Rapid transit in New York city and in other great cities.

Front matter

Ex ICtbrtfi

SEYMOUR DURST

When you leave, please leave this book

Chapter 1. The Beginnings and (lie (Ircnvth of \e\v York City i

ClIAPTKU II.

Plans for Relief 6

CllAPTKR III.

Early Suljway Schemes . 9

Chapter

Bridges to Brooklyn :

l^rooklyn Bridge ' C?

W'illiamsbnrgh Bridge 21

Manhattan Bridge 24

Blackwells Island Bridge 25

Chapter V.

Tunnels :

Hudson River Tunnel 27

Hudson & A'lanhattan Railroad Tunnel 35

Pennsylvania Railroad Tunnels 36

Chapter VL

Elevated Railroads 44

Chapter VH.

Rapid Transit Commission of 1875 51

Chapter VHI.

Commission of 1891 54

Chapter IX.

The Chamber of Commerce 61

Chapter X.

Abram S. Hewitt 77

Chapter XI.

Coniniissiou of 1894 84

Chaptkk Xll.

Prq)aring the Subway Contract 107

(."llAI'TKK XI II.

Contract Awarded and Work licguii 118

CllAl'JEK Xl\'.

Engineering i'cature.s of the Xew York Subway 122

Chapter X\'.

E(|uii)nient of the Subway . 142

Chapter X\'I.

Work of Commission During Construction of Sul)way 154

Chapter XVII.

0])cning the .^ubway 164

Cl[.\PTER X\ ill.

I-'utm-e Rapid Transit in Xew York 175

Chapter XIX.

I'inancial Statement 191

Chapter XX.

Rapid 'i'ransit in ( )ther Cities :

Ijerhn 206

Budapest 211

Paris 214

Glasgow 226

Chicago 238

Pliiladelphia 248

Chapter XXI.

Present Rapid Transit Laws 253

Chapter XXII.

Ap]ireciation of tlie Chamber 276

CHAPTER 1.

THE BEGINNINGS AND THE GROWTH OF NEW YORK CITY.

In tlie early part of the seventeenth century the Dutch were wonderfully pros HENRY perous, dealing on a large scale with the entire world. Motley mentions, in United Netherlands, that they had 100,000 sailors and 3,000 ships. Bryant, in his History of the United States, remarks that "The Dutch East India Company, the first of great trading monopolies, was formed by the consolidation of several small corporations, its charter granting it sole permission to trade for twenty-one years to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, and to sail through the Straits of Magellan." The Magellan route was long, and it became important to search for a passage across the northern hemisphere. Many expeditions were sent forth. So firmly rooted had become the belief that a passage existed north of the continent that one explorer, Henry Hudson, sent out by the Muscovy Company of England, had been instructed "to proceed directly across the pole." This was the second voyage of Hudson for the company.

In 1609 the Dutch East India Company engaged Hudson to make a third attempt. The ship Half-Moon, a vessel of 80 tons, was fitted out. The contract stipulated that Hudson was to receive a sum equal to $300 of our money for expenses and for the support of his family during his absence. If he did not return, his widow was to be paid $80 to indemnify her for his loss. If he found the passage, he was to receive a suitable reward, the exact terms of which were not stated in the agreement. He was instructed to proceed "around the north side of Nova Zembla" ; also he was "to think of no other routes or passages, except the route around by the north and northeast above Nova Zembla."

The expedition sailed April 4, 1609, and early in May had reached the neigh- HUDSON'S borhood of the island. Ice barred further progress in that direction, and, as the crew were insubordinate, most of them being unused to the extreme cold of that region, Hudson decided to disobey orders and sail west for the American shore. He skirted the coast of Newfoundland and New England and reached a point as far south as Chesapeake Bay ; and returning sighted the Navesink Highland in

VOYAGE

I

September. Before he sailed for home the Kills were explored, and also the Hudson to a point above Troy. The adventurers were delighted with the beauty of the country, and w ith its possibilities for agriculture and for trade with the natives.

riic Dutch (iovernmcnl (iid not take advantage of the discovery to claim the te rritory ; neither did it make an attempt, until long after, to develop and colonize it.

