History of the IRT subway before 1918

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Main article: History of the New York City Subway

The first regularly-operated subway in New York City was built by the city and leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company for operation under Contracts 1 and 2. Until 1918, when the new "H" system that is still operated - with separate East Side and West Side lines - was placed in service, it consisted of a single trunk line below 96th Street with several northern branches. The system had four tracks between City Hall and 96th Street, allowing for local and express service on that portion. Under the "H" system, the original line and early extensions are now as follows:

• IRT Eastern Parkway Line, Atlantic Avenue to Borough Hall
• IRT Lexington Avenue Line, Borough Hall to 42nd Street–Grand Central
• IRT 42nd Street Shuttle, 42nd Street–Grand Central to Times Square
• IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, Times Square to 242nd Street–Van Cortlandt Park
• IRT Lenox Avenue Line, 96th Street to 145th Street
• IRT White Plains Road Line, 142nd Street Junction to 180th Street–Bronx Park (removed north of 179th Street)

Contents 1 History 1.1 Service patterns 2 Stations 3 References

[edit] History

Planning for the system that was built began with the Rapid Transit Act, signed into law on May 22, 1894, which created the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. The act provided that the commission would lay out routes with the consent of property owners and local authorities, either build the system or sell a franchise for its construction, and lease it to a private operating company. A line through Lafayette Street (then Elm Street) to Union Square was considered, but at first a more costly route under lower Broadway was adopted. A legal battle with property owners along the route led to the courts denying permission to build through Broadway in 1896. The Elm Street route was chosen later that year, cutting west to Broadway via 42nd Street. This new plan, formally adopted on January 14, 1897, consisted of a line from City Hall north to Kingsbridge and a branch under Lenox Avenue and to Bronx Park, to have four tracks from City Hall to the junction at 103rd Street. The "awkward alignment...along Forty-Second Street", as the commission put it, was necessitated by objections to using Broadway south of 34th Street. Legal challenges were finally taken care of near the end of 1899.^[1]

A contract, later known as Contract 1, was executed on February 21, 1900 between the commission and the Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont, for the construction of the subway and a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. Ground was broken at City Hall on March 24. A plan for an extension from City Hall to the Long Island Rail Road's Flatbush Avenue station in Brooklyn was adopted on January 24, 1901, and Contract 2, giving a lease of only 35 years, was executed between the commission and the Rapid Transit Construction Company on September 11, with construction beginning at State Street in Manhattan on November 8, 1902. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 as the operating company for both contracts; the IRT leased the Manhattan Railway, operator of the four elevated railway lines in Manhattan and the Bronx, on April 1, 1903. Operation of the subway began on October 27, 1904, with the opening of all stations from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch.^[2] The original system as included in Contract 1 was completed on January 14, 1907, when trains started running across the Harlem Ship Canal on the Broadway Bridge to 225th Street,^[3] and the Contract 2 portion was opened to Atlantic Avenue on May 1, 1908.^[4] An extension of Contract 1 north to 242nd Street at Van Cortlandt Park was approved in 1906^[5] and opened on August 1, 1908.^[6] (The original plan had been to turn east on 230th Street to just west of Bailey Avenue, at the New York Central Railroad's Kings Bridge station.^[7])

[edit] Service patterns

Express trains began at South Ferry or Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, while local trains typically began at South Ferry or City Hall. Local trains to the West Side Branch (242nd Street) ran from City Hall during rush hours and continued south at other times; East side local trains ran between City Hall and 145th Street. All three branches were served by express trains; no local trains used the East Side Branch to West Farms (180th Street).^[8] Expresses to 145th Street were later eliminated; all West Farms expresses and rush hours Broadway expresses operated through to Brooklyn.^[9] Essentially each branch had a local and an express, with expresses to Broadway (242nd Street) and West Farms and locals to Broadway and Lenox Avenue (145th Street).^{[citation needed]}

When the "H" system opened in 1918, all trains from the old system were sent south from Times Square–42nd Street along the new IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Locals (Broadway and Lenox Avenue) were sent to South Ferry, while expresses (Broadway and West Farms) used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn. These services became 1 (Broadway express and local), 2 (West Farms express), and 3 (Lenox Avenue local) in 1948. The only major change to these patterns was made in 1959, when all 1 trains became local and all 2 and 3 trains became express.^{[citation needed]} The portion south of 42nd Street–Grand Central became part of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, and now carries 4 (express), 5 (express), and 6 (local) trains; the short piece under 42nd Street is now the 42nd Street Shuttle.

