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| Re: Flip Flopping the 7 and N/Q (1133225) | |||
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Re: Flip Flopping the 7 and N/Q |
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Posted by Michael549 on Thu Jan 19 19:10:22 2012, in response to Re: Flip Flopping the 7 and N/Q, posted by PATHman on Thu Jan 19 15:58:46 2012. From a previous message: "Just to be clear, this was just a hypothetical idea. I took into account all of those empty Q trains heading to Astoria middays as well as the fact that the Steinway Tubes basically constrains the capacity of the 7 line."Regardless of the hypothetical nature of the idea, I am confused about how the Steinway Tunnel constrains the capacity of the #7 line. In the 1960's and 1970's it was claimed that the #7 line was running about 32-33 trains per hour during the rush hours - when the usual standard was 30 trains per hour. Publicly available time schedules for the #7 line given out in the 1970 and early 1980's showed three terminals in rush hour operation in Queens - Flushing, Shea Stadium-Willets Point, and 111th Street -- with all trains terminating at 42nd Street-Times Square. Of course the Steinway Tunnel is limited to IRT-type subway cars, but is that "really" a constraint or just a fact of subway life? The 42nd Street-Times Square station has often been regarded by many transit fans as quite a peppy station for carrying out the work that it has to do on a daily-yearly basis. Those layup tracks that existed at the end of the station comes in quite handy. The basic reality-based problem with your scenario is the 59th Street Bridge, and the fact that the #7 train route is along one side of the bridge, while the entrance to the 60th Street tunnel is on the other side of the bridge. With the bridge being so close to the station there is little space to create a flying junction or other track arrangement to switch the two sides. Even if by magic a set of flying junctions near the could appear, it seems that the N and Q lines do not supply enough trains to handle the crowds that the #7 line handles on a regular basis. It is always a good idea to wonder about "what could be" though. Mike |
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