August 2009 Bulletin.Pub
TheNEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - AUGUST, 2009 Bulletin New York Division, Electric Railroaders’ Association Vol. 52, No. 8 August, 2009 The Bulletin TIME SIGNAL CENTENNIAL Published by the New Station time signals, which were installed pated. Although the subway was designed for York Division, Electric on the IRT express tracks 100 years ago, a maximum daily capacity of 600,000 pas- Railroaders’ Association, Incorporated, PO Box allowed the company to run two or three sengers, the builders planned on a maximum 3001, New York, New more trains per hour. capacity of only 400,000 daily riders. In De- York 10008-3001. When one train was in the station, the origi- cember, 1904, IRT averaged 300,000 pas- nal signal system held the next train in the sengers per day with little margin for growth. block of track beyond the station. This sys- Daily traffic exceeded 800,000 in 1908 and For general inquiries, contact us at nydiv@ tem was designed to ensure safe operation. reached 1.2 million six years later. electricrailroaders.org This block of track was the distance required IRT was unable to relieve the overcrowding or by phone at (212) to stop a train plus a 50 percent safety mar- because riding was increasing rapidly. But it 986-4482 (voice mail gin. But this system seriously delayed trains, increased service by installing station time available). ERA’s website is especially during rush hours. signals and ordering 325 cars, 3700-4024. www.electricrailroaders. Meanwhile, overcrowding kept increasing. By installing center doors in all subway org. To increase service, IRT consulted an expert cars, loading was speeded up.
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