The component elements of the general plan outlined by the late A. J.
Cassatt, President, in his open letter to the Board of Rapid Transit
Railroad Commissioners of the City of New York, dated January 18th,
1906, are indicated on Fig. 1, and may be briefly summarized as follows:
_1._--The Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad, generally referred
to as the New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This
line begins near Newark, N. J., crosses the Hackensack Meadows, and
passes through Bergen Hill and under the North River, the Borough of
Manhattan, and the East River to the large terminal yard, known as
Sunnyside Yard, in Long Island City, Borough of Queens, New York. The
line will be more fully described elsewhere.
_2._--The electrification of the Long Island Railroad within the city
limits.
_3._--The Pennsylvania freight terminal yard and piers at Greenville,
N. J., connecting by ferry with the Bay Ridge terminal of the Long
Island Railroad.
_4._--The Bay Ridge Improvement of the Long Island Railroad from East
New York to Bay Ridge.
_5._--Yards for increasing the freight facilities in the Boroughs of
Brooklyn and Queens.
_6._--The Atlantic Avenue Improvement in Brooklyn, involving the removal
of the steam railroad surface tracks and the extensive improvement of
the passenger and freight station at Flatbush Avenue.
_7._--The New York Connecting Railroad, extending through a part of the
Borough of Queens and crossing the East River by a bridge at Ward's and
Randall's Islands to Port Morris, N. Y.
_8._--The Glendale Cut-Off of the Long Island Railroad.
_9._--New piers and docks in Newtown Creek at its confluence with the
East River.
_10._--Electrification of the United Railroads of New Jersey Division
from Newark to Jersey City.
The parts sustained by these elements in the work of transportation and
distribution are briefly as follows:
The New York Tunnel Extension is essentially a passenger line, although
the Company has not only the legal powers but also the facilities for
making it a through route for freight if desired. It will transport
passengers to and from the centrally located station at 33d Street and
Seventh Avenue in New York City, joining the Long Island System at
Sunnyside Yard, and, by means of the New York Connecting Railroad, it
will form a link in the through traffic line, connecting the whole
Pennsylvania System with the New England States. This line has been
designed for the safe and expeditious handling of a large volume of
traffic. The requirements include handling the heaviest through express
trains south and west from the main line as well as the frequent and
lighter local-service trains. For through service the locomotive
principle of operation has been adhered to, that is, electric
locomotives will take up the work of the steam locomotives at the
interchange yard at Harrison, N. J., and, for excursion and suburban
service to nearby towns, provision will be made for electric
locomotives, or by operation of special self-propelled motor cars in
trains, the project being planned to give the greatest flexibility in
method of operation to meet the growing demand in the best way.
The New York Connecting Railroad has important functions both for
freight and passenger service. When constructed it will be about 12
miles long, and will form a part of the line to the New England States
for through passenger and freight service, and also carry local freight
to and from Sunnyside Yard and Brooklyn, and all points on Long Island.
By means of this line it will be possible to make the Brooklyn station
at Flatbush Avenue a station on the through System for New England as
well as the Western States.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. (Full page image)
MAP OF THE PENNSYLVANIA R. R. CO'S NEW YORK TUNNEL EXTENSION AND
CONNECTIONS.]
The initial equipment of the Western Division of the Long Island
Railroad for electric traction has been made in advance of the opening
of the tunnel line in order to take care of the requirements of the
Atlantic Avenue improvement. This improvement involved the elimination
of grade crossings within the City of Brooklyn and the conversion of the
railroad line which was previously on the surface of the streets to part
subway and part elevated line from the Flatbush Avenue Terminal to East
New York Station, a distance of 5-1/4 miles. One of the requirements of
this improvement was that the motive power should be changed to some
form of power not involving combustion. This led to the adoption of
electricity, and, in order to meet operating necessities, involved the
electrification of connecting lines beyond the improvement proper, so
that local service could be handled to the end of the runs without
changing the motive power. The extent of the electrification thus
required was found to be about 100 single-track miles. This extensive
electrification work was undertaken and completed in the summer of 1905,
upon the completion of the Atlantic Avenue improvement proper, and since
that time has been in successful operation. On the near approach of the
construction of the New York Terminal improvement, plans for additional
electrification on the Long Island Railroad were made, and the work is
now in progress on the extensive additions required to couple up the
tunnel extension with the various lines centering at the Long Island
City terminus.
