Tunnel provisions

[bigrene18 3]

This thread is an updated version of one of my earlier threads from last year: http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8932

 

I updated this thread with a little bit more info than the other one.

 

Well here's the updated list (with a little bit more info):

 

Roosevelt Avenue Terminal and trackways:

The only IND Second System station that was actually finished is the

Roosevelt Avenue terminal (on the upper level of the IND Queens Blvd

Station in Queens), it has trackways but no tracks. There is a

trackway just east of the Roosevelt Avenue Station that diverges away

from the D1 track (Manhattan-bound local track).The trackway ramps up

to the same level as the 2 trackways coming from the never-used

Roosevelt Avenue Terminal, making 3 trackways on the upper level. The

ramp flies over the mainline tracks along with the two other

trackways. There is a diverging bellmouth next to the D2 track

(Jamaica-bound local track) several hundred feet north of the station,

just at the location where the 3 upstairs trackways are crossing

over. I think only the city-bound trackway from the Roosevelt Avenue

terminal station meets the main line; the other turnout, on the

eastbound side, ends in a concrete wall shortly after the start of the

turnout. Odd. When Roosevelt Avenue was the terminal from 1933 to 1936, the ramp leading to the upper level probably had track on it at one time.

From looking from the side window of an train, it looks there isn't

even any ballast on the ramp IIRC. That converted signal is actually

in the path of the ramp, it would have to be moved if the ramp were to

ever go in service. There is no tape on the model board either. If

there was anything there, it was painted over. You have to look up at

it in just the right way with certain lighting to see faint

indentations of where the Winfield spur was to have turned off from D1

and D2. It would have been something if the line was built, 2 towers

at Roosevelt. I've been there (as have a number of other posters) and have some absolutely horrible pictures (not enough light for the film I was

using). It is a terminal station with two trackways and an island

platform, fully tiled, with blank signs in place on the island

platform. The tunnel continues for quite some distance above the

tracks that serve the lower station, until the point where they would

no longer be on top of each other; you can see the trains on the lower

tracks from the tunnel. At the time I was there it was largely used

for storage of non-critical items (it was absolutely filthy with steel

dust). Part of the station has been converted to equipment rooms and

(at one time) was used as a police substation; I'm not sure what it is

used for now (I was there in '96 or '97). AFAIK it is one of only two

never-used stations (the other being Nevins Street lower level) to

have been tiled - the other never-used station shells are in the

rough. (Of course, there are a number of formerly-used stations that

are fully tiled.) The Winfield Connection platform of Roosevelt Avenue is hardly controversial as to its existence. The home signal is still out in the

field. Take a good look at the "automatic" signal north of the ramp on

D1 track. It has a blanked-out bottom head. On the Roosevelt Avenue interlocking machine in the station tower, there are spare levers for the necessary signals and switches and if you look carefully, you can see where the tracks were once displayed on the model board but have been painted out. On the ramp leading to the Southbound local track, from the unused upper level, there is a homeball signal, "D1-1415" which has the lower portion lenses covered over and now functions as an automatic signal. It was possible to look out the back of a Manhattan-bound local from a

RFW to see the ramp (sans tracks). All four Roosevelt trackways end in a concrete wall where they begin to diverge from the excavation for the existing line.

 

East Broadway on the :

At East B`way on the F Line, there locked stairs at the north end of

the station that was supposed to lead up to where the Worth Street

subway was to have a transfer station at. Nothing of the station was

built. From one end to the other there is an empty space paralelling

the station below. I`ve been up there several times.

 

 

South of the Canal Street station on the A, C, & E:

A bellmouths was built south of Canal Street on the IND 8th Avenue

local southbound track (trains headed towards World Trade Center) and

was supposed to be where the trains would come off the 8th avenue

trunk and turn onto Worth Street and East Broadway. On the wall there

was a arrow painted with the words "Worth St." on it. Is this where

the Worth Street tunnel was going to be.

 

 

2nd Avenue station on the F:

Space was reserved for the 2nd Avenue line at 2nd Avenue on the IND

6th Avenue Line / look above at that end and there is a higher

ceiling. The 2nd Avenue station wasn't built as an express station.

