Grant Layup

Published on: December 4th, 2015 | Written by: Bad Guy Joe

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Grant Layup is the unofficial name that graffiti writers placed on the provisional track space located between the Euclid and Grant avenue stations on the A line.

Kids have been exploring and painting subways here since the early 1970s. To quote Jack-1: “When I went to the Grant Avenue lay-up I took the A train heading towards Rockaway Beach. I would take the last car get off jump the tracks walk into the tunnel and find the stairs going straight to hell. “

Obviously, the layup tracks are a bit closer to Grant than Euclid (thus why it’s known as Grant layup). Moving West to East, there are ramps and provisions that serve two functions: one is to funnel trains into the nearby Pitkin Yard. The other is a provisional space where trains are often stored underground during non-peek hours. These tunnel tracks can also serve as a space where C trains (that end at Euclid) are pulled into the tunnel, with the train operator walking to the other end of the train and reversing out to the Manhattan bound track (though this can also happen on the yard lead tracks…).

Parked A train

Tracks

The wall at the end of the line

The provision, and the mysteries that surround it, are better documented in this post. For now, let’s focus on the trains.

The tunnel itself has 4 tracks. There are ladders connecting to tunnels leading in and out of Pitkin, as well as a very large emergency exit. This exit contained some historic graffiti right up until it was painted gray by the MTA around 2008.

The Exit in 2005

Overall, this is one of NYC’s more interesting layup tunnels. The labyrinth like feel of the exit and various ladders leading to other tunnels makes for an invigorating space to explore.

Just be sure to do the math about the risks inherit in entering such spaces…

Comments

NOTE: It sometimes takes a short while for comments to be approved - unfortunately there's a lot of spam comments that come in. I absolutely love when y'all share personal stories of friends relatives etc who worked in these places. It really helps capture what these places were like before they closed up shop.

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5 responses to “Grant Layup”

1. Dutchtourist says:

   December 7, 2015 at 9:34 AM

   Kool update control

   Would love to explore there one day

2. PegLegGuy says:

   December 8, 2015 at 6:11 AM

   .
   .
   Ah . . . memories, memories!!!

   .

3. PythonXMEN says:

   April 25, 2017 at 4:04 PM

   We owned that place.
   Iz the Wiz, Sonic, Plus, JR, KCone, Bond, Doc, Demer, PythonXMEN & many more

4. Anthony says:

   January 30, 2018 at 6:37 PM

   Nastalgic! Miss them days. I just want to bomb when I see shit from back in the days. Best memories of my life, up until my first kid was born.
   I really get this fever to just, write. 2 cans of Rusto behind my rear seats. Locked and loaded!!!

5. Former C/F says:

   January 2, 2019 at 3:03 PM

   I’m a former NYCTA Conductor/Flagman, and the ‘Smith’ tag was literally everywhere in the subway tunnels. I’ve walked through some of the deepest, desolate tunnels and lay-up tracks in the system, and the ‘Smith’ tag is there on the walls. I’ve even seen it on the walls of an Amtrak tunnel in Baltimore.

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