Take a Break From Debating Fare Increases and Play WMATA Trivia Instead...

[Scrabbleship]

Are you thinking Ft Totten Station?

Correct! Bladensburg (80/R's), Western (E's/60's), Northern (K2), Montgomery (K6).

Which station overall (including the downtown core) sees action from the most depots?

[OrionFlyer]

Are you thinking Ft Totten Station?

Correct! Bladensburg (80/R's), Western (E's/60's), Northern (K2), Montgomery (K6).

Which station overall (including the downtown core) sees action from the most depots?

But the K2 only runs during peak hours. It's not constant. I was going to say Ft Totten at the beginning, but then I remembered that it only runs during the peaks only.

[Scrabbleship]

Are you thinking Ft Totten Station?

Correct! Bladensburg (80/R's), Western (E's/60's), Northern (K2), Montgomery (K6).

Which station overall (including the downtown core) sees action from the most depots?

But the K2 only runs during peak hours. It's not constant. I was going to say Ft Totten at the beginning, but then I remembered that it only runs during the peaks only.

However, each of the K2's runs come out of Northern. Under the same metric, Silver Spring wouldn't have counted until the 79 had midday service. Big difference between counting Bladensburg/FMR for a run or two a day vs. a peak hour route that consistently comes from the same depot.

Under that same exclusion, there'd be another station with 4 divisions: Woodley Park. Montgomery (weekday L's), Western (weekend L's), Bladensburg (X3), Northern (96).

[NewFlyer9736BCT]

I'll take a stab at the 1C question. IIRC, the original western terminus was Inova Fair Oaks Hospital before FFX rerouted the 605 to serve that portion. The 1Z originally had a terminus there too.

I have another question for yall.

In each jurisdiction, which route has the most variations (meaning termini and not routes apart of the line)?

you got the western terminal right, I'll just go ahead and say that the eastern terminal was Ballston Station. I'm not sure about the 1Z though.

and to answer your question, I would probably say the 32 and 36
32: Friendship Heights, Tenlytown, Potomac Park, Federal Triangle/Archives, Southern Ave Station
36: same as 32, except with Naylor Rd instead of Southern Ave.
not sure if there's anything between Archives and Southern Ave/Naylor Rd Stations

Right for North, East, and West. Having looked at maps, the southern extreme is the Indian Head terminus for the W19 which is well south of Fort Belvoir.

damn, I totally ignored the Maryland routes...

to add to the routes that go to the most jurisdictions, I would say 11Y (DC, Arlington Co, Alexandria, Fairfax Co)

[WMATAGMOAGH]

As promised, here are the answers to my questions in bold:

1.  The original hope of WMATA was to have 7 stations open on the  opening day.  Only 5 stations actually opened on March 17, 1976.  What  two stations would have been included in the original opening if it  weren't for their openings being delayed? 
I had been going for Gallery Place (elevators) and Dupont Circle (flooding), but was obviously mistaken about the timeline for the Dupont Circle construction.  Thanks to John for clearing that up.

2.  What were the reasons for these stations remaining closed?
Gallery Place:  Lack of ADA Access
Dupont Circle: Flooding

3.  What is the significance of this car number for Metrorail:  4018
This was the lead car on the stationary train that was hit by the rolling back out of service train in the Woodley Park crash.

4.  Fill in the blanks:
A:  Colonial Burgandy
B:  Chesapeake Sand
C:  Potomac Blue

5.  Eastern Market is to Marine Barracks as Federal Center SW is to Voice of America.

6.  You put destination code 34 into your train's console.  What destination sign should be displayed?
DULLES

7.   Which WMATA General Manager served as Vice President of Communications  for The Washington Post (among other positions during a Washington Post  tenure that lasted from 1981 until 2006)?
Theodore C. Lutz (I don't think anyone got this)

8.  What was Jackson Graham's favorite color?
Brown (Harry Weese, an architect who was instrumental in the Metrorail's design, wanted the trains to be red)

9.  Name all the WMATA bus divisions that can maintain articulated buses.
I had Montgomery, Landover, Northern, Bladensburg, and Four Mile Run in mind.  Was not aware of Annex, which seems to be a popular answer.  I don't know anything about whether West Ox can or not.

