Second Ave. Sagas

Little Boy Allegedly Drives Train

Written by

Lilit Marcus

in

,

According to the New York Daily News, a straphanger snapped a photograph of a young boy apparently conducting a Lexington-line train.

The New York Daily News reported Jules Cattie, 41, a lawyer, said he was shocked to see the boy at the controls of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority train Monday with the adult driver alongside.

Cattie said that moments after boarding the Lexington Avenue train at Fulton Street, he heard the female train conductor say, “It’s green, speed up,” he quoted her as allegedly saying. “Yellow, slow down.” Cattie thought she was training a new operator, but looked in the conductor’s compartment window and saw the child; he took the photo before disembarking at 42nd Street, the newspaper said.

The MTA has said that they will investigate Mr. Cattie’s allegations. Is this like when I was a little kid on an airplane and we were allowed to go up and meet the pilot, and then get that little gold pin shaped like wings? I mean, they only let me go into the cockpit, not fly the plane.

Comments

5 responses to “Little Boy Allegedly Drives Train”

  1. Robert Distefano

    It sounds like she may have been training a new employee. Are you sure it was a child? I used to instruct new motorman on proper operation. I can’t see how anyone in his/her right mind would let a child operate a train with passengers on it.

    Reply
  2. David

    No, for the airplane thing, Google “Aeroflot Flight 593”.

    Reply
  3. Jerrold

    Here’s a direct link to the Wikipedia article about it:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_593

    Reply
  4. Vin R.

    The way the economy is, everybody is looking for cheap labor. I think there may be some kind of law against kids conducting trains though.

    Reply
  5. anonymouse

    Assuming some supervision, it’s not that hard to drive a subway train. Most of the time, it’s just a matter of waiting for the door indication, releasing the brakes, putting the controller in full, then cutting power when you get to the next stop and applying the brakes. The braking bit is a bit tricky, but it really isn’t like flying a plane where a mistake can lead to disaster in seconds.

    Reply

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