They Dump Old Subway Cars In The Ocean, And The Reason Why Is Awesome.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the subway train cars when they got too old? For the New York City cars, they were dumped into the Atlantic Ocean to become reefs for marine life. Photographer Stephen Mallon spent three years shooting the moment the carriages were thrown into the ocean in a series titled Next Stop Atlantic.
New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority cleaned and stripped the cars of its wheels, seats, and straps before being sent to their new marine home. Once in the water, the metal structures turned into a reef refuge for sea life.
Between 2001 and 2010 over 2,500 subway cars were used for the reef program in New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland.
It took Mallon six trips over three years to complete the series he began working on in 2008.
"After being pushed and stacked like a sardine in these subways cars over the past decade, it is nice to see the sardine actually getting one of these as its new steel condo," says Mallon.
The program was environmentally friendly and cost efficient. Using the cars ended when new models built with fiberglass and plastic were introduced.
The carriages provide shelter for black sea bass from sharks as well as hard surface for blue mussels to thrive on.
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