10.  Name the WMATA bus division from which the last Fishbowls/New Looks operated from on their last day of service.
Four Mile Run

11.  What is the significance of this bus number for Metrobus:  5119
Only MAN Artic to be painted in the third scheme (blue-backs)

12.  Name the only WMATA bus route to have had stops in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia on a single run.
B11 (to whoever answered N11, the N11 did pass through DC technically, but there are no stops on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge!)

13.  What was the most recent limited bus service on Georgia Avenue prior to the introduction of the current route 79?
73

14.  What was the original route designation for the current J7 route?
J8

15.  What was the original route designation for the current J5 route?
C7

[Scrabbleship]

Since Oren answered his, I'll close the answers to mine that didn't get answered

3: Which WMATA station was the first to have a name change after the system opened. Hint: The station in question was not open at the time its name was changed and the name change was largely not of WMATA's doing.

I'll let John correct me if I'm wrong, but this honor goes to Van Ness. The earliest maps and 1000 series rollsigns have it listed as "Van Ness-WTI", the merger of WTI and Federal City College into UDC happened not long after the original portion of the Red Line opened. Of course, the planned station name soon changed to the current Van Ness-UDC.

Did Metro change the rollsign strip maps of the 1000's, or was Van Ness-WTI still extant on mylar when the rollsigns were retired a decade after UDC came into being?

4: Which Metrobus routes cross two or more jurisdictional boundaries (going between multiple counties/independent cities or from DC into multiple counties/independent cities)?

The 28's (Alexandria-Arlington-Falls Church-Fairfax), 29's (Alexandria-Arlington-Fairfax), and 11Y (DC-Arlington-Fairfax) were mentioned already. Other routes that fit this criteria include:

R2/5 (DC-PG-Montgomery)
K6 (DC-PG-Montgomery)
W19 (DC-PG-Charles)
5A (DC-Arlington-Fairfax-Loudoun)
15L (Fairfax City-Fairfax County-Arlington)
Nominally the 32 and 36 (Montgomery-DC-PG)

[WMATAGMOAGH]

I'll let John correct me if I'm wrong, but this honor goes to Van Ness. The earliest maps and 1000 series rollsigns have it listed as "Van Ness-WTI", the merger of WTI and Federal City College into UDC happened not long after the original portion of the Red Line opened. Of course, the planned station name soon changed to the current Van Ness-UDC.

Proof on this one?  I've never heard of this before...

[Scrabbleship]

I'll let John correct me if I'm wrong, but this honor goes to Van Ness. The earliest maps and 1000 series rollsigns have it listed as "Van Ness-WTI", the merger of WTI and Federal City College into UDC happened not long after the original portion of the Red Line opened. Of course, the planned station name soon changed to the current Van Ness-UDC.

Proof on this one?  I've never heard of this before...

Hat tip to John for posting this online, but his pictures of a 1000 series rollsign show "Van Ness-WTI" on the strip map. Coupled that the announcement of the WTI/Federal City College merger came shortly after Metro opened...

I defer to John or any old vet a timeline of when pre-opening station names "evolved". Just like the case of Ballston being Glebe Road and Virginia Square being Ballston

[Sand Box John]

Scrabbleship
3: Which WMATA station was the first to have a name change after the system opened. Hint: The station in question was not open at the time its name was changed and the name change was largely not of WMATA's doing.

I'll let John correct me if I'm wrong, but this honor goes to Van Ness. The earliest maps and 1000 series rollsigns have it listed as "Van Ness-WTI", the merger of WTI and Federal City College into UDC happened not long after the original portion of the Red Line opened. Of course, the planned station name soon changed to the current Van Ness-UDC.

Van Ness was attached to WTI (Washington Technical Institute) prior to being changed to UDC. WTI  moved to Gaithersburg and changing its name to National Bureau of Standards. The agency is now called National Institute of Standards and Technology. The property was given to the District of Columbia by the Federal Government for purpose of establishing UDC (University of the District of Columbia).

