TheNEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - JUNE, 2011 Bulletin New York Division, Electric Railroaders’ Association Vol. 54, No. 6 June, 2011 The Bulletin IRT OPERATED FREQUENT, DEPENDABLE SERVICE Published by the New 75 YEARS AGO York Division, Electric Railroaders’ Association, by Bernard Linder Incorporated, PO Box 3001, New York, New In 1936, I was studying electrical engineer- In my spare time, I checked and recorded York 10008-3001. ing in college and working part-time. I rode the headways, destinations, and number and on the IRT every day. My train arrived in a types of cars operated on our transit system. For general inquiries, few minutes and I was never late at college Fortunately, the paper on which it was re- contact us at nydiv@ or work. Trains never broke down and did not corded is in good condition and the data is erausa.org or by phone discharge passengers before arriving at the still legible. After reviewing these notes, I was at (212) 986-4482 (voice terminal. able to compile the following tables: mail available). The Division’s website is www.erausa.org/ SERVICE OPERATED IN 1936 nydiv.html. LEXINGTON AVENUE-E. 180TH STREET-WHITE PLAINS ROAD SERVICE Editorial Staff: NORTH TERMINAL SOUTH TERMINAL LOCAL OR EXPRESS TIME OPERATED Editor-in-Chief: WEEKDAYS Bernard Linder News Editor: 241st Street South Ferry via Seventh Avenue Local Midnight Randy Glucksman Contributing Editor: 241st Street, Gun Hill Road, E. Utica Avenue Express Rush hours Jeffrey Erlitz 180th Street st th Production Manager: 241 Street, E. 180 Street South Ferry Express 2 trains—AM rush David Ross 149th Street-Grand Concourse Utica Avenue Express 1 train—AM rush st th 241 Street, E. 180 Street Atlantic Avenue Express Midday 241st Street, E. 180th Street Utica Avenue Express Evening SATURDAY ©2011 New York st Division, Electric 241 Street South Ferry via Seventh Avenue Local Midnight Railroaders’ st th Association, 241 Street, E. 180 Street Utica Avenue Express AM rush Incorporated E. 180th Street South Ferry Express 2 trains—AM rush 241st Street, E. 180th Street Atlantic Avenue Express Morning In This Issue: 241st Street, E. 180th Street Utica Avenue Express Afternoon, evening A History of the SUNDAY Train A st (Continued) 241 Street South Ferry via Seventh Avenue Local Midnight ...Page 2 241st Street, E. 180th Street Atlantic Avenue Express Morning 241st Street, E. 180th Street Utica Avenue Express Afternoon, evening (Continued on page 7) NEXT TRIP: HUDSON-BERGEN1 LIGHT RAIL TOUR, JUNE 11 NEWNEW YORK YORK DIVISION DIVISION BULLETIN BULLETIN OCTOBER, - JUNE, 2011 2000 A HISTORY OF THE A TRAIN by George Chiasson (Continued from May, 2011 Issue) THE DUAL CONTRACTS, AND THE RISE and Cortlandt Streets. On weekdays, some Ninth Ave- AND FALL OF THE NINTH AVENUE ELEVATED, nue Locals were also turned at Rector Street from 1916-1940 morning through early afternoon, or at Cortlandt Street As one manifestation of the 1913 Dual Contracts through the evening rush hour, both to diminish conges- agreements between the two rapid transit companies tion into the South Ferry terminal. With these service and the City of New York, millions of dollars were to be improvements in place, ridership responded (particularly invested upgrading the Manhattan el system to accom- farther uptown) and for all intents and purposes the modate its mature ridership base, and better position it Ninth Avenue El’s Dual Contracts upgrade was com- pleted with the addition of another in-fill local stop at for future growth as a key, endemic element of the over- st all network of subways and elevateds envisioned. For 151 Street on November 15, 1917. Immediately north the Ninth Avenue Line, this entailed significant modifica- of this new station, basic Uptown Locals diverged to the westerly platform at the 155th Street station and either tions, even partial replacement, of the structure that had th stood up to the wear and tear of the previous 35 years relayed there or were laid up at 159 Street Yard. rather well. On its southernmost end, new structure was In addition to the improvements made to the existing added between the original trusses starting at about Ninth Avenue El, IRT expanded it to the Bronx by adopt- Liberty Street (next to the present site of the World ing the existing New York Central (née New York & Trade Center) and continuing all the way to 14th Street. Northern) bridge and approaches across the Harlem Whereas the earlier two-track structure had been offset River, and in turn extending this short spur through a from the curbs, the new three-track elevated embraced new tunnel in the south Bronx to join another new Dual Contracts line traveling north along Jerome Avenue at the middle of the street as a center line, with new or nd heavily modified and repositioned local platforms at all E. 162 Street & River Avenue This forced the railroad stations from Cortlandt to Christopher Streets. Express to curtail its suburban