A recent article on Quartz discusses the detailed and complicated history behind New York City's missing subway letters.
At first glance, there is logic to New York City’s numbered subway lines: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The letters, however, are a little less straightforward: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, L, M, N, Q, R, S, S, Z. What happened to the H? Or the O? And why in the world there are three S trains—shuttles going between Grand Central and Times Square in Manhattan, between Prospect Park and Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn, and to Rockaway Park—when there could easily be an S and, say, a K? To understand how this came to be, we need to go back 111 years, when the subway opened in Manhattan on Oct. 27, 1904.
Check out the full article for a fascinating read on the case of the missing subway letters and New York City transit history.
via Quartz
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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