A shoe beam display at the NYCTA Coney Island Maintenance Shop. Displayed are the differences in third rail pickup between the lines of the IRT and BMT/IND. Once belonging to separate entities, the companies built their lines to somewhat different standards. These differences remain with the lines today. IRT can run on BMT/IND, but the reverse is not true, due to the fact that the IRT cars are narrower - tunnel walls, station platforms, etc. were built to their company's particular specifications.

Photographed by Paul Joyce, May 27, 2002.
Added to the photo archive by Paul Joyce, June 1, 2006.
Railroad: New York City Transit System.

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