IEx IGtbrtH SEYMOUR DURST "When you leave, please leave this book Because it has been said "Ever'tbing comes t' bim wbo waits Except a loaned book." Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 i http://archive.org/details/rapidtransitfornOOdurs RAPID TRANSIT Hj? FOR NEW YORK. f ■4 SECOND WITH EIGHT MAPS. CLASSICS TF .US UNDERGROUND RAPID TRANSIT. There is great and just complaint concerning the in adequate means of transportation through our city, and numberless schemes have been proposed, looking to some permanent relief. The demand is for some means of transit which shall be at once rapid, safe and agreeable, and which will at the same time neither add to the present serious defacement of the city, nor the obstruction of its streets. The plan should be equal to the present requirements, and at the same time capable of meeting those of the future, and within such limits of cost as will insure to investors a reasonable return upon their capital. It is apparent that some method must soon be adopted to relieve the streets of the city, not only from part of the enormous business already there, but from the yearly in- crease sure to come from the giant strides being made in the city's traffic. New York is, and always must be, the heart in the circulation of the business system, which is to come from the development of this continent. To what- ever proportions the great cities of the interior may grow (and some of them may even exceed New York in popula- tion) this city must always be the gate, through which the major portion of their business, as well as that of the entire country districts West and South, must pass. The movement of passengers over the street cars and elevated roads increased in five years (from 1884 to 1889) from 272,000,000 in 1884, to 397,000,000 in 1889, an increase of 46 per cent. If there should be a proportionate increase 2 for the next five years, the movement of passengers over these lines, if confined to them, and they could furnish the facilities, would equal 580,000,000! That this increase will come, or nearly that, no one can doubt, but it is evident that these lines cannot furnish the facilities, and that some- thing must be added to their capacity for handling the passengers, or some other methods adopted. That the city must continue to grow is certain. That it will be forced to provide means of transportation for its citizens, to enable it to grow, is equally certain. That it cannot do this on the surface, or on elevated structures, without enormous ex- pense, and great injury to property, is beyond question. The city is confined by the water front of the North and East rivers. It cannot spread out, east or west, beyond those boundaries. It cannot extend to the north, without means for frequent and rapid transit. The elevated railroad system has been of great benefit to the city and its citizens. The city could not have done without it. It has caused much less damage to property than was anticipated when its construction was commenced, and on many streets property has been enhanced in value as a result of its operation. At the same time, it is doubtful if the city can afford to devote more streets to such struc- tures, and to build an elevated, or arcade road, or roads, through the centre of the blocks, as has been contemplated .by some, would seriously deface the city, and (even if a grant to build such a road could be had) to acquire real estate sufficient for such a structure, and to pay such dam- ages to property along the lines as would be likely to follow its construction and operation, would cost a very large amount of money, and it is a serious question if the business, as large as it would seem to promise, could be made to return a satisfactory net revenue upon the cost. 3 Then, again, any system of roads that does not contem- plate, eventually, the running of solid trains through the city, to and from all points in the suburbs, and country on the north, as well as to and from all points in New Jersey and Long Island, would not be complete. A large part of our citizens reside now in these localities, and a larger proportion will reside there in the future, if provided with quick, safe and comfortable transit to and from their homes. The growth of this great city depends largely upon this, and any system that does not provide facilities for it and at moderate cost, and that cannot be made sufficiently elastic to cover the constantly increasing demands of the future, will not be the system we need. Again, it must be a system that will connect, on the surface by means of proper approaches, with every steam road on the north and west, as well as those on Long Island, so that the great inconvenience and delays attendant upon the change of cars, and transfers across the two rivers by ferry, may be quite done away with. Nature seems to have provided for this great need. The city is underlaid with solid rock, the finest formation known for the construction of underground ways. Modern science has provided means of rapid and cheap excavation of this material; it furnishes, in electricity, the motive power, the means of ventilation, and light to make a passage through them quick and pleasant. Elevators, or lilts, enable passen- gers to be moved to and from underground stations quickly, safely, and comfortably, and it would seem that, in this direction only, can come speedy and adequate relief from the present congested condition of travel, and the infinitely worse condition that awaits us in the near future. The construction of