HATTAN J3;,t: the merchants of Amsterdam were not so indifferent. Two or three years after Hudson's visit they occu])icd the southern end of Manhattan Island, building there a crude fort and huts for the first settlers.

It did not call for the exercise of much insight on the part of the pioneers to appreciate the wonderful advantages of the location. While doubtless they never dreamed of the vast and thriving population that would in time occupy the Lsland of Manhattan, they knew that the harbor was not surpassed by any in Europe. They knew that the river would provide communication with a vast interior region. They knew, in some part, that the natural resources of the land were very great.

The Island of Manhattan was a rocky ridge extending north and south. The southern part was easily defensible. The country to the north was fit to be cultivated. The adjacent land in Jersey, Staten Island, and Brooklyn was of like character. The settlers sent their boats up the Hudson as far as the stream was navigable, south along the coast and north through the Sound, and rapidly established an extensive trade with the Indians. They entered also, in a modest way, upon the tillage of the soil.

The growth of the place was rapid. In 1700 the population was about 21,700. In 1800 it had grown to 60,489; in 1820, to 123,706. At this time the population of the Stale of Xew York was 1,372,812.

THE ERIE At the date last mentioned a movement was set on foot to connect the waters

of the Hudson with the Great Lakes by the Erie Canal. Mention of this enterprise is to be found in the minutes of the Chamber of Commerce of New York of January 3, 1786. In a memorial addressed to the Chamber by Christopher Collis he asks aid for the enterprise in the following prophetic language :

"Your memorialist has formed a design of opening an intercourse with the interior parts of the United States, by an artificial inland navigation, along the Mohawk River and Wood Creek to the Great Lakes, a design which must evidently extend the commerce of this city with exceeding rapidity beyond what it can possibly arrive at by any other means ; a design which Providence has manifestly pointed out, and v/hich, in the hands of a commercial people, must evidently

CANAL

Hii(;i\.\i.\(;s .1X1) I, ROW III oi- xi-ir )<)k'K cn y tend to make- tlu'iii great and powerful ; and which, tliough indetinite in its advantages, may be eltccted for a sum perfectly trifling when compared with the advantages."

The nuniorialist declared that he had examined the ground "at the Cohoes, CHAMBER OF

M IVl E E

the Little I'alls, and hort Schux U r, and found that no considerable difficulty existed,'" and that he had securetl "a number of respectable gentlemen as subscribers." He asked for the countenance and aid of the Chamber of Commerce. That body responded tiiat, while it entertained a high idea of the feasibility of the scheme and wished it all success, it had no funds tliat cnuld be ap])lied to the purpose.

The physical features of New York and the value of this canal were summarized by the late Abram S. Hewitt when Mayor of the city. In a message to the Board of Aldermen in January, 1888, he said :

"The State of New York owes its pre-eminence among the States of the Union chiefly to the physical fact that within its territory the great Appalachian chain of mountains falls oflf, so that communication between the Great Lakes and the ocean may be secured on grades so low as to offer but little resistance to the tide of commerce in both directions. The City of New Y'ork owes its precedence among the cities of the Union to the fact that it has a great ocean harbor of unequaled proportions and of inexhaustible possibilities. These great natural advantages were turned to account by the foresight, genius and energy of one man, whose monument is to be found in the Erie Canal, and in the vast increase in the wealth of the city and State of his birth.

"The name of DeWitt Clinton, the first graduate of Columbia College after DE WITT the Revolution. Mayor of this city and Governor of this State, will always be held ^'-'^'^^^ in grateful remembrance by the generations wdio enjoy the fruits of the incalculable benefits which he conferred upon the commonwealth. He laid the foundatioris of its prosperity upon an enduring basis. Since his day the introduction of railways has lessened, but has not destroyed, the natural advantages which New York possesses in low-grade lines to the interior, over other cities of the Atlantic seaboard."

Clinton started to dig his "ditch," 363 miles in length, on the 4th of July, 181 7. amid much ridicule. But the undertaking, stupendous as it was, was pushed to completion in October, 1825.

