NY's MTA (not to be confused with bostons MTA!) is made up of what were originally 3 seperate, private companies.. the IRT (interboro rapid transit) the IND, (indepentant transit company, and the BMT (brooklyn manhattan transit) the companies are long gone, but the old designations still are used by NYer's (and in the NY time Crossword puzzles)

the BMT was the smallest company, and it still has the worst routes, and the poorest service.. two of lines of the old BMT are the N and R-- (both stop 2 blocks from where i work, but i never take them!) the are commonly called the Never and Rarely.

NY transit system is unusual, in the that because there were 3 seperate companies, the tunnels are are slightly different, and while all use a standand gauge for the rails, NY has to maintain 3 seperate rolling stocks.. some tunnels are wide, but have low ceiling and very gradual turns-- (IND) others, are taller, but narrower, and have tighter turning radiuses. (IRT) the BMT tunnels are both wide and high (so you think you could use either stock.. but it has tight turns like the IRT-- but since the tunnel are wide, the IRT trains leave a big gap at the platforms.. The IND cars fit the platforms.. but can't make the turns, since the cars are too long! and the BMT stations are all too short for most IND trains!.. so the BMT trains can run on the IND lines (but they trains are always two cars shorter than the IND platform) but not the other way round.


my other obsession