a road in solid rock, and far below all building foundations, water, gas, steam and other pipes, 4 interferes in no way with them, and will injure no street, and no property under or on a street. Its construction can damage no one. As many lines can be built, from time to time, as the growth of travel demands, and in this way, and only in this way, can the demands for added passenger transportation facilities be met. Then, again, the transfer of freight to and from railroads has become already very burdensome and expensive, adding vastly to the incumbrance and dangers of all our thorough- fares, and the construction of underground freight lines with elevators will be demanded at an early day. Under- ground tracks should be provided, so that freight stations with elevators can be established throughout the city. Then with proper approaches to the surface on the New Jersey side, cars can be loaded and unloaded in the city, to and from all points West and South, and move to and from the stations to these points without breaking bulk. Besides the great relief that would come from the con- struction of these roads to the local and suburban passenger business of New York City, they would furnish through routes for passengers moving to and from all points in New York City to points West and South. Trains could be made up at different points on the north, and, tracks being provided for that business, run directly through the city, and do away with the necessity of crossing ferries as at present. And connecting these underground tracks with surface roads on the north, and on the New Jersey side of the North River, solid passenger trains to and from New England points to points South and West could pass through the city as comfortably and as rapidly as on the surface. Surveys have been made, borings taken of the formation under the rivers as well as under the city, the most careful estimates made with regard to cost of construe- 5 tion, and the entire feasibility of the work demonstrated. It is proposed to organize a company for the construction of— Section i. A submarine double track tunnel from White- hall street to Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn. The object of the construction of this tunnel is to meet, in the first instance, the pressing demand for increased transportation facilities between the two cities, as illustrated by the following returns of the Brooklyn Bridge for the past eight years. Return from May 23, 1883 (the date of its opening to the public), to November 30, 1890: Passengers carried over Bridge. Earnings; 1883(6 mos.) 1,082,500 $54,H5 OO 1884 8,528,840 426,486 OO 1885 17,023,237 537-435 09 1886 24,029,267 661,361 51 1887 27,940,313 768,768 69 1888 30,331,283 833,760 34 1889 33-954.773 93W3 39 1890 37,676,411 1,032,014 23 180,5 66,624 $5,245,914 25 The Brooklyn Bridge connects the City Hall in New York with the City Hall in Brooklyn, and with the elevated roads on the east side of the City of New York, but makes no connection with the roads on the western side of the city. As an evidence of the immense travel now dependent wholly upon ferry service for transportation between New York and adjacent cities, the following figures, partly ap- proximated, covering that travel during 1890, are appended. 6 East River : 34th St 9,218,160 23d St., Greenpoint 3,868,270 23d St., Brooklyn, E. D.. 8,371,640 10th St 1,669,510 Houston 4,440,590 Grand to Grand 4,416,500 Grand to Broadway 9,837,480 Catharine 4,510,999 James Slip 1,660,750 Roosevelt 8,577,500 Fulton 10,837,885 Wall 3,335,378 South __ 6,904,355 Hamilton 10,038,040 39th St., Brooklyn 976,452 88,663,509 North River: Staten Island _ 5,445,800 Jersey Central 10,938,320 Pennsylvania. 14,589,050 Barclay 12,899,100 Chambers.. 10,868,240 Jay 2,164,640 Desbrosses 8,067,960 Christopher ._ 11,739,130 14th St. 2,81 1,960 23d St 3.594,520 42dSt... 1,744,680 84,863,400 173,526,909 7 j 57228 The proposed tunnel will connect with the elevated railroads, both on the east and west sides of the city, and enable Brooklyn passengers, for the one fare, to reach any part of New York from the Battery, and save all west side passengers fully fifteen minutes in time, morning and even- ing, over present routes between their homes and business. The same advantages will also be secured for the citizens of Jersey City, Newark, and neighboring places having business in New York, when the second section of the line is completed. Single fares over the Bridge are three cents, ten tickets being sold for twenty-five cents. It is proposed to make the same fares by the tunnel, and the average minimum esti- mate of passengers to be carried daily for the first year is 25,000 persons each way, with a large increase from year to year. The capacity of the tunnel will be equal to 288,000 passengers per working day. The foot of Atlantic avenue is a very prominent point in the City of Brooklyn, and a tunnel enabling people to move quickly between there and the southern termini of the ele- vated railroads in New York is certain to secure a very large traffic between the cities of New York and Brooklyn. When the whole enterprise is completed it will furnish the needed facilities for convenient as well as rapid movement of passengers, not only between Brooklyn and towns in New Jersey and New York City, but between all points in New York City and outlying districts on the north ; more- over, it is certain that at an early date an elevated railroad will be constructed from a connection with the Long Island Railroad through Atlantic avenue to the river, and pas- sengers to and from New York and Long Island and its summer resorts will, by using the tunnel and this route, save at least thirty minutes in time over existing routes. 