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AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

INSTITUTED 1852

TRANSACTIONS

Paper No. 1150

THE NEW YORK TUNNEL EXTENSION OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.

BY CHARLES W. RAYMOND, M. AM. SOC. C. E.[A]

Some time before the appointment of the Board of Engineers which supervised the designing and construction of the New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the late A. J. Cassatt, then President of the Company, said to the writer that for many years he had been unable to reconcile himself to the idea that a railroad system like the Pennsylvania should be prevented from entering the most important and populous city in the country by a river less than one mile wide. The result of this thought was the tunnel extension project now nearly completed; but it is only in recent years that new conditions have rendered such a solution of the problem practicable as well as desirable.

Previously a tunnel designed for steam railroad traffic, to enter New York City near Christopher Street, was partly constructed, but the work was abandoned for financial reasons. Then plans for a great suspension bridge, to enable all the railroads reaching the west shore of the North River to enter the city at the foot of 23d Street, were carefully worked out by the North River Bridge Company. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company gave this project its support by agreeing to pay its _pro rata_ share for the use of the bridge; but the other railroads declined to participate, and the execution of this plan was not undertaken.

New operating conditions, resulting from the application of electric traction to the movement of heavy railroad trains, which had been used initially in tunnels by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and was subsequently studied and adopted by railroads in Europe, made it possible to avoid the difficulty of ventilation connected with steam traction in tunnels, and permitted the use of grades practically prohibitive with the steam locomotive. The practicability of the tunnel extension project finally adopted was thus assured.

The acquisition of the control of the Long Island Railroad by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which occurred in 1900, introduced new and important elements into the transportation problem, from a freight as well as a passenger standpoint. Previously, the plans considered had for their only object the establishment of a convenient terminus in New York, to avoid the delays and difficulties involved in the necessity of transporting passengers and freight across the North River. When the Long Island Railroad became practically a part of the Pennsylvania System, it was possible and desirable to extend the project so as to provide, not only for a great prospective local traffic from all parts of Long Island, but also for through passenger and freight traffic to the New England States, and to and from all points on the Pennsylvania System, thus avoiding the long ferriage from Jersey City around the harbor to the Harlem River.

This paper has for its subject the New York Tunnel Extension project, and is intended merely as an introduction to the detailed accounts of the construction of the various divisions of the line to be given in succeeding papers prepared by the engineers who actively carried out the work. The project, however, forms the most important part of the comprehensive scheme adopted by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for conducting its traffic into and through New York City, and a brief description of this general plan is therefore necessary in order that the relations of the tunnel line to the other parts of the transportation project may be clearly understood.

GENERAL PLAN FOR TRAFFIC FACILITIES AT NEW YORK.

The component elements of the general plan outlined by the late A. J. Cassatt, President, in his open letter to the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners of the City of New York, dated January 18th, 1906, are indicated on Fig. 1, and may be briefly summarized as follows:

_1._--The Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad, generally referred to as the New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This line begins near Newark, N. J., crosses the Hackensack Meadows, and passes through Bergen Hill and under the North River, the Borough of Manhattan, and the East River to the large terminal yard, known as Sunnyside Yard, in Long Island City, Borough of Queens, New York. The line will be more fully described elsewhere.

_2._--The electrification of the Long Island Railroad within the city limits.

_3._--The Pennsylvania freight terminal yard and piers at Greenville, N. J., connecting by ferry with the Bay Ridge terminal of the Long Island Railroad.

_4._--The Bay Ridge Improvement of the Long Island Railroad from East New York to Bay Ridge.

_5._--Yards for increasing the freight facilities in the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

_6._--The Atlantic Avenue Improvement in Brooklyn, involving the removal of the steam railroad surface tracks and the extensive improvement of the passenger and freight station at Flatbush Avenue.

_7._--The New York Connecting Railroad, extending through a part of the Borough of Queens and crossing the East River by a bridge at Ward's and Randall's Islands to Port Morris, N. Y.

_8._--The Glendale Cut-Off of the Long Island Railroad.

_9._--New piers and docks in Newtown Creek at its confluence with the East River.

_10._--Electrification of the United Railroads of New Jersey Division from Newark to Jersey City.