Did Metro change the rollsign strip maps of the 1000's, or was Van Ness-WTI still extant on mylar when the rollsigns were retired a decade after UDC came into being?

The sign rolls only had Van Ness on them and as I recall the Van Ness was displayed on the inside as well, no strip map.

[Scrabbleship]

Scrabbleship
3: Which WMATA station was the first to have a name change after the system opened. Hint: The station in question was not open at the time its name was changed and the name change was largely not of WMATA's doing.

I'll let John correct me if I'm wrong, but this honor goes to Van Ness. The earliest maps and 1000 series rollsigns have it listed as "Van Ness-WTI", the merger of WTI and Federal City College into UDC happened not long after the original portion of the Red Line opened. Of course, the planned station name soon changed to the current Van Ness-UDC.

Van Ness was attached to WTI (Washington Technical Institute) prior to being changed to UDC. WTI  moved to Gaithersburg and changing its name to National Bureau of Standards. The agency is now called National Institute of Standards and Technology. The property was given to the District of Columbia by the Federal Government for purpose of establishing UDC (University of the District of Columbia).

I spent a good 20 minutes last night trying to research the establishment of UDC to give an established explanation and that never came up in my searches. Thanks a million!

On the tangent of universities and Metro, with Southeastern University now no longer existent (shut down after Middle States unaccredited it, the USDA's Graduate School bought the property), how long until Waterfront loses the SEU? Or does Metro's money crisis keep a dead college in a station name?

Did Metro change the rollsign strip maps of the 1000's, or was Van Ness-WTI still extant on mylar when the rollsigns were retired a decade after UDC came into being?

The sign rolls only had Van Ness on them and as I recall the Van Ness was displayed on the inside as well, no strip map.

By the time Van Ness became a terminal, weren't the strip maps already out of use for the most part?

[OrionFlyer]

Annex had artic buses? That's surprising to me, especially after I watched that video about Annex. It showed one of the 6100s bearly able to make a turn inside the building.

[Scrabbleship]

Annex had artic buses? That's surprising to me, especially after I watched that video about Annex. It showed one of the 6100s bearly able to make a turn inside the building.

Didn't Annex use a couple 5200's in the late 90's on the W routes? I remember reading that on here not too long ago.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Exactly, I'm pretty sure the roll signs and station signage always just said Van Ness.  I've never seen a map that has ever said Van Ness-WTI. 

[Sand Box John]

Scrabbleship
By the time Van Ness became a terminal, weren't the strip maps already out of use for the most part?

No. Many of the temporary terminals destinations signs had no strip maps on roll signs.
A few that I recall:
Gallery Place (Green, Yellow)
Van Ness
Wheaton
U Street (Green, Yellow)
Fort Totton (Green)
There were also several others that were never used as terminals destinations, some were white letters on a black field.

All of the terminal stations that exist today with the exception of Mount Vernon Square and Springfield-Franconia had strip maps on roll signs.


There were several other station name changes that happen between the time of the adoption of the ARS and the opening of the station:
Nicholson Lane - White Flint
Glebe Road - Balston
Balston - Virginia Square
Federal City Collage - Mount Vernon Square

WMATAGMOAGH
Exactly, I'm pretty sure the roll signs and station signage always just said Van Ness.  I've never seen a map that has ever said Van Ness-WTI.

I have several documents that have WTI on them. My 03 27 1976 train map that I got from Cody Phanstiehl only has Van Ness on it.

[OrionFlyer]

Which station overall (including the downtown core) sees action from the most depots?

McPherson Sq Station. 7 of the 9 divisions. Lots of routes here.

Annex (32, 36, P17, P19, W13, W14), Bladensburg (32, 36, 42, 43, 80,  D4 [14th & I Entrance], G8, X2), FMR (3Y, 16Y, 32, 36), Montgomery (L2), Northern (52, 53, 54 [14th & I Entrance], S2, S4, S9), Royal (11Y, P17, P19, W13, W14), Western (32, 36, 37, 39, 42, 43)

Also, I think the D1, D3, and D6 operate at that station too.