The tracks end shortly past the false wall that is there (I believe

one train length/535 ft). The two tracks extend about 535 feet from

the end of the platform to the end of the track and tunnel, just shy

of one train length. There is nothing more beyond that point, though

it was intended to become an under-river tube to Brooklyn, under the

2nd Phase of the IND, was supposed to lead to what was supposed to

have been the South 4th Street Station. When the service started

running there, the false wall was move a little back into the tunnel

to give the trains a little more than just 600 ft to berth in the

station. Near the ending of the tail tracks, the tracks begin to

separate and end at bumper blocks. At the end of the tracks at the

bumper blocks, there is a provision of a center track which only

extends about 15 feet and it stops at the bulkhead at the end of the

tunnel. I think the skells took over the area so it was blocked off so

that they would stop living there. When trains were laid up there they

were 8 car B trains so the layups did not really have to stick out

into the station. When the K service stopped running in 1976, 4 B

trains laid up at 2 Av midday 2 in the station and 2 between the

station and the bumping blocks.

 

 

2nd Avenue Subway Connections:

The IND 63rd Street line, east of Lexington Avenue/63rd Street, the

bellmouth for the 2nd Ave Subway connection are clearly visible.

Now when it mears to the left it does not go in that much. I would say

it goes at most 25'. No tracks have been laid as of yet. Also where

the bellmouth ends there is just 2 bars there to hang on which is on

the floor. Thats about it. I personally would of though it was in much

deeper where you can't see nothing but black.

 

 

At Lexington Avenue/63rd Street on the F line, behind the platform

walls on each level is a second track intended for future connection

to the proposed Second Ave Subway. East of this station, the planned

track connections to the 2nd Avenue Subway curves slightly north and

ends with a bumper. After the tracks ends, the roadbed goes on for a

few hundred feet and the the smooth cement wall floor and ceiling come

to a stop.

 

 

Bellmouths east of 63rd Drive/Rego Park:

There is a turn-off provision off the D1 Track (Mahattan-bound local)

east of 63 Drive/Rego Park station, which would have gone down to the

Rockaways via the former LIRR line. This one has a ramp, rising up to

an upper level. It crosses over the existing IND Queens Blvd tracks to

curve south, and ends at the edge of the line under Queens Blvd. Well, I've ridden on the eastbound R line between Roosevelt Avenue and

71st-Continental many times and have seen the turnouts at from the

railfan window (when the line ran R-32s). I can't recall the exact

area, but I know that at least one of the turnouts is very short and

comes to a wall perhaps 40ft away from the main line (I believe its

the one next to the D2 Track), and, interestingly, even has an

emergency exit that was built into the wall that curves away from the

main line. The other one goes a little longer. I've read somewhere

that one of the tunnels continues as far as 66th Avenue. As I said, it

does go a little longer than the other one. These were obviously

turnouts intended for lines to be built later, which of course, never

were. The structure at one of the platforms at the 63rd Drive station was

supposed to be the tower for the proposed Rockaway Line connection.

 

 

Bellmouths east of Utica Avenue:

South of the IRT (3/4 Lines) Utica Avenue station platforms in

Brooklyn there are bellmouths on both levels for the proposed Utica

Avenue line of the IRT that was not built.

 

 

The tracks east of 179th Street:

East of 179th Street on the IND Queens Blvd Line, the small layup yard

on both levels east of the 179th Street Station, which was planned for

an extension of the F train to Springfield Blvd or Little Neck Pkwy.

The upper level track east of this station was to be extended eastward

while the lower level tracks was always intended to be relay tracks.

The tracks on the upper level is longer than the lower level tracks

and the upper level tracks has a wooden partition at the bumper

blocks. The tracks for the upper level were put in sometime in the

late 1950's.

 

 

South of 59th Street (4th Avenue Line):

South of 59th Street/4th Avenue (next to the local tracks), there are

bellmouths for a proposed line to Staten Island. Well, they're not

really bellmouths, but the tunnel does not narrow south of 59th St.,

thereby leaving two trackways- one on either side of the 4 active

tracks. Looking South on the S/B platforms, the MoW building that you

see 100 feet into the tunnel is sitting in one of the trackways. The

view from the N/B platform is unobstructed, albeit much darker. The

trackways run for about 150 feet. The one on the N/B side ends in a

brick wall, with evidence of some sort of space beyond. Even further

South, the bridge over the Bay Ridge cut has four trackways, with the

2 active tracks of the 'R' line occupying the two westernmost ones (by

this point, the Fourth Av line swings over to the Western half of 4th

Av).

