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| Re: Yankee Stadium and the old IRT 9th Ave. El Connection (684401) | |||
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Re: Yankee Stadium and the old IRT 9th Ave. El Connection |
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Posted by JOE @ NYCMTS - NYCTMG on Sun Sep 21 19:58:34 2008, in response to Re: Yankee Stadium and the old IRT 9th Ave. El Connection, posted by Mysterious Friday 1986 on Sat Sep 20 19:19:21 2008. Hello ALL INCORRECT... The tunnel COULD clear IRT wooden Elevated Cars (and El car HIGHER roof heights for which it was designed for) as well as clear ALL steel IRT subway cars. IRT EL Gates, EL MUDC's and EL Composite cars - and later IRT Steel Hi-V Deck Roof, Gibbs and early Hedley body Steinways. It could also clear later SMEE type IRT cars. Problem was that Sedgwick-Anderson Tunnel under E. 162nd Street, Bronx, was designed to clear ONLY the early IRT "EL" style 3rd rails...which was higher than, and closer to, the track, than later "subway style" and position (lower, and a bit further than the track and covered 3rd rail. The EL Cars (Gates, MUDC's and Composite Cars) all used Elevated style "DROP SLED" sprung hanging shoes that rode completely OVER the Third rail, and did not protrude beyond its back edge or EL style 3rd rail backside safety wooden back-boards. A small fleet of IRT steel subway High-V's, were by early 1950 and later by 1954, Steinways, "assigned" specifically only to the POLO shuttle. That,in early 1950, because the few Composites servicing that POLO line (and also majority in mainly 3rd Ave EL express services) were scrapped. And their Composite motor trucks put under ALL the ex-BMT Q types removed late Oct.1949 from Queens BMT Shuttle trainsets then servicing Flushing Astoria IRT EL routes, for ervice tranfer use to the Manhattan & Bronx 3rd Ave EL express only service.(4-1950 thru 5-12-1955) BECAUSE the (and ALL) subway cars had subway "paddle" style third rail which contacted the covered, and further way, subway stytle 3rd rail, the steel cars assigned to POLO had their paddle shoes cut back short, so that the inner part of the shoe beam plate contacted the old EL style 3rd rail head width and did NOT protrude past the back outer edge of the 3rd rail head. This way they not only cleared the back wooden protector board (which faced the catwalk side of the EL tracks - AND TUNNEL WALLS...), but also cleared the tunnel wall ALSO. The EL style 3rd rail, for wooden IRT EL TRAIN use, located on the Jerome Ave. EL (up to Woodlawn Terminal and shops, yards)...was located on ONE side of each of the 3 tracks there, and subway style and position covered 3rd rail was located on the opposite side of each track ! BUT, because Jermome Mainline trains (the all Low-V trainsets) - had full length subway paddle shoes, which would NOT clear the EL style "joint" 3rd rail's "wooden backboard protector" (that board was 1 1/2' higher than the top head of El style 3rd rail) , the wooden backboard was NEVER ever installed on that EL type 3rd rail on that joint service line trackage. The wooden "safety backboard" "BEGAN" on top levels of the twin down ramps connection tracks EL 3rd Rail, to and from the Jerome line, continuing thru E.162nd street EL and THRU THE TUNNEL, and clear down the entire 9th Avenue EL. The later POLO "Shuttle" retained it from E.155th street Manhattan terminal to top of the Jerome ramps til the end (August 1958) Small Signs on the Jerome line warned "EL" 3rd Rail ONLY" at the ramp interlocking. I walked on that Shuttle line trackage from Jerome ramps (bottom of them) and thru the tunnel to the Harlem Bridge (which was left in open position after closing of the shuttle) -and also walked the Manhattan portion terminal tracks...and took many on-track level B&W photos, in late August 1958 - after the POLO line was abandoned! The four Manhattan EL Lines and the Bronx portion of the 3rd Ave. EL ALL had the safety wooden "catwalk facing" backboard. The Bronx 3rd Ave. El "shuttle" remnant after Thurs. 5-12-1955 (date Manhattan portion service closed afer 7PM below E. 148th Street, Bronx, to Chatham Sq.) retained it with IRT Q-Type and MUDC El trainset LOCAL only operation services, until early December 1956....whereupon BOTH local tracks had the wooden safety backboard removed from ALL the old EL style 3rd rails. This permitted IRT Hedley body STEINWAY 6-car all motor trainsets to replace the wood El Q & MUDC cars, and yet retain their full length subway-type 3rd Rail paddle shoes on that El style 3rd rail, temporarily, ....starting Dec. 15, 1956. The out of "revenue" service Express track still retained the El style 3rd rail wooden backboard until late 1958...because (a) It was used to dead-store the wooden EL car Q Types (and some MUDC's) until the Q's were gradually removed over a 9 month period to CI Shops for overhaul to go to BMT MNyrtle Ave EL service per April 1958 (and IRT MUDC's were ALL scrapped) -- and -- (b) MUDC EL Car hauled work trains temporarily used the center track thru 1958 in overhauling the line and also removing EL style 3rd rail from BOTH Local tracks and "temporarily" re-installing covered subway style and positioned 3rd rail; Removing unneeded surplus express track signals, and removing ALL the old EL style 3rd rail from the express track in graduated section between Tremont and 152nd Sts. Interlocking, replacing it with covered 3rd rail for layups...and post 1958 "ongoing renovations" temporary steel subway work trains, as well as from 200th st. Station to Gun Hill Road for revenue off peak layups. THAT subway 3rd rail was later removed from center tracks along with ALL interlocking switch tracks to center track, BELOW E. 200th St Station, to E.152nd St., by 1962, finally totally abandoning the center track, and effecting its partial "piecemeal" fragmented removal thru the following few years thru 1969. Well, that covers 3rd rails and GETTING BACK to the POLO shutlle as to WHY that thru connection planned from E. 148th & Lennox could NOT be effected to connect with the Jerome EL Line...THRU the E.162nd St Tunnel. IRT Mainline trains all with full length paddles shoes would NOT have cleared the E.162nd St. tunnel, period ! regards - Joe |
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