NYC Subway: 1988 vs 2023 Comparison view at 14 Street - 8 Avenue station.

[@michaelgorman4229]

I started my career with the MTA (NYCTA) Trackworker on March 7, 1988, then got promoted on December 1991 to B-Division train operator till I retired on July 15, 2016, 28 1/2 years

[@Miles-cb7sm]

Cool!

[@SegaDisneyUniverse]

Thank you for your service, good sir.🙂👍

[@SomeoneOnTheInternet855]

what lines?

[@michaelgorman4229]

N-line

[@captainkeyboard1007]

You are still The Best People Around! Take that from this subway buff, me!💙

[@adammars1438]

See this is why I love the NYC subway in the 80s in particular. Very interesting time in which many types were running in varying conditions. Some new, some ready for overhaul, and some that were slowly being phased out.

[@sethmtanyct]

Agreed to that man! I love the contrast shot especially between that pre-GOH R44 and post GOH R46 in the video at 2:58

[@DARTHBLUNT713]

1988 trains move faster than 2023 train when leaving the station and on the west side ABCD especially express trains be so damn fast no wonder why it sounds like thunder

[@TheLordAI]

​@@DARTHBLUNT713yeah they like to snail trains through routes these days give trains red & yellow lights even with no trains ahead

[@DARTHBLUNT713]

@@TheLordAI no doubt 💯

[@adammars1438]

@vutwindowsxptwo5348 maybe, but not their acceleration imo

[@Aatrixian]

This is officially one of my favorite videos you've made Mr Railfan. We get a blast to the past and get to compare it to some of the magnificent (and some troublesome) changes of the future. I wasn't even born yet lmao. I will admit though, the subway looked freakin haunted back then. So dark and gloomy. I'm real glad the MTA brightened things up over the years. The older trains definitely shine in variety and design, but the newer trains are beautiful and have upgraded our system quite a lot. It's really awesome to see! Nice one.

[@camera9024]

I thought subway ambience was creepy until I saw '80s subway railfanning.

[@atomicgiraffe250]

@@camera9024 I think it's best described as going from "very shitty" to "slightly less shitty"

[@BrIaNMeRcY1022]

To think the footage shot in 1988 was the way things were the day I was born. Fast forward to today, it proves how a lot can change in 35 years.

[@TheLordAI]

I was there during those days too definitely a huge difference only the trains were faster back then

[@bruhz_089]

Its mainly the trains that changed

[@brayanbarreramtaproductions]

Wow

[@GamerRobYT]

It's crazy how much has changed in 35 years

[@Bklynkid52]

The fact that conductors had it worse back then with the door controls, good thing they’re in actual cabs now.

[@BrIaNMeRcY1022]

The R10's were the last subway cars with exterior door controls.

[@Bklynkid52]

@@BrIaNMeRcY1022 That’s a good thing, because one wrong step and you’re in between the train cars. ☠️🙁

[@BrIaNMeRcY1022]

@@Bklynkid52 This is why is became a safety issue with TWU Local 100 for much of the 1980's.

[@jfchonors8873]

As a kid riding the D train to Brooklyn on snowy days it always amazed me that conductors on Arnines could step out onto those slippery footholds while the train was moving

[@luislaplume8261]

​@@BrIaNMeRcY1022 And the first ones that were called Composits were built with it from 1903 to 1904.

[@MajorSecord]

Nicely done. Your attention to detail is appreciated. The lighting has certainly improved dramatically.

[@amazing50000]

I was a kid in 1988. I am a full adult in 2023. I was able to ride the subway back then, and still do now. I do miss the different variety of subway cars that was back then. Now most of the subway cars are the same.

[@brett8706]

Wow those R10’s where the conductor had to brave the elements.

[@bottleofwatero1]

The subway in 1988 used to look like an ex soviet state in the 1990s or early 2000s.

[@ShortRound42]

No, it's the film quality. It's old aged film that's deteriorating over time. So it looks darker and grimy.

[@arrow1414]

I miss those analog clocks.

[@elizabethbobbio2601]

Man, time flys fast when stations renovate many years ago.

[@Traintrooper]

To anyone who says that the subways now a days are a dark scary and grimy place watch this video because that couldn’t be further from the truth and this vid shows it perfectly. the subway has come a long way from the 80s and while there is room for improvement the subways has improved so much since the 80s and will continue to do so

[@BosniaHercegov]

I’ll take the 80s

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

That doesn't mean it's good now more than it means it was worse then.

[@BosniaHercegov]

@@MiketheNerdRanger Worse now you mean?

[@CrabMan2539]

I feel like it wasn't as dark in the 80s as the video looked. Cameras needed a lot more light back then for sufficient video. I have a video 8 camera (the standard in the 80s) and my bedroom light isn't enough for it meanwhile it's more than enough for my modern camera. Not saying it's not brighter now than it was, I just don't think it was as dark as the video shows.

