time of the event is not subject to change, my arrival and departure to/from NYC is timed perfectly to the current schedule (I'll have just over 2 hrs before the start and after the end of it).

BBQ pulled pork pizza and some Rosé

Yeah, they're about as popular over there as the GM's were in North America. Budapest's cars aren't silver on the outside though - the classic ones were blue and the rebuilt ones are black and white. Maybe you're thinking of the 81-717.6K in Moscow which is painted gray & blue like the 81-760. The 81-717.6K only looks more modern than a classic 81-717, but is basically mechanically identical. The 81-717.2K on the other hand looks almost identical to the 81-717.6K (besides the colors) but actually uses modern technology. To be fair I don't think NYC subways have a 40-50 year lifespan out of nostalgia either. Nostalgia is definitely there in terms of preservation of most types of cars, but they don't need to last that long to be saved. I wonder where they will store all the car types that will be retired in the future.

Homemade smoothie with frozen strawberries & avocados and cookies & creme protein powder.

Ah, I see. When you said windscreens I thought you meant windshield, so I was confused I would've thought that wooden/particle board materials would be more susceptible than plastic to deformation caused by heat and moisture though (during the spring some of the wooden doors in my house would expand slightly and no longer close properly). Which ones are you referring to specifically? Lot's of subway systems throughout Russia and eastern Europe use(d) the same Russian-built cars (particularly 81-717s) built by the same manufacturers, some of which may have been customized for a specific subway system, either in terms of trivial design elements (color/paint, etc), or more significant things like the equipment used or being designed to use a narrower track gauge (Russian subway cars built for Budapest). TBH I think the only reason all those transit systems rebuilt all those old Russian cars several times is the same reason why the TTC did the same with the GMs and was about to do the same with the T1s. I'm sure those transit agencies would love to replace them with new trains (and no doubt a lot of the public are sick and tired of seeing and riding 81-717s in all their entirety), but even though a lot of them do have other types of trains, they still opted for a rebuild of the classics. Actually, in the case of Budapest, there are some conspiracy theories surrounding the rebuild of the old Ev-3 and classic 81-717 cars into the 81-717.2K. The transit system went with the rebuild due to cheaper cost, but there were rumors that while the contract was a rebuild on paper, in reality the old cars were scrapped and the "rebuilt" cars were actually brand new extras left over at the factory. For what it's worth, the Russian subways are also designed to last 35 years, and unlike the E*-cars (the remaining ones in Moscow are over 45) I don't know any single 81-717 that actually made it to 40 (the ones in Budapest lasted 38-39). The only thing ensuring long-term longevity of the 81-717 series is the fact that the production line kept going through the mid 2010s.

True. Then again there are some cars that are far more modern (1980s) that also have a mostly metallic interior (walls, window frames and ceilings(?)), i.e. the R62 and R68. I know the doors themselves are metal, and the M1s and TRs are the only ones to have them unpainted silver on the inside, but I was referring to the panels on both sides of the doors on the M1-T1 (the white bits on the M1s) - I'm pretty sure those are plastic on the H/T1 cars, so naturally I assumed the same for the M1. Interesting. Now that I think of it, did the H1-4s also have metal ceilings like the M1s, and the H5-T1s & TRs have non-metal ceilings? Those were the E-cars, which had several modifications throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, some of which were more like the Gloucesters than the original E-cars. But my favorite are the 81-717s which came out later (late 1970s onwards), some of which have faux woodgrain plastic (brown or cream) interiors similar to the H-cars. Those plastic interiors just have a nicer, smoother texture, especially the second one which is so smooth it's actually shiny (come think of it, I'm not sure whether it's plastic or metallic). Some of the modern rebuilds are even more plastic (even the metal window frames are gone), those are truly part of the plastic age.

