The New York herald., 1878-12-21
Serio-Conic Aspect Of Elevated Railroad 7raV-
elHns on The East Side.
CROWDED TRAINS And RATE PASSENGERS.
Merchants and Clerks Fighting Their Way
to Hot Dinners.


that have come this city. When the HERALD
urged the building of these roads many people de-
clared they would never pay and that people would
never ride upon them. Now. when they have been
running only few months it is already found that
they inadequate to meet the requirements of
public travel. Mr. Cyrus w. Field tells good story
OF some inventor who came to his Office and offered
some splendid discovery Of his by means of which
the traffic the Third avenue elevated road might be
enlarged. 'Oh, don't, for Gods sake!" Mr.. Field
piled. 1--WE don't want to make it any bigger. Tell
us something that will make it smaller until we
have engines and cars enough to accommodate the
public and we'll be glad to take it," Since the open
ing Of the road to Eightyninth street the traffic
this line has increased ten thousand day, and
this week it has been follows:-On Monday
70, 134 on Tuesday. 65.566; on Wednesday, 65.4S0
and on Thursday. 6A.s79. The remarkable scenes of
overcrowding alluded to above, and which appear to
be incidental to the first sudden. popular of
rapid transit-a far eclipsing the widest
dreams of the managerstake place between five and
seven O'Clock in the evening. when tve-cent fares
prevail, and during these hours those who have
never witnessed them and want to enjoy some ex
citing fun should certainly visit the downtown sta
tions Of the east side road If Firth to take his
position any evening at halfpast five six o'clock
the Fulton street depot he would certainly obtain
more exciting material for vivid scenes at q railway
station than England could furnish him for another
painting.
THE RUSH AT FULTON STREET.
The Fulton street station is now undergoing some
changes which will afford the public material relief
and prevent the terrible Jams the stairs. Hth-
erto there has been only one narrow stairway from
the first landing up to the platform. crowded
train arriving from up town the passengers all rush
down the stars-at least they would rush down were
they not wedged in between the serried masses Of
passengers many OF them with bundles under their
arms. who in vain trying, at the same time. to
fight their way up to catch the train. Nobody who
has not personally experienced it have an idea
of the of pushing and jostling that take
place upon this stairway almost every evening But
let the figures tell their own story-they at least
cannot be charged with being sensational. Accord
ing to the statement OF the ticket agent about 100
or 6,200 tickets are sold on an average At Fulton
street per day, and OF this number from 2,l00 to
1900 are sold between ii We and seven r. NJ. In other
words, while during seventeen hours of the day the
number OF tickets sold per hour is only little over
two hundred it is about one thousand two hundred
during these two rush hours The ticket agents
arms fairly ache from the frantic manner In which
they have TO throw the fye C cent tickets through
black masses OF hurrying, bustlng men. skurryng
home from business. with stray woman or child in
their midst whose courage in venturng into such
dense, struggling multitude must be admired. Be-
proceeding any further it is only just to say that
remedied by next week A new stairway has been
put in and the passage to the stairs Will be divided
that separate cgrcss and ngress will lie provided
for passengers coming from down or going up
WAITING FOR A TRAIN.
But after the hungry business man. anxious for his
dinner has pushed through all the obstructng arms
and elbows and safely climbed up to the platform,
the seyerest trial Of all awaits him. To catch
train-that the point. 1t is undertaking which,
to him who has not tried it during these hours.
seems easy enough Well. here comes train. The
plattorn-long, narrow and placed between the two
tracks-is crowded with from two to three hundred
people Perhaps. and 1t occurs almost every night.
there are even from fonr 70 hve hundred upon u,
struggling along all the way from one end OF the
platform the other The first question uppcrmost
IN everybody's mind is. Where precisely will the
train stop. Where shall stand TO be nearest OF
the platform gates Everybody understands that il
lie IL not quite close by the gates the cars will be
rapidly flied up before he gets chance to enter, and
OF goes the train there is much push
ing and jostlin9 and elbowing and struggling
and even fighting for the best places e.
form, where the opportunities TOR tumbling
do wn upon the track excellent, but coolly dis
regarded by the eager passengers whose motto
10 be. Let us get home at all hazards" Well the
train snortng along. There Is groan OF dis
appointment as the conductors call out. Not above
Forty second street. Train Tor the Grand Central
Depot OF course the vast majority want to 90
above Fort y-sccond street and must wait for the next
train Many, however, know from past experience
that they will find II impossible t. get through
train and they prefer to take their chances OF get
ting through tram at Thirtyfourth street and pay
ing another rare. This is donc by great many every
night and often with success. by the time the next
through train viii have reached Thrtyfourth street,
they calculate, many passengers VIII have alighted,
ana perhaps there viii be a chance TO get there.
The writer has tried the experiment with many
others. but sometimes nc has found even this expe-
dent fail for three and four through trains have
passed by Thirty fourth street (which Is the last
stop of Grand Central trains on Third avenucl with
taking on any passengers.
4 THROUGH TRAIN CONES.
But TO return to Fulton street. The Grand Central
train has left with full load of passengers and
ed m pf
the up track curving into Fulton street. Sometimes
a nishap occurs. and people have even waited live
and ten minutes for the next trainfor during these
hours the delays occasoned by the tremendous rush
OF passengers the inadequate terminal facilities ut
south ferry are very great. But rule there IL
train every two minutes. Well now comes q through
train Every body pulls himself up" strains his
nerves and is determined to bear down everybody be-
fore him order 10 get into car Alas the train is
fun and rattlcs nonchalantly by without deign-
ing to stop. Somebody on the platform has cspiccL
square inch OF vacant room i'll the train that
ontrageousy disappointed the waiting sufferers and
he cries OUTFITS damned shamel There
,lenty of room in there!" Well after much
prumbling and swearing they settle patiently
aown To wait for the next Perhaps there A. good
stin gale travelling at the rate OF thirty or
tnirty.nye miles per hour over their heads, and
people have to hold on very hard to their hats lest
they be blown off-Dut no matter. "Gct home -
that IL the sole thought dominating all these minds
All here another train CONES along. This train.
thank God. is empty. Now everybody thinks there
will bc u chance Tor ~ all. What astonishmcnt and
Indignation then, when II slowly and dlgniicdly
rumbles BY. 1t ia intended for the poor people who
have been frctling and fuming tor the last halt
hour ON the stations above Chatham square and who
IL all the trains filled below would be ieft In
the cold altogether. Very Few people Understand
TINS and the growing aud swearing grow correspond
indy harder and louder. Two minutes mvrc--and
by this time the multitude has been vastly rweilcd
and another train comes in sight. Aiasl it bcars
tr,ci ia. and only goes to the depot Two minutes
more. wow al last there Is a chance. The tram IL
only three t.fOurths full ana there IL room for about
tBirty or fortS lssscnsers. About three or Tour nun
drel try to crowd ~ these thirty forty seats
There IL such wild onset upon the gates tnat.
result nobody can enter AT ALL The pushing and
struggling masses are wcdgcd upon the
platforms FOR hyc ten reconds at
lime, and all have to 10 dead
stop. All want to get III ut the
same moment, and therefore ~ one can bulge all
inch. y occasionally lnan--thIs happened to the
writer, pcrsonally-bccvlnes janiniei between the
two platform gates, and stands excellent chance
ot being kicked down upon the track between the
wheels, but matter. 'lct US get honc,' Tor tho
dinner II getting cold. Well the train Is packed like
box OF sardnes ana, by dint of hard nghiing, the
conductors and brakcinen succeed Ia shutting the
gates, while some cnterprising passenger, who re-