The ERA BULLETIN - DECEMBER, 2013 Bulletin Electric Railroaders’ Association, Incorporated Vol. 56, No. 12 December, 2013 The Bulletin SIXTH AVENUE “L” QUIT 75 YEARS AGO Published by the Electric Sixth Avenue elevated trains ceased oper- Following is the 1938 car assignment for Railroaders’ Association, ating on December 4, 1938. On the last day, the Sixth Avenue and Ninth Avenue Lines: Incorporated, PO Box 3323, New York, New souvenir hunters stole hundreds of light York 10163-3323. bulbs, which were rated at 130 volts. If they MULTIPLE UNIT DOOR used them at home, the light would have GATES CONTROL (MUDC) been much dimmer than the light from ordi- Motors 226 127 For general inquiries, nary bulbs. contact us at bulletin@ Trailers 114 96 erausa.org or by phone The last southbound train departed from th at (212) 986-4482 (voice 155 Street at 10:06 PM and arrived at South Total 340 223 mail available). ERA’s Ferry an hour later, 17 minutes late. website is The Motorman, an employee since 1916, Sixth Avenue Local—gates weekday and Saturday AM www.erausa.org. was assigned to the last northbound train rush, weekday PM rush; MUDC other times Sixth Avenue Express—MUDC AM rush, MUDC and 3 Editorial Staff: leaving Rector Street at 10:50 PM. This train, gate trains weekday and Saturday PM rush, gates Satur- Editor-in-Chief: which carried officials and regular passen- day AM rush Bernard Linder gers, stopped only at 42nd Street. When both In 1938, weekday and Saturday Sixth Ave- News Editor: last trains passed at Prince Street, the Motor- nue locals ran between South Ferry and Randy Glucksman Contributing Editor: men blew their whistles. The collection train, Burnside Avenue in the evening and between th Jeffrey Erlitz which followed the last passenger trains, ar- South Ferry and 155 Street at other times. rived at the terminal at 11:45 PM. Senti- Sixth Avenue expresses made express stops Production Manager: mental last riders and souvenir hunters riding on Ninth Avenue and local stops on Sixth David Ross on the last trains cut the straps and removed Avenue, a two-track line. Weekday and Sat- the signs, advertisements, and anything they urday morning rush hour expresses operated could carry away. from Burnside Avenue to Rector Street and Seven hundred unlucky employees lost returned as locals or light trains. Evening their jobs, but 40 lucky people, probably high rush hour weekday and Saturday expresses ©2013 Electric Railroaders’ seniority men, were transferred to other IRT ran from Rector Street to Burnside Avenue or Association, lines. Woodlawn and made local stops or ran light The company anticipated that most of the southbound. Alternate Saturday morning rush displaced riders would ride its Ninth Avenue hour locals were turned at Rector Street. In This Issue: Elevated line, but they were disappointed. Sixth Avenue was the only IRT line operat- The Long Island Rush hour Ninth Avenue Bronx express ser- ing additional service for the Saturday even- Rail Road Eyes vice was increased from a 4– to a 3-minute ing rush (5-7 PM). In 1938, it was also the Manhattan headway, and was soon reduced to 4 only IRT line with trains running to different minutes in the AM rush and 5 minutes in he terminals (Burnside Avenue and Woodlawn) (Continued) PM rush. Rush hour Ninth Avenue locals in the AM and PM rush. ...Page 2 were lengthened from 4 to 6 cars, after which The Interborough Rapid Transit Company their length was reduced to 5 cars and finally was placed in the hands of receivers on Au- 4 cars. Lexington-Jerome Avenue rush hour gust 26, 1932. The Manhattan Railway Com- service was increased from a 4– to a 3½- pany followed on September 6, 1932 and minute headway. (Continued on page 4) REMINDER: JAPAN1 TRIP—MAY, 2014 NEW YORKERA BULLETINDIVISION BULLETIN - DECEMBER, OCTOBER, 2013 2000 THE GENESIS OF “DASHING DAN” Part Two—The Long Island Rail Road Eyes Manhattan by George Chiasson (Continued from November, 2013 issue) Attached herewith are three maps of the Long Island depict the now long-abandoned Long Island Motor (Vanderbilt) Motor Parkway. The first (Map 35) is a re- Parkway, as it existed prior to 1938 in full, set against production of a 1929 pamphlet issued by the Motor the growing (1958) and the current (2013) limited- Parkway corporation itself, showing the roadway as access parkway system of Queens, Nassau, and Suf- completed at both ends by 1926, from Fresh Meadows folk Counties as well as the Long Island Rail Road. Its to Lake Ronkonkoma. The list of “Lodges” (their nomen- former “Lodges” are arbitrarily re-designated as though clature for an “exit”) is described in correspondence to be latter-day exits, with their present-day locations with the map