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Posted by
BusMgr
on Fri Oct 24 16:45:17 2014, in response to Limited Edition 110th Anniversary MetroCards, posted by Gold_12th on Thu Oct 23 21:00:51 2014.
edf40wrjww2msgDetail:detailStr fiogf49gjkf0d It may be 110 years since the opening of the subway underground, but is has been many more years since the opening of the subway system as a whole. The subway system, as we now know it, is a combination of subway, elevated, steam, and horse railroad lines. The first element of what eventually expanded into today's system was opened on June 4, 1864 (the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad), which would made the system exactly 150 years old as of this past June 4, 2014.
It is true that the running of the railroad underground truly transformed the City of New York. But the underground portion is only a part, and the system would be much smaller if only the underground portion were considered. It is also true that the original structure upon which the trains first operated in 1864 has been completely upgraded (lightweight rails laid in the street bed replaced with heavier elevated rails), but substantially all the right-of-way and the rapid transit service provided between South Brooklyn and Bath Beach remains in place.
Perhaps the reason that City and/or MTA may claim that 1904 was the year of the system's birth was that the 1904 opening was the first part of the system that had been constructed using City dollars, rather than using private financing. So in that regard, the City-owned portion of the subway system dates back 110 years.
I think it is more than mere semantics to take issue with claims of the subway system being 110 years old. It is 150 years old this year.
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