Hello Ben F and all
There was some controversy about whether this BMT Blue Bird Unit photo was taken at East New York Junction of the BMT Jamaica EL Station there, or at Queens Plaza as I always stated it was located at.
Well, here is a large file size of the well known promotional photo -- and it IS CLEARLY a Blue Bird heading Westbound to the LOWER level Manhattan Bound (southerly side of lower level island platform) Track, on the BMT's "north half" of the Queens Plaza Complex. At the right of the Blue Bird train, can be clearly seen the IRT's "south half" portion of the complex, with the IRT's lower level Manhattan bound 2nd Ave EL line track --- which ran along the northerly side of the IRT's lower level island platform, and then the IRT 2nd Ave. EL train headed out westward on this track, originally heading straight west and out to and upward on to the Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan and the IRT 2nd Avenue EL. !!
The BMT Blue Bird Unit seen in the photo attached below, entered Queens Plaza from the BMT 60th Street Tunnel, rising upward toward and on to the UPPER LEVEL track located on the southerly side of the BMT's "north half" upper level island platform station and discharged its passengers ... and then dead-headed eastward out from the upper level station platform, continuing to the switch back turn-around tracks used solely for the larger and 10' wide bodied BMT subway trains, those switch back tracks located near the IRT Flushing Line tracks near the IRT's EL overpass over the LIRR-PRR Sunnyside Yards.
The BMT motorman changed ends, and the Blue Bird consist ( and any BMT subway trains as such ) then headed back westward - and now descended to the lower level westward track to be returned to Queens Plaza Station complex and now to the BMT's "north half" southerly side track of the Manhattan-bound LOWER level BMT Island Platform, located directly UNDER the above upper level southerly side track it earlier arrived upon to Queens FROM Manhattan.
If you look in the outside background of the photo, you can see the IRT line's "Astoria Line Connection" connective very high up structure and track, with an IRT Astoria bound train upon it, crossing south to north -- that structure and track being the same one now that the BMT Division uses (Since November 1949) uses to depart from, via using the IRT's "south half" upper level Island Platform Queens Plaza Station to Astoria, via the old former IRT 2nd Ave. EL's "northerly side" of platform track, originally for the IRT EL trains from Manhattan to run to Astoria prior to Summer 1942 !!
Also, the unique structure and bracing design, and significant mass and amount of same, of the supporting steelwork of this Queens Plaza complex, even on the sole remaining eastern end of the IRT "south half" double deck structure still remaining today and in use, is readily identifiable and different that the simpler structure used at the East NY BMT Complex. That remaining "IRT south half" portion structure is also the easterly end of the structure visible to the right of the Blue Bird Train in the attached photo !
Ben, I suspect as a NYCTA Motorman, you have probably piloted a lot of subway (either IRT or BMT "A" or "B" divisions trains thru there in your time as a motorman presently.
Finally, the BMT's "north half" double deck Queens Plaza Station and Structure, the BMT Blue Bird is seen on it, are many decades long gone. I well remember seeing many times, the abandoned (since Nov. 1949) old BMT "north side" half of the once massive station complex, thru the 1950's to early 1962 - and photographed it when it was being demolished in 1962 !
Regards ! - Joe F
