Rapid Transit (1949)

[@WinslowLeach1974]

1930-1931: It takes 11 months to build the Empire State Building from top to bottom. 2015-2016: It takes the MTA more than half that time to fix and renovate one single subway station (mine for instance). Nothing too "rapid" about the MTA these days.

[@diazjd93]

N train?

[@Cheezburgercatz]

I mean they had a different set of limitations. Think of what breaking up concrete releases, especially underground. It does seem ridiculous though.

[@DESOFFICIAL1]

I Got A Idea 😊, Make A MTA.Info Commercial, Based off Noobs from Minecraft & NYC Transit

[@georgemurphy2579]

Simply because white European Americans are no longer the driving force. Although Blacks and Asians were involved, all supervisory planning and work was done by European Western Civilized people. Sorry to say, but true.

[@Velocipede-uy4kw]

@@georgemurphy2579 I think it has to do with the decline of all people, whites are the ones who led the decline and continue to make it worse as they own the media that says it's okay to be sloppy.

[@cgerh92549]

This film brought back such memories when I was a kid in Brooklyn. My dad used to take me on the subway to "radio row" in Courtland Street (future site of the World Trade Center) on Saturdays.

[@qolspony]

I can't image a city without the wtc. Born 1970. But I did eventually. Sadly.

[@geggy310]

you guys are lucky to have been able to see the subway back then, now there’s no unique car designs

[@foxycovebiteof87]

Nice. Well back in my day, 1902, it was so nice.

[@billvila152]

I remember seeing this movie at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn when it first opened in the 70's. As a child, I was fascinated with the sights and sounds of that era, especially that of the trains. Even though I was more apt to enjoying (and eventually driving) buses, trains still are an enjoyment to this day.

[@StevieDisopolis]

Over 70 years later, passengers still hold the doors open. Some things never change.

[@roncaruso931]

Yes, things change for the worse. People being pushed onto the tracks. Robbed or beat up. Crime is out if control.

[@lebronpryor6677]

7:26 planners reviewed sections , those lines were later demolished (2nd ave and 3rd ave.) that's why the subway lines today are overcrowded. Because of real estate developers and the Robert Moses effect

[@blakemcnamara9105]

I'm glad that somebody brought this up. Imagine how good it would be to have the els still running today!

[@blakemcnamara9105]

@@kevsta67 I know right? Nowadays, I don't think that they could demolish it, so people would just have to deal with it. However, when those els were running, the neighbourhoods they occupied were mostly working-class where the people rarely complained. It was because of their demolition that the far East and West Sides became gentrified.

[@georgemurphy2579]

All of the elevated lines were demolished because of structural concerns, noise levels and upkeep. Sad, but true. There are numerous subway lines that still run above ground. Chicago has very little underground - most is elevated.

[@blakemcnamara9105]

@@georgemurphy2579 That's not true actually. It was more of an elitist scheme to eliminate working-class neighbourhoods in Manhattan. The reason that they were in a state of disrepair was because the city neglected them and doomed them to be demolished. The argument that "people along them didn't like them" and "they were a blight to the neighbourhood" were all fabricated.

[@lebronpryor6677]

@@blakemcnamara9105 blight and poor leadership was the trick to demolish the lines, but at all counts right now more than ever they are needed . as well as straight Bronx /Queens connection without traveling through Manhattan. Brooklyn -Staten Island tunnel that was never built supposed to spur off the R train line under Owls head park. NYC is still behind on new subway lines but the vision at that time was lets all move to long island and leave everyone else to scuffle in the city ghettos

[@johnduff3914]

01:32 There was still a couple of those old wooden turnstiles when I was a kid in the 70's.

[@Mhel2023]

I remember a few on the Jamaica Ave El

[@iknowuwanted4926]

529 stations in 1949,now down to 469...

[@QuarioQuario54321]

Hunter deja The way most others count it, 421

[@1575murray]

@Hunter D There is also another section of elevated structure on the 1 line in Manhattan from Dyckman St. to 225th St. which goes past the 207th St. shops to which a connection was built in 1988. The 225th St. station is in Manhattan since it is south of the original route of the Harlem River which was filled in long ago.

[@QuarioQuario54321]

Yes. We are now up to 424 approx.

[@VinceHere98]

I Know U Wanted *472

[@Mnrr6131]

Rip old south ferry

[@jiankaiang6495]

lol back then “25 seconds late, better hurry up”....now “2h delay, whatever”

[@thetransitguy5594]

@@ArrowIIIRailfan what the hell democrats gotta do with it jerk?

