Subway Watercolor by Lena

This is a subway train!

Subway Station by Drew

This is a picture of the 6 subway train coming into the station.  I wrote "Lex" because I

 take the 6 train more often than other trains.   I drew a yellow line on the platform so no one steps on it. 

If you don't stand behind the yellow line, you could get hurt.  

Note from Brynne

Here is an interesting article in the Village Voice about the sandhogs who work under Second Avenue.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-04-11/news/sandhogs-tunneling-second-avenue-subway/

...and a short video from NBC News featuring Paula's Class!!!

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46958353/#46958353

How Handicapped People Ride the Subway by Samantha and Adam

There are 468 subway stations.  69 have elevators.  399 do not.

We were wondering how handicapped people went on the subway.  We made inventions for handicapped people to ride the subway.  It makes us sad that some people can't ride the subway because they had injuries.  It's unfair that some people can't ride the subway.

Here are some inventions we made to help handicapped people use the subway.

Natalie: There's a wheelchair and the wheelchair has a button specially made for the subway. If you press the button
then your wheelchair goes in an empty space.  Then there's this little metal thing that holds on to another
chair so the wheelchair doesn't move.  There's also a bridge that connects to the subway door.  It is slanted.

Anandi: I drew one side for handicapped people and one side for people who are not handicapped.
My idea is to have monitors to help handicapped people get down the steps of the subway.

Malu: I made a little ramp for the wheelchair to go down.

Javier: My idea is when handicapped people use the subway something clips the wheels
and then a ramp appears where the stairs were.  And then the clip goes down the ramp.

 Henri: First you press a button.  The stairs turn into a ramp because it flattens out.
On the subway there's a button close to the door.
Then you press it.
Then a ramp comes to the floor.

Change, Tokens, and Metrocards by Nicholas

When the subway opened, it cost 5 cents to ride.  People used a nickel to pay.

Then it was cost ten cents which people used a dime to pay.

They started using tokens when it cost 15 cents.

Tokens were used for 50 years until 2003 when Metrocards became in the subway.

These are tokens that people used to
use instead of Metrocards.

After the tokens, a person came up with Metrocards.

Explosives by Rachel

Explosives are a type of bomb. Workers use explosives to get boulders out of the ground.  We talked to Second Avenue Subway workers and found out.  They will be exploding under Second Avenue soon.

They drill holes in boulders and put clay-dough explosives in them, and press a button and BOOM!  Then, they take the rocks out of the ground and take them to a store where it gets used on other construction sites.

Tunnel Boring Machine by Natalie

Hello, my name is Natalie and I will be telling you about tunnel boring machines.  The tunnel boring machine is a really big machine that has drills in the front.  The tunnel boring machine is used for making tunnels for the subway.  It can break through giant rocks.  The front of the tunnel boring machine used to be yellow, but it is not yellow anymore because it got too dirty!

This is a Tunnel Boring Machine underground.
It is yellow because it's clean.

How big is a TBM? by Ante

This is a tunnel boring machine turning its front
which is used to dig the hole.

The TBM weighs 200 tons.

The front of the TBM is 25 feet long.

When they are done with the TBM, they pull it out of the ground with a crane.  Then they break the TBM into pieces and they put it on a boat.  Then it goes to a different place so it can dig a new tunnel.

Recycled Trains by Mia and Gabriella

This train is going underwater for a coral reef.
Sea animals can make a house in a train.

We are studying recycled trains. When the cars get old, they can use it as a shelter when there's an earthquake when people's houses get knocked down.  They use the trains for a house.  Homeless people can live in the recycled trains too.

They put the train underwater, and now animals are
starting to live in it!

We read a book called "Subway Story".  And in that book, the train got old and went under water.  They made it into a coral reef.

People live in this train because their houses got knocked
down during an earthquake.

History of the Subway by Anandi

Back in the day, there were elevated trains.  But when they crashed, they crashed into people's apartments.  It was dark under the train.  And there was traffic under the train.

The elevated train closed down.  They built a park, but people can still see the tracks.  The park is called the High Line.









Note from Brynne:
The High Line wasn't actually part of the New York City Subway, but you can visit to imagine what the elevated trains might've been like.  It's a beautiful park, and a great example of turning a blight into something beautiful.