[@DaHidden]

Now this is history!

[@quirkygirlboss]

Great comparison, this video is gonna blow up!

[@EvilNeuro_IITPP]

The 1980s footage looka very creepy especially the vandalism on the trains it gives ghost town vibes

[@Shirley-lw8fh]

Thanks for making this videos I love subway to know every moto

[@BottomLin3Op]

Much faster back then as well

[@robroy6374]

yup. before the whole subway system slowed down due to the 1995 williamsburg bridge crash.

[@bornjamerican52]

Oh wow! Brings back memories 😊😊😊. Thank you

[@TransitFoamer_JAYDOTT]

1:44 the K train

[@djr.bklyn.ny.]

I love this! Can you do Coney Island?

[@MatingMations]

I was about to say “first” but then I gained brain cells.

[@Chris-zs5qb]

You're still the only comment three minutes later, lol

[@camera9024]

And u still said first

[@smashfan9549]

​@@camera9024And you did as well.

[@Chris-zs5qb]

That was only 12 years before I was born? Wow.

[@kevinb8881]

R10 C trains, OMGGGGG!!!😂

[@eightavmunipals]

Its cool to see the differences from now and then!

[@randylotito8045]

RIGHT HERE I LOVE ♥♥♥ THE BRAND NEW N.Y.C. M.T.A. MASS TRANSIT R211T SUBWAY TRAIN 🚇🚇🚇 CAB CARS ON THE A TRAIN TO 207 STREET.

[@jjinnyc75]

Stunning

[@mattstbe6452]

Man, not even the doors worked?

[@ShortRound42]

Been riding the subway since 1981 and not much has changed. Back then we thought ALL the subway stops would look like Bowling Green. Modern, stylish look. Most stations TODAY still look like they did 40 years ago. MOST. Here at Rego Park, they had a leak that was still in the same spot since the 90s. Just a couple years ago it was fixed but still see the rusted dirty stains in the same spot. These modern trains look all clean but again, what's the difference. Sleek look hopefully more aerodynamic, but it's still the same. The best change though is seeing the signs where you can see how long til next train gets in. That's it. Wifi is much improved too. But overall, still the same experience.

[@edp128128]

hey the green R10 was nice :)

[@mariajosesaizlopez3574]

Great video

[@鉄道とおこぷれ大好きチャンネル]

Very good Video

[@ShortRound42]

First off the video from then is very old, grainy, aged film. The film has deteriorated so it looks dark. Yes, lighting better now, but it wasn't a dark place then. I lived it, rode the subways then. Additionally you see more riders back then because that's just about the beginning of when things were getting better crime-wise. Guardian Angels patroling the subways. Still bad but just starting to ease up. About early 90s started the very safe riding (Police Commissioner and Giuliani's policies cracking down on thugs and crime and homeless) til about 2019. Then crime ramped up again, more homeless again on the subway from end of 2020 til now. Another big factor most people worked in the city. Now, people are working from home a couple days a week (at least) from the office. So, less ridership overall now.

[@kevinb8881]

R30 L trains, yesss!!!😃

[@michaelgorman4229]

Check out the film 📹 Worriers (1980) movie 🎦

[@kevinb8881]

@@michaelgorman4229 I've seen that movie!!

[@rwa2play]

So, for those of you who think the system is bad now? It's a breeze compared to how it was even in 1988.

[@mattstbe6452]

To think we couldn't possibly look any more third world.

[@VeeTHis]

The 1980s footage sure as hell looks third world. I wouldn't say the 2023 footage looks "third world" though.

[@Carl-Romero]

Can you do a side by side comparison with an R10 and an R211T?

[@benjaminsmith2287]

So much has been cleaned up and brightened in current times. I don't think New Yorkers appreciate how much work has been done in the stations. Crazy how the 44/46 is now the vintage train (46 surviving) and it was a relatively new and modern train in 1988. Better variety of trains in 1988 and you can see where some where beginning to be cleaned up but still tons of graffiti on most of them.

[@johnlewis3891]

The 80s 🚉 looks much crowded and darker than the modern ones.

[@ShortRound42]

Darker due to the aged film, deteriorated film quality. It wasn't dark like that. I lived and rode in that time. More crowded because many worked in the city. Today, we have remote work since 2020 pandemic. People are working from home more days of the week. So less ridership. Less going to the office today.

[@mtanyctrainatlantamartatra7164]

Seen old Marta subway train videos, now see some old NYC mta subway train videos

[@MHammonds18]

An R10 in 88 is crazy 😭

[@smythfamily8321]

Crazy that those old r10s are still used for work trains today!

