Thursday, June 28, 2007

Empty Subway Train

I was on the N train going home from visiting a friend in Astoria and was pleasantly surprised to find myself alone in the subway car. So I whipped out my camera, which accompanies me everywhere I go, and took this photo. The N train runs on the elevated track in Queens (you can see the blue sky in the windows) and then goes underground when it crosses the East River into Manhattan.

The orange and yellow seats may not be my choice of colors but I do like the overall look of it. Notice some of the glass windows have graffitis written on them. Graffiti is a huge problem in NYC, especially in public places like the subway stations and trains.

So what is the color of your car or the subway train you ride on? What is your favorite color?

25 comments:

kuanyin333 said...

My car's color is Aqua Pearl...very beautiful! Old memory: coming home to Manhattan in my early twenties from one of the boroughs very wasted and the subway was moving very slowly past workers against the wall with black all over their faces making crazy looks...never took another subway after this nightmare!

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

Neat photo, Ming. I like the orange and yellow seats. I usually take the red line, though not very often (I rather walk) and I think the seats are just plain gray.

Cheers!

Kate said...

Wonderful photo! Don't I wish that our cities had a subway, altho we are experimenting with new and fast surface trains. My car, the Wizard, is a bright white. But my favorite colour is turquoise for jewelery, clothes...

Olivier said...

ma couleur preferée c'est le bleu ocean. Sinon, j'espere qu'hier tu n'etais pas bloque dans le metro (ou ascenceur ) pendant la grande panne ?


my preferred color it is blue ocean. If not, I hope that yesterday you were not blocks in the subway (or ascencor) during the large breakdown?

Kiwi said...

Hey, that's a clean train also ;o)

Unknown said...

the trains in singapore has multi colour, i don't really have any preferred colour, as long as there's a seat, everyone's happy!

Peter said...

This looks not only empty but also clean and nice!

Orange used to be a fashion colour fro trains here in the 7O's, then it disappeared slowly, but now I guess it's coming back again!

Whatever the colours, I feel that especially in metros, subway, underground and suburb trains, some bright colours like these are what is needed.

Anonymous said...

I like it that the train is neat and clean as a pin.

Nice photo.

Abraham Lincoln
Have you ever seen a Great Blue Heron?
Brookville Daily Photo

Missy,Mrs and Mum said...

Wow what retro seats! The London Underground seats are red and blue, but when I went to Edinburgh the bus seats were tartan and looked really nice.

Jilly said...

No subway in Menton or Monte Carlo. I like the bright colour seats and love your photograph.

Favorite colour? Yellow - happy, sunny yellow - ah but then there is terracotta - and then there is the green of the trees.... oh hell, I'm a Libra so I can't make up my mind.

Yellow!

sonia a. mascaro said...

Great photo, Ming. I agree with other comments, it's all very clean. A question: it's safe an empty train?

About the color my favorite is blue or green.

Anonymous said...

Looks nice and clean.

Paz

Bob Crowe said...

Ming - when I was a teenager growing up in your neighborhood, one of our favorite pastimes was finding empty subway cars and skateboarding in them while the train was rolling. We used the center poles that people hang on to to form a slalom course. No helmets or kneepads back then. It's a wonder I didn't crack my head open, as my mother would have said.

Bob

St. Louis Missouri Daily Photo Blog

Ming the Merciless said...

Olivier - No, I was not affected by the short blackout in NYC yesterday. The major areas affected were in the Bronx and the east side of Manhattan. But the electricity was back up after 50 minutes. Last summer, my neighborhood had a blackout for almost a week.

Sonia - It is very safe on the subway especially during the day time even if the train is empty. But for girls/women, you may get an occassional "flasher".

Strangetastes - Aahhh! The follies of youth! Hey, we all thought we were indestructible when we were young. :-)

Todd HellsKitchen said...

I don't think I've ever been on an empty subway car!

Dsole said...

this is soooo great! I really like it!!
My car is red even it's not my fav colour.. I would love to paint it on green-tree!
I like your subway more than mine.. more vivid

Oh for the love of food! said...

Hi Ming, I only travel on the train when we are on holiday. I usually drive or am driven. This looks pretty much like the train in S'pore, the orange seats and the cleanliness, but you won't find graffiti in them.

Anonymous said...

You are lucky...it's as if you "reserved" the whole train for yourself :D

Shammickite said...

That's a lovely SHINY photo. Pretty unusual to be riding in an empty NY subway car I should think!
And my car.... well, he's black on the outside and black on the inside and his name is The General!

Anonymous said...

In D.C., we've got the same ugly-ass orange seats on the Metro. Newer cars have a much more pleasant blue and red seat makeup. If it were up to me, I'd use every color in the rainbow just to mix things up!

teahouse said...

Wow..how the hell did you pull that off? Was that at 5 a.m.? I'm in awe of you.

Ann (MobayDP) said...

It looks so unusually clean!

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

Well I like these two colours. Of course not my fav but they contrast with the whole grey of the train -- My car is dark blue :-)

Tomate Farcie said...

This is really good! I must link you. NYC is one of my favorite cities and your pictures are really interesting! :)

Sunkyoung said...

Korean underground have its seats face from each other. And I think this variety of arranging seats will be more fun and less boring. Wish you a wonderful trip to Asia.