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REAL ESTATE
AND
%) BUILDERS
NEW YORK, MARCH 27, 1915
Hiiiiiiiii
STRUCTURAL CHANGES ON ELEVATED LINES
Third-Tracking of the System, Involving Several Millions,
Will Greatly Increase Capacity and Reduce Running Time
â– "P Ht ).Si'^ will! live in Harlem and the
^ Bronx and travel on the elevated
railroad lines do not need to be told of
the intolerable conditions under which
they have been forced to travel to and
froni their places of business. They have
all had experience in cars where stand-
satisiied to read about contemplated pub¬
lic improvements, sanction or condemn
them in his own mind and then wait
for their completion, and the enjoyment
of the comforts and conveniences they
provide. He does not take the time as
a rule, to study conditions, or look into
the details of the new scheme, but is
reconstruction is generally known as
third-tracking and the work involves a
number of unique and interesting en¬
gineering features. A clause in the con¬
tract for this work states: "It is under¬
stood that this contract must be per¬
formed without seriously interfering
with the normal and usual operations of
AT CHATHAM SQUARE.
ing room was at a premium, and where
even straps were unnecessary as the
cars were so tightly packed that stand¬
ees had no room to fall.
The average New Yorker knows
little and cares less about the details
connected with a great engineering or
construction project. He is entirely
NORTH FROM CANAL STREET,
quite willing to leave these important
items to the parties directly responsible.
The Dual System of Rapid Transit,
as^ designed by the Public Service Com¬
mission for Greater New York, is a gi¬
gantic engineering project calling for
the greatest ingenuity on the part of
the engineers of the commission and
railroad companies. The completion of
this work, which is already under con¬
tract, will mean that the city will have
in operation 620.9 miles of railroads, both
subway and elevated, against the 296
miles which now serve the city. At
present these lines are carrying about
800,000,000 passengers annually, but
when the Dual System is completed and
in operation more than 3,000,000,000 can
travel in the same period of time.
An important part of this project is
the improvement being made to the
elevated lines in Manhattan and the
Bronx. These systems are owned by the
Manliattan Railway Company and are
operated under a lease by the Inter¬
borough Rapid
Transit Company.
These lines, which
combined consist
of 37.68 miles of
road, or 118 miles
of single track, are
divided into three
main systems, the
Second aventie,
the Third avenue
and the Ninth ave¬
nue lines.
To relieve the
great congestion
on these lines and
to reduce the run¬
ning time from
Harlem and the
Bronx, these roads
are being recon¬
structed to pro¬
vide continuousex-
press service. This
the railroad." When the scope of the
work is thoughtfully considered, it be¬
comes apparent even to the layman that,
at the outset, the contractors for this
work were confronted with a problem of
no mean proportions. The work is well
advanced now, however, and the patrons
of the line have suffered little incon¬
venience or unusual delays. It is esti¬
mated that the addition of third tracks
on the Second and Third avenue ele¬
vated railroads, south of 42d street, will
nearly double the capacity of those lines
during the rush hours.
One contract was awarded for the
third-tracking of these roads. It was
made on a "cost, plus percentage" basis.
To undertake this work three tirms be¬
came associated—the T. A. Gillespie Co.,
50 Church street; the Snare & Triest
Co., 233 Broadway, and the Terry &
Tench Co., Grand Central Terminal.
On the Second avenue line the im¬
provement to provide express service re¬
quired the construction of a single ex-
STATION AT l4oTH STREET.