Plans for NYC subway routes never built

J

jeffmorris

Active member
By 1930s, NYC was making plans for expanding its subway system but the Great Depression and WWII forced them to cancel almost all of its plans. I visited the www.nysubway.org web site but I couldn't find detailed plans for subway routes that were never built. I had an idea of creating the never-built routes and converting the elevated routes into subway routes. Any suggestions?
 
So you don't have any description of the roads the routes were supposed to follow?

http://www.mta.info/ has some info and a map on the upcoming Second Avenue route, which has apparently been in the planning stages for decades. Check out the Capitol Construction section.

Urbanrail.net has a lot of NY links, available here: http://www.urbanrail.de/am/nyrk/new-york.htm

http://www.subways.net/usa/ny.html Has toms of links and music. I don't know if any of it is useful, but the tune is catchy, if a little too obvious.

And here's some old historical maps. http://www.nycsubway.org/maps/historical.html

I don't suppose any of this will be too much help, but it's interesting reading.

:cool: Claude
 
While www.nycsubway.org website has good descriptions of subway routes that were planned and cancelled in 1930s, there are no locations and types of stations except for a few that cross or connect with existing subway routes.
 
I ordered a set of 12 reprinted historical street and transit maps from Amazon website and I got the package today. One of the maps is for proposed NYC subway routes that were planned in 1939 and never built except for the IND Rockaway route. Bad news: no locations of stations on proposed routes.
 
jeffmorris said:
I ordered a set of 12 reprinted historical street and transit maps from Amazon website and I got the package today. One of the maps is for proposed NYC subway routes that were planned in 1939 and never built except for the IND Rockaway route. Bad news: no locations of stations on proposed routes.
Click to expand...

Maybe they never got that far! (planning stations) That might be an interesting part of your plan, placing stations where they would do most good then? Might have changed the look of the city today.;)
 
Being a NYC native, now living in Florida .... I've never knew that the subway was that big .... Great research Jeff ..

Hey don't forget the new west end line .... at a very expensive budget ... I know they wish they should have built long ago!!

Ish
 
I got an idea: What if NYC had a very huge pile of money and decided to build the entire NYCTA subway system underground instead of some routes on elevated track structures and in opencuts? What if the routes have four tracks instead of two or three tracks?
 
If NYC had done all that it would probably kill my framerates.:D
Personally, I would say draw up the lines that are common to both maps, then add the other lines from each that you like best. When you're done, you'll have the "perfect" subway system.
This should be a good one.:D

:cool: Claude
 
After loading my NYCTA2006 system and saving it to NYCTA2007, I extended the IRT Nostrand Avenue route to Voorhes Avenue and connected the BMT 4th Avenue route with the SIRW route.
 
Construction of the 2nd Avenue Subway is underway. I connected the south end of the route to IND Court Street station (now Transit Musuem).
 
Plans for NYC subway routes

Hello Jeff and I know for two things on the subway 1 is if you look at some of the old subway system the stations that maybe still there but are abanion and 2 the second ave. subway as of now will run from 125 st down to around canal st. and this subway at one time was suppose to run from the Bronx into Brooklyn and as I see it now is Manhattan run but things may change in the future. Mario:)
 
I know that a new IRT South Ferry station is being built and that subway stations along Fulton Street in Manhattan are being rebuilt and combined into one hub. The Second Avenue route and the IRT "7" route expansion in Manhattan are still in planning stage. I know that NYC doesn't have huge piles of money and I think that there was a stock market crash a few days ago. As for my NYCTA subway system, I'm using the 1939 expansion plan with a few changes. For example, plans for IRT Nostrand Avenue route expansion called for two tracks and I changed it to four tracks. Present plans for the Second Avenue route are for a two-track route connected to the BMT Broadway route and going north to 125th Street, connecting with the IRT East Side route. The 1939 plan called for the route to be connected to IND Court Street station and be ran all the way to the Bronx.
 
Plans for NYC subway routes

Hi Jeff and I know they often do keep documents the have and I do know the "7" has started to make a tunnel from 42nd. St. to the Jacab Javets center 1 or 2 stops. If you hear of people having the R-68 and R-142 let me know I can use then newer ones and the MTA still has track on the Manhattan side can't can be used again Mario :)
 
If I'm in charge of making plans for the Second Avenue route, how do I decide if stations should be express or local? Here's the list of stations so far:

Express Stations:
Houston Street
42nd Street
61st-62nd Street - on my version with transfer to 60th and 63rd Street routes
96th Street
125th Street

Local Stations:
Hanover Square
Seaport
Chatham Square
Grand Street with transfer to 6th Avenue route
14th Street with transfer to 14th Street-Canarsie route
23rd Street
28th Street - may be removed
34th Street
72nd Street
79th Street - on my version
86th Street
106th Street
116th Street

The 55th Street station on official plan isn't on my version. The tracks from 116th Street station don't turn left before going to 125th Street station as on the official plan. On my version, the tracks will run through Bronx following the 1939 plan. Any suggestions?
 
I'm confused about the Bronx routes coming from the Second Avenue route. The 1929 plan called for two routes - one along Lafayette Avenue to East Tremont Avenue and another along Boston Road to what is now the IRT Dyre Avenue route and connects with an extension of the IND Concourse route. I think that the routes split at Boston Road and 163rd Street but Lafayette Avenue is south of 163rd Street. The 1939 plan cancelled the Boston Road route and the terminal for the Lafayette Avenue route was changed to Harding Avenue. Please check the 1929 plan at this link: http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/indsecond.html
The 1939 plan is at this link: http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/indsecond.html
 
Both links went to the 1929 plan page.
As I understand it, a line branches off Boston Road at 163rd Street and then leaves 163rd to run under Garrison Avenue, then crosses the Bronx River near Edgewater Road and Seneca Avenue before reaching Lafayette Avenue.
How does that line up with the map?

:cool: Claude
 
What if the former owner of Staten Island Railroad (I think B&O RR) didn't abandon the North Shore and South Beach routes and NYC started building the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge? In real life, after the South Beach route was abandoned and NYC started building the bridge, the tracks and stations along the route were removed. Streets and buildings were built along the route. There are tracks along the west side of Staten Island once used by freight trains. Do anyone remember or have photos of the land before the toll plaza was built?
 
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