Growing up, every trip to Toronto was special. For many reasons. And they still are. But more than anything I did on those adventures, I wanted to ride the subway. The metro had a magnetic pull. I didn’t know or care about the details of car types, locomotives, or typical railfan obsessions. I still don’t. Although I did love the serendipity of riding the TTC’s original red trains, with their noise and sway and lights that flickered at track junctions.
I’m no Ferroequinologist. But I could (and did) spend all day, up and down the Yonge-Spadina line.
And I had to ride at the front.
So when I hopped on this train in Copenhagen in 2023, it was a surprise to have a forward-facing window. A time warp to my earliest memories of riding the rails.
I had to shoot.
I don’t know how many metro systems still have trains where this kind of view is possible, but I haven’t experienced many. It would make for a fun but very niche photo adventure.
In Toronto, those red G-series trains gave way to three subsequent types of train cars (M, H and T)*, but all had forward/rear-facing windows. The debut of the Rocket series cars in 2009 was a front-view disaster — no more front window access. I was shattered. Emotional broken glass. All wasn’t lost, as the older trains were moved to the east-west lines, so it is still possible to take shots like Curves Ahead.
* Note: Which I looked up in the process of writing this. I told you I’m not a ferroequinologist.
And because I can’t fully decide which one I like, a square version that feels like an album cover.
