CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF the Estate of Ernest W, Schoder FINE AETS THE NEW YORK PASSENGER TERMINAL ; ' OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD WESTINGHOUSE CHURCH KERR & COMPANY ENGINEERS New York, January, 1908 THE NEW YORK PASSENGER TERMINAL OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD (UNDER CONSTRUCTION) T)RIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN FEA- -*-' TURES OF THE ENGINEERING WORK, PREPARED FOR THE USE OF MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGI- NEERS, ON THE OCCASION OF THEIR VISIT TO THE TERMINAL SITE AT THE ANNUAL MEETING IN NEW YORK, JANUARY, 1008 ^ Cornell University Library NA6313.N53W52 The New York passenger terminal of the P 3 1924 015 417 094 Presented with the Compliments of WESTINGHOUSE CHURCH KERR & COMPANY ENGINEERS IN GENERAL 'T^HE project consists of the creation of a great J- passenger terminal, occupying the equivalent of about six cit)' blocks, between Sixth and Tenth Avenues and Thirt)'-lirst and Thirty-third Streets, near the center of the shopping and theater district of the city of New York, borough of INlanhattan, with tracks at a level about forty-five feet below the streets, and the erection of an immense passenger station building between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, covering about eight acres and located over the track area. This terminal is to serve the Pennsylvania Rail- road, which approaches from the west under the Hudson River, and the Lone Island Railroad, which approaches from the east under the East River. The preparation of this site included the demoli- tion of several hundred buildings. It practically meant the dispersion of a community whose population would be the equivalent of some of our smaller cities. The work of excavation called for the removal of nearly 3,000,000 cubic yards of material, mostly rock, and the construction of about one and one-half miles of heavy concrete retaining walls. The prosecution of the work necessitated the supporting of streets, including three main north and south avenues carrying the city's heaviest traffic ; the closing up of Thirty-second Street between .Seventh and Tenth Avenues ; the removal, care and support of miles of water, gas and fire mains ; telegraph, telephone, electric light, police and fire alarm wires. The grade of the tracks at the station site is from 7 to 10 feet below mean high water in the harbor. \' I Ul 5 I- K-\ 2; ■•4-1 o Under the present design a portion of tlie area westerly of Eightli Avenue will be uncovered, and there will be an accumulation of rain water from this cause as well as water from seepage from the surrounding ledge and ground. To take care of the water from both of these sources an elaborate system of under-drainage has been installed over the entire area, leading to sumps at different points in the layout, from which the water is pumped out and finally finds its wa)' through drains to the harbor. In addition to this under-drainage work there has been provided beneath the track level se\'eral trucking subways, elevator pits to these subways, sub- ways of smaller dimensions for the various lines of piping, ducts for high and low tension transmission cables, and foundation piers for buildings and street bridging. These substructures, as they are termed, have all been located so as not to conflict with the tracks, platforms, column supports, etc. The track layout was a problem presenting many unusual difficulties, the presence of the necessarily great number of supports for the \'arious buildings and street bridging introducing man}' limitations. The layout as finally schemed gives about fifteen miles of track. There will be twenty-one station tracks laid generally in pairs on 15-feet centers, with distances between each pair of tracks varying from 26 to 31 feet center to center, with a single exception at the north- erly side of the station, where, to provide for Long Island suburban traffic, the distance is made 55 feet. The street brideine surroundino; the terminal covers an area of about eight acres, and comprises viaducts for Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Avenues, 7 o o c O a pq U3 between Thirty-first and Thirtj^-third Streets ; Thirty- first Street and Thirty-third Street between Seventh and Ninth Avenues; all made necessary because the terminal area extends under these avenues and streets. The total weight of metal in these