8 After the construction of the first section and its opening for business, it is contemplated to construct: Section 2. A continuation of this first section across and beneath Battery Park to a station in Jersey City. Section 3. A double track tunnel, from the foot of Whitehall street, under Broadway, to the Post Office, with intermediate stations at or near Wall street and Bowling: Green. Section 4. A continuation of this line from the Post Office, under Broadway, to Union Square, where it diverges to the left, continuing under Broadway to and under the Boulevard to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street. Also branching east from Union Square northeasterly to the line of Third avenue at Eighteenth street, and continuing north under Third avenue to Harlem Bridge; thence northwest- erly in close proximity to the line of the Harlem River, until it reaches the line of One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street, so forming a complete circuit. Section 5. A loop extending from the terminal station at the foot of Whitehall street northeasterly under Front and Water streets to the line of Essex street, continuing north- erly beneath Essex street and Avenue A to Tenth street ; thence northwest to a connection with the Third avenue line at Twenty-third street. Commencing again at White- hall street station northwesterly under West street, on a line with the piers and general warehouses to Twelfth street, and thence northerly beneath Tenth avenue to a junction with the Broadway line at Seventy-second street. 9 Section 6. A line to meet the wants developed by the growth of the city north in the annexed districts. This will be a continuation of the Boulevard line, north from One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street below the Boulevard and Eleventh avenue to Kingsbridge, and north from Harlem Bridge through Third avenue, having connection with the west line at Kingsbridge, forming a circuit around the present Jerome Park. The level of the first section has been fixed and the rails will stand no feet below the curb on Broadway. By adopting this level the tunnel will pass through rock its entire length. It will thus be seen at a glance that with such a natural foundation and overhead strength, perfect security is obtained in the tunnels themselves, while there cannot be the slightest disturbance on the surface to the foundation of buildings, or any water, gas or other pipes. The tunnel in Section I, commencing at Whitehall street and terminating at the foot of Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn, including the stations, is to be constructed 6,050 feet in length — but only 5,000 between stations — 26 feet wide, and 20 feet high from the top of rail to the crown of the arch. The whole of the tunnel and the stations are to be cut out of solid rock and cased with brick linings, set in cement. A double track to be laid in the tunnel, extending far enough beyond the stations to give siding accommodation, and a continuous and uninterrupted circuit of travel from station to station. The cross section of the tunnel will be large enough to admit the largest sized car. The underground stations are to be both alike — 330 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 30 feet high from the rail level to the crown of the arch. They are connected with the stations on the street level immediately above 10 them, by shafts 80 feet long and 17 feet wide, containing six elevators and a staircase. The crown of the arch on the New York side is go feet below the street level at Whitehall street, and that in Brooklyn 118 feet below the street level. The platforms extend along the centre of the underground stations, with single track on either side, and these converge again together beyond the platforms. Down the centre of the platforms are the large elevator shafts, which have distinct arrival and departure sides, so that no confusion can arise between passengers arriving and leav- ing the stations. In the centre of each station platform the elevator shafts are divided into seven compartments — six for elevator cars (the seventh for a staircase) capable of conveying at each station 340 passengers per minute. They have double sliding doors, one opening on the depart- ure and the other on the arrival platform. Three of the elevators in the New York station ascend to the level of the elevated railroad stations and the others to the street level. The construction and mechanical arrangements are espe- cially designed to provide absolute safety and comfort, and when it is considered that this mode of transit is adopted in almost every modern building of any consequence in this as well as other large cities, and that the height of many of these buildings exceeds the distance that these cars have to travel, there can be no question that this mode of conveying passengers between the lower and upper stations will prove most comfortable, expeditious and popular. The surface station in New York at the foot of Whitehall street consists chiefly of a large hall, having an entrance to the arrival platform, and a separate exit for departure. There will be the usual ticket offices and waiting-rooms and a colonnade on the first floor above the street which 11 will connect the station with the elevated railroad plat- forms. The general arrangement