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Trains of sunflower yellow and apple green

Source: NYC Subway Map
The Beatles sung about a man who lived on a yellow submarine but New Yorkers can ride the "sunflower yellow" R train from Forest Hills in Queens to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn.  Sunflower yellow is the (not-so) secret name for the N, R, Q, and Q lines; "tomato red" for the Nos. 1, 2, 3;  "raspberry" for the No. 7; "vivid blue" for the A, C, and E; "apple green" for the No. 4; "slate gray" for the L; and "terra cotta brown" for the J and Z lines.  I like that some of the lines are named for edibles but wonder who decided on apple green vs. green (was R. Raleigh D'Adamo eating a Granny Smith apple on the day he devised the color scheme?).  We welcome your thoughts!

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