structures is a little more than 24,000 tons, all of which has been fabri- cated at the shops, and nearly all erected. The station building proper covers an area of about eight acres, and is located on the blocks between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue, Thirty-first and Thirty-third Streets, with the main entrance in the center of the Seventh Avenue facade, on which avenue the building has a frontage of 430 feet. The exterior finish will be of pink Milford granite, and the architectural treatment that of a Doric colon- nade. This immense structure is built upon and around a huge skeleton framework of steel, supported over the tracks by an extensive system of columns, carrying the weight to rock foundations. The plans for foundations show 650 concrete piers, which are capped with either granite or steel grillage, upon which the columns carry- ing the structure rest. Next above the track level is the exit concourse. This is a passageway 60 feet wide and 18 feet above the tracks to which level it will be connected by two stairways and one elevator from each platform. Ample stairways and inclines lead from this exit concourse directly to Thirty-first, Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Streets, to Eighth Avenue, and to possi- ble future rapid transit stations under Seventh and Eighth Avenues. 3 O ■n 'on B 'J bo a The general waiting room level, which is the plane on which the real business of the passenger is trans- acted, preparatory to his journey, is located about 20 feet below the street level. On this level are the general waiting room, the subsidiary waiting rooms, opening off which are toilet and retiring rooms ; a spacious baggage room and the usual ticket offices, parcel and check rooms, telegraph and telephone offices and the main concourse, from which passengers descend to the platforms. At the street level passengers go through the main entrance on Seventh Avenue and are ushered into an arcade 225 feet long and 45 feet wide, at the end of which is the wide stairway leading to the general wait- ing room level, and on either side of which are situated the restaurant, lunch rooms and cafe, with their kitchen and serving rooms directly above. From Seventh Avenue, on the Thirty-first Street and Thirty- third Street sides of the building, carriage driveways will furnish entrances for incoming- and outgoine vehicle traffic. There are other exits and entrances to the general waiting room and main concourse for foot pas- sengers from the different streets surrounding the building, and these passageways are so arranged that the tides of incoming- and outooing traffic will be separated. T \- p i L- a 1 I' i p e a n d T r u c k i n .l; S ii b w a y D u r i n -^ Const r n c t i <"> n ;\ [ a r j< i n H 1 Retaining,'' "\\'' a 1 1 , S e %■ e n I; h A v l' n u e , D u r i n ,1^ C o n s t r u c t i n ENGINEERING STRUCTURES BRIDGES FOR AVENUES AND STREETS 'TT^HE bridges for the three north and south avenues, -■- viz., Seventh, Eiglitli and Nintli, are placed at such a depth below the surface of the street that rapid-transit subways may be constructed above them. At the time of desicfnino- these bridges it was impracticable to make sufficient determinations about future rapid-transit subways to plan combination struc- tures for both purposes, and the bridges in question now provide for a solid earth filling about twenty feet in depth and a loading of about 3,500 pounds per square foot. In the future some of this earth loading may be removed when constructing subways, but to retain the filling until then it has been necessary to construct heavy concrete retaining walls upon the steel. The Eighth Avenue bridge best illustrates the main features, though the skew and longer spans of the Seventh and Ninth Avenue bridges are perhaps more interesting. The Thirty-first and Thirty-third Street bridges are comparatively light in weight although complicated by virtue of the station requirements beneath them. 13 R o o f O \- c 1- E a s t e r 1 >- P o r t i < i n , T h i r t \- - 1 li i r d Street A p p r n F o u n d a t i o n a n d -S u b \v a y AV <". r k K e a r S e \- e n t h A v e n ti e , wit h M a r K i " J^i 1 Retaining- Wall on the T^ e f t , D u r i n ,l>: C i ' n s t r a c t i o n EASTERLY PORTION WORK ^T^HE roofs over the easterly approaches are inter- -*- estlng' steel and concrete engfineeringf structures. These support Thirty-second and Thirty-third Streets and for this