 

 

South Fourth Street provisional platforms:

Above the Broadway station on the G there is a unused station shell

that was supposed to be called, "South 4th Street". This was part of

the IND Second system, where 2 lines coming from Mahanttan was

supposed to merge into. If your in the last car of the southbound G line at Broadway station..you can "see" the darkened transfer tunnel that looks like a very wide passageway that would have taken you to the upper levels

where the 6 track South 4th st station is located..there is also a

closed off door located in the station where the walkway is. The

station wall there looks like it was an after thought...with a steel

linked door blocking entry on the left. NOTE: South 4th St. isn't a complete, full-length station. It's only as long, roughly, as the G-line station below, Broadway, is wide. If you have access, once you're let through a locked gate at the end of one of the platforms of the G's Broadway stop, is up the crude

"ramps" that were never turned into finished stairways. They're steep,

and slippery with dust. The station is a semi-complete shell, all

platforms and trackbeds in place, but no rail, no tile, no stairs.

I've got down on the trackways and walked to one end or the other to

see where they deadended at blank walls, waiting for a connection that

never came (I've got permission from an MTA Employee). I was at the Broadway station in fall of 2008 and saw what looked like an opening in the ceiling above the N/B platform near the northern end - looked like a ventilation shaft of some sort. Perhaps it had do something with the S 4th St station above.....

 

 

*Bedford–Nostrand Avenues Middle Track:

The "express" track at Bedford-Nostrand on the G was meant to be a

separate line, not an express track, like it seems to be. After

Bedford-Nostrand going Queens-bound there was supposed to have been a

line continuing down Lafayette Street, and Bedford-Nostrand was

supposed to have been the transfer point. The extension along

Lafayette Avenue would have turned a bit at Stanhope Street and joined

the Myrtle Ave-Central Ave Line (Central Ave in Glendale, not

Brooklyn's Central Ave) to form a four-track line. Classon Avenue was

to have had a turning track. All this was to be built as part of the

IND Second System, which would have made the subway map look much

different than it does today.

 

 

*Utica Avenue station shell:

At the Utica Avenue station on the A and C lines, in the center of the

station, the ceiling slopes down compared to the rest of the station.

Above are unused platforms intended for use of the propsosed Utica

Avenue Line as part of the IND Second System. There were blocked

stairways up from platform level to the unused station shell, but

possible evidence is present at ceiling level. It appears that there

are four trackways and two island platforms running diagonally across

the ceiling in the center of the station. There are some locked doors

which could serve as access to the unfinished platforms. The station

shell sits unused yet relatively clean and well-lit. Before the

renovation of this station in 1995, it was possible to see the station

shell from the mezzanine. Past the main booth, there was a long ramp

that goes down to a landing from which stairways lead to the 2 active

platforms. There was a fence there. Past the fence, there was a tiled

wall with a door. The door had a few of slots missing. A look into the

door revealed the unused station platform, with the trackways. After

the renovation of this station, the door which was the access to the

unused platforms, was no longer there. The only access to the unused

platforms would be from the locked doors in the mezzanine.

 

 

*Nevins Street Trackways:

South of Hoyt Street on the IRT Eastern Pkwy/Brooklyn line there is a

trackway splits from the southbound local track, and starts heading

downgrade. At the curve in the subway from Fulton Street to Flatbush

Avenue, the trackway curves under the southbound local track, and is

joined by another trackway heading north for a proposed Manhattan

Bridge connection. After the lower Nevins Street platform, a trackway

splits to the east for a subway under Lafayette Avenue, this was later

built for the IND. On the other side, it rises again to merge with the

southbound local track. Between this merge and Atlantic Avenue is

another unused trackway, splitting from the local track towards a

subway under Fourth Avenue, later bulit for the BMT. Running the other

way, provisions were made for both the same connections in the wall

alongside the main level Manhattan-bound local track.

 

 

At Bowery on the BMT Nassau Street Line, in one part of the station

has a high ceiling which was built for a proposed subway to pass

through it. There is also an "Future Doorway" at this station where an

opening could be made to the never-built subway station, if it had

side platforms.

 

 

At southbound Chambers Street on the J/Z, If you walk alongside the

express track to the south end of the platform, you will see that

cavernous empty space. If you look up at approximately a 45 degree

angle, in the distance you'll see a single yellow bulb hanging from a

ceiling, over what appears to be a darkened elevated walkway or

trackway that crosses over the entire width of the station. Its too

far away from me to discern exactly what it is, but its clear that

there is a walkway there, with what appears to be a concrete side wall

that is approximately 5 feet high. This was probably for the proposed

Brooklyn Bridge connection.

 

 

At the lower level of Canal Street of the BMT Broadway line (Manhattan

Bridge line) west of the station, tunnel stubs point to a planned

Canal Street crosstown line. It was suppose to end at West Street,

next to the Hudson River. That stub ends right there. I think you can see almost all there is to see of it.