Thirty-five years later the construction of railroads that were to constitute RAILROADS great trunk lines was begun. The successive lines completed added to the importance of New Y^ork City as a commercial center. Its precedence, indeed, became such that railroads built between other seaboard cities and the West were obliged to ask for differential rates favorable to themselves. These rates we/e secured, and have lasted until our day. They have tended to build up other lines of transportation, but have not so far prevented the development of our city and commerce as to be the occasion of serious complaint here. The system of differential rates is, however, abnormal, and cannot be allowed to stand indefinitely. LOCAL The people of New York City, while giving attention to problems of trans - PROBLEMS portation between their city and other sections of the country north, west and south, have been oi)liged to meet local ])roblems due to the physical conditions of their vicinage. The first settlement was at the extreme southern end of the island of Manhattan. This section remains until our day the center of the activities of our people. Population has increased year by year, and it has covered successively the district south of W all street, south of Canal street, south of Twenty-third street, south of the liarU-m, and it now extends north of the Harlem along the Hudson toward Yonkers, and along the East River toward the Sound. A great city has grown up on the Bronx. Neighboring great cities have grown up across the North and East Rivers. Our municipal government rules to-day the aft'airs of four millions of people. The metropolitan center, including the nearby cities of New Jersey, embraces a total population of four and three-quarter millions. It is the largest center in the world, save only London.

The growth from south to north to a distance of more than ten miles, always within bounds made by arms of the sea, and the growth across the waters contiguous to the island — the centre of commercial activity on the island itself remaining constant to its more southern parts — has created the local problems mentioned, and caused developments of a progressive nature that will be treated of in the following chapters.

DEVELOP- In a way the successive developments made have served to fix the commercial MENTS activities at the southern end of the island. It has been a case of "all roads lead to Rome." And this again has caused developments there that could not have been dreamed of in earlier days. One of these is a form of construction that permits of building to the height of twenty stories and more. This form of construction has gone forward so rapidly and to such an extent that it may be true to-day that the section of the city south of the City Hall gives accommodation to twice as many people as it contained twenty years ago.

A factor which should not be overlooked in the study of a problem of this nature is "the flat," which has done for certain residential districts what the skeleton-framed skyscraper later did for the commercial and financial district — in-

BEGINNINGS AND GROWTH OF NEW YORK CITY creased the capacity of the ground area. One of these "Parisian novehies" had been built in i8()5, and in 1870-71 two large apartment houses were erected on Eighteenth and Thirteenth streets. From this initiative tlie style spread, and has had nnich to do with increasing the density of pojiulation.

TABLET CITY HALL STATION

Chapter II Plans For Relief

RAPID I'li^-' conditions cxistin<4' in Xcw York illnstralc tin.- proposition that city

TRANSIT orowth demands rapid and certain means of travel between different sections and NECESSARY " , , , , . , . , , , , ,

tlie general center. Jn the absence of the progressive developments that have taken

place dnring- ihc last one hundred years, the growth of pojjulation would have been

checked and business interests imi^eded in large nieasure. I'Or ])uri)Oses of com-

nu rce the people of a great business ceiuer are far more effective when they have

the means to go to and fro as the occasion demands, with the least possible loss of

time and tiie least inconvenience and fatigue.

At the beginning of the last centm-y the people of New York had, for the time, reasonable facilities of transit. The city was so small that stages could reach readily all parts of the island then occupied, 'ihe two rivers were not barriers to movement. At a very early date people foimd it not inconvenient to do business in Xew York and to live on Long Lsland or in .\ew Jersey. STEAM \\ ith the introduction of vessels propelled by steam, about 1820, a noted

VESSELS development took place. Transit across the rivers was facilitated, and residential places of importance grew up on the opposite shores and along the rivers well to the north and east. The ferries and the steamboat lines established were very notable, surpassing any development of the sort elsewhere. They left little to be desired in that direction.

In 1850 the island population was served, so far as interior transportation was concerned, by stages and omnibus lines, and still later tram cars were introduced.