street area are loaded like the avenue bridges. In addition to the streets these roofs support con- siderable lot areas where it may be desirable in the near future to erect high buildings, consequently these lot area roofs are designed to support 10,000 pounds uniformly distributed load per square foot (the equiva- lent of a twelve-story building), and for concentrated loads not exceeding the equivalent of uniformly dis- tributed loads. This type of roof required various spans and skews for car clearance and the use of girders of seventy-seven feet maximum spans and about nine feet high, spaced two feet on centers. For preservation, these girders have been entirely encased in concrete. If considered in the light of reinforced concrete, it is undoubtedly the heaviest of its kind ever attempted. 15 o CO J a 0. STATION BUILDING STEEL 'TT^HE work of designing the station building steel -^ has occupied several years. The necessities of track and train clearances, as well as all the other varied requirements of the station and architectural demands, has resulted in the production of a remarkably intricate steel framework, supported on 650 columns, the maximum load on some of these columns being about 1,600 tons each. The total weight of steel in the structure approxi- mates 25,000 tons. The shop drawings required are upwards of 6,000 and on account of the change in con- tractors for fabrication, while the work was under way, the shop drawings made by the first contractor have been almost entirely remade by the second to suit different shop tools and methods. The checking of these drawings has been a formid- able task for the desig-nino- eng-ineers. 000 17 Duct Work (J p p i:) s i t e the T h i r t >• - f i r s t St r e e t S e r \- i c e B n i 1 d i n i^ D n r i n j< Construction K X c a \- i.L I i o n a n d T f m p o r a r y 8 u p p o r t s f o r X i n t h A venue a n d IS 1 e \" a t e d Railroad During C o n s t r n c t i ( ) n T THE SERVICE WORK HE magnitude of the encrineerino- work entailed by heating, lighting, elevator, plumbing and other service requirements can only be appreciated when it is remembered that the station building spreads out over eight acres and the waiting room alone is of area enougrh and height enouoh to take in the entire New York City Hall. The lifts for all purposes are spread over an area of ten acres, and the distribution piping system for hydraulic power is an extensive gridiron of pipes of large size. The lighting requirements are quite large and involve a great many unusual problems. To plan every detail of heating ducts, ventilating flues, pipes for plumbing, fire service, hot and cold water, and for wiring space for all purposes, and to arrange the steel and walls to give required spaces has been an enormous problem. The drainage and pumping systems as well as the conduit systems for moti\'e power, telephones and telegraphs, have each been subjects of e.xtensive investigation. 19 MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURES OOME of the trucking- subways under the tracks, the ^^ elevator pits, etc., are at a depth of about twenty feet below the track level, and owing to the enormous area and depth of rock excavation that would have been required, it has been impracticable to place the general drainage below all substructures, therefore the general drainage system is located only a little below track subgrade and all the structures, such as elevator pits, subways, manholes and ducts are surrounded with waterproofing and will remain below the general water level. It was impracticable on account of the great cost to consider waterproofing the entire area as a dry dock, consequently the seepage and rainfall rec^uires constant pumping though not involving great quantities of water. OUTLINE OF ENGINEERING ORGANIZATION for the Engineering and Construction Work Within the Terminal Area SAMUEL REA, M. Am. Soc. C. E., Third Vice-President Pennsylvaniu Railroad. GEORGE GIBBS, M. Am. Soc. C. E., Chief Engineer of Electric Traction Pennsylvania Railroad, in charge of all electrification work and in general charge of this terminal improvement. WESTINGHOUSE CHURCH KERR & COMPANY, Engi- neers for the railroad company in its New York Terminal improvements and in charge of excavation, retaining walls and steel work under and east of Seventh Avenne to normal tunnel sections; track work; design and supervision of erec- tion of all street bridging surrounding the terminal