The BMT had a large part of its fleet with conductor stations inside the cars. Certainly this was the case with the standards and I believe the lightweights as the Bluebirds and the Multis. The D Types I think are outdoors and the Q's and C Types had outdoor controls.
The R-1-9s were outsside controls . In 1949, The IND routes were mostly below ground.
The low V's on the IRT were all outdoor stations.
Conductors on the cars with outdoor controls indeed had a tough job in the snow with this equipment.
Running the train itself could be quite challenging in the snow as well.
The conductor setup is much better today.