Technically all subway cars since the M1's would go under the plastic age (plastic walls, window frames, door panels, etc), and I actually much prefer those as opposed to cars with incandescent lighting and lincrusta or wooden interiors (let alone wooden bodies), those just feel far too vintage for my liking (as if reminiscent of the 19th century). As much as I love the 1970s faux woodgrain styling (which is actually plastic), I definitely don't like real wooden interiors. Technically the Gloucesters were also part of the "plastic age" (unless the interior walls were metal), but they definitely feel less "plastic" and a lot more on the vintage side than the M1-T1 cars, hence why I prefer any of the latter (in this regard I even prefer the Toronto Rocket over the Gloucesters). Funny enough, the H1 interior never looks old in any pictures, it always looks smooth and shiny, the H4 interior actually kinda feels older than the H1. I just can't believe that while Toronto got the "plastic" M1's and H1's in the 1960s, and New York got equally "plastic" cars in the 1960s like the R32, R38 and R42 (which, like all other NYC cars as well as the Gloucesters, and unlike the M1-T1 cars, have metal window frames and openable windows), Russian subways built in the 1960's look vintage as hell even compared to the G's. A lot of people have an appreciation for that vintage style, but I've come to the conclusion that I hate it in its entirety (can't believe I once thought it would look good in an H1-4!). Gotta give Kiev credit for rebuilding that archaic interior into something comparable to the modern designs of today (all the original equipment was also replaced with modern technology). Nice photos. I'd still say the H1 color is better described as cream, and the H4 walls are about as "white" as the H6 floor.

585 M&M wrap.

Line 4 stations do look like nice modern stations, but I never really cared for the University/Spadina stations (QP and St. Pat's are basically bland versions of Hradčanská/Muzeum/some Moscow stations - same cylindrical shape, but no design), definitely wouldn't consider any of them better than line 4, TYSSE (including ShW) or the typical modern station somewhere like Moscow or Budapest. Not even close Right now I'm mostly disappointed about not having any R42 shots and wondering if they'll be around long enough until I get back there (haven't figured out when). Wow, never even noticed that. Yes, it certainly does give the stations a better look, but the majority of stations you go into give off a somewhat different impression.

"For that matter"? Moscow's the clear winner out there, no questions asked. Here are a few examples of some of the older downtown stations. A lot of the newest stations are beautiful too, in their own way, like Nekrasovka. I think Moscow offers a nice combination of architectural styles ranging from vintage to modern. And of course there are also some more generic stations. Personally I like a lot of the stations in Prague too, some of them somewhat resemble Moscow in terms of fanciness. For example, Hradčanská or Muzeum (line A platform) (same wall pattern), Radlická is another good one. Budapest has a lot of beautifully designed modern stations. By comparison, most of the stations in Toronto are pretty bland (with some exceptions, like Sheppard West or the TYSSE stations). New York's stations are even worse unfortunately, although the complexity of the subway system itself greatly makes up for the lack of good design/cleanliness of the stations. While I agree that for me the only vehicles in Prague worthy of fanning are the 81-71Ms (besides obviously the historic Ečs and 81-717 trains), I can honestly say that after visiting twice I've had enough of Prague for a while. I'm not a tram fan so none of the trams in Prague interest me. Those 81-71Ms, while nicer to have than generic modern trains, are honestly no 81-717s, they completely lost their classic Russian style after Škoda laid a hand on them. The 81-717.2K is more modern yet in a lot of ways more reminiscent of the classic 81-717 that it replaced. But that's just my opinion.

I guess it depends what one considers "white" (I remember wikipedia saying the H6s had "white" floors 😂). On the H5/6 (especially the H5 from what I remember), the lighting under the AC units at the ends of the cars was brighter than the rest, thus making the cream paint in that area appear whiter, whereas throughout the rest of the car it was noticeably yellower. I disagree however that the interior design was "designed to break your spirit on the way to work", I'd argue the complete opposite, since I find it to be a lot more appealing and uplifting than most others I've seen. If anything it's a lot (but not all) modern designs that are more likely to make one's daily commute to school/work boring and depressing (as a lot of people view commuting).

On the subject of that, did the construction of NYC involve reconstruction of the profile of the tracks & tunnel to make the track within the new station perfectly level (since the stretch from Finch to Sheppard is mostly downhill), which I imagine would make the whole project that much more complicated? Or was the profile already horizontal within that 150-m section of the tunnel to begin with?

Some spiced tea and a cinnamon bun flavor granola bar (and I failed at opening the pack of tea the first time )