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| Re: Why was 179th St/Jamaica 13 years late? (729681) | |||
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Re: Why was 179th St/Jamaica 13 years late? |
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Posted by randyo on Sun Jan 4 17:23:53 2009, in response to Re: Why was 179th St/Jamaica 13 years late?, posted by G1Ravage on Sun Jan 4 05:46:18 2009. If I recall, Parsons had a US&S machine not a GRS. 179 has a GRS push button. Unlike the private comanies who generally purchased from only one manufacurer (US&S in the case of the IRT), the city felt it was necessary to split signal contracts between the two major signal manufacturers of the day. That made for some rather unique patterns in equipping the IND with switch and signal equipment. The original IND for example had US&S equipment from 207 St to 125 St (actually the split was between 125 and 59 but I don't recall exactly where). From that point south to Chambers St, GRS supplied the signal equipment. From Chambers south to Church Av, the signal equipment was again US&S and the entire Fulton St Line was GRS equipped. In the 1950s when the NYCTA equipped the former BMT Fulton St El and the Rockaway Line in preparation for IND takeover, the signal contract was split between GRS to Lefferts and Howard Bch and US&S from that point south the the Rockaways. The pattern was generally that the B of T and TA alternated contracts between US&S and GRS. The BMT used predominantly GRS equipment but there were certain selected towers that had US&S signal equipment and there were even some oddball plants by Hall Switch and Signal and Federal Rwy Signal. Although all GRS switch machines and stop arm motors are all electric, US&S makes both electro pneumatic and all electric equipment and until recently all the US&S equipment on the NYCTS was electro pneumatic. The newer US&S installations are all electric since it is cheaper to do away with the air compressors and piping required by an EP system. After the TA started upgrading the signal equipment in the 1950s, it generally kept the new IRT installationa as US&S and the BMT instalations as GRS. However, in keeping with the B of T and later NYCTA's policy of awarding alternate companies the signal contracts, it was inevitable that the IRT would get GRS equipment and the BMT would get US&S equipment. The first of these variations came with the upper Bway IRT from N/O 103 St to V/C getting GRS equipmen and the Nassau St Line of the BMT getting US&S equipment. There are even some locations where the interlocking machines are of one manufacture and the switches and signal of another. One such location is Nostrand Jct on the IRT where the signals and stop arms are GRS and the switch machines are US&S electro pneumatic (probably the last EP machines on the property). Lately there are some new companies in the industry such as Safetran which have been receiving some TA contracts but I don't know exactly what formula is used for determining which company gets which contract. It may now be open to competitive bidding but I'm not sure. |
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