Notes on The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (1974)

Just re-watched the DVD on a nice widescreen television and took notes as to the subway and some of the street scenes.

Scene 2:15: R17 on tail end of train departing 59th Street northbound (Car not 6609 as previously thought, it's 6762. Hard to see but freeze-frame DVD on big screen shows it up.) At 2:23, Mr. Green (Martin Balsam), the motorman with the cold, goes down stairs marked "To IRT Downtown Local".

Scene 2:45: Station w/ rounded columns marked 59th is upper level of 59th Street. Lead car on train entering is an R26-36 series with one piece full square window, but in scene where Mr. Green sits down it's an R21/22 half window.

Scene 2:47: View across tracks to "59th Street" dual contracts mosiac, at head end of upper level of 59th Street station.

Scene 2:58: Conductor leaning out of train. View toward rear of the train shows a wide gap between car and platform and no columns on platform, must be an IND/BMT station. View toward front section -- clearly a narrow gap between platform and car-- is at 59th Street upper level (shot of rounded columns and dual contracts mosaic tile on wall). Conductor in car 7434.

Scene 4:23: Entering 51st Street (side platform... square columns set back from platform closer to wall). Stairs near head end of platform. Could be Court Street with fake wall.

Scene 4:55: "Every car on the IRT is 72 feet long."

Scene 5:24: Train entering "Grand Central" on what would be the express track. Car 7339 visible across platform coupled to R10 2973 so this is an IND station (most likely, Court Street). Station has I-beams and tiled columns visible through the train windows.

Scene 6:05: Trombone case guy waiting at 28th Street. Wall across trackway has dual contracts style mosaics -- so NOT 28th Street on the East Side IRT. Wall also has IND-style name mosaics under the dual contracts style mosaic band. Stairs are right at the head end of the platform.

Scene 6:43: Train crossing a diverging switch, possibly crossover before Court Street.

Scene 7:11: Train enters station with 28th Street dual contracts mosaics and IND style name mosaics. Lead car 7339. View down the platform shows an additional stairway and blue I-beam and white tile concrete columns (same station as Scene 5:24?). Wide gap between car and platform. Can't be Court Street though because train enters from one direction and you can clearly see a tunnel leading ahead of it, so probably Hoyt/Schermerhorn with fake wall along edge of platform. Photos on the site show the Hoyt platforms with both I-beam and tiled columns.

Scene 7:54: Conductor in car 7434. HUGE gap between car and platform.

Scene 8:06: Motorman in car 7339. View along train (BIG gap). Lighting looks different (dimmer) on platform.

Scene 9:17: Train departs. Number plate on 7339 has red splotch on it missing from previous scene.

Scene 11:08: View of train in tunnel, again with diverging track in foreground. (Same location has 6:43?)

Scene 14:12: Train stops in tunnel, car 7339.

Scene 15:29: View of large mezzanine area. Supposed to be Grand Central (Caz & plumber heading toward Grand Central tower). Stairway leading down with sign for the Flushing line. But, this is an IND mezzanine for sure. It doesn't look like anywhere in Grand Central I can think of. I suppose it COULD be Court Street since there is only one visible stairway, in the center of the mezzanine (the 2nd stairway would be behind the camera).

Scene 15:45: View of board in "Grand Central tower" showing City Hall loop area then pans around toward the uptown side. The board looks like a pretty good representation of the tracks in the area. View out tower window shows IND style tiling against a far trackside wall. (A train passes by outside the window). This isn't Grand Central tower for sure, I've been in there and the tracks aren't right up against the building. The train goes by at speed so probably not at Court Street, maybe Hoyt.

Scene 20:05: First car stops in tunnel after separating from the rear cars. Interior car number seen as 7339 but exterior number 7434.

Scene 27:30: View at "28th Street" station. Car 7480 visible.

Scene 28:10: Passengers walking up tunnel to "28th Street". Definitely the crossover outside Court St. station.

Scene 31:29: Car 7439 on head of train at "28th St".

Scene 56:36: The police car carrying the money departs and goes on a discontinous wild ride through downtown. It looks like the first street shot is heading north on Broad; but then seen heading west on Pine Street crossing Pearl up toward Chase Plaza; reflection in cop car window isn't Pine St. buildings. Then at 56:54, car heading north on Nassau crossing Beekman. 57:00, heading north on Centre past City Hall. Then at 57:23 there's a continuity gap, the car is shown turning right (east) onto Wall Street from Broad in front of Federal Hall; then cuts to shot at 57:26 northbound on Centre (at Reade?).

Scene 58:26 Cop says "heading North on Centre approching Kenmare" which appears to be pretty close, at 58:39 traffic jam at intersection of Centre, Lafayette, and Spring.

Scene 59:47: Cop says "passing Houston approaching Astor Place"; building which now has the Joseph Papp Public Theater (on east side of Lafayette south of Astor) seen on left. Cop car gets wrecked in Astor Place right by subway entrance.

Scene 1:15:40: Pelham 1-2-3 passes through 23rd Street. Columns and mosaics on the wall match those in photos: Photo 7862 so probably real 23rd IRT station. (Car is 7339)

Scene 1:20:08: Police enter real 14th Street station

Scene 1:25:00: Train passes through Astor Place

Scene 1:26:19: Train passing through a concrete arch tunnel with two trackways. At 1:26:22 you can see the second trackway has had its track removed. The only place I know of like that on the IRT is just south of Grand Central where the original line ties into the Lexington line. The track the train is on would be the track from the shuttle onto the Lexington subway southbound. See Design of the Diagonal Station and Connection (1918).

Scene 1:29:16: Nice continuity touch as Daniels & Garber speed through Astor Place: the crowd and crew cleaning up the cop car wreck from earlier in the film.

Scene 1:32:58: Train speeds through Canal Street station.

Scene 1:33:19: Train shown passing over a diverging switch-- same location as earlier in the film (at 6:43). Cut to view of board in tower, train shown passing switch at Bowling Green but I think this is just the Court St. crossover. The map shown on the board is incorrect; the train would have needed to diverge at that switch to reach the loop; the track shown on the board passing through the South Ferry station doesn't really exist.