GRAND The first practical gain in rapid transit was made in 1875, when trains were

CENTRAL l,rought into the (irand Central .Station at I'ortv-second street over a four track STATION

system, two of which were intended for local trains.

The elevated railroads appeared in the seventies. A short section in Greenwich street was erected in 1870; but it was not until ten years later that the several structures were completed to the Harlem River.

PLANS I'Ok' l< 1:1. nil'

The elevated system was a ver}- notable acconiplislimeiit. Criticism of it ELEVATED from an engineering standpoint were nnmerons and severe. When M. De ROADS Lcsseps was wliirled aronnd the track at ( )ne-llundred-and-tenlli street he said, "American engineers are andacions." The precipitation of trains to the street was predicted freely. The recorii indicates that the elevated roads are safer than surface steam-roads. It was said that the constant jar and strain would impair the metal to such an extent that the structure would become unsafe. 1 he original colunuis and girders are still doing duty. Fifteen years ago a thorough examination was made of the principal members, including tests of the steel. It was found that the physical properties of the metal had undergone no change.

The population north of Fourteenth street has increased threefold since 1870. Doubtless a large part of this gain is directly attributable to the elevated system.

The next advance was made in 1883, when the Brooklyn Bridge was BROOKLYN opened. The territory adjacent to the Brooklyn end of the bridge, although so BRIDGE near to the business part of Manhattan Island, had remained largely undeveloped. The bridge and the system of elevated roads that followed closely upon its completion brought the outlying sections within reasonable traveling time to New York. The growth of Brooklyn has been rapid ever since. It was said, many years ago, that Brooklyn could af¥ord to build a new bridge every ten years.

The system of propelling surface cars by cable was introduced in 1884. It CABLE CARS answered its purpose admirably for some years, and was then displaced by the electric system. By these systems the cars were enlarged and movement accelerated.

It may be that ten years ago, or even five years ago, many people in THE FUTURE New York believed that existing systems were the best that could be devised ; that the electric cars on the surface and the elevated trains were entirely satisfactory ; and that nothing remained but to extend accommodations as population increased. They had become used to the trouble of climbing to stations well lifted above the streets. They had forgotten about the dangers ot "roads upon stilts." They ignored the discomfort to dwellers along the lines. They recognized how unsightly the structures were, but sank regrets in view of their utility. They equally minimized the objections that may be raised against the use of streets by a surface system that is noisy to a degree, that greatly incon-

R.U'W TRANSIT veniences ordinary traffic, and that in each and every year maims and kills many victims. It is possible to-day to predict with safety that the elevated structures will all be taken down. It is at least possible to hope that the enormous cars now propelled rapidly over our streets by electricity will be disused in the more or less distant future, and a system of transportation introduced that will be more convenient and less objectionable. For it would be unreasonable to suppose that the evolution of the past in the matter of transit for cities is to end with the methods now in use. The ultimate goal is a system, or systems, that will be not unsightly, that will be noiseless to a reasonable degree, that will not cause undue inconvenience to any persons or interests, that will be safe for passengers and not dangerous to others, and that will be rapid. This is the goal ; and in view of progress heretofore made, and in view of progress at large, one may say with confidence that it will be reached.

TABLET CITY HALL STATION

Chapter III. Early Subway Schemes

During the period from 1868 to 1900 many subway schemes were brought forward in tlie effort to provide transportation that would be rapid and rehable, and would meet at least the demands of the times. Most of these are now historical incidents only.

In 1868, by an act of the Legislature, the New York City Central Under- NEW YORK ground Railway Company was incorporated. The line was to run from the City Q^^j^pj^j^ Hall to the Harlem River. The charter granted ample powers as to route, UNDERcapital, and facilities for construction. Although the standing of the incor- GROUND porators indicates that their purpose was serious, no practical result was reached.

