Catherine Q train via Sixth(Station announcements)
Langston Reese에 의해# The Q Train’s Sixth Avenue History, Manhattan Bridge Reconstruction, and Rare Station Announcements
## Why the Q Ran via Sixth Avenue from 1988 to 2001
The Q train has a fascinating history on the IND Sixth Avenue Line, including its historically orange route bullet and service to 57th Street–Sixth Avenue and 21st Street–Queensbridge. Unlike the Q service that most riders recognize today, the historical Q operated via Sixth Avenue in Manhattan for nearly 13 years because of the **Manhattan Bridge reconstruction project**.
On December 11, 1988, the Manhattan Bridge’s north-side subway tracks reopened while its south-side tracks closed for reconstruction. This forced the Q, which normally used the Broadway Line in Manhattan, to be rerouted via the north-side tracks and the IND Sixth Avenue Line. The Q operated as the Brighton Express, running through Manhattan to 57th Street–Sixth Avenue.
On October 29, 1989, the Q was extended from 57th Street–Sixth Avenue through the 63rd Street Line to 21st Street–Queensbridge in Queens. This gave the new Queensbridge station a direct connection to Brooklyn via the Brighton Line and made the orange Q an important part of the subway system.
The arrangement changed again on July 22, 2001, when the south-side tracks of the Manhattan Bridge reopened and the north-side tracks closed for reconstruction. The Q returned to the Broadway Line, while the Sixth Avenue services were reorganized. Although the Q left Sixth Avenue in 2001, the broader Manhattan Bridge reconstruction project continued until February 22, 2004, when full four-track subway service across the bridge was restored.
## The Q’s Unique Sixth Avenue Station Announcements
The Q’s historical Sixth Avenue service is especially interesting to subway announcement enthusiasts because its station announcements sound **slightly different from the N train’s station announcements** that riders familiar with modern NTTs (New Technology Trains) on the Broadway Line are accustomed to hearing.
Several of the historical Q recordings feature a distinctive **Catherine-type voice**, making them sound different from the more familiar Broadway Line announcement recordings. However, not every recording in the collection uses this voice.
The two announcements identified as sounding regular are:
* **23rd Street**
* **34th Street–Herald Square**
The other identified Q announcements use the Catherine-type voice:
* **Grand Street**
* **Broadway–Lafayette Street**
* **West 4th Street**
* **14th Street**
* **42nd Street–Bryant Park**
* **57th Street–Sixth Avenue**
These recordings preserve a distinctive part of the Q’s history. They are reminders that the route once served an entirely different set of Manhattan stations, and that its announcements can sound noticeably different from those heard on its more familiar Broadway Line service.
## The R Train’s Own Sixth Avenue-Related Announcements
The R train also has its own interesting collection of Sixth Avenue-related station announcements. Some recordings overlap with those associated with the Q, while others are specific to the R’s own routes and service patterns via Sixth Avenue and the 53rd and 63rd Street corridors.
The identified R-associated announcements include:
* **23rd Street**
* **34th Street–Herald Square**
* **57th Street**
* **5th Avenue–53rd Street**
* **Lexington Avenue–53rd Street**
Lexington Avenue–53rd Street is particularly notable because it is also served by the E train. These recordings illustrate how different routes can have their own station-specific announcements, even when they share stations or use connecting subway corridors.
There may also be an elusive, possibly original **23rd Street–Ely Avenue** announcement associated with the R’s history. This recording has yet to be located or confirmed in the collection discussed here, making it a particularly intriguing archival mystery.
Who might uncover it? **MR Railfan**, the legendary subway announcement uploader and archivist himself! Finding an original 23rd Street–Ely Avenue recording in an old video or recording collection would be a remarkable addition to the historical subway announcement archive.
## Why These Recordings Matter
The Q and R’s Sixth Avenue-related announcements demonstrate that subway history is about much more than route bullets and track maps. Changes in service patterns, bridge reconstruction, station names, and recording generations all leave behind clues about how the subway operated in the past.
The Q’s orange Sixth Avenue era was not simply a brief experiment or an occasional detour. It was a regular service pattern that lasted from 1988 to 2001 because of the Manhattan Bridge reconstruction. Its distinctive station announcements preserve traces of that era, while the R’s recordings offer another fascinating layer of audio history.
For subway enthusiasts and announcement archivists, comparing the Q’s Catherine-type recordings with the more familiar NTT Broadway Line announcements—and then comparing them with the R’s own Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street recordings—provides a rare glimpse into the MTA’s evolving announcement history.
And somewhere in that history, the elusive original **23rd Street–Ely Avenue** announcement may still be waiting to be found.