including foxindations; foundations for the station and service build- ings; drainage system and sumps; subwa^^s for trucking, pipes, wires, etc.; electrical C(jnduit system; platforms; the design and supervision of erection of the steel for the station building as engineers for McKim, Mead and White, Archi- tects; also engineers for the design and construction of service building and equipment on Thirty-first Street, and for the complete service equipment of the station and ter- minal, such as mechanical and electrical equipment of the station, heating, ventilation, lighting, elevators, plumbing, water supply, refrigeration, electric power for the terminal and its approaches, etc. This engineering work of design and construction is conducted by Westinghouse Church Kerr & Company through its general engineering organization, on a professional basis for a professional engineering fee, reporting to Mr. Samuel Rea, Vice-President, through Mr. Cjeorge Gibbs, Chief Engi- neer of Electric Traction, and not as contractors, with GEORGE B. FRANCIS, i\[. Am. Soc. C. E., Consulting Civil Engineer of AVestinghouse Church Kerr & Company in charge of design and execution of all civil engineering work embraced in the foregoing, assisted by Jos. H. O'Brien, M. Am. Soc. C. E., acting as Resident Civil Engineer for Westinghouse Churcli Kerr iX: Company on this work, and (tEORGE B. CALDWEEE, M. Am. Soc. M. E., in charge of the design and construction of mechanical and electrical equipment, assisted by H. A. Brinkcrhoff acting as Engineer Superintendent of Construction. ALFRED NOBLE, ^I. Am. Soc. C. E., Chief Engineer East River iJivision, in charge of the extremely difficult tunnel work under ^Manhattan Island, the East River, and Long- Island City, easterly of the terminal; also in charge within the terminal area of excavation to track sul:>gradc and marginal retaining wall construction between Seventh and Ninth Avenues. CHARLES M. JACOBS, :\I. Am. Soc. C. E., Chief Engineer North River Division, in charge of the extremely difficult timnel work under Manhattan Island, the North River, and Bergen Hill, westerly of tlie terminal, and in charge within the terminal area of excavation to track subgrade and marginal retaining walls under and west of Ninth Avenue. ARCHITECTS McKlM, MEAD AND WHITE, Architects for the ter- minal station buildino:. PRINCIPAL CONTRACTORS THE AMERICAN BRIDGE COMPANY OF NEW YORK are fabricating the steel for the major part of the station building, and all the steel for street bridging and easterly approach roof. THE GEORGE A. FULLER COMPANY are contractors for the erection of the terminal station building. MILLIKEX BROTHERS, INC., have fabricated the steel for the service plant and a small part of the station building. THE NEW YORK CONTRACTING COMPANY, PENN- SYLA'^ANIA TERMINAL, are executing the excavation, the foundations and wall masonr}', the erection of steel for the street bridging, the street construction and all sub- structures. THE NORCROvSvS BROTHERS COMPANY are contractors for furnishing the cut granite for the station building. THE UNION SWITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY are contractors for the interlocking system. // 23 Chfisiiirir-Winchcll Press New iork— I'insbiirijh-Cleveland WESTINGHOUSE CHURCH KERR AND COMPANY, ENGINEERS 10 BRIDGE STREET * « • NEW YORK ORGANIZATION JOHN F. WALLACE, M.Am. Soc.C.E. . . . Chairm«n of the Board WALTER C. KERR, M.Am. Soc.M.E., M.Am. Inst. E.E. . . President SYDNEY E. JUNKINS Vice-President HENRY R. KENT, M. Am. Soc.M.E Vice-President HENRY J. CONANT Assistant to the President CARL M. VAIL Secretary and Treasurer A. W. SEXTON, JR Assistant Treasurer W. L. MURRAY General Auditor GEORGE B. FRANCIS, M. Am. Soc. C. E. . Consulting Civil Engineer O. S. LYFORD, JR., M. Am. Inst. E. E. . Consulting Electrical Engineer JAMES C. BOYD, M.Am.Soc.C.E., M.Am.Soo.M.E., Consult. Mech. Engr. EDWIN J. BEUGLER, M.Am. Soc. C.E Civil Engineer W. S. AUSTIN, M. Am. Soc. M. E Mechanical Engineer H. M. VANGELDER, Asso.Am.Inst. E. E Electrical Engineer DAVID HENNEY Service Engineer HORACE DOWIE, Asso. Am. Inst. E. E. . Industrial Electrical Engineer W. N. SMITH, M.Am. Inst. E.E Electrical Traction Engineer R. A. MARSHALL Structural Engineer GEORGE S. DREW, JR Architect Together with about four hundred assistant engineers, draughtsmen and clerks, exclusive of field forces, constituting its headquarters engineering and construction facilities.