The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-08-10
THE NEW YORK SUBWAY.
Description of the Great Enterprise Of
Which E. P. Bryan Is Manager.

From the Kansas City Star.
The New York newspapers report satis-
factory progress on what is probably the
greatest municipal enterprise in the Uni
ted States-the New York subway. On
July 1 the city had paid the contractor
ST, $4,000, which is a little more thar,
half the contract price Of S35, 900, 900. About
two-thirds of the work of excavation had
been done at that time and 5000 of the
5000 tons of steel structure required had
been put in place. The tunnel must be
completed by September, 1904, but the
engineer in charge, Mr.. w. q. Parsons,
believes the work will be completed be-
fore that time. All the digging will have
been done within twelve months more,
he says. Since the beginning of the work,
in June, 1900, about 5000 men have been
pretty steadily employed
The subway is not expected to replace
the surface railways. Manhattan island
is one of the most crowded areas in the
world and the problem OF getting people
to and from work is a difficult one. In
1899 the street railway of old New York
carried more passengers than rode on
all the steam railways In the United
States that year. The existing lines are
inadequate to the demands made upon
them. By the addition of the rapid
transit facilities of the subway it is
expected that the traffic can be fairly
well handled for a few years, at least.
The tunnel begins with a loop around
the post office at the southern end of
Manhattan island. From here 1t will
run north with four tracks to One Hun
~,ed and Fourth street, a distance of
seven miles, most of the route under
Broadway.
A two-track tunnel will continue north
to a point beyond One Hundred and Nine
tieth street. whence the tracks will
emerge on a viaduct that will carry them
to Two Hundred and Fiftieth street. four
teen miles from the postoffce. Another
tunnel of the same size will branch from
the main line at One Hundred and Fourth
street and run in a northeasterly direc-
ton under the Harlem river. A viaduct
will carry the tracks to Bronx park. sew
en- miles beyond One Hundred and Fourth
street It Is planned eventually to con-
meet Long island with Manhattan island
by a tunnel under the East river the
contract for which was awarded last
week.
In planning the subway two courses
were open. The first was to put In circu-
lar iron-lined tubes at such a depth as
to pass beneath all sewers and other
distractions. The second was to con-
struct a rectangular trench as near the
surface as possible rearranging all the
pipes and conduits disturbed. The first
plan had the advantage of not interfer-
ing with street traffic while the exca-
waiting was In progress. But it involved
the necessity of expensive station ele-
vators, which would probably be con-
stantly overcrowded during rush hours.
Furthermore, 1t precluded the use of ma
tura1 light at stations. The second plan
was chosen as the better, although, as
Gen. Horace Porter said the other day,
it has made New York look like a min
ing camp Accordingly, the subway lies
lust beneath the surface, and the station
platforms are to be only fourteen feet
below the street. The use of glass side
walks above the stations will give them
q moderate degree of sunlight The OBJ
tectionabie sensation of going into a cell
lar will be avoided, and the subway will
hardly seem a tunnel
In the work of construction about 100
feet of street is torn up at time. A
trench twenty feet deep is dug and a
floor of concrete laid. On this is erected
a steel framework with concrete roof.
The principle of construction is the same
as that of the "sky-scraper," In which
the weight of the structure falls on the
skeleton framework instead of on solid
walls. Careful work has been necessary
to dispose successfully Of sewers and
pipes. For the sake Of one crossing 1t
has been necessary to construct new
6-foot sewer a mile long, because the
ground was too low for the old one to
pass beneath the subway.
The choice of motive power Is left with
the operator, with the provision that there