{"id":4579,"date":"2022-09-14T19:13:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T00:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanshnookenraggen.com\/_index\/?p=4579"},"modified":"2024-01-02T16:37:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T21:37:09","slug":"ind-service-guide-1953","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanshnookenraggen.com\/_index\/2022\/09\/ind-service-guide-1953\/","title":{"rendered":"IND Service Guide: 1953"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you are reading this blog it’s probably because you have an interest in subways and maps (I can’t imagine any other reason to be here since I stopped posting music recommendations a decade ago.) If you aren’t familiar with him, Peter Lloyd is an author and map nut who has a fantastic blog looking into the evolution of the designs for the New York subway map., http:\/\/nycsubwaymap.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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Map of New York City transit lines, Arthur Weindorf 1918<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Peter has been posting a number of amazing finds on Twitter<\/a> recently, specifically about the work of Arthur Weindorf. From the New York Historical Society website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Long Island City, Arthur Weindorf (1885- 1979)was a practicing cartoonist in his early years. From 1908 to 1944 he worked as an architectural designer and engineer for the City of New York’s Public Service Commission (the precursor to today’s New York City Transit Authority.) During his tenure at the Public Service Commission, Weindorf collected drawings, clippings, maps, posters, and photographs of the New York City subway. In 1916 he built the first New York City subway model; his later models were displayed at the 1939-40 World’s Fair. In addition to models, Weindorf also created illustrations, maps, certificates, and paintings for the Commission. Weindorf’s non-subway-related artistic work was widely exhibited during his lifetime.<\/p>Guide to the Arthur Weindorf Subway Collection<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Because of Weindorf’s tenure making maps of the subway during the birth and construction of the IND, the Independent City-Owned Subway, we can use his maps as a guide through the development of the system. What became the IND was originally the next phase of subway expansion after the construction of the Dual Contracts, an agreement between the city and the two private transit companies to divide the expansion. The next phase would have most likely created a second Dual Contracts, so these two networks could expand. But Mayor John Hylan had other plans.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Subway expansion plans, New York Times. Arthur Weindorf 1922<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I absolutely love this map because it’s the only rendering of what the original two systems, the IRT and BMT, would have looked like had the IND not been built. Of these proposals, only the extension of the IRT Flushing Line was ever built as-proposed. What today is the G train, the Crosstown Line, would have been built as part of the BMT to connect the Queensboro Plaza station to the Brighton Beach Line (I covered this in a previous post<\/a>.)<\/p>

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The most interesting part of this proposal is the first draft of the 8th Ave Line, which would be slightly different than it is today. Built in stages, the first phase would have connected the 7 train to the L train under 8th Ave, creating a loop. (I guess the L platforms would have been widened to account for the more narrow IRT trains.) The first phase would be 4-tracks from 41st St to 14th St. Phase 2 would extend 2-tracks south to Chambers St, Phase 3 would build 4-tracks north of 41st to 155th and 3-tracks north to 181st. The tunnel was to be bi-level and built on one side of 8th Ave so that, in the future, another 4-track tunnel can be added!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 57th St, the 8th Ave Line shifted to Amsterdam Av. It was also proposed to break off the IRT Lenox Ave Line from the 7th Ave-Broadway Line and connect it to the new 8th Ave Line to provide more express service on the IRT. Instead of replacing the 6 Av El with a subway, the northern extension of the BMT Broadway Line would have sufficed. The express tracks were to be extended along Central Park West and then under Adam Clayton Blvd to 155th St. Provisions for this extension were built, but ultimately used for the 63rd St Tunnel and 2nd Ave Subway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Staten Island Tunnel was still on the drawing boards here. While provisions for this tunnel were built into the 4th Ave Line at 59th St, planners preferred extending the line from Bay Ridge instead as it would allow for more capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last piece was a new East River tunnel connecting the lower level of City Hall station (Broadway Line) with the Fulton St El in Brooklyn. The proposed Ashland Pl connection (between the Fulton St El and DeKalb Av station) was cut due to lack of capacity, so this new tunnel would solve that. The Fulton St El was to tunnel at Clermont Ave, run up to DeKalb Ave and then along Livingston St. One alternative went across to Broad St and the other went up to the Brooklyn Bridge and then across in a tunnel. A round about way, but you can see how this evolved into the Cranberry St Tubes into the IND Fulton Line.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Brooklyn Daily Eagle March 20, 1925<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mayor Hylan famously hated the private companies and wanted to drive them out of business so that the city could control its own transit. To do this, he took these plans and created the Independent System, IND. Here, 3 years after the initial plans were announced, we can see how the IND evolved the plans to create the system we know today. The original alignment of the Cranberry St Tubes (A\/C trains) under Clinton St is still here, and what is today the G train would have originally run into Manhattan along 8th or 6th Aves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1932-40: While IND token booths distributed the Franklin Savings Bank leaflet with Arthur Weindorf's IND map (see earlier post), … at some point during this period, Weindorf experimented with a different design, which placed North at the right. Probably pinned up in stations. pic.twitter.com\/nZrIMQebXQ<\/a><\/p>— Peter Lloyd (@thenycsubwaymap) August 29, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>