Least Used New York Subway Station - Beach 105 Street 🇺🇸

So I found myself in New York riding the Subway a lot, and met up with Miles from 'Miles in Transit' to go and visit the Least Used Station on the MTA Subway, it's Beach 105th Street!

[MilesinTransit]

You're telling me this guy can't tell the difference between an R68 and an R46? Man, where do you FIND these people? 😅

[titanbronco]

Now we need Miles in the UK. The least used station is always out in the middle of nowhere. And if you've seen Miles' videos, you know how he likes to explore and show off the community.

[grand.central]

as a NYer who's been watching you for years, this is making my heart GIDDY!!

[themoviedealers]

The collaboration we didn't know was possible, but that we desperately needed.

[TheNails]

That puddle shot at 5:59 was SO cool, Geoff!

[FlushingFishtown]

One stop down at the end of the line, Rockaway Park - Beach 116th Street station has a diner inside the station house. A visit there would really make this a certified Miles in Transit adventure

[TheNapalmFTW]

Geoff. I work on the buses in Chicago. We have a huge bed bug and roach problem. The seats used to really disgusting when we had cloth seats. They would get bodily fluids, food and drink all over them but we recently changed to a vinyl seat. So much better lol.

If you come to Chicago I can give you a tour.

[MysticTransit]

Nice to see you in New York! You’ve inspired me to start my own YouTube channel covering the New York City Subway (even doing a similar type of Least Used Stations series here). Would’ve loved to run into you in your travels. Anyway, hope you had a fun stay here in NYC.

(Also, Miles, that was an R46 lol)

[metropod]

(MTA employee)
So, general gist of all this, the line was built across Jamaica Bay in the 1880s, as miles said as a wooden trestle, by a subsidiary of the Long Island Rail Road. The trestle burned down in 1950 after it is believed a lot cigarette was tossed out a train window.

LIRR service was maintained because the line was effectively a loop.

Service continued to run via the eastern half of the loop, and a single track section where the two branches split.

The city had wanted to send the subway to the Rockaways, so bought the entire line within its borders a few years after the fire, adding it to the subway as the IND Rockaway Line

The trestle was replaced by a shorter bridge and a long causeway, which we transit workers call “The Rockaway Flats” (it has a third extra track we use for testing new trains). The line was then connected to the Liberty Avenue elevated, which itself had recently be rebuilt to connect to the A.

Under normal circumstances, A trains alternate between the shorter branch to Lefferts Blvd or the longer run out to Far Rockaway. The shuttle normally runs 4 car trains of R46 class or 5 car trains of R179 class, with only the train operator on board. Geoff and Miles happened to go there on the weekend, when, during the summer, the shuttle is expanded and runs full length trains with a full crew aboard.

It’s also extended to Rockaway Blvd, to connect to Lefferts Blvd branch A trains.

Under some circumstances, the shuttle has to be rerouted via the connecting track.

[nightmaregash]

2:12 its a Pullman standard 1971 R46, and im so glad to see u are in New York City! theres so many interestin things to see, go to smith 9 sts on the (F) and (G) lines for a fantastic view of New York!

[trainman]

I've gotten to meet Miles myself; he's a pretty cool guy! Great that you got to hang out and explore with him!

[Taitset]

Miles' channel is awesome, very cool to see him here!

[kelbybruvelis]

I swear I was just thinking of how cool a Geoff and Miles collab would be and here it is. Thank you both!

[supersam]

Even Miles says in one of his videos, you were an inspiration of his series "least used station"!

[tristanmccoppin]

Best moment of my whole life. Note, Geoff is so much less wary of the filth on the subway than us who have lived there extensively, lol!

[ZaphodHarkonnen]

From memory the pointing thing was started by Japanese railways as a safety thing. If you ever see a clip of a Japanese train driver you'll see them pointing at every signal or board or whatever.

The idea is it forces a stronger connection in your mind to the action you're about to do. Making it an explicit action where otherwise you might end up on autopilot.

I would say in Europe this was tackled more through the use of automation like AWS for catching SPADs and using track bailese for doing stuff like SDO. Of course there's nothing stopping you from doing both as you can see in Japan where they have also installed such technology and in cab signalling.

[Rutgerman]

Geoff always seems surprised when binbags are actually inside a bin

[xsaabaru-]

If you are near Chicago, definitely visit the Quincy station on the CTA. Its not the least used, but its 1897 era restoration is amazing.

[lightplane]

Good to see Miles in your video Geoff. I've been watching his content for a while now.

Don't miss Thom from Trains are Awesome. He does wonderful content too

[bobg]

There are so many subway things you can see. Broadway Junction, Chamber St station (J), abandoned stations, etc. Did you know that Broad Channel is on an island? Take a ride on an elevated train. Go to Coney Island. 4 different ways to get there. Take a ride over a bridge (Manhattan or Williamsburg). Oh the possibilities!