[@thetransitguy5594]

@@ArrowIIIRailfan How about you shut up dunce

[@ArrowIIIRailfan]

@@thetransitguy5594 Im not gonna start a fight with you because I want no feelings hurt . I respect your opinion and if that is how you feel go for it . No disrespect to you

[@thetransitguy5594]

@@ArrowIIIRailfan Ok. Still that was pretty angering and I thought I had to ask why you’d thought that.

[@ArrowIIIRailfan]

@@thetransitguy5594 Everybody has political opinion and as I can see so do you and I respect your opinion . But in my view ever since democrats dominated in NY taxes went up, crime went up, the subway was starting to become unreliable . Im just saying things have changed not necessarily for the better .

[@ct9630]

I got emotional with this video, especially with the music at the end. I always dreamed of seeing the Subway during this era as well as the elevateds. The subway is my favorite because I realize how old and iconic the system is, walking/riding through areas over a hundred years old in real time. This is filmed during the best period in history.

[@trainbusfan816]

Our New York accent boy, love it.

[@AlgolZ]

7:26 $5 million/mile in 1949 = $50.4 million/mile in 2017 Actual cost: $1.7 billion/mile

[@OofusTwillip]

That $5,000,000 in 1949 is the equivalent of $62,544,328 today.

[@franklyspeaking8335]

Workin' down in the hole...My pop was a Conductor on the IRT 2 Train for 24 years. I remember him saying that..

[@thetransitguy5594]

Man. MAN! I seen clips of the subways from the 80’s and late 70’s but I never thought I would catch something so vintage and cool! This was some very nice footage from the 40’s and if there is more clips I would love to see them! I always wondered what the subway system was like BAAAACK THEN now my question was answered! 10/10

[@parrot0051]

Wish it was like this today and yea, bring back the RFW.

[@Rocketfueler]

Given that this film was made in 1949, it's a great reminder that New York City was a global city long before the rest of the country accepted it. African-Americans, though few, were included, a Spanish-speaking voice, other foreign accents. For that era, when ethnic stereotypes were the rule in movies, this was an exception.

[@basedmoonman9341]

New York City was 90% White in 1950. So it was drastically different than today.

[@mikemainer3009]

I still have a piece of the 1940s subway in my living room. A porcelain strap grab handle and a driver's cab pressure gauge from the transit museum that I bought for a couple of bucks when I lived in Brooklyn back in the 1970s.

[@jbFromNYC]

"You ever wanna test the cure for aggravation, try the subway. That is the Aberdeen Proving Ground." - Ralph Kramden 😆

[@billysmith5721]

i remember the cigarette vending machines with mirrors or the coke machines with a handle or the candy machines. i remember chuckles candy

[@arielsea9087]

I remember Raisinets, Goobers, Twizzler, Bazooka Gum, Double Mint Gum, Good N Plenty, Milk Duds, Dots., Mary Jane. Some of these can be found today but the portions were bigger for less money.

[@johnrobinsoniii4028]

@@arielsea9087And though this film was made four years before I was born, I do remember the vending machines in the subways particularly the IND in Brooklyn where I grew up. And the chewing gum I always associated with the subway were “Chicklets” and of course, “Dentine”.

[@wordsfromourmaster9554]

Ah….the days when people were pretty much law abiding

[@Mr.Robert1]

NO BLACKS !!

[@kinkisharyocoasters]

fluorescent lights were brand-new on the trains at the time. none of them had a/c, the rooftops were all clerestory, and (I believe) no loudspeakers for the conductors. the subway was unified but still had three separate divisions with very limited inter-division transfers. no Rockaways trains, no Dyre Avenue trains, no Grand St or 57th/6th. fare just raised to a dime. dekalb interlocking was even worse than it is now. irt trains were only five cars. services had names instead of alphanumeric designations (the signs on the IND trains had letters, and there were numbers on the BMT triplexes and the brand-new R12s for the IRT) but you didn't see them on maps.

[@michaelgreene4748]

The IRT locals were 5 cars. The express trains (except for the Pelham Expresses) were 10 cars

[@parrot0051]

Bring back the RFW so we can watch the tracks ahead.

[@JorgeCat78]

Hell no! I like my full-width cab!

[@ChrisToTheSkies]

It still exists on the C line

[@ChrisToTheSkies]

You’d have to catch and actual one though

[@alexthemtaandr211weatherfa2]

There’s still rfw window

[@TheRailLeaguer]

That is the LAST thing you should be worrying about.

[@danielwrynn4707]

An excellent video of the subway in 1949. It is so cool to see all those old trains like the Lo Vs on IRT and the R1 to 9s on the Independent. And seeing the R10s, when they were brand new.

