The gritty, dangerous and sometimes glamorous life of the New York subway in the 1970s and 1980s is captured in detail in a series of photographs.
From 1977 to 1984, acclaimed photographer Willy Spiller, who lives in Zurich, Switzerland, captured the menacing, violent, funny and delightful contradictions of the city’s graffiti-infested transportation network.
From a man with a boombox standing perilously close to the tracks to schoolgirls slumped in their chairs chatting, the images capture the raw energy of the city and are reminiscent of classic movies like The Warriors and Wild Style.
Spiller, whose book Hell On Wheels was recently reissued as a special edition, said, “The New York subway system of the 1970s and 1980s was sometimes referred to as Hell on Wheels. This conjures up images of a steel prison rattling through the eternal darkness of the underworld.
“Then why have I never felt such freedom – freedom, desolation and equality – as in a subway in this legendary city?”
Spiller himself has always loved fairy tales and when producing the shots he enjoyed the idea that the story doesn’t always have a happy ending.
He added: “As a fairy tale lover, I was always captivated as I plunged into the rattling world of these mobile metal living rooms, like Alice in Wonderland, never knowing if the next moment would be menacing, violent or funny, frightening or delightful.
“Here I enjoyed observing and capturing the sprawling human menagerie of the metropolis.”
Schoolgirls on the A train to Far Rockaway, New York, 1978. Acclaimed photographer Willy Spiller spent two decades capturing the menacing, violent, funny and delightful contradictions of the city’s subway
Rush hour on Lexington IRT. Spiller said: ‘Each car is a sweaty, rattling microcosm of the city itself – a loud, busy, colorful melting pot where everyone is pushed into other people’s business’
Downtown Express 72nd Street Station, West Side IRT, 1977. Residents wait on the platform as a subway car races by
Jerome Avenue IRT Line, 1980. Passengers sit next to the train’s graffiti walls. Spiller said, “The New York City subway system of the 1970s and 1980s was sometimes referred to as Hell on Wheels. This conjures up images of a steel prison rattling through the eternal darkness of the underworld’
On the way to the office, Grand Central Station, 1983. Spiller said, “They seemed equally exposed and uninhibited, as if they’d checked in their private lives above ground—and were curiously indifferent to me and my camera”
On the Beat, police check, 72nd Street Station West Side IRT Line, 1977
Dangerous Ride, Boy Clinging to a Subway, 1978. Spiller has always loved fairytales, and in producing the shots he enjoyed the idea that the story doesn’t always have a happy ending
Conversation on the A-Train, Subway NY, 1982. Two passengers conversing next to a tequila poster
Riding Together, Subway New York, Unguided Tour Hell on Wheels, NY, 1977-1985. Spiller said, “Always a lover of fairytales, I was always enthralled as I plunged into the rattling world of these mobile metal living rooms, like Alice in Wonderland, never knowing if the next moment was menacing, violent or funny, frightening or delightful”
After rehearsal, Columbus Circle, Subway NY 1982. Dancers wait on the platform to return to their homes as a train rumbles by
180 St elevated station, Queens, New York, 1982
A train to Brighton Beach, 1977. Spiller said, ‘Then why have I never felt such freedom – freedom, abandonment and equality – as in a subway in this legendary city?’
Ghetto blaster man waiting, 72nd Street Station West Side IRT Line, Subway New York. A man in orange pants stands dangerously close to the tracks
Conductor Between Subway Cars, Subway New York, unguided tour Hell on Wheels, NYC, 1977-1985. A conductor peers across the platform