The Bulletin THIRD AVENUE RAILWAYS’ PLOW PITS
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ERA BULLETIN - SEPTEMBER, 2015 The Bulletin Electric Railroaders’ Association, Incorporated Vol. 58, No. 9 September, 2015 The Bulletin THIRD AVENUE RAILWAYS’ PLOW PITS Published by the Electric by Bernard Linder Railroaders’ Association, Incorporated, PO Box While looking through my newspaper clip- turned at the crossover east of Lenox Ave- 3323, New York, New pings, I found a picture of a plow pit and I nue. York 10163-3323. decided to write this article explaining why it At the plow pits, there was an overlap be- was built. Plow pits disappeared with the trol- tween the overhead trolley and the under- For general inquiries, ley cars, but hardly anyone knew about them ground third rail. Cars stopped twice at white contact us at bulletin@ when they were in service. lines painted on the pavement between the erausa.org. ERA’s Because nearly all overhead wires were track rails. Cars in this service were equipped website is www.erausa.org. blown down during the Blizzard of 1888, a at one end with a single-pole double-throw law was passed to prevent this disaster by (SPDT) switch, which was adjusted manually Editorial Staff: prohibiting overhead wires in Manhattan. by the crew. Because the Willis Avenue cars Editor-in-Chief: When the Manhattan lines were electrified, operated around the Fort Lee Ferry loop, the Bernard Linder underground third rails were installed and SPDT switch could be at either end. Tri-State News and Commuter Rail Editor: plows were attached to the trucks. The plows The man in the pit, the man on the ground, Ronald Yee extended through slots between the track and the Motorman all worked together to North American and World rails and made contact with the third rail. Be- avoid delays. Westbound cars stopped at the News Editor: cause he wanted to help develop the Bronx, first white line, where the plow was attached. Alexander Ivanoff Contributing Editor: Manhattan’s Borough President allowed the At the second white line, the man on the Jeffrey Erlitz company to install trolley wire on Bronx lines ground pulled down the pole. If the SPDT entering Manhattan for short distances on switch was at the front end, the Motorman Production Manager: 135th Street, 155th Street, 181st Street, 207th adjusted it. If it was in the rear of the one- David Ross Street, Broadway north of the Kingsbridge man treadle car, the man on the ground car house, both ends of the car house, and reached inside the car, pushed hard on the th ©2015 Elect ric 217 Street. treadle, entered the car, adjusted the SPDT Railroaders ’ In the 1930s, I was studying electrical engi- switch, and left promptly. The car continued Association, neering at City College and I rode the 149th its journey in Manhattan. Eastbound cars Incorporate d Street Crosstown frequently to Convent Ave- stopped at the first white line, where the man nue, a short walk to the college. When the on the ground raised the pole. The SPDT car stopped at the plow pit, I was able to switch was adjusted by an employee, de- watch the crews, who were so efficient that pending on its location. At the second white In This Issue: there was no congestion on this line, whose line, the plow was removed, after which the Rails Under the cars ran on a 4-minute headway in the rush car wended its way to the Bronx. hour and 5– and 6-minutes during midday. The 125th Street plow pit was in service River Revisited th Plow pits were located at E. 125 Street until 33 buses replaced 27 Willis Avenue trol- — the Hudson west of First Avenue for Willis Avenue cars ley cars on August 5, 1941. The 145th Street & Manhattan and W. 145th Street west of Lenox Avenue for plow pit was no longer required after August (continued) the 149th Street Crosstown cars. At this plow 17, 1947, when buses replaced trolley cars th th …Page 2 pit, Broadway and 145 Street cars also on the 149 Street Crosstown, the last trolley switched from underground to overhead pow- line to receive power from underground third er. Then they operated beneath the trolley rail in Manhattan. wire a short distance, where they were (Continued on page 6) NEXT TRIP: LIRR EAST SIDE ACCESS PROJECT1 TOUR, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 NEW YORKERA BULLETIN DIVISION —BULLETINSEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, 2015 2000 RAILS UNDER THE RIVER REVISITED — THE HUDSON & MANHATTAN by George Chiasson (Continued from August, 2015 issue) MCADOO & MCCREA’S RAPID TRANSIT buildings around the Northeast. In 2015 its site across TRAINS REACH NEWARK from Military Park is occupied by the Victoria Theatre, On November 18, 1911 the new Centre Street Bridge located near the present convergence of Park Place, was opened to Pennsylvania Railroad