[@roncaruso931]

It's amazing to see clean stations. No graffiti. Nobody being robbed, beat up or pushed onto the tracks.

[@noby_huangkonghsiong]

I wish the IRT elevated lines were still here. I would have hop on to marvel the view of the old history.

[@ct9630]

Every time I am on 3rd AV I look up and imagine the legendary tracks there, you can tell there once was a train due to how wide the Avenue is

[@jason11259]

Such bizarre narration but great footage!

[@burbank]

Well that was the 40s. It was an entirely different era. Burnside Ave looks so different today.

[@qolspony]

Haha. Yes! It was strange seeing whites getting off the train at burnside. But look, back in the 1970s when I was a kid, there were still some whites in the west Bronx.

[@johnduff3914]

@@qolspony I thought that too. Look at all the white people at Burnside Ave!

[@vincentm4717]

I noticed they were planning the second Ave subway as far back as the 40s. Seems it took 70 years for this to come to fruition. Also the trains were much more crowded then, but service was much more frequent. I remember as a kid in the 60 and 70s one train came right after another during rush hours. You don't see that anymore. The one major improvement we do have today is at least all the cars now are air-conditioned. Those fans in the older cars only passed hot air in a train with wall to wall passengers.

[@jamarnemcgill1400]

3:22 Approaching 161st Street - Yankee Stadium/River Avenue

[@Serafinasteve]

The MTA could not have "cared" as there was no MTA then!

[@charlesbeyer7041]

The "new" IRT Grand Central Station at this time already 32 years old. Interesting to note that they'll allow passengers to use antiquated stations built under old standards of construction, but we can't build those same ways anymore, which was far cheaper. Not sure which period is more exploitative of public funds, but at least back in the early 20th century a shit ton got done for the money spent. Could rebuild the entire system for what it took to build three new 2nd Av subway stations.

[@danielyeroshalmi7492]

that light sign from the 50's is still used today in the transit system for regular use of the modern subway

[@therealifet4l789]

I'm 12 Yrs Old, Yes It Is Odd Why Is A 12 Year old kid Watching These [Awesome Vid, My Opinion] A Black and White Film, My Dad Used to work at The MTA so Did my Grandfather, It is So Pleasing To see How Was it at The 1940's and Present Day Today, To Be Honest I think the 1940's MTA Is Better. I think New York Has The Most Interesting History.

[@VinceHere98]

MTA didn’t even exist yet in the 1940’s. Most of the subways were run by the City.

[@blakemcnamara9105]

It was under the Board of Transportation back then.

[@TheStig_TG]

The MTA didn't exist in the 40s that was the IRT IND & BMT

[@TheKewlPerson]

Funny how they're still using this same technology for the most part, except somehow it runs even worse

[@VinceHere98]

Kinda interesting to see what the Subway was like just only years after WW2 ended :)

[@kinkisharyocoasters]

i'd imagine many of the passengers were still on edge

[@Lekirius]

Imagine how many in that subway car were vets,

[@arielsea9087]

I noticed they dressed nicely.

[@eatsomeseaweed9760]

Clean. Timely. No fighting. Hmm, I wonder what changed...

[@Mr.Robert1]

Let me take a little guess video games rap music people wanting to be gangsters no parenting children having children drugs ghettos blaming everything on the white man

[@arielsea9087]

People’s lack of values. Society became disposable.

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

@@arielsea9087No, it's because Robert Moses came and defunded the NYCTA.

[@Galidorquest]

I love how everyone dressed so sharp. Also, there's a black woman @ 0:46!!

[@roncaruso931]

Blacks live in NYC then. Why wouldn't you see a black on the subway?

[@lydialilli4351]

When people were civilized and the MTA cared.

[@sentai22]

Lydia Lilli The MTA did not exist back then, the city control the subways.it was the city that let the subway system fall to disrepair from the 60's to the let 70's and we are still repairing the damage to this day.

[@lydialilli4351]

I don't care.

[@SomeRamdomAhole]

+Lydia Lilli well you cared enough to reply back so...................

[@stevenalexander5715]

+Lydia Lilli They care ALOT!!

[@Cheezburgercatz]

People are civilized when they have economic opportunity and a decently high standard of living. Things many areas lack in this current economy. Was segregation civilized behavior? No. It's all about perspective, the good ol days were not as good as nostalgia will have us believe. Problems just shift

[@christopherlucy1772]

I saw some of these cars in Brooklyn at the museum..occasionally they r run..they had a turnstile 2...I'd like 2 see the busses...My school bus was usually a Jackie Gleason type and some even older...I love the gear noise on the old time car sets..

[@TheCloakedTiger]

Back when things seemed simpler...

