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My husband, a long-time NYC resident, has this to say about subways:
"Leather straps probably went out in the 1920's. When I moved to NYC in
1969 the oldest cars in the transit fleet were the R10's on the IND lines.
They still had wicker seats and the straps were metal handles with spring
mechanisms that riders grabbed and held just as they did when the leather
straps were in use. All other cars in the system had metal "straps" that
were simply stainless steel tubing in a simple loop. I'd say in the mid 1990s
the newer cars came only with metal rails overhead instead of the straps.
Clearly, without the spring mechanisms there was nothing that would break
and probably more importantly the rails are much easier to clean than the
dozens of separate handles hanging from the ceiling of the cars. The
advantage of the individual straps was that if a strap was empty it meant there
was a place in which you were entitled to stand whereas the railing are a
bit more chaotic in determining were the riders stand. Also, with individual
straps (handles) each rider could swing at an angle that was most
comfortable as the car swayed and turned. The rails are "one size fits all" and
for shorter or taller riders are probably less comfortable.
Susan Rosenberg
In a message dated 7/7/2009 11:10:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
It has been a few years since I rode the subway and I find there are no
straps, and hence no real "straphangers." Does anyone know when the last
straps were retired? Were they removed for a particular reason or merely
omitted as newer cars replaced those with straps?
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