The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-15
AN AVOIDABLE BRIDGE CRUSH.
HOWLING MOB AT THIS END IN
SATURDAY RUSH HOURS.
Runnins Through Trains the Cause Of the
Trouble MOI SO Many 10 Carry Across.
nut They're Piled I'D at h Little
End 0r q Funnel Move 90 stop II.

, latest LOTfn OF LOIJuTe az me DTOOhlyu Dilheo
Manhattan terminal. 1t has been going on
now for a month and last week reached the
riot stage. 1t comes from treating a Satur-
day crowd as different from other crowds
IN size.
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit officials
run through elevated trains across the
bridge on Saturday nights instead OF the
usual local bridge trains. 1t is impossible
20 clear the platforms rs fast as they are
fIled and the result has been a collection
OF bowling, pushing, struggling people at
the Manhattan terminal on Saturday even
ing rush hours.
Bridge Commissions Stevenson will have
tho work Of loading the trains watched
\ this afternoon hv his own officials. and 1t
is expected that the r. r. T. will be called
upon to see that there shall be no more OF
. crush on Saturday than can be helped.
Why there should be a special crush on
6sfurdays. when a large part of the busines
community living in Brooklyn goes home
earlier than usual, was something that the
average bridge patron could not understand
for some time. When he arrived at the
Park row terminal and found the place
choked and the police tugging at the people
N TO hold them away from gates and stair =
IN cases ms UISL dShcu u lnClo "a bNNh n
breakdown somewhere. He was notified
that such was not the case, for every few
minutes men with megaphones would
shout out directions TO go this way and
that way for certain lines OF the Brooklyn
elevated system. Then the people would
be beseeched Ivy the megaphone men to
4 hold back. Then an announcement would
be made that the gates were open again
with the constant shouts Of:
Easy! Easy! Go easy therel'
The usual squirming, struggling mass
twisted itself. with the ripping of clothes
and the use OF bad words, up narrow stair
cases until the sharp sound of a signal
bell would be heard and then the police
would jump in and hurl back the crowd while
the gates TO the staircaSes we're shut again.
Last Saturday, especially. Police Captain
Murtha jumped in with every spare man he
could get in his command. When it was
all over the bridge squad mopped their
\ brows and said they could not recall such
q bard job in months.
There had been no breakdown on the
bridge. The B. II. T. people said the crush
was due to the extra rush Of Christmas
/ shoppers. A bridge police official was
asked about it and as he wrung the per-
spiration out of his handkerchief he said:
ITS due 10 the darn fool management
Of this terminal on Saturday night and
nothing else. Only don't quote me as
saying so for it might mean more trouble
for me, and heaven knows we've got trouble
enough with this job"
Inquiry showed that the -conges ton
was due alone to the B. r. T.. system of
handling trains on Satu rdays on the apparent
theory that Saturday half holidays are still
\ the rule. For years the B. X. T., has tried
10 run through trains on the bridge as
much as possible so that the patrons need
not climb another set of stairs in Brooklyn
after they have climbed those at the Man
haitian end.
IL was found that the scheme could be
worked well enough except at rush hours.
Then it has been necessary to run bridge
trains only. The bridge people can operate
sixty Of these five car trains an hour. The
greatest number Of elevated through trains
An hour that can be operated Is 6fty-two.
That means that 1000 more people an
A hour can be carried over the bridge in the
bridge trains than in the elevated through
trains.
The reason that there is greater expe-
dition in running bridge trains than through
& trains IL because the people are taken away
frorn the Manhattan platforms as fast as
they arrive. The steadily moving stream
NJ IL bundled into cars from n platform
- fast as IL sweeps up the stairs. With
only q platform from which to load there
y greater facility for switching trains
promptly. The bridge cars have side
\ doors in them and this makes 1t easier to
gef the people into them.
The Manhattan criminal Is the small end
( Of Q funnel. The folks are crowded into
che tube and on reaching the Brooklyn end
thsy are spread out fan shape. Tn dis
tribution takes place where there is room
for IL.
E When through elevated trains are run
".A. A. k-slA1 tko Isatrthytf1n haa 90 Nala
place at the small end Of the funnel in Man.
haitian. There are no side doors TO the
cars, Loading Is done at half a dozen plat
forms. The switching becomes more COM
plicated because Of delays u increased
"A dapger. As a result not comes when there
The B. r. I. people found that they could
run through trains with comparative ease
On the bridge on Saturday evenings in the
hummer when there was a half holiday
and they have continued to run them since
because, as the officials say they thought
fhe people wanted them. The platforms
arc choked because the people are not moved
over to Brooklyn as fast as they arrive.
n They have TO wait until the right train
comes in. In some cases this means a wait
81 from three TO six minutes. With the
Ky platforms occupied TO the extreme danger
limit by those waiting for the proper trains
and the gates closed from time TO time
mob.
The island platform at the extreme west
arc end of the bridge has been the scene
Of yhe worst disorder. Four lines load
there when the throug h trains are running.
.Ths platform is narrow and the police have
had 70 exercise the utmost care lest people
shaii be showed on the tracks from tho
n pressure behind. II the local trains were
run as on other nights, the police say, the
people, whose number Is really smaller
Than on ordinary nights because some folks
still 60 home early on Saturdays could be
banded easily.
Arthur N. Dutton, assistant TO General
Manager Caldsrwood Of the B. r. T. lines,
said yesterday:
isn't this Saturday afternoon crush due
largely to the increase OF travel from Christ
mas ~shopping1 You may say that we run
these through trains as much as we can
I'd because we nave thought that the people
wanted them. We should like TO run them
al the tinne II we could, so as to FIJI this
want. We can't do It on the ordinary
nights. We found we could do il on Satur-
day nights in the summer and so We have
kept IL up.
I'VE are DESTROYS of doing everything 10
ret the people home to Brooklyn asbpeedily
- possible. We cannot help the ordinary
crush. We have been running these