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| Re: Fulton Street El Express Service (213550) | |||
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Re: Fulton Street El Express Service |
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Posted by JOE @ NYCTMG - NYCMTS on Sat Feb 11 05:56:42 2006, in response to Re: Fulton Street El Express Service, posted by EMSR7000 on Fri Feb 10 19:28:16 2006. Hello Paul Re: Question # 1 -- YES --- shoes on BOTH sides of those IRT steel Low-and-Hi-V subway cars (with subway paddle type shoes on both sides of the car trucks) contacted the dual third rails, one side on tew subway 3rd rail, other side on elevated type 3rd rail. NOTE: there were 3rd rail section breaks (and signs indicating same) for Steel IRT HI-V cars AND most of the wood Elevated car trains, which also were Hi-V mode. There was a very small fleet of 1910-11 built IRT wood EL gate cars that were built NEW as "Low-V Control", many of that class made into MUDC in 1923-4....but the vast majority of IRT EL cars were Hi-V. The section breaks and signs indicating same, were so a Hi-V control consist (with 600 VDC jumper buss cables between each car) would not accidentally "jump" (energize - like the train acting as a jumper cable) an isolated 3rd rail section in event that power was shut off on a, that, section for an emergency or maintenance situation. Re: Question # 2, # 3 - Yes - ALL IRT Steel subway cars had those double contact shoes, Hi and Low-V types, for use anywhere on the system...including the fleet of 50 1939 WF Steinway cars. Also, the R-12, 14 cars had them, and the 15's as for a period (1948 R=12 delivery thru end of El 3rd rail removal about late 1950 on Flushing Line) they ran on same tracks as wooden BMT EL "Q" type shuttle trains to Flushing and Astoria prior to October 1949. Manhattan elevated "EL" type 3rd rail took as long as late 1950 to remove from Flushing line..it was removed from the Astoria line first (also along with cutting back the wooden station platforms 6 inches to clear the 10' wide standards) to facilitate the BMT standards, Triplexes, operation between (past the) Queensboro Plaza Station out to Astoria after late October 1949. Photos exist showing new R-12, 14 cars running on Flushing Line with El style 3rd rail in view and using dual contact paddle shoes, between 1948 and 1950 ! The dual contact 3rd rail shoes for the IRT steel subway cars was a standard setup starting with the 1904 Gibbs and Composite original subway cars which ran joint (from 1906) service with Wood IRT Elevated trains on the West Farms (ie: later called the White Plains Rd Line) from outside the 149th St subway portal (Bronx) - Westchester-Bergen-Brook Avenues interlocking to Bronx Park Terminal and 180th street (then) Terminal (adjacent to the later 1912 opened NYW&B Rway 180th st Station) and yards. Steel IRT subway cars gradually had all Dual contact paddle shoes removed between 1958 thru approx 1960 (except on the oldest pre war [mainly Hi-V] steel cars scheduled for scrap in that period) as they wore out, and replaced by a newer steel "subway 3rd rail only" type single-contact-pad paddle shoe with a basically straight profile from shoe beam attachment location to the end tip of the shoe. The Manhattan and specifically, BRONX portion of the entire 3rd Avenue EL Line, NEVER had dual (or subway style) 3rd rail...as steel cars could not operate on that line because it was equipped throughut with "Manhattan" EL style 3rd rail WITH the wood safety backboard (1 1/2" higher than the EL type 3rd rail head) and their subway paddle shoe ends would have fouled (tried to ride atop of or damage) the protective wooden back board. Only by, after mid 1958 did the surviving Bronx only portion of the 3rd Ave. El finally get "EL" style 3rd rail removed and replaced by top coverboard subway position type 3rd rail - both local tracks only and the ex-express center "layup use only" track above Fordham Rd. station on the Webster Ave. section. The express track thru Fordham Rd. Station and BELOW to 152nd street (where it ended after 1956) was decommissioned and EL style 3rd rail removed along with all (as un-needed) switch tracks to local tracks. Running rails and any steel guard rails were slowly removed as scrap in partial segments, haphazzardly, in the period from 1960-1 thru 1973 Regards -Joe |
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