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| Re: Tuscarora Almanac - December 15, 1956 - The Book of First and Last Runs (1264506) | |||
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Re: Tuscarora Almanac - December 15, 1956 - The Book of First and Last Runs |
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Posted by JOE @ NYCMTS - NYCTMG on Mon Dec 16 05:58:26 2013, in response to Re: Tuscarora Almanac - December 15, 1956 - The Book of First and Last Runs, posted by Randyo on Mon Dec 16 01:20:39 2013. Hello Rando !Well, the IRT was very frugal as we know - and the BMT was more progressive. By necessity, this recitation unfortunately is going to be a bit lengthy ! The IRT had two basic types of pre war era fleets. As we know. The STEEL subway cars of various High V and Low-V Classes, and the wooden ELEVATED DIVIION (aka Manhattan Railway Co. Div.) cars - Gates and MUDC's, including the ex-first wooden Subway Composite Cars transferred (as banned by law from subway revenue use by 1912-13 as fire hazzards) to the IRT 2nd & 3rd Ave El's for fleet expansion for it's new center-tracked express services in 1915-16. NOTE: The Composites were still heavy to run in revenue (loaded) in express track service on the 9th Ave EL because many parts of its EL columns and structure below W. 60th street to Battery Park, still retained many parts of the, if only "marginally strengthened" steelwork for gate & MUDC car only use, earliest 1876-7 to 1880 steelwork. So they never revenue-ran on that line, nor on the 6th Ave EL which was only a 2-track line for most of its mainline. (A) - The STEEL IRT subway cars were too heavy to run revenue service on the 4 Manhattan EL's, regardless of whether they were fitted and operated with either DROP SLED or Paddle 3rd rail shoes. (B) -- Some IRT Bronx EL Lines --- ie: Woodlawn-Jerome line with 9th Ave EL train connection operations - and West Farms / White Plains Rd EL routes using 2nd Ave EL and later (after June 1940 thru 1946) 3rd Ave EL routed trains (via first, the original 150th St Westchester Ave, and later Bergen Ave. Cutoff connections), and of course, both the IRT operated Queens Flushing & Astoria EL routes (to end of 1949) -- all shared both IRT Wood el cars and IRT Steel Subway Car consists. Therefore, those EL Lines ALL HAD to have both types of 3rd rails. (C) There were quite a number of "very tight clearance" problems at track level at various Manhattan Elevated stations and structure work where subway-positioned (lower but mainly FURTHER from the track) covered Third Rails could not be installed. And including the famed 1916-7 built Anderson Ave-Sedgwick Av E.162nd St TUNNEL connecting the 9th Ave El to the Jerome Ave IRT EL. THATS WHY the Manhattan EL wooden fleets retained, and had to so, their original DROP SLED El-Style 3rd Rail shoes to the end. (D) - per (C) re: what became the Polo Grounds Shuttle route after the mid June 1940 closing of 9th Ave El mainlne below W.155th St Station (aka Polo Grounds Station)- some IRT Wood EL trains (MUDC's and some Composites) were retained on the shuttle being as they had EL Style 3rd Rail DROP SLED SHOES which could clear that tunnel. As some of us know, when by 1950, IRT steel subway cars replaced the wood cars on the shuttle (Hi-V's first for a year or so, and later Low-V's until the end in Aug. 1958) - they FIRST had to have the outer ends of their subway paddle shoes CUT BACK shorter, so that only the remaining center shoe-portions were remaining and could ride on the EL style 3rd rails (and clear the side wood protector boards) - SPECIFICALLY and solely more so as to clear the E.162nd Street tunnel walls which were very close (about 2 inches) to the EL STYLE 3rd rails. So these cars also had to use the EL STYLE 3rd rails retained (BUT WITHOUT the wooden back boards) on the Woodlawn-Jerome EL as their shortened paddles could NOT contact the subway style covered third rails on that line. HOWEVER, the 2 Tracks on the shuttle portion itself along the E.162nd Street Trestle - and thru the tunnel, and over the Harlem River Birdge to W.155St Terminal Station, still had the "Manhattan" style El 3rd Rails WITH their catwalk-side-facing wood protector boards, right to the end of service in Aug. 1958 !!! (D) -- The BMT "Comnpany" being much more