and list of connecting destinations as de- described. These convey some context regarding the picted. There are two major items worthy of note on this Long Island Motor Parkway for those of us in the mod- map. One is that most of the points described are those ern world who know it only in concept and not in reality. alternatively reached by the Long Island Rail Road, This is not in any way to suggest that the old Motor which then was the Parkway’s most prominent (if not Parkway should either still be there or that it should be sole) competition in travel around Long Island. The oth- resurrected—that is for history to judge. In any case er is the fledgling state of what evolved into the Greater there probably wouldn’t be much use in 2013 for a 50- Long Island motor parkway system in later decades, mph, 2-lane highway across the midst of one of Ameri- with then only two short segments (highlighted in dark ca’s densest urban and suburban regions. Neverthe- gray) opened to traffic, neither of which were directly less, in a vein similar to that of the long-forgotten Cen- linked to LIMP (and nor were they or any other part of tral Railroad of Long Island, these two maps reveal the burgeoning grid-configured highway system ever to more through what no longer exists than what actually be). The second and third diagrams (Maps 36 and 37), does. (Continued on page 3) Around New York’s Transit System without using mechanized equipment. Another vendor is producing a permanently implantable device, which can (Continued from page 20) be installed beneath sidewalk ventilation gratings and The Last R-27 Has Been Scrapped can be easily and immediately closed, sealing the grat- On October 22, the last R-27, 8145, was transported ing from flood waters. A prototype is in place at Rector on a trailer truck from the W. 215th Street end of 207th Street. If successful, several hundred units may be in- Street Yard. This car was once coupled to R-30 8463, stalled at flood-prone locations. MTA engineers are which was featured in the movie “Money Train,” filmed planning protective measures for Staten Island Rail- in the New York City area. In the 1990s, 8145 was con- way’s Clifton Shops and St. George Terminal, which verted to a school car and assigned to 36th Street Yard, were heavily damaged during Sandy. Officials also visit- after which it was transferred to Pitkin Yard. ed the new South Ferry station, which was flooded with Officials Observe Flood-Prevention Systems 14 million gallons of water during the storm. A tunnel On October 29, the first anniversary of Superstorm plug was demonstrated inside the station. This plug can Sandy, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, MTA Chairman protect subway portals. If it is successful, NYC Transit and Chief Executive Officer Thomas F. Prendergast, hopes it can be installed at portals and stairways. United States Department of Housing and Urban Devel- MTA engineers are working on more than 70 projects opment Secretary Shaun Donovan, and other officials worth approximately $4.5 billion. Under construction are toured lower Manhattan, where they observed the tech- 16 projects worth $575 million. At NYC Transit, design nologies that could prevent future floods. MTA has been has begun for six river tunnels used by more than one investigating foreign flood-prevention systems that million riders on an average weekday. Rehabilitation could be installed in New York. NYC Transit’s engineers includes signals, pump rooms, power, and communica- are designing solutions for keeping water out of approx- tions. NYC Transit is also building two new pump trains, imately 600 entry points in lower Manhattan in addition which will pump the water faster than the old trains. to vulnerable ventilation plants and openings in other Holiday Train to Operate Once Again flood-prone areas. At the Whitehall Street station, the The holiday train of R-1 to R-9 cars will operate on Governor and officials unveiled a prototype entrance Sundays, December 1, 8, 15, and 22, via Sixth Avenue cover, which could protect 13 vulnerable stairways in between Queens Plaza and Second Avenue from 10 lower Manhattan. This stairway cover could be installed AM to 5 PM. 2 ERA BULLETIN - DECEMBER, 2013 The Genesis of “Dashing Dan” (Continued from page 2) (Continued on page 6) SEMTA’S LAST TRAIN OPERATED 30 YEARS AGO by Julien Wolfe It recently dawned on me that October 17 marked the to run it, and it did. In return, and since DT&I was being 30th anniversary of the last regular SEM- absorbed into GTW at the end of 1983, and our Com- TA (Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority) muter Rail person at GTW, Pat Freeman, was a former commuter train.