[@Mr.Robert1]

No gangs of gangsters running around the subway system like animals like they do today they would never get away with it right to jail

[@youhandle9]

wow.. this is amazing..

[@georgemurphy2579]

Theses are all factors. Nothing ever happens for a singular reason. I heard otherwise, but it looks as though your points are also valid! It foes make sense.

[@losh330]

Crazy to think that most of the trains that replaced these have been or are about to be replaced.

[@ajjj4wood1]

This was when the Myrtle avenue el was still around

[@JakeGaming2634]

Myrtle Avenue Elevated Line is discontinued on 1969.

[@unc1589]

I love the city I grew up in. We were all so tough. So no nonsense .The city shaped us. If you were from outta town you couldn’t remain like you were back home. You had to conform to the city. If you liked to take life slow you better not be on the subway during rush hour. You learn that day one. Day 2 you know what to do. We learned lessons fast in NY. New Yorkers are not nice. Nice is time consuming. New Yorkers are kind! We will come to your aid in a heartbeat. Just don’t spend too much time shaking our hand afterwards. We got places to be. “I helped the guy but he almost made me miss the express saying thank you. He wouldn’t let go my hand.I woulda been late taking the local. Sheez” Typical NY Atittude😂. I lived other places where everybody smiles and was nice. Tee hee all day long. If you needed help they’d walk right by you. Smiling. Boy do I miss NY.

[@NightMotorcyclist]

Many of the things done in the video are still done in the same fashion today especially the inspection runs where we have to clear up upon seeing a train heading towards us.

[@sopaman1234]

They still do..

[@eatsomeseaweed9760]

Clean. Timely. No fighting. Hmm, I wonder what changed...0

[@briangasser973]

Also rampant racism, sexism, and anti-gay culture. It wasn't all good in the past.

[@klewis511]

Everybody looks like they work in advertising!

[@louiszhang3050]

Seems like America used to put in the same amount of pride and effort into their rapid transit systems as we see in Japan nowadays. Too bad big car companies had to take it all away from us...

[@evilwatermelon29]

@Roboboy OMG that would be fantastic!

[@robertsontirado4478]

The days when no one has sleep apnea for some reason. And pride in their work, not looking for false disabilities claim, sue the boss.

[@Mr.Robert1]

Imagine that people working to make the money the harder they worked the more money they made and what happened was people got into that group now everybody's into the lazy group

[@Mr.Robert1]

LOOK AT THE TRAINS WE HAVE TODAY. 300 MPH SMOOTH AND CLEAN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GO TO JAPAN OR OTHER COUNTRIES NOT IN AMERICA. WE ARE TO BUSY EATING WATCHING TV AND GETTING FAT AND LAZY.

[@billysmith5721]

"black eyed pete" word game in the ny daily mirror newspaper. flat iron building

[@litlgrey]

Okay, I will admit to having been born yesterday and 1949 was a long, long time before yesterday, but based on this documentarian slice of mid-20th century urban cinema verité, can someone - anyone - please tell me how long after this film was made were People of Color invented?

[@blakemcnamara9105]

Bruh... There weren't that many in the city yet. Most blacks in New York lived in Harlem at the time and there weren't many Hispanic or Asian immigrants yet.

[@mtanyc]

Thank you**** from a railfan for life!

[@sonic2batt]

That's when RAPID transit was RAPID. Now the MTA has morphed it into "MASS Transit", and slowed down all of the trains. THANKS MTA........

[@RBzee112]

The trains were slowed down because of all the derailments that injured passengers. You're probably too young to remember.

[@thomasponzio8345]

lovevthe part guy with drum trying to get on train......conductor hit him again..I dare ya

[@matthewbulger5876]

Who's The Cinematographer For This Documentary? I Await Your Answer.

[@larrydee8859]

Time to bring back, The LEX AVE. THRU EXPRESS, and other THRU EXPRESS service.

[@sunny71169]

Yup. Used to get on at 42nd Street, stopped at 59th, 86th, 125th, and then 177th street. Didn't take long to get home to Parkchester in the 50's and 60's. Heven't been back to the City for a long time. Can't look out the front window of the 1st car anymore? Loved to do that as a kid and sit on those stuffed seats that were covered with yellow woven plastic of some sort.

[@failyourwaytothetop]

Most of 1940s technology we in 2022 do not understand.

[@childrensorg856]

Lol. True.

[@americangiant1003]

Sad but true. Over 75 years later and many of the WW II era/late 1940's technology is still around with the NYC subway system here in the mid 2020's decade.

[@raraszek]

When the transit system was safe, white, clean, efficient.

