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| Re: Yankee Stadium and the old IRT 9th Ave. El Connection (685065) | |||
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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 Mon Sep 22 20:01:15 2008, in response to Re: Yankee Stadium and the old IRT 9th Ave. El Connection, posted by TunnelRat on Mon Sep 22 12:35:59 2008. Hi Steve (T/R) I figured so...anyway...also - there was NO E.155th Street "yard" per se...the original full yards were a huge complex on all Elevated structure over private land with a center of El yards long single ramp track down to the lower ground level. There were also ground level tracks UNDER the overhead very wide Elevated yards...but not as many tracks below. Parts and materials deliveries arrived at the Lower ground level by trucks and were loaded to work trains to then take the ramp up tp the main EL yards and 9th Avenue EL structure mainline. Also old worn-out surplus wood El cars were variously scrapped down there. I believe (if I recall correctly without going to my archives to search just now)... the main yards at E. 158th - 159th streets survived completely intact after June 1940 NY City takeover of the IRT Company System. Hundreds of surplus and older era IRT EL Gate car motor and trailer cars were stored in that yard, pending disposition. Some ongoing parts removal was done for useable motor, electrical and various other spare parts retrieveal for maintaining the remaining large fleet of operating EL motor and trail cars on the remaining post June 1940 2nd Avenue EL (South Ferry / City Hall to Queens via Q-Boro Bridge) and entire length 3rd Avenue EL Manhattan & Bronx route. EL Gate cars were taken via that ramp track to the lower level for parts stripping salvage and final body scrapping. I have 8x10 photos of track reconfigs work and removal of unneeded redunadant switches and lead-tracks being done in 1941 at the north end of the new "Shuttle line main yard lead" tracks. Fromw what I recall, the yard lasted thru WWII holding EL cars. Many good, useable MOTOR Gate EL cars from that yard ended up on the lower level to be trucked to other Railroad Line tracks for shipment by rail to the south for California ShipYard Railway and other States for wartime uses. Some were towed by Electric Locos in some regions in wartime factory worker transports. Many other surplus stored and worn out shape EL cars were scrapped for their various metals for the wartime efforts during thre war. Some few ACTIVE dedicated yard tracks held the remaining, after June 1940, layup stored MUDC's and Composites which ran shuttle services to the Bronx. Many running as 4 car shuttle trains during most and peak hours....two car sets in late Owl runs...thru the war years. The old 155th street end of the original terminal layout and the FOUR tracks and two island platforms (and single 5th westerly track and POLO Stadium direct attached platform) and huge southern end E.155th Street Station HEAD House stairways, connecting it to both the street below and overhead MaCombs Dam Bridge overpass sidewalk-ways, lasted in service until after the war...to approx. around 1948-9, "if" I RECALL correctly. Service on the shuttle had dropped somewhat after the war, except for weekday AM & PM rush hours (and riders from the NYCRR PUTNAM RR terminal across the River) and POLO Grounds Ball Games and other POLO Grounds hosted events after the war. Around the 1948 period (approx) it was decided to "truncate" and simplify the huge E.155th ST Terminal Station facilities, by removing the huge south end Head House facility and stairways entirely, along with the surplus westerly (former SB local and Express) island platform and trackbeds. The sole remaining former NB Express & Local Island Platform was shortened about 100 feet on the south end. It had been able to hold EIGHT car lengths originally. It now could hold about 6 cars total, each track to the new relocated southern bumpers. Passenger Access to the sole remaining shortened former NB Island platform, was facilitated by the always existing north platform end smaller exit stairway kiosks and mezzannine and street stairways just before the curves east to the Harlem River EL Bridge. This was also part of a City "waterfront and Stadium" area beautification improvements project which included a adjacent 2-block long new park and grounds on the east side of the terminal - between it and the river. Also to "open" up the street and area to more light. New blacktop paving and newer streetlights and sidewalk trees were added, and the EL structure was freshly re-painted. Also, as part of the "improvements", the supporting western side of the El structure and west sidewalk line columns, which supported that former SB island platform and the SB Local Track and the additional "Polo Grounds Building" attached seperate isolated long Platform and its "5th" westerly dedicated long straight track of the 5 track complex. That "5th" westerly track and the one "stadium-side attached" solo platform, abandoned and disconnected since June 1940 end of 9th Avenue EL services, originally allowed game rider-fans direct entry to and from the stadium building proper at EL track level, to and from the assigned "game special trains" during the pre-June 1940 9th Avenue EL full main route service days. The track girders for the former SB Express track (track # 4 of total 5 tracks counting west from the Harlem River edge) remained, retained intact and exposed, trackless, at the cut away edge of the remaining retained EL structure. Likely as additional bracing support for the remaining cross bent sections for the length of the station structure...and the El columns that were located longitudally along, under that exposed one-track structure track-girderwork. The huge and now long-empty of stored EL cars for years, virtually useless and use-abandoned 158th-159th st. yards were no longer needed...as trains could be off-peak stored on the westerly (former NB Express) track and former NB island platform side. Extra Shuttle Trains were also stored at the WOODLAWN Jerome Line yards, and shopped there. By 1948-up to early 1950, two car Composite or MUDC trains were the norm in service...except for 4 car trains on Game and other POLO Stadium "Events" days. Thus, the yards were also totally removed then, leaving very short straight stub-ends on the north end of the Shuttle line structure over Eighth Avenue where the tracks curved to meet the Bridge. That I hope should cover it all, basically. Joe F |
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