[@thefanridrshow1967]

Wish you make a longer video like that

[@Theguythathasablooperplushie]

i want to be in the 80s 🥲

[@benjaminsmith2287]

Another thing I notice is old to new. The R46 doesn't look all that much different, at least on the outside, to the R211. The R46, OTOH, and R44, look very different to the R10 which looks very different to the R38.

[@aqua2poweros699]

Surprises me how fast the NTTS are at 2:20. And the Thing was the r10 left first. Definitely shows signs of improvement. edit: I'm not hating on the R10. The R10 is actually really good.

[@MrRailfan]

Half the train probably had dead motors. Just look at the doors, half of em are cut out. The R10s are really quick.

[@robroy6374]

the R10s will always be better than any NTTs, period.

[@DARTHBLUNT713]

​@@MrRailfan facts 💯 I remembered those days back in the 1980s every trains models had some kind of problems as well some parts of the tracks had some very serious problems that some part of it Trains can't go past 5 to 10 mph and wow what Avery long ways the system got overhaul since than to now

[@benmateo9105]

@@MrRailfan Yeah. It's most likely that the ones that were about to phase out (The older ones) weren't in a really good condition. So some things didn't work properly.

[@Jay2Fire42]

Its great to see the graffiti trains an the other old trains wish we still had those running in theses times.

[@mattstbe6452]

These new trains are already 10 years old btw

[@MrRailfan]

The 143s are 23, 160s are 18, 179s are nearing 10. Time flies.

[@IsaiahAOI_YT]

Why are the 80s trains so fast😰😰

[@markhellman-pn3hn]

(aside from the graffitti) ... these were the BEST subway cars New York ever had

[@g.c.brooks7214]

Seeing those grimy, graffitied pre-overhaul R38s gives me such nostalgia

[@jamellloydhampton7907]

WOW THE OLD TO THE NEW. I WAS 8 YEARS OLD THAT YEAR IN 1988. 35 YEARS LATER.

[@Mr.A-Wagen]

Why does only one door open at the r10 trains?

[@MrRailfan]

Doors were cut out.

[@Theguythathasablooperplushie]

5:41 popeye door on R10

[@g.c.brooks7214]

I almost forgot the conductor had to stand between cars on trains comprised of R10s. That would never fly today

[@yitzchokkranczer6066]

Why are the videos of the newer trains - and their platforms - brighter than the old ones? Is it a change in t trains or did the videographer use two different cameras/settings? Was this an accident or malicious distortion?

[@MrRailfan]

The lighting was dimmer in the 80s. The cameras used to shoot are also different

[@yitzchokkranczer6066]

@@MrRailfan Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that they were all recent videos of both new and old trains that are in service now.

[@RailRide]

@@yitzchokkranczer6066 Old lights: fluorescent & incandescent. New lights, mostly LED & CFL.

[@Psevdonim123]

Why on old trains only half of the door opens?

[@ShortRound42]

Not always. That was some malfunctions. You'll see that from time to time now, but less so than back in the day.

[@solidDoezThingzyt]

Now even more in the future its gunnu be the R179/R211 as the past and the R916 in the future

[@tonytins]

Like, night and day,

[@ThatUnknownProPlayer2024]

3:11 R44 VS R46

[@Tri-StateGuy]

1980s looking like liberty city

[@The10thCount]

Rip r44

[@ynwa6661]

i remember the 200

[@ajs11201]

The MTA sure has its problems, but it would be disingenuous to pretend that it's worse now than in the 70s and 80s.

[@nojeansv]

2023 got a competition

[@johnlewis3891]

I would have been scared of walking in that dark azz mezzanine(7:13).

[@ShortRound42]

Some lights not working there but the film is very old, deteriorated aged film so it looks darker than actually it was.

[@prod.loverboicurly8105]

new cars are amazing. But why don’t they reconstruct the stations ? many of them are in terrible conditions with all these dirty streaks on the walls, peeling tiles, rusty metal structures, etc.

[@TheLordAI]

They're working on that too

[@SubwayyyFan3000]

Why is NYC Subway had more riders back in 1988 than now? It’s creepy and haunted af.

[@ShortRound42]

First off the video from then is very old, grainy, aged film. The film has deteriorated so it looks dark. More riders back then because that's just about the beginning of when things were getting better crime-wise. Still bad but just starting to ease up. About early 90s started the very safe riding til about 2019. Then crime ramped up again, more homeless again on the subway. Another big factor EVERYONE worked in the city. Now, people are work from home a couple days a week from the office. So...less ridership.

[@SubwayyyFan3000]

@@ShortRound42 thats bad, how is office occupancy in the city is right now?