progressive, developed small fleets of 3 types of lightweight metal constructed 10' wide articulated consist units (the ZEPHYR, Green Hornets and Bluebirds) -so as to be light enough to run on the old Fulton St EL, whose wooden station platforms were cut back to clear those newer fleets, and still be allowed to operate in any subway line tunnels in revenue service. Also, the BMT refitted many wood EL Gate cars in the mid 1940's with subway type paddle shoes to run as shuttle-extras on some BMT EL lines - ie: one being, and mainly thus, the BMT West End EL, when BMT steel cars (the Standards, D Types, etc,) replaced full-route-operation EL gate cars on those lines. As the BMT West END line EL became a full subway train thru route, it received Subway style and positioned covered 3rd rails. Which is why those BMT EL Gate Car shuttles HAD to be fitted with subway paddles shoes to operate as suttles on that portion of the EL line. Those so-assigned EL gate cars had white paint applied to their open end platform front edges to so designate them as "Subway Shoe" EL cars. The entire BMT Fulton St EL, BMT 5th and BMT 3rd Ave EL's, Myrtle & Lexington Avenue EL's, has older EL STYLE 3rd Rails, and BMT Culver El did UNTIL the IND Took it over in 1954, of the old earlier "narrow rail profile" type, to their very ends, but NEVER EVER with the IRT Style wooden catwalk-facing side protector boards ! Thus fully unprotected ! These lines ran solely with older gate cars with EL TYPE DROP SLED SHOES. EXCEPT for Culver, which shared its route alternately both with BMT Steels having paddle shoes, and Drop Sled Shoe Wooden EL cars BEFORE the IND started service on the Culkver EL. And the Fulton St EL as well ran with Subway-EL designed "lightweight articulated units" and wooden EL Car C TYPES both having paddle shoes used mainly for and on the Fulton Street EL...along with interspersed drop-sled-shoe fitted BMT EL Gate Car "extra" consists. The BMT Broadway and Jamaica EL's had EL STYLE 3rd rails, first the older narrow profile rails, and later in the late 1940's approx. replaced with a heavier "fatter" head profile rail for both EL CAR DROP SLED and Subway Car Paddle shoe operated cars. The Lexington Avenue EL still connected and ran on a portion of that Broadway BMT EL until Nov. 1950 when Lex EL terminated service. The BMT Myrtle Ave. EL Q Types received paddle shoes in the approx. 1964-65 period. However, near the end of Myrtle thru operation, the upper Myrtle EL above B'way Jct Station, pre-planned to continue with thru steel subway trains after Oct. 1969, was converted to subway style covered 3rd Rail - but the older lower portion of Myrtle retained the older EL Style 3rd Rail, due to certain clearance problems related to preventing installation of subway positioned covered third rail. And thusly so for the same reasons outlined in my IRT Manhattan EL details way above, - some parts of the structure and station structures at track level could not clear subway position coverboard fitted 3rd rails on the older 1880's built older parts of the Fulton El, and the entire BMT 3rd, 5th, Myrtle and Lexington Ave EL's. By the time in the mid 60's that the Myrtle Avenue Q Types Q's were all finally fitted with subway paddle shoes, all the other then remaining BMT EL lines finally, over time, had their uncovered EL Style and positioned third rails, gradually relocated to, replaced with, subway position "paddle shoe only" operated covered third rails. By that time, (especially since the removal in May 1958 of 1300 series BMT EL Gate Cars from the Myrtle Ave El, as the last of their Gate Car type operating with EL TYPE DROP SLED SHOES) - there was no longer a need for uncovered, unprotected 3rd rails anywhere on the BMT system trackages, nor to be as so needed to be located in the closer and higher EL STYLE use and position along the tracks. Well, its a lot of history, and I could continue expanding on with much more, but that is not necessary at this point. I believe I answered your question, Randy, per why the IRT used dual 3rd rails, and HAD to, and the BMT, being more, ummmm, progressive, effected a way to use a single third rail method for both EL Car Drop-Sled shoe types, and Subway Paddle shoe types. Regards - Joe F . |
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