Following this, in 1872, an act was passed by which Cornelius Vanderbilt NEW YORK and others were incorporated, as the New York City Rapid Transit Company, CITY RAPID to build an underground road from the City Hall to connect with the New York & Harlem Railroad and with the New York Central. This company was duly organized and the necessary surveys and plans were made for the construction of the road. Adverse criticisms made at the time led Commodore Vanderbilt to decide that he would not construct the road. Many years later Mr. Hewitt said : "To this decision the members of his famil} , who succeeded in the management of the New York Central Railway, uniformly adhered ; although they, as well as he, always insisted that the road ought to have been constructed and would have proven profitable, probably, to the New York Central Railroad." Of all the early endeavors to provide rapid transit this was the only one supported by sufficient capital.

Other companies were incorporated as follows :

The Beach Pneumatic Transit Company in 1868. OTHER The Central Tunnel Railway Company in 1881. SCHEMES The New York & New Jersey Tunnel Railway Company in 1883. The Terminal Underground Railway Company in 1886.

The Underground Railroad Company of the City of New York (a consolidation of two companies) in 1896.

The Rapid Transit Underground Railroad Company in 1897.

Of all the plans brought forward the most interesting and perhaps the most important was the Beach Pneumatic, otherwise known as the Broadway Underground Railway. It was the only one upon which constructive work was done. A full-sized section of a tunnel was built on the line adopted, and is to-day in good condition. The route selected by the company had been advocated by every rapid transit board since that time, namely, from "the Battery, or Bowling Green, under Broadway to Madison Square ; thence under Broadway to its junction with Central Park and Eighth avenue; with a branch under Madison Square and Madison avenue to and under the Jlarlem River."

The first company, the Beach Pneumatic Transit Company, incorporated in l868, was emj-iowered to "provide for the transmission of letters, packages, and merchandise in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and the North and East Rivers, by means of pneumatic tubes to be constructed beneath the surface of the streets and public places."

The charter provided that the company must, as a preliminary step and to demonstrate the practicability of its plans, "first lay down and construct one line of said pneumatic tubes from the Post-Ofifice in Nassau street, between Liberty , and Cedar streets, in the City of New York, not extending above Fourteenth street, which shall be put in successful operation, and continue so for the period of three months, * * * before proceeding to lay down and construct any other lines of such pneumatic tubes."

As amended m 1873 the company was permitted to "construct, maintain, and operate an undei ground railway for the transportation of passengers and property." The capital stock of the corporation was fixed at $10,000,000. A two-track section, from Bowling Green to Fourteenth street, was to be finished in three years, and the remainder within five years thereafter. The act stated that the water and gas pipes and sewers must be maintained, and that street travel must not be interrupted during construction. The work was to be done under the supervision of a board of three engineer-commissioners, one of whom was named in the act, and two of whom were to be appointed by the Governor.

It was proposed to operate the tunnel by means of compressed air, the car being circular in cross section and approximately fitting the tube. This, as was pointed out at the time, would do away with the dust and obnoxious gases arising from the combustion of coal in a locomotive.

Work was begun on the tunnel at the corner of Broadway and Warren street, and a section was built under Broadway to the southerly side of Murray

/• . ; RL \ ' sun WAV SCHEMES street. The curved portion at the cbrner of Warren street was constructed of cast iron plates, the straight portion being Hned witli brick to a diameter of 8 feet in tlie clear. The tunnel was l)uiU by means of a shield which was forced forward, 2 feet at a time, by hydraulic jacks.

Early in 1870 the tunnel was thrown open for inspection, and a car was experirun from one end to the other, the object being to convince the public that the MENTAL plans were safe and practicable, l^ut all of the work done failed of successful issue. Engineers of prominence were divided in theii ojiinion as to the possibility of building an underground road through narrow streets lined with heavy buildings. Even in the seventies the Beach plans were condemned because it was thought that the tube could not be constructed under the street in front of such a massive structure as the Astor House. Since the methods were not endorsed by engineers, financial interests were chary about investing money in it. Many believed that if built the returns would be insufficient to pay operating expenses and interest on the invested capital.

The capitalists and engineers of those days should not be too hastily con- ELECTRIC

TRACTION

demned as shortsighted. The needs of the people of our city for rapid transit increased greatly in the next thirty years ; the population increased greatly ; the city's wealth increased, and notable advances were made in the science of tunnel construction and of the movement of trains. A revolution was effected in the matter last named by the introduction of electric traction. We would have had no subv.ay to this time if private enterprise had been relied upon.

