TheNEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - AUGUST, 2003 Bulletin New York Division, Electric Railroaders’ Association Vol. 46, No. 8 August, 2003 The Bulletin IND EXTENDED TO QUEENS 70 YEARS AGO Published by the New The IND expanded rapidly in 1933, reaching York Division, Electric SUNDAY—EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER Railroaders’ the Bronx on July 1 and Roosevelt Avenue, 10, 1933 Association, Queens a month later. The first test train op- MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING Incorporated, PO Box erated in the new subway on July 31, 1933. 3001, New York, New Three thousand people, who were anxious to Headways York 10008-3001. ride the first E train, congregated in the Roo- 7, 6, 5 5 5, 6 sevelt Avenue station at 12:01 AM August 19, 1933. At about the same time, GG trains Number of Cars For general inquiries, contact us at started running between Queens Plaza and 2 2 2 [email protected]. Nassau Avenue. Like the other IND lines, short trains operated at frequent intervals as Checking the August 20, 1933 GG Sunday Editorial Staff: shown in the following table: schedule, we find that two-car trains were E LOCALS—ROOSEVELT AVENUE TO operating on the same headway as the E Editor-in-Chief: Bernard Linder CHAMBERS STREET trains. News Editor: WEEKDAYS—EFFECTIVE SEPTEM- The Queens Boulevard Line became very Randy Glucksman BER 7, 1933 busy after service was extended to Union Contributing Editor: Turnpike on December 31, 1936 and to 169th Jeffrey Erlitz MID- AM MIDDAY PM EVE- Street on April 24, 1937. NIGHT RUSH RUSH NING Effective July 1, 1937, morning rush hour E Production trains ran on a peak three-minute headway Manager: Headways for 36 minutes with four intervals on a two- David Ross 12 4 5 4 5, 6 minute headway. PM rush hour trains were Number of Cars on a peak three-minute headway for 24 min- 2 3 (A) 2 3 (A) 2 utes. The September 12, 1938 morning rush hour schedule provided for a peak three- 17 3-car trains were operated in the rush hour minute headway for an hour with nine inter- ©2003 New York (A) Rush hour service increased to 3 or 4 cars on Janu- vals on a two-minute headway. There must Division, Electric ary 16, 1934 or earlier have been congestion between 42nd Street Railroaders’ SATURDAY—EFFECTIVE OCTOBER th Association, and W. 4 Street, where the E trains oper- Incorporated 8, 1933 ated on the same tracks as the CC locals AM RUSH MORNING/ EVENING scheduled for a four-minute headway. AFTERNOON Routing was as follows: In This Issue: August 19, 1933: E locals; GG—Queens Headways Central Park, Plaza to Nassau Avenue North & East 4 5 5, 6 April 24, 1937: Non-rush: EE locals; GG— Queens Plaza to Nassau Avenue River Railroad st Company — Number of Cars Rush hour: E express, GG locals — 71 Ave- History (Continued on page 17) 2 2 2 ...Page 2 1 NEWNEW YORKYORK DIVISIONDIVISION BULLETINBULLETIN -OCTOBER, AUGUST, 20032000 CENTRAL PARK, NORTH & EAST RIVER RAILROAD COMPANY BELT LINE RAILWAY CORPORATION by Bernard Linder CORPORATE HISTORY New York Railways also owned all of Central Park’s The Central Park, North & East River Railroad Com- bonds and one-fifth of its capital stock. pany was incorporated on July 19, 1860. A franchise At an auction held on November 14, 1912, Edward was granted by resolution adopted by the Common Cornell, a lawyer, outbid New York Railways and bought Council and the Board of Aldermen on December 28, the property at foreclosure. He paid $1.673 million with 1861, and approved by the Mayor on December 31, $50,000 down and a year to pay for the property, whose 1861. real value shrank about $2 million. Cornell decided to The company started construction prior to July 5, 1862 hold the property for a better offer or run it himself. and laid double track on part of the road. It was unable BELT LINE RAILWAY CORPORATION to complete the work because it could not buy the right On December 24, 1912, the Belt Line Railway Corpo- type of iron. West Belt Line horse cars started operating ration was incorporated by Edward Cornell and others on July 18, 1863. For the next three decades, the com- as a reorganization of the Central Park, North & East pany operated the East Belt line and the West Belt line. River Railroad Company. On January 21, 1913, the During the 1890s, the Metropolitan Street Railway was property of the Central Park, North & East River Rail- able to control the Manhattan and Bronx street car lines road Company was conveyed to the Belt by Edward by a complicated program of mergers and leases. On Cornell and his wife. A report revealed that the Belt October 14, 1892, the Metropolitan Cross-Town Railway could be operated more efficiently, economically, and Company, operator of the Spring and Delancey Street profitably in conjunction with the Third Avenue Railway line, leased the Central Park company’s road for the Company than it could independently. On August 4, unexpired term of the lessor company’s charter, at an 1913, stock control of the Belt was acquired by the annual rental of 8 per cent on the outstanding capital Third Avenue Railway Company. Officials were unhappy stock of the lessor company, amounting to $1.8 million, that they spent $2,439,639; they could have bought it for the first five years and 9 per cent thereafter. On May cheaper at the auction. 