“Hell On Wheels” – Amazing Photographs Of The NYC Underground In The 80s

In 1979, there were 250 serious crimes reported in the New York subway system – per week. There were six murders in the first two months alone. No other subway in the world was more crime-ridden and infamous.

“Hell On Wheels” is a joyous and soulful trip in the bygone era of the New York subway system in the years between 1977-1984. Swiss photographer Willy Spiller, living in New York at the time, documented his underground travels with the curiosity of a foreigner, fascinated by the rush and the madness of its time. It’s the period of the first rap music, graffiti, The Warriors in the cinema, Guardian Angels on the trains and Ed Koch in charge of a broke and crime-riddled city. Willy Spiller’s images are as much a visual document of this incomparable realm as they are a syncopated, colorful poem to the city of New York and its people.

Mote info: “Hell On Wheels” (h/t: vintag.es)



















If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

21 Historical Photos That Prove The World Has Changed Dramatically

Fabulous Photos of Ewa Aulin in the 1960s and ’70s

Australia’s Silo Murals Make a Road Trip an Art Odyssey

The Fifty Fifty Selfie Barber Shop

Brilliant, Energetic and Skillfully Shot Images of Headbangers Mid-Bang

Amazing Winners of the 2025 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition

Winners & Merit Awards Of AAP Magazine’s B&W Photography Contest

Environment Activists Try To Break World Record With This Colossal 3D Body Painting Picture

Selena's Rare Coca-Cola Photo Shoot, 1994

Photographer Captures Abandoned Second World War Fortifications Slowly Being Reclaimed By Nature

Fantastic Photos Show What An Abandoned Soviet Submarine Looks Like From Inside

18 Photos Which Show Life From A Different Perspective

Sama-Sama: A Malaysian Portraiture

Amazing Paintings of Nikolai Yaroshenko, One of the Leading Artist of Realism in the Eastern Europe in the Late 19th Century

Spectacular Landscape Winning Photos from the Artist Gallery Awards 2025

Insight Astronomy Photographer Of The Year 2016 Winners

NASA Captures New Magnificent Images Of Galaxies

Stunning Photos of the Valkyrie Racing Porsche 356

Stunning Black And White Photos Of A Young Katharine Hepburn In The Grass Taken By George Hoyningen-Huene In 1934

Extraordinary Black And White Fashion Photography By John French In The 1950s And 1960s

Amazing 12-page Calendar of Recreated Family Photos

Amazing Photographs of Teenage Skateboarder Laura Thornhill Caswell in the 1970s

Stunning Colorized Photos Show Child Laborers In Early 20th Century America

Photo Gallery of the "Art Attack" 2011 Performance on Purim

Photographer Teemu Jarvinen Captures The Night Around Asia And The World

In the Swim

Jeff Friesen by Ghost Train Crossing Canada

This Floor is Made of Broken Shards of Glass and it's Amazing

The Royal Observatory Greenwich Has Just Unveiled the Winners of The Coveted 2020 Astronomy Photographer of The Year Awards

Emergency Workers From Around The Globe Take Part In The 'Tetris Challenge'!