smartwater ๐Ÿ“ฏ :vivaldi:Jan 30, 2025
myrmepropagandist

In the 1950s, the New York Tunnel Police used small, specialized electric vehicles to patrol the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels. These are called "catwalk cars."

These were used until 2011. Some NYPD were too large to fit in the cars and now they just use cameras.

Jan 30, 2025 at 10:33amWeb
Show threadmyrmepropagandistJan 30, 2025
Currently pestering all of my friends who work in transit to find a way for me to ride in one. I need this. I just need this one little thing, OK?
Show threadJaredJan 30, 2025
@futurebird yes, want to ride on the mini train! And boop a giant tortoise's nose as long as booping a tortoise nose is okay with the tortoise.
Show threadllewellyJan 30, 2025
@futurebird
that catwalk tunnel car looks like the kind of thing that would appear in a Richard Scarry cartoon, probably driven by a bat or a cave ant.
Show threadTony WellsJan 30, 2025

@futurebird

May I introduce you to the rideable London Mail Rail https://www.postalmuseum.org/visit-us/what-to-expect/

Show threadAlbert CardonaJan 30, 2025
@futurebird "were too large" doing a lot of work here ... What's with servicemen, doughnuts, and sitting in oversized cars for hours.
Show threadsonicJazzMonkeyJan 30, 2025
@futurebird Ha what a great idea. We should have this in the #MerseyTunnels #Wirral
Show threadSarah DalJan 30, 2025

@futurebird another pic here from a manufacturer's advert. they do look like a really tight squeeze tbf!

https://imgur.com/catwalk-car-used-by-police-ny-lincoln-tunnel-1966-xghy9IP

"Catwalk car" used by police in the NY Lincoln Tunnel, 1966

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Show threadmyrmepropagandistJan 30, 2025

@sarahdalgulls

Lace up that corset!

Show threadGabriel NJan 30, 2025
@futurebird @sarahdalgulls a police uniform that has an external corset and big black boots: naughty!
Show threadJF  Jan 30, 2025

@sarahdalgulls @futurebird

Holy Moly! Do they have a breathing apparatus to survive going up and down that tunnel all day?

Show threadJeff MooreJan 31, 2025
@jfparis @sarahdalgulls @futurebird The tunnels have forced fresh air ventilation systems (the towers for which are interesting weird architectural artifacts) which one hopes are reasonably effective โ€” since all the autos in the tunnel have people in them, and those cars aren't sealed; in fact their cabin air systems are biased in favor of continuous air exchange, unless the occupants go out of their way to override that.
Show threadIcono ClastJan 30, 2025
@futurebird
I couldn't load the responses so I hope it's not redundant to say: "Nice Packard".
Show threadCatJan 30, 2025
@futurebird 2011!
Show threadPaul ChernoffJan 30, 2025
@futurebird I've seen this photo before but I donโ€™t remember ever seeing one in the 60s and 70s when I was mostly likely to be in the Lincoln Tunnel. I'm sure I would have remember it.
Show threadglasspshrJan 31, 2025
@paulc @futurebird I saw them!
Show threadNeil BrutalistJan 30, 2025
@futurebird natural selection should have produced narrow policemen better adapted to life in the special cars.
Show threadPete Alex Harris๐Ÿฆก๐Ÿ•ธ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ/โˆž๐ŸชโˆซJan 30, 2025
@frobisher @futurebird
Evolution of policemen is slow because they're shielded from a lot of selection pressure in their environment.
Show threadNetwork == Abstraction LayerJan 30, 2025
@frobisher @futurebird
or smaller donuts
Show threadJustin FarrimondJan 30, 2025
@futurebird That is mint!
Show thread๐Ÿœ๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜ ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐Ÿฟ๐ŸปJan 30, 2025
@futurebird That doesnโ€™t look healthyโ€ฆ what about fresh air?
Show threadAcesabeJan 30, 2025
@420
Until 2011... when all the officers succumbed to respiratory illnesses more likely
@futurebird
Show threadFrank Hightower ๐ŸJan 30, 2025
@futurebird the greatest enemy to electric cars is not fossil fuels, it's obesity
Show threadEthical Complainerโ„ขJan 30, 2025
@futurebird man, if I was an obese cop & was denied from using this car I'd be so bummed I'd start working out to use it. It's a free fun thing for grown men, how many such chances do we get!
Show threadEloPupJan 30, 2025

@futurebird
I bet riding those is actually quite fun, but I still pity the officers who had to do that back in the days: The air in the tunnels must have been terrible, with all the cars not having any exhaust filtering happening etc ๐Ÿ˜ท.
Prob one of the reasons they had to give it up?

Really nice info tho!! Would also love to ride one of those ๐ŸŽข ๐Ÿคฉ

Show threadPatrick Morris MillerJan 30, 2025
@futurebird Dunkin Donuts claims another victim.
Show threadDoomsdaysCWJan 30, 2025
@futurebird Damn donuts!
Show threadDevendra Kumar PachoriJan 30, 2025
@futurebird ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘
Show threadBill SeitzJan 30, 2025
@futurebird Hyperloop!
Show threadStone1gloJan 30, 2025
@futurebird They weโ€™re cool. I remember them!
Show threadMarc GeffenJan 30, 2025
@futurebird I grew up near the Holland Tunnel in the 1970โ€™s and remember those things whizzing past us when traffic was at a crawl in the tunnel!
Show threadMFennVT has movedJan 30, 2025
@futurebird That's just adorable!
Show threadPhil Thane โœ…Jan 30, 2025
@futurebird
Yeah but American police officers are evolved to sit in giant cruisers eating donuts.
Show threadQuinn ComendantJan 30, 2025
@futurebird Cute! But how does it go? I imagine it has bicycle pedals.
Show threadMartin Vermeer FCDJan 30, 2025

@futurebird Here's another one.

Question: is there any other place in the world, especially outside America, where the cops get their own traffic lane? (I know buses and taxis do, but cops?)

Show threadMinnร  PandoraJan 30, 2025
@futurebird damn you, Hitchcock and Scully
Show threadYaoi Box BalloonJan 30, 2025
@futurebird Great. Not only do I want to go in one now. I also want a donut.
Show threadComrade elronxenuJan 31, 2025
@futurebird Did they have a donut holder?
Show threadc.reider Jan 31, 2025
@futurebird those are too cool to have been wasted on police
Show threadMistyCherryJan 31, 2025
@futurebird citation needed
Show threadNikhotmskJan 31, 2025
@futurebird Americans deserve better public transport.
Show threadRemco van BreeJan 31, 2025
@futurebird we need a narrow passenger train for New Yorkers without cars
Show threadNelsonFeb 10, 2025

@futurebird Would it be bad to run a tiny train for the public on these tracks, if not everyone could fit? I guess many amusement park rides like roller coasters are not accessible to everyone, but they are still enjoyed by those who can ride.

Maybe in the future there will be less fossil fuel traffic and breathing tunnel air will be less concerning.

Maybe getting people on a tiny train could help us reach that future.

Show threadDr. Eric J. Fielding, PhDFeb 10, 2025
@skyfaller @futurebird If all the vehicles using the tunnels were EV's the air quality would be much better. Still some particulates from the tires, though.