The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-10
BATTERY WEST FARMS TRAINS
THE SUBWAY THROIGH ROUTE
OPENED THIS MORNING.
All Express Trains to Run TO the Battery
Battery station Loop With =
Sharp Curve One Side PlatrOr m
-BOwllng Green an Island station.


All subway express trains and some locals
will run to the Battery station to-day and
make stops at Bowling Green. The first
Battery Bronx through train left West
Farms at 1901 o'clock this morning bound
for the Battery.
In the motorman's place was Supt Merritt
of the marlborough company and riding in
the first car with him were Trainma ster
Hayes and d. NJ Morrison the motor in
structor of the company. Fifteen passen-
gers got aboard at the start. but at each
stop more boarded the train. At the Mott
avenue station. the last before entering
the tube underneath the river, 100 people
were waiting to Ike their first ride under
the Harlem River. over which they had
crossed so many times.
Once in the tube the air became cooler
and the passengers seemed to think that
there had been a drop OF at least fifteen
degrees At the l35th street station, the
first this side Of the river, Supt. Merritt
stopped running the train and turned the
care Of it over to motorman. Mr. Merritt
and the other two employees Of the COM
pany left the train at the 135th street station
having seen that everything was running
smoothly.
The first train from the Battery pulled
out of the station few minutes after mid
night. This was Broadway train. Edna
Thorman, an eleven-ye -old girl living
at 500 Fast l44th street, bought the first
ticket. She had induced her parents to
bring her down to the Battery 80 that she
might ride all the way home. Edna was
disappointed when she learned that the
first train was going up Broadway instead
Of Lenox avenue.
At the Bridge the Ienox avenue pas
sengers were told to change cars and wait
for Lenox avenue train. The Lenox
avenue cars run every seven minutes and
all go through the Harlem tunnel. The
LenoH avenue train that left the Bridge
at 1l15 was the first to go through.
The two downtown stations differ in
type from any previously opened The
Battery has only one side platform. The
trains will round the loop, open the doors
on the right and clear the cars. and will
then take on passengers from the same
platform.
Repeaters, who are riding on the sub
way for the fun of 1t, will be able to mix
with the crowd and. returning to the cars
they have just left, can go uptown on the
same fare. However. experience at other
stations has shown that repeaters are so
scarce that 1t is not worth while watching
for them.
The Bowling Green station is an island
like those at the other express stations.
There are no side platforms at the Brooklyn
Bridge and, SSventy-second street and, as
both express and local trains will run on the
same track below the Bridge. there is no need
Of two islands. as at the Grand Central
station. The Bowling Green station IL the
longest in the subway system-40O feet.
The Battery station. which il built on a
curve, is 400 feet long. This curve is so
sharp that there must necessarily be con-
siderable space between the platform and
the car door, and passengers will have to
mind the step pretty carefully
The thing is all finished at the Bowling
Green station The design consists Of
panels OF buff and drab with conventional
flower border. The walls OF the Battery
station are unfinished and the workmen
have not even begun on the upper layer
OF ornamental tiles The design here will
be rather elaborate, and will include frieze
showing the old Battery sea wall, Ar the
contract for the division of the road below
City Hall prohibits advertising, passengers
will be able to see these decorations.
The conditions in these two new sections
of the subway last night went to indicate
that it is the heat engendered by the electric
trains which makes the subway 40 insult
ferably hot these days. At 10 O'Clock,
when no regular trains had been run as yet,
these stations were the coolest places in
New York.
There will be two entrances and one exit
at the Bowling Green station. The south
ern entrance will not Ike opened for several
days az the stairs are not finished.