[@americangiant1003]

OK. The days of America being an 100% "White" country had long sailed in 1949, let alone in 2023. Thanks idiot for that racist comment.

[@OmertaHannover]

​@@americangiant1003 Actually 1965 was the year.

[@johnrobinsoniii4028]

Four years before I was born.

[@TeXcreator]

So this is the old 4 train

[@鉄道とおこぷれ大好きチャンネル]

I enjoyed video

[@danielyeroshalmi7492]

heres a video of the archives of 2010

[@Mr.Robert1]

Perfect. Everybody's doing their job no graffiti everybody's wearing a suit and tie respectful and no niggas perfect the way the world should be the way it used to be

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

1. Don't say the N-word! 2. There were African Americans on the subway, as famously recounted in Billy Strayhorn's "Take the A Train."

[@TheKewlPerson]

Huh?? HUH?!?

[@johnny4aces410]

My, have the demographics changed!

[@ashtonjames7166]

When operators bragged about how late they could brake

[@taylorlee5103]

These films look staged like a movie production. That dude with the newspaper is an actor? He's in every one of these films. Notice no one looks into the camera, at that time must be huge like the size of a suitcase.

[@mkeough23]

lol second avenue

[@qolspony]

It's weird seeing whites get off at Euclid Avenue or anywhere outside Jay Street on the."A" line in Brooklyn. It's also weird that Canarsie is no longer a majority white neighborhood. My best moments in the subway was the 1980s and 1990s. I never been to.Canarsie because I always perceive it like a mini Howard Beach. Weeeeeellllllllll.

[@zo7vz]

1:22 vending machines, robbing New Yorkers since 1949 ☹️

[@davidmecir8352]

NYCT is not rapid transit but mass transit

[@kelleymarina7933]

“that’s my foot” “well good you can have it” what happened lol i gotta know even if it’s fake

[@euromatrixkung]

Wow i was born in 1999 and 2009

[@jackurbani5851]

Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Light Rail connects to LaGuardia kzbin.info/www/bejne/eomVdJiDoL6SfZI

[@pauli6043]

And not one computer or smartphone in sight!

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

Yeh uh

[@ColdSid]

Yeah cause they didn’t exist then I hate when people do this shit “ not a iPhone in sight “ shit is so played out it’s the 21st century get with it

[@Mr.Robert1]

Today's time wasters

[@Mr.Robert1]

@@ColdSid The truth of the matter is Sean people are not using the technology properly I do I use it to learn research check my email listen to music I don't play games on social media I don't have a tick tock account I don't have a Facebook account anymore and I never opened up Twitter screw that I got work to do no time to play games I got a family to raise if people would use their computers and their cell phones properly they could actually get assistance with the things that they need in life as opposed to just wasting time that's what goes on today and that's why there are so many haters hopefully that will open up your eyes a little bit

[@ColdSid]

@@Mr.Robert1 that’s absolutely great .. kudos to you .. bottom line is some people use their technology for research others use it to scroll thru Facebook and make videos on TikTok .. judging by your profile you seem like an older gentleman so you didn’t grow up with Gen Z all they know is Facebook Instagram TikTok iPhone etc .. technology evolved times have changed don’t judge what others do in their life

[@luisreyes1963]

The salad days of NYC subways before the homeless winos, muggers, vandals & assorted vermin who exist at night...😰

[@danielyeroshalmi7492]

"eastern pwky"

[@Venom3254]

This looks terrifying

[@Mr.Robert1]

What's terrifying about it it's how people got where they needed to go very efficiently and very affordable still being used today the same exact way only more modern and more dangerous as we have thugs now thanks to video games parents that don't do their jobs rap music and television

[@Franaflyby]

This was a time when people actually worked for a living. Not like today y'all are at home with covid waiting for your next stimulus check. Oh how times have changed.

[@anishapoorwakispotta7754]

Well by that logic the most hardworking people are in the global south, yet they don't receive rewards for their hard work. Shut the fck up

[@Mr.Robert1]

I've been working for 38 years 6 days a week 10 hours a day how about you Mr lazy

[@americangiant1003]

An outdated post from the COVID era with I assume Trump loving MAGA fan. By the way Newtron, what about Billionaires such as Jeff Bezos paying little or no sales taxes at all? News flash there are 'crooks' who abuse in all backgrounds. Whether from East New York, Brooklyn or Palm Beach. Sounds like you only want rich people in America. Thanks for crashing this thread troll.

[@briangasser973]

Not a lot of diversity in this video.

[@melcooperman2073]

No farebeaters, no track pushers, no ghetto behavior no wilding in those days. Just normal people. That was.....