of the station at Brook- lyn is the same as that of the New York station, except that the buildings are more extensive, to allow for the accommodation of the pumps, boilers and electrical power and lighting plant, which will be located there. The question of ventilation and light in tunnel work is one of the highest importance, and both are fully provided for in the construction of these tunnels in accordance with the latest scientific methods. The lighting of the stations throughout the tunnel and in the cars will be by means of electrical lamps in the passenger coaches, elevator cars and shafts and throughout the tunnels. The ventilation is pro- vided for by wrought iron circular shafts suspended from the crown of the arch running into and toward the centre of the tunnel from each station. The distance at the centre of the tunnel between the openings of these shafts will be fifty feet. At each station a large centrifugal fan will be provided. The air will be drawn through these shafts from the centre of the tunnel to each end and discharged at the surface, the vacuum thus created being filled by a current of fresh air passing down the large main shafts. The time required for the journey from Whitehall street to Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn, will be but four minutes, in- cluding the time required for entering the elevators, de- scending to the low level station, and ascending to the street level on the other side. The train and elevator cars will have a capacity of 12,000 passengers per hour. With reference to the further extension of this system through the city, it is proposed eventually to lay a four-track road on the principal lines of travel, two for high speed and two for way trains. The road running parallel with 12 the piers is intended chiefly for the transportation and de- livery of freight. The tunneling- of to-day with the very great improvements in mechanical means of rock excava- tion, modes of lighting and ventilation, make the business simplicity itself as compared with what it was a few years ago, and the cost of such work has been vastly decreased. New York, January, 1891. 13 Chas. M. Jacors, C. E. 88 Bisiiopsgate Street Within, London, 3d December, 1890. Austin Corp.in, Esq., 192 Broadway, New York. Sir : I beg to report the result of my investigation of the various borings taken in the City of New York for the pur- pose of ascertaining at what point rock is found below the street level on the proposed route of the underground rail- way, commencing at Whitehall street and terminating at One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street. At the south end of Whitehall street, rock is found forty- three feet below the street level ; at the Equitable Insurance Company's building, sixty feet; at the Mutual Insurance building, fifty-six feet; and at Cortlandt street, sixty-five feet. This level appears to remain at the average depth until Twelfth street, where the rock rises towards the surface up to Fourteenth street, and from this point to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street it frequently outcrops at the surface, but the average depth may be taken as twenty-three feet below the street curbstone. At Twenty-third street, in the Fifth Avenue Hotel, a boring has been put down 2,110 feet, the entire distance through rock from eighteen feet below the street level. The character of the rock is quite favorable for tunneling operations and its geological condition is partially decom- posed granite and gneiss. I am, sir, Yours respectfully, (Signed) CHARLES M. JACOBS. Panama Railroad Office, New York, November 8, 1890. Austin Corbin, Esq. My Dear Sir : I have examined the plans and sections prepared by your engineer, Mr. Charles M. Jacobs, for the construction of a tunnel under the East River, with connections at Battery Point, New York, and Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn, and in my opinion there are no difficulties in the way of the con- struction of such a tunnel as proposed ; and the plans for its construction and operation are thoroughly practical. Yours truly, (Signed) JOHN NEWTON. 15 Pier "A," Battery Place, New York, 6th November, 1890. Austin Corbin, Esq., Sir : In accordance with your request, I have examined the plan of Mr. Charles M. Jacobs, C. E., for the Metropolitan Underground Railway under the East River, between New York and Brooklyn. The plan, in brief, consists of a double track railway tunnel, built in solid rock, at a distance of about 1 10 feet be- low the street level, in each city, with stations at each end, where passengers are to be carried between the street level and the railway by elevators. Drainage, ventilation and lighting are all provided for. The motive power is to be electricity, and arrangements are proposed for carrying 12,000 passengers per hour. In my opinion, the project is quite feasible and practi- cable, and presents no great difficulties to be overcome; when completed and in operation, the road will form a greatly needed additional means of transit between the two cities, which will be largely used at once. Very Respectfully, Your Obedient Servant, G. S. GREENE, Jr., C. E. {Enginccr-in-Chief Department of Docks.) [U7148] NEW YORK AND SURROUNDINGS NEW Showing ]]DC □ □LZ3DE 1 WITH ELEVATED LINES AND Brooklyn. _ PROPOSED TUNNELS ElEMtfD RAIL ROADS IVY \COVBKKORk YORK BAY j % New York UNPER GRomn Railway Company k — SecrioK through - Surface and Underground Stations Sheet N? 6 CROSS SECTION THRO UNDERGROUND AND STAGE STATIONS / t I If