operations at the Sedgwick Ave- platforms were also added on the easterly side of the bi- nue station along the Hudson River, with a walking directional middle express track at the Cortlandt, War- transfer created between the two lines to replace the former exchange at 155th Street. IRT created two new ren, Desbrosses, and Christopher Streets stations. th From 14th Street northward, the existing structure was stations on its new link between 155 Street and the reinforced and the local platforms were upgraded. How- Jerome Avenue Elevated, one at Sedgwick Avenue to ever, the “original” (actually, replacement) two-track achieve interface with the Putnam Division and another at the east end of the connecting tunnel (and partly in structure from 1880 was maintained, which afterward nd largely condemned the “weak” West Side Line to the an open cut) off E. 162 Street between Anderson and use of wooden-framed equipment so as not to overtax Jerome Avenues. A long, grade-separated junction was built into the new Jerome Avenue El between its sta- its structures. Nevertheless, portions of the center ex- st press track were raised to form a “hump” above the lo- tions at 161 Street (which then was not yet the site of Yankee Stadium—the Yankees were playing their home cal tracks and new, upper level express platforms th added on both sides of these higher express tracks at games at the Polo Grounds) and 167 Street, with Ninth the 14th, 34th, and 66th Streets stations, all of which then and Sixth Avenue El operations then able to access served as bidirectional stops for express trains. Stations points north as far as Woodlawn. and structures were also revised and expanded at 116th After reaching an acquisition agreement with the rail- and 125th Streets to form new express stops, another road, the initial piece of the new IRT tunnel was exca- th th th vated rather rapidly and Putnam Division operations on express “hump” platform (as at 14 , 34 , and 66 ) in- th stalled at 145th Street and the terminal at 155th Street the steam-powered swing bridge into the 155 Street heavily modified to eliminate numerous grade cross- station discontinued on January 6, 1918, when a single- track Elevated Division shuttle was instituted between ings. th Service was radically adjusted when the reconfigured 155 Street and the new IRT station at Sedgwick Ave- Ninth Avenue Elevated was put into use on January 17, nue On March 1, every other weekday Ninth Avenue 1916, with all Locals operated from 155th Street to South Local (and all Locals at night and on Sundays) was ex- Ferry and directional rush hour Expresses between tended to Sedgwick Avenue, then finally on July 1, 155th and Rector Streets. These used the middle ex- 1918, upon completion of the new tunnel and both of its press track starting at 125th Street and stopped at all stations, rush hour Ninth Avenue Expresses, along with stations now designed for their use, which included (Continued on page 3) 116th, 66th, 34th, 14th, Christopher, Desbrosses, Warren, 2 NEW YORK DIVISION BULLETIN - JUNE, 2011 A History of the A Train erally returned as Locals to and from Burnside Avenue with a skip to and from Fordham Road), then beginning (Continued from page 2) on May 16, 1927 every other Sixth Avenue Express overnight and Sunday Ninth Avenue Locals, were ex- train was extended from 167th Street all the way to tended as through trains to the Bronx, where they termi- Woodlawn during evening rush hours. To overcome one nated at the Kingsbridge Road station (to which Sixth potential bottleneck these various rush hour services Avenue Local service also ran midday and evenings). At created, Ninth Avenue Express trains skipped the busy that time, the Sixth and Ninth Avenue El lines also stop at 167th Street starting about 1928. started providing all service on the Jerome line north of On January 6, 1930, before the Great Depression had 167th Street, where an isolated “subway shuttle” from really taken shape, the remaining lines that had been the upper level of 149th Street-Grand Concourse (née turning at 167th Street since December, 1921 were fi- 149th Street/Mott Avenue) was terminated. This shuttle nally re-extended northward, with Sixth and Ninth Ave- had originally been used to open the Jerome Avenue nue Locals then operating to Burnside Avenue along line on June 2, 1917 as far as Kingsbridge Road, with a with the rest of the rush hour Sixth Avenue Express subsequent and separate transfer run initiated to Wood- schedule. As of April 16, 1933, midday Ninth Avenue lawn on April 15, 1918. The same day that Ninth Ave- Express service was also being terminated at Burnside nue Express trains were extended to the Bronx (July 1, Avenue, where trains discharged on Track 2, relayed at 1918), they began using the newly-extended middle the crossover north of the station and laid over on Track track from 125th Street to 155th Street, including a “jump- M before assuming Track 1 for the southbound trip.