 

 

North of 57th Street on the BMT Broadway Subway Line two trackways turns west from the local tracks, and curve slightly towards the west before

ending. This was a plan for a line that would serve the Upper West

Side. When the BRT/BMT was building the Broadway line as part of the Dual Contracts, the company also wanted to be awarded the Central Park West/8th Avenue route, which was on the planning boards at that time. The company figured that if they built ramps from the Broadway line that could naturally be extended to an 8th Avenue line, they would get a toehold on being awarded that line, rather than lose out to the IRT, the only other subway operator when the Dual Contracts were built. The BMT/BRT never built that line for various reasons including the bankruptcy of the company after Malbone Street and Hylan's plan to include the 8th Avenue/CPW route in the IND system. The ramps were built but never used for revenue service. They were eventually used for storage until the tracks were disconnected. That's where they are today. The ramps actually had rails on it at one.

 

 

 

East of the Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer station (Upper level) on the

Archer Avenue Line, the track stubs turns south & abruptly ends. This

was a plan for a line that would of continued to serve Southeast

Queens. A small segment of track (about 1,800 feet) was built to for

this purpose.

 

 

On the BMT Broadway Line (R/W), bellmouths located south of Whitehall

Street, allowing for a connection to a never-built East River tunnel

south of the Montague Street Tunnel.

 

 

Classon Avenue Trackway:

The middle trackway at the Classon Avenue station on the G appears to

have been set aside for a relay or a lay up track. If you look at the

south end of the south bound at Classon, there is a room there that

looks like it was to become a tower. It looks like other towers of the

IND. Large door and several windows. This was also at the north end of

the northbound platform at the 63 Drive station for that proposed

Rockaway connection. It has since been changed for other uses and

doesn't resemble a tower room anymore. I believe that had they built

that line that feeds into the G Line at Bedford/Nostrand that it would have

been a terminal at certain times of the day. There are some rooms

north of the station's northbound platform that resemble crew

facilities. The middle trackway at Classon would have been very handy.

Strange that they had never left it as 3 trackways BETWEEN Bed/Nost.

and Classon.

 

 

East of 205th Street on the IND Concourse Line, though used for D

train relays, is a train length tunnel extension on both tracks,

originally to become a line extending towards Co-Op City.

 

 

At Woodhaven Boulevard/Queens Mall, on the IND Queens Boulevard Line,

at each end of the station a bellmouth exists in the tunnel walls (N/B

& S/B), where the tunnels widen to allow conversion to an express

station. If you look carefully, these bellmouths don't branch out so

much as they veer away, but they still point ahead. The bellmouths

abruptly ends on both sides of the station.

 

 

North of 168th Street (IND 8th Avenue A/C), the center tracks continue

to the 174th Street yard, where the C train relays. These tracks was

supposed to be a proposed connection to New Jersey over the George

Washington Bridge via the lower level.

 

 

(The rest continues in my other post below....)

[bigrene18 3]

(Continued from my other post above):

 

There's a bellmouth along the northbound Brighton line between Atlantic and DeKalb that I assume was built to provide access to the Ashland Place connection to the Fulton Street elevated, which was a hot issue while that part of the BMT was under construction. What is a mystery to me is that there does not appear to be a corresponding bellmouth along the southbound Brighton line tracks, or the 4th Avenue line tracks, for that matter.

 

Between 59th Street & Bay Ridge Avenue on the BMT 4th Avenue Subway,

the current tracks is on the west side of 4th Avenue. When the subway

crosses the LIRR Bay Ridge branch (the same time daylight is visible,

only for a brief moment), in a lower deck of a bridge, you could

clearly see that the bridge has four trackways of which only the 2

current western tracks are used. The tunnel leading up to each side of

the bridge was built only for the existing two tracks. The two unused

trackways on the eastern side are empty.

 

Between DeKalb Avenue and the portal to the Manhattan Bridge (Near the abandoned Myrtle Avenue station), there is a provision for a never-built loop that would of turn trains around back to Southern Brooklyn.

 

When the (Briarwood) Van Wyck Blvd station on the E and F opened in 1937, there used to be bellmouths located south of this station. This was for a proposed line down Van Wyck Blvd, as part of the IND second system. These have been since connected to the Archer Avenue Subway.

 

East of the 21st Street-Queensbridge station, before the F line connects to the Queens Blvd line, there is a bellmouth that was supposed to be for the Super Queens express service to Forest Hills and on to Jamaica planned in 1968.