TAKLET -CITV HALL STATION

Chapter IV. Bridges To Brooklyn

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

The concentration of business at the lower end of Manhattan, and the development of the district across the East River for residential and later for business purposes, caused attention to be given at an early date to the matter of better transit facilities in that direction.

A proposition to build a chain suspension bridge over the East River, with a BROOKLYN clear span of 1,500 feet and a length of 2,100 feet between the "toll gates," was proposed as early as 1829. The structure was to have been 28 feet wide, the height of the granite piers from the water line to the roadway 160 feet, and from the roadway to the extreme point of the pier 65 feet This and similar schemes came to naught, until, in 1867, the Legislature passed an act incorporating the New York Bridge Company. In May of that year John A. Roebling, who had, by designing and erecting the great Niagara Suspension Bridge, earned a high reputation in this brar^ch of engineering, was appointed chief engineer. A survey of the line was made in the summer of 1869, and the Brooklyn tower located. It was while engaged in this work that Mr. Roebling met with an accident that resulted in his death. In the same year his son, Washington A. Roebling, was appointed to the position formerly occupied by his father, and under his supervision the work was carried to completion in May, 1883.

In May, 1869, the War Department, in compliance with an act of Congress, governappointed Generals Wrisrht and Newton and Major Kingf a commission of gov- ^^^"^ ernment engineers to examine into the feasibility of the project, and to report

whether the bridge would be an obstruction to navigation. This resulted in changing the clear height to 135 feet above mean high tide, and in widening the bridge from 80 to 85 feet, in order to provide a double roadway on each side. In those days it was not contemplated to use the bridge for the passage of ordinary street cars, but to furnish it with a cable system of its own. The importance of the slight increase in width mentioned can hardly be overestimated,

TOWERS since it made provision for the vehicle and trolley traffic of the present time. In June, 1874, an act was passed changing the name to that of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, and making it a' public work to be constructed by the two cities, Brooklyn paymg two-thirds of the cost and New York one-third. FOUNDA- The foundation of the Brooklyn tower was begun in 1870. The caisson, a TIONS rectangular chamber 102 feet wide by 168 feet long and having a solid roof 15 feet thick, was sunk to a depth of 44^ feet. Brick piers were then built in the air-chamber, which was finally completely filled with concrete. As the caisson was sunk the granite masonry forming the tower proper was built above it. The New York foundation was also carried to solid rock, the caisson in this case being slightly larger than the other, 102 feet wide by 172 feet long. The cutting edges were extended to a depth of 78 feet below mean high water, this being necessary because of the i)resence of extensive beds of quicksand resting on the rock. The roof was 22 feet thick and was surmounted by a cofferdam reaching to high water, thereby increasing the buoyancy and lessening the pressure on the frames during sinking.

THE The towers are not solid masses of masonry, but each is composed of three buttressed shafts joined together up to the roadway by four connecting walls. In the Brooklyn tower the course of the walls next the caisson is 17 feet thick; the thickness diminishes by offsets until at high water it is but loi feet. This forms two well holes which are filled with concrete below water line and left open from there to the roadway. Spaces are also left from 2 feet above the crown of the arches to within 4^ feet of the top of the tower. Above the roadway the tower consists of three columns having an oblong section ; they are united at the top by arches having a span of 335 feet. Each arch is formed by the intersection of two arcs of circles having a radius of 48 1-6 feet. Below the water the masonry is largely limestone, except the facing of the two upper courses, which is granite ; the backing from high water to the roadway is granite, which constitutes all the remainder of the tower. At the towers the height of the roadway is 119^ feet, the top of the towers being 272 feet from the water. The height from the bottom of the foundation to the top is, in the Brooklyn tower, 316 feet, and in the other 349 feet. At high water mark the towers measure 141 by 59 feet, at the roadway 131 by 48, and at the base of the cornice 126 by 43. The greatest pressure at any point is in the tower masonry at the base of the central shaft at the roadway, where each square foot supports about 26 tons.