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Great Irish Fair

Posted by
on September 18th, 2009 at 4:08 pm

This weekend, the Great Irish Fair will be taking place at the Coney Island KeySpan Park Parking Lot on Surf Avenue at West 17th. MTA NYC Transit sent out a press release to talk about why you should take mass transit to reach the event:

Plenty of Irish eyes will be smiling at the Coney Island KeySpan Park Parking Lot on Surf Avenue at West 17th Street this weekend for the celebration of the Great Irish Fair. There will be two days of music and fun on both Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The best way to get to the celebration is to take the subway to the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station. However, please note that on this weekend the Coney-Island bound D trains run on the N line from 36th Street to Stillwell Avenue. Manhattan-bound D service is normal. The Q is replaced by shuttle buses between Prospect Park and Kings Highway and shuttle trains operate between Kings Highway and Stillwell Avenue. F and N service will operate normally in Brooklyn.

The following buses serve the Coney Island-KeySpan Park area: B36, B64, B68, B74, B82, and X28.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Buses Affected By U.N. General Assembly

Posted by
on September 18th, 2009 at 3:18 pm

Starting this Monday & lasting through October 2nd, some bus service will be affected due to the United Nations General Assembly. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release sent to me:

Due to the United Nations General Assembly meeting scheduled from September 21 through October 2, 2009, many streets throughout Manhattan and especially around the United Nations headquarters may be closed to traffic by the U.S. Secret Service and the New York City Police Department to allow motorcades of visiting dignitaries through.

As a result, we expect delays on all bus service operating in Manhattan. Delays on the following routes may be quite significant, and these buses may be detoured from their regular routes without notice:

M1, M2, M3, M4, M9, M15, M20, M27, M42, M50, M66, M72, M101, M102, M103, M104, X25 and X90

Customers are advised to avoid the east side of Manhattan during this period and to use the subway, where possible.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA LIRR Delivers Two Retired Locomotives

Posted by
on September 18th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

Now it is time to catch up on a few press releases sent to me by the MTA this week. The Long Island Rail Road has delivered two retired locomotives to the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. Here are the complete details:

MTA Long Island Rail Road officially transferred two retired LIRR locomotives – No. 397 and No. 398 – to the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum for display with their historic equipment collection as part of the year-long celebration of the LIRR’s 175th Anniversary. The two mini locomotives were used as “switching locomotives” in the LIRR’s Morris Park diesel servicing and repair yard in Richmond Hill, Queens.
“We are very pleased to be able to help the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum preserve yet another piece of LIRR history by adding these retired locomotives to their collection,” said LIRR President Helena Williams, as the locomotives were delivered to the Museum. “As we reflect on this, the LIRR’s 175th anniversary year, we pay tribute to the LIRR’s rich history and the important role it played in the development of Long Island. Transferring these locomotives to the Museum helps immortalize that history for generations to come.”

“The Oyster Bay Railroad Museum is extremely grateful to the LIRR for the generous transfer of these two historic locomotives which will be an integral part of our equipment display area,” said Oyster Bay Railroad Museum President John Specce. “I wish to thank everyone associated with the transfer; the LIRR management and departments that provided the logistics for the transfer, the men who arranged for the unloading of the dinkies on site, and the volunteers of the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. They all worked together for a seamless move from Jamaica to Oyster Bay. We look forward to displaying both locomotives and the rest of our equipment starting on Oyster Fest weekend, October 17 and 18 and welcome everyone to our Museum.”

The diminutive locomotives (150 horsepower) were used to “switch” or move passenger and freight locomotives throughout the diesel facility – especially when locomotives were unable to operate under their own power while in the shop for repair. The locomotives also pushed or pulled diesel coaches – passenger train cars – into or out of the diesel car repair shop and the wheel truing facility where flat spots were removed from train car wheels.

Earlier this year, the LIRR held a contest for the naming of these two workhorses long-known only as No. 397 & No. 398.

In revealing the winning entry, LIRR Senior Vice President of Operations, Raymond Kenny said: “We invited the public to help properly name the dynamic duo, reflecting our history and connection to Long Island. And so, I am excited to announce the winning entry – submitted by Michael Sprintz of East Meadow. Locomotive No. 397 will now also be known as ‘Dashing Dan,’ and No. 398 as ‘Dashing Dottie’.”
Winning the naming contest, Mr. Sprintz received a family four-pack of tickets to the Broadway show “Burn the Floor.” The prize was donated to the LIRR for the contest.
The “switching locomotives,” each over 50 years old, dutifully performed their functions and were a mainstay of the LIRR’s diesel repair shop landscape from the 1960’s through 2006. Both locomotives were built by General Electric in 1958.

Locomotive #398 was purchased new by the LIRR in 1958. Locomotive #397 was acquired by the LIRR in 1987 from the Naporano Iron & Metals Company – a firm located in New Jersey. Each locomotive measures just over 18 feet in length, 10 feet in height and weighs 51,000 pounds.

Celebrating its 175th Anniversary this year, the LIRR is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, carrying 87.4 million customers last year, with over 300,000 traveling each weekday on 735 daily trains. Chartered on April 24, 1834, it is also the oldest railroad in the U.S. still operating under its original name. The Railroad is comprised of over 700 miles of track on 11 different branches, stretching from Montauk – on the eastern tip of Long Island – to Penn Station in the heart of Manhattan, approximately 120 miles away. Along the way, the LIRR serves 124 stations in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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7 Train To Run Local & Express After U.S. Open

Posted by
on September 14th, 2009 at 4:58 pm

Just a short time ago, MTA New York City Transit announced the 7 Train train will have Manhattan-bound local & express service after the conclusion of the U.S. Open ceremony. Because of this, all Queens-bound express service will be immediately switched to local service. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release they sent me:

MTA New York City Transit officials today announced that express and local service will be available on the 7 line tonight at the completion of the Men’s Championship Awards Ceremony at the 2009 US Tennis Open in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. Several extra trains, which will be queued outside of the Mets-Willets Point station, will arrive on the middle track every six minutes. This extra service will begin shortly after the conclusion of the ceremony, and will run for about an hour.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Main Street/Flushing-bound 7 express service will immediately be suspended, and all Flushing-bound 7 trains will run on the local track. This service pattern is necessary for crowd control and to provide service continuity on the line.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR: 8 Extra Trains For Eve Of Rosh Hashanah

Posted by
on September 14th, 2009 at 4:52 pm

Just a short time ago, the Long Island Rail Road announced it will be running eight extra trains on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release they sent to me:

The MTA Long Island Rail Road is offering eight additional eastbound trains from Penn Station, Friday, September 18, between 2:09 PM and 3:48 PM for customers traveling early in observance of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). There will be three additional trains on the Babylon Branch, three on the Port Jefferson Branch, and one each on the Port Washington and Far Rockaway Branches.

Babylon Branch:

• 2:25 PM express to Lynbrook, then all stops to Babylon
• 3:00 PM stopping at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon
• 3:31 PM express to Rockville Centre, then all stops to Babylon

Port Jefferson Branch:

• 2:09 PM stopping at Jamaica, Carle Place, then all stops to Huntington
• 2:22 PM stopping at Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, New Hyde Park, then all stops to Huntington
• 3:24 PM stopping at Jamaica, Mineola, Westbury and Hicksville

Port Washington Branch to Great Neck:
• 3:40 PM stopping at Woodside, Flushing-Main St., then all stops to Great Neck

Far Rockaway Branch:

• 3:48 PM stopping at Jamaica, then all stops to Far Rockaway

xoxo Transit Blogger

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