28, 1894, the Metropolitan Cross-Town Railway Com- The company was still in poor financial condition. The pany and the Lexington Avenue and Pavonia Ferry Rail- receiver was not discharged until 1925. The first re- road Company were merged into the Metropolitan ceiver, George W. Linch, served from 1912 to 1915. He Street Railway. On February 14, 1902, the Interurban started with $484 cash and collected $140,065. The Street Railway Company took a lease from Metropolitan next receiver, John Beaver, who served from 1915 to for 999 years. Interurban’s name was changed to New 1917, collected $248,979, mostly awards and claims York City Railway Company on February 10, 1904. against the Metropolitan Street Railway and the New On June 11, 1908, the New York City Railway filed a York City Railway companies. The last receiver, Newton petition to cancel the Central Park Company’s lease by M. Hudson, who was discharged March 20, 1925, took defaulting on the rental, 9 per cent on $1.8 million of in $65,021. The three receivers collected $454,065 and stock. Bondholders said the loss was caused by the repaid all creditors in full. After discontinuing the unprof- failure of the Metropolitan to pay adequate rent by other itable East Belt and West Belt lines in 1919 and 1921 roads using 59th Street. The judge gave permission to respectively, this subsidiary only operated one line, the cancel the leases of the Central Park, North & East 59th Street Crosstown. River Railway Corporation and the 28th & 29th Street Although the Belt was solvent, it was still in poor finan- Crosstown Railroad Company (see June, 2002 Bulle- cial condition. In December, 1930, the interest on Belt tin). The judge threw back old debts, running into mil- Line Railway bonds had been in default for more than lions, never paid by the Metropolitan. The lines lost two years because earnings were not adequate to $60,000 a year, a drain on the Metropolitan. Because cover fixed charges on bonds. All Belt bonds and secu- the Central Park company did not own an electric car, rities were owned by Third Avenue, which expected to car barn, or power house, there were rumors that the simplify the corporate structure by eliminating Belt. horse cars would return. When the 5 per cent mortgage bonds were foreclosed, On November 9, 1912, the Public Service Commis- Third Avenue expected to buy Belt. sion approved a scheme to rehabilitate the company, On October 27, 1931, the Central Hanover Bank and which owed the city $500,000 in taxes plus $100,000 in Trust Company trustees granted and released to the other debts. The company had a $1.2 million mortgage Third Avenue Railway Company the Belt’s lines and owned by New York Railways. When the accrued inter- (Continued on page 3) est was added, the debt increased to $1.535 million. 2 NEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - AUGUST, 2003 rd th Central Park, North & East River Railroad Company tween W. 53 and W. 54 Streets. On the ground floor of this 200x475-foot brick building were the car house, (Continued from page 2) engine room, cleaning room, carpenter and blacksmith franchises, plus the four-story car barn on Tenth Avenue shop, and a steam plant generating power for hoisting between W. 53rd and W. 54th Streets. The trustees ac- hay, grinding feed, and running elevators, conveyors, quired title to the property from the referee in foreclo- and machinery. There were 1,200 stalls on the second sure of the first mortgage by Belt in accordance with a floor, and 400 stalls and a hospital on the third floor. The deed dated May 26, 1931. hay loft, grain storage, and feed mixing vats were lo- HORSE CAR NOTES cated on the fourth floor. The building was equipped o YEAR NUMBER OF HORSE CARS with automatic sprinklers set for 155 F and an auto- matic fire alarm. Water was stored in four huge white th East & West Belt 59 Street cedar tanks on the roof. 1890 110 7 Street cars were stored in this building after electrifica- 1891 107 6 tion.