[@ShortRound42]

@@SubwayyyFan3000 My wife does from home a couple days a week, then the rest the office. When I go in sometimes, it's definitely less crowded, less tourists the past 2+ years BUT, this year '23 I see many more people in the city. It's coming back slowly. More people coming into the office. And also more tourists coming in. Restaurants slowly picking up again. Subway more people. But on the street you notice more homeless. Alot more than when I was younger. And now lots of illegals, especially women walking around trying to sell candies with their kids in tow. Kids look miserable doing this. It's sad to see.

[@SubwayyyFan3000]

@@ShortRound42 that is good NYC is slowly coming back but it’s heartbreaking that it’s now filled with illegals and homeless people, these people needs to be housed and yet city council are bunch of mafias.

[@hmmsimguy3550]

How did you found the old footage

[@buszyguy]

4:36

[@ThatUnknownProPlayer2024]

2023!!!!

[@norifromreallife-di7hi]

The K was still there…

[@MD-Yuh]

And now, we need to compare to Moscow metro...

[@MrRailfan]

I did a video in kiev. Same soviet style architecture. We have nice infrastructure here too. Our system is much bigger and older and we have gorgeous stations too

[@F40PH-2CAT]

This isn't history to many of us 😅

[@robroy6374]

1988 far more interesting than boring ass 2023, thats for sure.

[@strongman410]

Tell me you're old without telling me you're old LOL

[@robroy6374]

@@strongman410 you have a problem?

[@ThatUnknownProPlayer2024]

And the winner is

[@Itz_MaxTheCat]

2:10 man there are some nice graffiti on some trains, BUT that one on the left is kinda gross 🤮

[@johnlewis3891]

Why is the conductor riding in between the train cars in the 80s?

[@MrRailfan]

That's were the door controls were until the trains in the 50s started arriving with the controls relocated into the cabin. The last of these trains were removed from service in 1989.

[@johnlewis3891]

@@MrRailfan Thanks for the info. I was so confused. At first I thought the conductor was a transit 👮‍♂️.

[@dokesz530]

Not much has been changed.Graffity cleaned off.The subway cars stil looks ugly i dont know who made the latest look but why install such a smal windows between doors?As for the look a new facelift and lot of informations added but in europe this is al long standard.

[@ShortRound42]

Thx for saying that. Many here think alot has changed. The stations almost all look the same the past 40 years. Just some tech improvements but for 40 years, you'd think our subways would be right there or better than Japan's rail services. All modern, all sleek over there. Here they slow walked and stole monies from the major renovations that are still needed.

[@aaronmohammed6998]

MTA SERVICE BUSES MTA OK

[@chrisjct]

New yorkers in the 80s omg this is bad no lights nasty people very dirty. People today new lighting way cleaner new trains stations count downclocks and info boards but still to dirty

[@ShortRound42]

Still dirty, still crime, more homeless. Not much has changed. But I get wifi. See Japan. We should be ashamed after 40 years. We should have the best rail in the world. Were did all the money go?

[@smashfan9549]

​@@ShortRound42I'm seeing you say the same thing everywhere about saying that the subway really hasn't changed since the 80s. I think what everyone is trying to say is that all the same stuff you see now was worse back then. And just to add on, do you not see what the mta is trying to do with most of the stations? If you ask me, things are 100 times better now than they were before

[@ShortRound42]

@@smashfan9549 Nah, I've ridden since the 80s and that is 40 years, and the improvements over that time span should be the level of Japan's rail. Have you seen what they have over there and cleanliness and modernization in almost EVERY station they have. So 40s years and it's a slight improvement is NOT a great metric with millions of dollars a day for over 40 years have been collected with only SLIGHT improvements. Where did all the money go?

[@cats0182]

One comparison you didn't make. The earlier cars were designed and built by American companies in America. Today subway cars are products of foreign design and assembled by foreign companies who've set up plants in the US to sooth the egos of politicians. For me, it's a sad commentary and comparison point.

[@MrRailfan]

We no longer have any US based companies. All went out of business.

[@Itz_MaxTheCat]

Bombradier is Canadian. Kawasaki is Japanese (like Toyota) Alston is French (so do francorail) St. Louis, Budd company, Pullman standard and other old train companies are American

[@JamesDeanRivera]

Who cares? Were comparing trains entering a train entering a station in 2 different eras. I could care less where they was built at

[@wmbrown6]

And the old subway cars actually ran like subway cars. Today's lot are basically computers on wheels.

[@Itz_MaxTheCat]

@@wmbrown6 lol 😂😂😂😂😂😂. The r211 is the computer on wheels. The r142 r143 R160 and the lemon is not really computerised just their script maps, a very few leds and the CBTC stuffs

[@Lithiumbattery]

nothing has change. nyc still sux poop. indian rail looks classy in comparison 😂😂😂😂

[@gummel82]

NYC in 1988 looked like a slum