The parts sustained by these elements in the work of transportation and distribution are briefly as follows:

The New York Tunnel Extension is essentially a passenger line, although the Company has not only the legal powers but also the facilities for making it a through route for freight if desired. It will transport passengers to and from the centrally located station at 33d Street and Seventh Avenue in New York City, joining the Long Island System at Sunnyside Yard, and, by means of the New York Connecting Railroad, it will form a link in the through traffic line, connecting the whole Pennsylvania System with the New England States. This line has been designed for the safe and expeditious handling of a large volume of traffic. The requirements include handling the heaviest through express trains south and west from the main line as well as the frequent and lighter local-service trains. For through service the locomotive principle of operation has been adhered to, that is, electric locomotives will take up the work of the steam locomotives at the interchange yard at Harrison, N. J., and, for excursion and suburban service to nearby towns, provision will be made for electric locomotives, or by operation of special self-propelled motor cars in trains, the project being planned to give the greatest flexibility in method of operation to meet the growing demand in the best way.

The New York Connecting Railroad has important functions both for freight and passenger service. When constructed it will be about 12 miles long, and will form a part of the line to the New England States for through passenger and freight service, and also carry local freight to and from Sunnyside Yard and Brooklyn, and all points on Long Island. By means of this line it will be possible to make the Brooklyn station at Flatbush Avenue a station on the through System for New England as well as the Western States.

The initial equipment of the Western Division of the Long Island Railroad for electric traction has been made in advance of the opening of the tunnel line in order to take care of the requirements of the Atlantic Avenue improvement. This improvement involved the elimination of grade crossings within the City of Brooklyn and the conversion of the railroad line which was previously on the surface of the streets to part subway and part elevated line from the Flatbush Avenue Terminal to East New York Station, a distance of 5-1/4 miles. One of the requirements of this improvement was that the motive power should be changed to some form of power not involving combustion. This led to the adoption of electricity, and, in order to meet operating necessities, involved the electrification of connecting lines beyond the improvement proper, so that local service could be handled to the end of the runs without changing the motive power. The extent of the electrification thus required was found to be about 100 single-track miles. This extensive electrification work was undertaken and completed in the summer of 1905, upon the completion of the Atlantic Avenue improvement proper, and since that time has been in successful operation. On the near approach of the construction of the New York Terminal improvement, plans for additional electrification on the Long Island Railroad were made, and the work is now in progress on the extensive additions required to couple up the tunnel extension with the various lines centering at the Long Island City terminus.

The Bay Ridge Improvement of the Long Island Railroad comprises the readjustment of the right of way and the establishment of new grades in order to do away with grade crossings from the freight terminal at Bay Ridge to a junction with the New York Connecting Railroad at East New York, a distance of 10.4 miles. It also provides for the re-location of the line and the elimination of grade crossings on the branch running to Manhattan Beach, a distance of 3.7 miles. The work is being executed without interrupting traffic, and in all about 75 grade crossings will be abolished. This improvement became necessary in order to provide for the rapid extension of population into the suburban districts and for the present and future requirements of the section, to establish municipal conveniences and facilities, and to open additional streets across the right of way. To accomplish these ends, the line has been built in cuts and on embankments, there being about 6.4 miles of the former, 3.3 miles of the latter, and a tunnel, 3,500 ft. long, where the line crosses the Atlantic Avenue improvement.

The Atlantic Avenue improvement, as mentioned above, involved the removal of the railroad tracks from the street surface for a distance of about 5-1/4 miles. This was done by constructing a series of elevated and subway structures, there being about 2.1 miles of the former, 2.4 miles of the latter, and 0.8 mile of approaches, eliminating more than 90 grade crossings. In the light of recent developments, it may be of interest to note that one of the reasons for establishing a combination elevated and subway line was that, at the time the improvement was projected, no underground railroad in the country, of similar length and carrying a heavy volume of local traffic, was operated by electricity, and public sentiment was against the operation of the entire length of the line underground by steam power. This improvement also provided for depressing the entire Flatbush Avenue station and a freight yard. As the work progressed, the original plans for the station were greatly enlarged, the remodeled station covering about 61 city lots.

The main point of passenger distribution is the New York station. Other important stations will be Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn; Jamaica, Long Island, where the changes to and from electric motive power will be made; and Newark, N. J. Many other places, including the seaside resorts on Long Island and in New Jersey, will feel the benefits of the direct tunnel railroad into and through New York City. The Glendale Cut-Off will materially shorten the route and running time from New York through the tunnels to Rockaway Beach.

The plans contemplate that passengers to and from the lower part of Manhattan will be carried by the steam line between Newark and Jersey City and cross the North River by ferry or the Cortlandt Street tunnels of the Hudson Company. Eventually, the old main line will be electrified and supersede the steam service between Newark and Jersey City.

