Roller Coaster Subway

Yesterday I went for a ride on the 7 Train to Flushing in Queens. Unlike many of the other lines, which are in pretty nondescript sub surface for most of their length, this gets interesting as soon as it leaves Grand Central as it passes through the Steinway Tunnels, which used to be a cable railway under the East River, predating the subway in a similar manner to the Thames Tunnel on the East London Line.

The real fun begins at Hunters Point Avenue, where the subway turns into what can only be described as something of an elevated roller coaster, with 90 degree bends and some really steep gradients. It gets even better after Queensborough Plaza if you managed to get an express, which misses many of the stations out and gets to about 50 mph (the speedometer registered 80 and more at times, but this was definitely erroneous as such acceleration would have sent all of the passenegers flying).

View north from 111 Street

Just when you thought that it couldn't get any less like a typical subway line the express track rises even higher to avoid the depot tracks, going through the already elevated 111 St station on a viaduct over everything else. There is then a pretty steep descent through Willets Point to the underground station at Main Street.

111 Street Station

W Train leaving Queensborough Plaza