[edit] Stations

Station	Tracks	Opened	Notes
Atlantic Avenue	2	May 1, 1908[4]
Nevins Street	2	May 1, 1908[citation needed]
Hoyt Street–Bridge Street	2	May 1, 1908[citation needed]
Borough Hall	2	January 9, 1908[citation needed]
South Ferry	loop	July 10, 1905[citation needed]
Bowling Green	2	July 10, 1905[citation needed]
Wall Street	2	June 12, 1905[citation needed]
Fulton Street	2	January 16, 1905[citation needed]
City Hall	loop	October 27, 1904[10]
Brooklyn Bridge	express	October 27, 1904[10]
Worth Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
Canal Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
Spring Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
Bleecker Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
Astor Place	local	October 27, 1904[10]
14th Street	express	October 27, 1904[10]
18th Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
23rd Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
28th Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
33rd Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
Grand Central	express	October 27, 1904[10]
Times Square	local	October 27, 1904[10]
50th Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
59th Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
66th Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
72nd Street	express	October 27, 1904[10]
79th Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
86th Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
91st Street	local	October 27, 1904[10]
96th Street	express	October 27, 1904[10]
West Side Branch (splits at 96th Street)
103rd Street	2	October 27, 1904[10]
110th Street	2	October 27, 1904[10]
116th Street	2	October 27, 1904[10]
Manhattan Street	2	October 27, 1904[10]
137th Street	2	October 27, 1904[10]
145th Street	2	October 27, 1904[10]
157th Street	2	November 12, 1904[citation needed]
168th Street	2
181st Street	2
191st Street	2	January 14, 1911[citation needed]
Dyckman Street	2	March 12, 1906[citation needed]
207th Street	2
215th Street	2	March 12, 1906[citation needed]
225th Street	2	January 14, 1907[3]
231st Street	2
238th Street	2	August 1, 1908[citation needed]
242nd Street	2	August 1, 1908[6]
East Side Branch to Lenox Avenue (splits at 96th Street)
110th Street	2	November 23, 1904[citation needed]
116th Street	2	November 23, 1904[citation needed]
125th Street	2	November 23, 1904[citation needed]
135th Street	2	November 23, 1904[citation needed]
145th Street	2	November 23, 1904[citation needed]
East Side Branch to West Farms (splits from branch to Lenox Avenue at 142nd Street Junction)
Mott Avenue	2	July 10, 1905[citation needed]
149th Street	2	July 10, 1905[citation needed]	Free transfer to Third Avenue Elevated in same direction
Jackson Avenue	2	November 26, 1904[citation needed]
Prospect Avenue	2	November 26, 1904[citation needed]
Intervale Avenue	2	1909[citation needed]
Simpson Street	2	November 26, 1904[citation needed]
Freeman Street	2	November 26, 1904[citation needed]
174th Street	2	November 26, 1904[citation needed]
177th Street	2	November 26, 1904[citation needed]
180th Street	2	November 26, 1904[citation needed]

[edit] References

v • d • e New York City Subway lines
IRT	Manhattan: 42nd St Shuttle • Broadway-7th Av • Lenox Av • Lexington Av Bronx: Dyre Av • Jerome Av • Pelham • White Plains Rd Brooklyn/Queens: Eastern Pkwy/New Lots • Flushing • Nostrand Av Former: Original subway • 2nd Av • 3rd Av • 6th Av • 9th Av
BMT	Manhattan trunks and branches: 63rd St • Astoria • Broadway • Manhattan Bridge • Nassau St Eastern Division: Archer Av • Canarsie • Jamaica • Myrtle Av Southern Division: 4th Av • Brighton • Culver • Franklin Av • Sea Beach • West End Former: 3rd Av • 5th Av • Brooklyn Bridge • Fulton St • Lexington Av Former surface: Culver • West End
IND	Manhattan/Bronx trunks: 6th Av • 8th Av • Concourse Brooklyn/Queens: 63rd St • Archer Av • Crosstown • Culver • Fulton St • Rockaway • Queens Blvd Former: World's Fair Planned: IND Worth Street Line
Connections	Chrystie St • 60th St
Future	2nd Av