The Bay Ridge Improvement of the Long Island Railroad comprises the
readjustment of the right of way and the establishment of new grades in
order to do away with grade crossings from the freight terminal at Bay
Ridge to a junction with the New York Connecting Railroad at East New
York, a distance of 10.4 miles. It also provides for the re-location of
the line and the elimination of grade crossings on the branch running to
Manhattan Beach, a distance of 3.7 miles. The work is being executed
without interrupting traffic, and in all about 75 grade crossings will
be abolished. This improvement became necessary in order to provide for
the rapid extension of population into the suburban districts and for
the present and future requirements of the section, to establish
municipal conveniences and facilities, and to open additional streets
across the right of way. To accomplish these ends, the line has been
built in cuts and on embankments, there being about 6.4 miles of the
former, 3.3 miles of the latter, and a tunnel, 3,500 ft. long, where the
line crosses the Atlantic Avenue improvement.
The Atlantic Avenue improvement, as mentioned above, involved the
removal of the railroad tracks from the street surface for a distance of
about 5-1/4 miles. This was done by constructing a series of elevated
and subway structures, there being about 2.1 miles of the former, 2.4
miles of the latter, and 0.8 mile of approaches, eliminating more than
90 grade crossings. In the light of recent developments, it may be of
interest to note that one of the reasons for establishing a combination
elevated and subway line was that, at the time the improvement was
projected, no underground railroad in the country, of similar length and
carrying a heavy volume of local traffic, was operated by electricity,
and public sentiment was against the operation of the entire length of
the line underground by steam power. This improvement also provided for
depressing the entire Flatbush Avenue station and a freight yard. As the
work progressed, the original plans for the station were greatly
enlarged, the remodeled station covering about 61 city lots.
The main point of passenger distribution is the New York station. Other
important stations will be Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn; Jamaica, Long
Island, where the changes to and from electric motive power will be
made; and Newark, N. J. Many other places, including the seaside resorts
on Long Island and in New Jersey, will feel the benefits of the direct
tunnel railroad into and through New York City. The Glendale Cut-Off
will materially shorten the route and running time from New York through
the tunnels to Rockaway Beach.
The plans contemplate that passengers to and from the lower part of
Manhattan will be carried by the steam line between Newark and Jersey
City and cross the North River by ferry or the Cortlandt Street tunnels
of the Hudson Company. Eventually, the old main line will be electrified
and supersede the steam service between Newark and Jersey City.
The Greenville Yard is the most important point for the receipt,
transmission, and distribution of freight. From this point freight can
be transported, without breaking bulk, by a comparatively short
car-ferry to the Long Island Railroad terminus at Bay Ridge, and thus a
very large part of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's floatage in New
York Harbor and the East River will be abolished, the floatage distance
being reduced in the case of the New England freight from about 12 to 3
miles. This traffic will be routed from Bay Ridge _via_ the Long Island
Railroad to a connection with and thence over the New York Connecting
Railroad to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad at Port
Morris, N. Y.
As the facilities for the handling of freight in the Boroughs of
Brooklyn and Queens had become insufficient for taking care of the
prospective traffic, eleven new local delivery yards, having a combined
area of about 2,153 city lots, have been established, and three existing
yards are to be improved and enlarged so as to give a combined area of
about 687 city lots. Of these new yards, the Bay Ridge freight terminal,
containing about 790 city lots, is the largest; its functions have been
described above. There is a freight terminal at East New York 200 ft.
wide and a mile long, containing about 566 city lots, which will be the
distributing point of freight for the entire East New York section. This
yard is depressed, and will be crossed by six viaducts carrying city
streets. The North Shore freight yard, containing 109 city lots, is
connected with the Montauk Division by an overhead construction, known
as the Montauk Freight Cut-Off, whereby all freight traffic to Jamaica
may be kept out of the way of the Jamaica passenger traffic from the
tunnels.
It may be of interest to indicate briefly how much has already been
accomplished in the execution of this general plan, and what still
remains to be done for its completion.
The larger part of the electrification of the Long Island Railroad and
the elimination of grade crossings within the built-up city limits, the
Atlantic Avenue improvement, and the yard and piers at Greenville, have
been completed. The Sunnyside Yard and the Glendale Cut-Off will be
completed during the next twelve months. On the Tunnel and Terminal
Railroad the embankment and bridge work across the Hackensack Meadows
and all the tunnels and excavation from the west side of Bergen Hill to
Long Island City, except a short section near the eastern end of the
line, have been completed. The New York station and other buildings and
facilities connected therewith are well advanced. The laying of the
track, the electrification of the line, and the installation of the
signaling and lighting systems are under way. It is anticipated that the
line will be ready for operation in the spring of 1910.
Report has been made to the Public Service Commission that a large part
of the right of way for the New York Connecting Railroad has been
obtained, and more than $3,000,000 has been spent by this railroad. The
piers and docks at Newtown Creek and the electrification of the line
from Newark to Jersey City are not yet actively under way.