The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1910-12-02
COTHAM'S HUGE
TERMINAL OPEN
pennsyIvanIa's Trains Go On
der River to New York
SIX YEARS WORK REQUIRED.
Depot 10 Largest Building Ever Con.
strueted asd With Train Yards Gov.
srs Twenty -tkfpe Aerss-Elsetrie Mo.
tors Thre. Tines as Expensive a.
Steam Locomotives Are Used.

One minute after midnight on Nov
q the Pennsylvania railroad opened
its mammoth terminal on Manhattan
Island to all trains. Those Of the Long
Island system had used it. but never
the through trains to the west and
south.
Work on the Pennsylvania station
was started May 1, 1904, so that prac
ideally six years and seven months
were consumed In making the excava.
tons for the fahpdation of the build.
ing and In consrructing it. To clear
the eight acrestDf ground occupied by
the station mesnt the razing of some
800 buildings. tamong which were a
number Of churehes.
The area Of the station and yard is
twenty eight aires, and In this there
are sixteen miles of track. The stor.
age tracks alone will hold 3S6 cars.
The length of Ne twenty-one standing
tracks at the station is 21,50O feet.
There are eleven passenger platforms.
with twenty-five baggage and express
elevators. The highest point Of the
tracks in the station is nine feet below
sea level. sF
Dimensions Of Terminal
The station biilding is 1S8 feet long
aud 420 feet Vile. The arSrage height
above the street is 90 feet. while the
maximum is 1H8 feet To light the
building 1t takes about 500 electric arcs
and 10000 incandescents.
More than 10000 cubic yards of
concrete were required for the retain
ing walls, foundations. street bridging
and the substructure. There are $50
columns supporting the station build
ing. and the greatest weight on any Of
these Is 1858 tons.
The stonework Of the station was
completed on July 81. 1909. TO in
close this vast area necessitated the
building Of exterior walls aggregating
2,45S feet, nearly half mile, in
length and has required 100000 cubic
feet Of pink granite.
In addition to the granite the con-
struction of this building has called
for the use of 27,OO0 tons of steel.
There have also been, set in place
some 100000 bricks. weighing to-
tai Of $4,000 tons. The first stone of
the masonry work on the building was
laid June Is. 1908. The entire mason
ry was thus completed in approx
mately thirteen months after the work
was begun.
Description Of Tunnels.
The river tunnels leading to the sta
ton are, all told, 6S miles long. and
the land tunnels have the same length.
From the Bergen hill portal In New
Jersey to the Long Island entrance Of
the tunnels is 5.3 miles. 1t Is SO
miles from Harrison. N. j.. to the sta
ton In New York, while from the lat.
ter point to Jamaica the distance Is
11.S5 miles.
The maximum capacity in trains per
hour Of all Of the Pennsylvania tun-
nels Is IA. The initial daily service
will consist Of 2s9 Pennsylvania and
Long Island trains.
Protective devices abound In the
yards and tunnels.
Every so often through the long
length Of the tube signal lights are
seen. If an engineer attempts to run
by one Of these signals when 1t Is set
his train Is stopped automatically by
the shutting Off of his current. At
each signal is telephone. to which
the conductor has the key, that con-
meets with the main signal station.
Only when the signal station has re-
leased the train may 1t proceed upon
its way.
Forty powerful motors operate the
trains over the electrified system.
Each one Is twice as strong as a steam
locomotive and cost over three times
as much. They were built at the Al.
toona shops of the railroad and equip
ped with Westinghouse motors for the
sum Of $4,000 apiece.