Rapid Transit in New York

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12583, 21 January 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

Rapid Transit in New York

.A double track of electric railway. Passengers walk -down a short flight ol steps, 1 straight into the.stations. The stations are spacious and well.' lighted, of glazed tiles; and \ mosaic, pleasing designs, and ornaments. " ~Not. ! an advertisement in sight. The cars fiT#ypj>m--fortable, well lighted, and are-express trains, which run thirty nijiles an "hour, stopping at the chief stations.;and local trains, stopping at aH;,fictions,, running at- fifteen :niiles. an hour. iC&£-sfeve-ral stations therfe'are. underground arcades leading to important 1 shops and theatres. The subway is .well ventilated, needing only natural light during, the day. An -deal system of rapid travelling. _ . But the picture is; not "idealTl describes the perfection of the new subway, opened in New York in October. ' New York, after'utilising to the utmost elevated railroads and surface electric cars, has found -the true solution of the locomotion problemi, by subways under, the main arteries "in the city. The problem'for New York has been more difficult than in London. The congestion is worse, the mobility of the people greater. The configuration, of the city—an elongated island—accentuates the difficulty. "In (Greater New York. oveT 1,000.000,000 paa&ongem—arecarried every year by street cars , and railways. In New York proper, the total is 700,000,000; ; and yet every means of locomotion is overtaxed, and at the "rusir hours every cat overcrowded. A Rapid Transit "Commission was_ appointed several/years ago to solve- the prob,lem, and the , first fruits of its work is I the new subway over twenty miles in length j with sixty miles of track. The work ; of:'construction, , one- of the i greatest engineering feats in, the'history of I railways, ■ las been carried out under the: direction .of Mr Barclay Parsons. The greater part of the tunnel had to be ex-, eavated fronj 'eolid rock. In fa;ct, a new floor has been niade undsr the streets -without stopping; i-r?V : routes for traffic. The ■; hove the subway are held up by girders; The tunnel form has not been adopted/'.; All the. innumerable electric conducts, gas aid water mains, steam pipes, wires, etc., had to be removed, and replaced in tunnels specially provided for them. The route, at present extends from the bottom of-• Broadway to 168 th Street. There is . only ..one track up to 96th-Street, wher& it. branches off into two directions, on© going along,- the east side of the city, the other." west-. -. - - The route is therefore Y shaped. Dor nearly ■ seven: miles there are four tracks, the two centre tracks being for express trains. 'upper part of the city ihe tunnel runs through a hill rock, and another short - distance is elevated. The cost of. constricting this line was £lO,000,000, ' . V.- '- , . , . , " The ownership of the road is retained by the municipality, but let to a- contractor for fifty years. The contractor has to pay interest' on:the capital, redemption monev, and : provide the equipment. _ At (he end. of the period the city may take over the lime at/valuation, or lease it for a further period. The new' line shows the latest developments in rapid, trqasit, and contains many new features for the comfort and safety of passengers' which, will undoubtedly be adopted elsewhere. As already explained, for the greater, part the line is simply •a subway. During the day no artificial light- for the stations is required. Ingress' and egress -is by means of short, straight staircasesthere are no turnings. There will be practically a continuous--1 service of trains. [ The stations are all constructed of glazed tiles of varied colours, each station having a different design. There are /forty-nine stations- in all. No advertisements are allowed to disfigure the stations, and the glazed, tiles, - mosaic work, ornamental friezes, pilasters* and -name tablets make the stations bright and attractive. - \ ti ingenious .'method has been adopted for emphasing the names of the stationsAt Columbus station the design is a caravel, emblematic of the galley-rigged vessel of Christopher Golumbus. At Astor Place there is a beaver,-in relation to the Astor family. At "the station near the Armoury there is a military design. At University station are the arms of the University in terra cotta: •' At Brooklyn bridge there is a. picture of the bridge and two big B s. The " system of electro-pneumatic block signalling has been adopted, which will be on effective preventative against collisions. Automatic devices. have, been arranged to suit the emergency brake, and it is l impossible for a train to enter a station if the signal is against it, as the current is automatically cut off. ' One of the developments has been the construction of arcades leading to the gre.it stores. - The. merchants have defrayed the cost of this development themselves, and they are anxious, to hive the system, stiil further extended. In fact the subway idea has become so popular that shopkeepers recognise it will increase the value of their property, and tend"to improve their business. 'When it was proposed originally to omit .'.Lower Broadway from the scheme, occupiers of stores there petitioned for its inclusion. The cars .used on the railroad are of the latest type. The seating capacity is fifty-two persons, and there SP 306

for.as many standing. The cars are provided with sliding doors, operated by re-, vers. Each car has twenty ten-candle power incandescent lights inside, and there are two lamps in each vestibule. Special precaution has been taken against fire, and it- is contemplated' to use only steel cars. . The windows are shielded with copper, and the insides are finished with aluminium. These cars a singularity light and handsome appearance. The whole, system of pipes—gas and water mains, electric light ducts, telephone and telegraph wires, etc.—were taken up arid placed in pipe galleries. _ There are many novel features introduced for saving time and adding to convenience—such as a moving staircase to the elevated stations. It is also proposed to instal a moving platform on Williamsburg Bridge. The universal fare is adopted. -Hie subway is being extended to Brooklyn by /tunnel under the .East River, andthe lessees of the present; subway were so anious to secure this section and maintain

their monoply that they took the contract 6,000,C00. dols. less than the estimated cost of construction.