New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-11-06
RAPID TRANSIT PLAN.
rrpopr Of w 3. PARSONS. CHIEF EN-
c1NEER OF THE COMMISSION.

THE ROUTE PROPOSED GOES UNDER ELM 81
rouRrHAvE. TO FoRTY- sEcoND-ST' VIII"
n,,xc,, EXTENDING ON THE WEST SIDE
oxc ppoAnwAY AND THE BouLE-
WARD AND ANOTHER BRANCh
ALONG rouRTH-AvE ON THE
EAST SIDE COST ESTl-
MATED AT sao.ooo.ooc
William Barclay Parsons the chiei ems
~ the Rapid Transit Commission '
presented a report with plans Ior the %
rand transit underground railroad 'hioue" I'm,
:, a,d Eourth-aye. to Forty -second-st., win a
branch extending on the west '
pro,dw.v and the Boulevard. and pranch
extending along Fourth-ave on the Na''
s,de 70 cost not more than $30OOoCoV In the
.hsa,o. .. q ouorum the Commissioners took no
oc,,or IN the report beyond instructlng the SCI
retarv 10 give copies to the press. After teihhs
what had been done to ascertain the character
NJ the ground In which the tunnel must De 'Naue'
the report says:
To tho depth for which the excavation io f ,lid
railway will be made there was no mater h iHu
which ha r Wopd Of II is or sand of such excellent build
Ing quality that it would pay the sbe mortar and
concrete required on the work. r,,o,,.b.st and Is
Rock is met with first at Iw w near rail level
Tom there ss to providing an excel
lent and cn both 2nf the ana
the rock surface undulates grea'Eh, o aTcavaiion
win be in Aat material but to ,, no sre nremnary
than was anticipated In the original p'e''
estimates for the same routes
SUGGESTIONS MADE.
Details of construction which must be met ana
overcome are described. Then the report con-
tinues:
In the resolution of instructions the one
-ffth-st and the Boueyarpp ana
the East Side TO 9 mn Chief a engineer
TO make suggestions for your cohsioeia'o" -
rV9asS be Nest Side One
st. will not mako satisfactory terminus, or Ma
fas J RElns on the the ne neigh
boSlood OF hundred and m ,hich is
the principal cross street in that part OF tne cry;
and Furthermore the line can De tarf n such shane
that it can be readily extended at any ume iu' '"''
With the idea of building only so much OF the
railway certainly will be proan.e 70 w
at the outset stopping place The
Third Avenue Railway Company, mas Seru cur oyen
The boulevard and Kingsbridge Road to Yonkeis
and / believe arrangements have been maoe ,,
,,na ir operaon' the residents of Washington
Heights inwood Kingsbridge ana even Sacc
Ham p to nd thirty ths and there
take a fast express train for points IN '"e 'o"''
The combination of express trains on the Rapid
at and the surface service above that point will
furnish rapid transit facilities 10 tne ap 5 viii tend
to that section and to AZ hn
early date The nc o. Tm
fifth-st. TO Kingsbridge or beyond.
EAST SIDE BRANCH DIFFICULTIES.
The Fast side branch presents many Difficult
ties. in the opinion of the chief engineer. the
Commission having proposed definite route
und.- Fourth-ave as far as Ninety -eghth-st..
where the Harlem Railroad energies from the
tunnel He expresses the opinion that the line
should be extended to One-hundred- and-tenth
St The report proceeds:
From that point two alternatives are presented;
one by laying out an elevated rairoaa a9ns
tenth-st. to Lenox-ave. and thence along anu over
to the Harlem Rye could bs nsed for
ihat purpose as Madison and Fifth aves. are pro
hed by w b ana would be- namely
that 1t IS too near one Of the exis,ns INES OF e'e
branch off al or near One-hundred- and tenth-st..
pass through the rear of the lots abuttng say. on
Ii sucienty far to the west Of Mount
Morris Park g avoid the valuable residential prop
right with an cas-; curve and running straight 10
the Harlem River parallel TO Lenox-aye. Inc right
ten,h'st. Would have to be acquired by. purchase;
This line. prolonged across the Harlem River %ond
The Geographical conditions in the Annexed Dis
trict are peculiar. The tracks Of the NewYork
Central. Harlem and New Haven railroads. with the
large ny yaTE and Twentyfourth wards in
two. To the east OF the yard there Is ALREADY
he east by the yard high dividing ridge and
on the west by another ridge lies what is known
through the centre Of it. This valley covers nearly
Of the WITHOUT inn transit fscies
Its surface IL such thai houses can be erected
thas Could ' and s!od. supply homes for great
number of people
DISTRICT EAST OF THE HARLEM.
Mr.. Parsons argues in favor Of leaving the
district east of the Harlem, Railroad to be
served by the ManAat,an Company. and to
build the Rapid Transit branch in the Jerome
Valley. The report says:
There are two ways in which line can be built
river to build ordinary elevated railroad along
Girard-ave. TO It's intersection with jerome ave.
ward TO such point as may seem desirable The
other would be TO acquire private property and build
ment enclosed between retaining walls as the to-
biography Of the land Will indicate.
The time Of trains from the City Hall is esti-
mated at twenty-one minutes to One-hundred
and-thirty -lfth-st. on the West Side and thirty
five minutes to the Fordham Road on the East
Side. AS to the south end of the line the
report contains the following
South Of the Brooklyn Bridge station at City
Hall 4 complete loop can he constructed. so that
there Will be no switching crossing Of express
and local trains. AS the most convenient location
Tor this loop would be around the Postofce the OPP
nort,,nity is afforded have station in Broadway
n that point. The cable pits OF the Third Avenue
Raway Company compel the line under Park
Row 10 be depressed, and II will probably be found
Convenient to have the Postoff1ce station a few
feet lower than the ordinary stations elsewhere
ana thus the pipes in Broadway can be left undis
turbed overhead. Two tracks have been projected
~ serve fhe Postofice the Mail-st. and Park
Row sides. SO that direct and constant communi
cation can be had between the postofce and Grand