and surface traf- Centre Street, and Rector Street. What used to be fic, with a single track carrying the Centre Street Branch Saybrook Place survives as a driveway feeding onto across the Passaic River, as previous in common with McCarter Highway, ½-block south of Rector. Since 2006 autos, trucks and horse-drawn wagons while pedestri- it has been crossed by the Broad Street Station branch ans used sidewalks on either side. Built of riveted steel of NJ Transit’s Newark Light Rail (as that former “City beams with concrete piers, anchorages, and decking, it Subway” has been known of late), which in a convolut- actually incorporated two levels that could open as part ed way keeps its previous heritage of traction active. of a single, 230-foot swing span, with an upper deck of By sometime in early 1912 New York H&M and Jersey 18-foot vertical clearance that was devoted to use by City-bound Pennsylvania Local trains were diverted the Hudson & Manhattan. PRR had already given up its from “Shanley’s Cut,” to which main Track 1 had been steam-powered “shuttle” service across the bridge from realigned in 1887-8, to a newly-laid iron positioned the Park Place station in Newark to Exchange Place by through the original (1838) Bergen Cut and were pass- this time, the railroad company having continued its op- ing through the abuilding station at Summit Avenue. eration for several years after September, 1902. The This facility was a rather elaborate undertaking even in Center Street Branch itself remained busy nevertheless, its earliest incarnation, consisting of three 374-foot (8- with freight and switching moves on both sides of the car) platforms that were reached through the mezza- river several times a day. Until early 1910 these trains nine of a fair-sized terminal structure suspended along had continued to cross the Passaic River on the origi- the Bergen Cut’s hand-excavated cliff side next to Hud- nal, 76-year-old New Jersey Railroad swing bridge, son Boulevard (formerly the Hudson Public Road, now which was replaced by a temporary wooden trestle that JFK Boulevard). The three electrified tracks through the had an even smaller moveable span until the new struc- new station were each designed to expedite the line’s ture’s lower level was completed. After a minor property specialized traffic flows: the easternmost functioned as dispute was settled on the Newark side of the river, rap- a bypass for both the PRR and H&M trains to New York id transit trains began making practice trips to and from (though the degree of express operation at that time the new Park Place terminal on November 23 by ex- remains a mystery), while the other two (“middle” and tending the existing service from Manhattan Transfer, westernmost) were solely intended for use by H&M and then finally began carrying revenue passengers trains (inbound and outbound, respectively), as re- three days later, accompanied by a local media blitz vealed by their tight loading gauge, all complete with an which glorified its “86 trips per day.” The entire exten- attached, specially-sized layup yard for future relays sion was formed by a short two-track addition to the and rapid transit equipment storage needs. To accom- steel elevated structure that already existed west of plish this in the limited space available, (westbound) Manhattan Transfer and followed the Center Street Track 2 of the Jersey City Branch was left in its existing Branch across Harrison to the Passaic River Bridge. alignment through Shanley’s Cut, complete with third The Park Place terminal was composed of three stub- rail, being chiefly used by the Pennsy’s local trains from end tracks at ground level (which had in turn descended Exchange Place, but also by H&M when required to fly from the upper bridge) that were surrounded by a trio of past the new station. On April 14, 1912 all Newark H&M platforms staggered at three different lengths: the north- trains added Summit Avenue as a station stop using ernmost extended out 340 feet from the block, the mid- only the middle platform and its two surrounding tracks, dle reached approximately 319 feet, and the southern- with eastbound traffic routed off Main Track 1 through most just 257 feet. There was also a short spur for the some of the new switch work associated with the future U.S. Express Company protruding out of the terminal’s storage yard. Extensive construction work was then easterly side, which had a separate side platform along completed through the balance of that year and into the the southern edge that ran 165 feet out from the block. next, with the remainder of the great Summit Avenue All was contained within a mildly elaborate, three-sided, station complex finally ready for use on February 23, single-story structure measuring 165 by 70 by 95 feet 1913.