The Greenville Yard is the most important point for the receipt, transmission, and distribution of freight. From this point freight can be transported, without breaking bulk, by a comparatively short car-ferry to the Long Island Railroad terminus at Bay Ridge, and thus a very large part of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's floatage in New York Harbor and the East River will be abolished, the floatage distance being reduced in the case of the New England freight from about 12 to 3 miles. This traffic will be routed from Bay Ridge _via_ the Long Island Railroad to a connection with and thence over the New York Connecting Railroad to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad at Port Morris, N. Y.

As the facilities for the handling of freight in the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens had become insufficient for taking care of the prospective traffic, eleven new local delivery yards, having a combined area of about 2,153 city lots, have been established, and three existing yards are to be improved and enlarged so as to give a combined area of about 687 city lots. Of these new yards, the Bay Ridge freight terminal, containing about 790 city lots, is the largest; its functions have been described above. There is a freight terminal at East New York 200 ft. wide and a mile long, containing about 566 city lots, which will be the distributing point of freight for the entire East New York section. This yard is depressed, and will be crossed by six viaducts carrying city streets. The North Shore freight yard, containing 109 city lots, is connected with the Montauk Division by an overhead construction, known as the Montauk Freight Cut-Off, whereby all freight traffic to Jamaica may be kept out of the way of the Jamaica passenger traffic from the tunnels.

It may be of interest to indicate briefly how much has already been accomplished in the execution of this general plan, and what still remains to be done for its completion.

The larger part of the electrification of the Long Island Railroad and the elimination of grade crossings within the built-up city limits, the Atlantic Avenue improvement, and the yard and piers at Greenville, have been completed. The Sunnyside Yard and the Glendale Cut-Off will be completed during the next twelve months. On the Tunnel and Terminal Railroad the embankment and bridge work across the Hackensack Meadows and all the tunnels and excavation from the west side of Bergen Hill to Long Island City, except a short section near the eastern end of the line, have been completed. The New York station and other buildings and facilities connected therewith are well advanced. The laying of the track, the electrification of the line, and the installation of the signaling and lighting systems are under way. It is anticipated that the line will be ready for operation in the spring of 1910.

Report has been made to the Public Service Commission that a large part of the right of way for the New York Connecting Railroad has been obtained, and more than $3,000,000 has been spent by this railroad. The piers and docks at Newtown Creek and the electrification of the line from Newark to Jersey City are not yet actively under way.

ESTIMATED COST OF THE IMPROVEMENTS.

As appears from the foregoing statement, only parts of the improvements contemplated in the general scheme have been completed, others are in progress, and others have not yet been commenced. It is therefore impossible at the present time to make a close estimate of the total expenditure involved in the execution of the entire scheme. The following estimate of the cost of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's improvements in the New York District when fully completed is based on the best information now available:

New York Tunnel Extension and Station, including Interchange Yards at Harrison, N. J., and Sunnyside, L. I., P. T. & T. R. R. Co. $100,000,000

Long Island Railroad electrification, Bay Ridge and Atlantic Avenue improvements, Glendale Cut-Off, freight yards, and new equipment 35,000,000

New York Connecting Railroad, to be built jointly by the Pennsylvania R. R. Co. and the New York, New Haven and Hartford R. R. Co., about 14,000,000

Pennsylvania Railroad improvements in the State of New Jersey, electrification of line from Jersey City to Park Place, Newark, Greenville freight line and terminal on New York Bay 10,000,000 ------------ Total $159,000,000

CORPORATE ORGANIZATION AND FRANCHISE CONDITIONS.

As the tunnel extension lies partly in the State of New Jersey and partly in the State of New York, it was necessary to charter two companies, each covering the territory within the State to which it belonged. The New Jersey corporation was entitled the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York Railroad Company, and the New York corporation, the Pennsylvania, New York and Long Island Railroad Company. These organizations were completed early in 1902. Subsequently, after the tunnels had been joined under the North River, the companies were consolidated, on June 26th, 1907, and thereby formed the present company under the name of the Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad Company, a corporation of both States.

Mr. Cassatt, President of the Pennsylvania, New York and Long Island Railroad Company, made application in its behalf for a franchise to extend the lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad by tunnels under the North River to a passenger station to be erected in New York City and thence under the East River to a connection with the Long Island Railroad, on May 5th, 1902.

The franchise for that part of the tunnel line which is within the State of New York, that is, from the boundary line between New York and New Jersey, in the Hudson River, to the eastern terminus at Sunnyside Yard, Long Island, is contained in the certificate issued by the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners of the City of New York on October 9th, 1902.

The essential features of the franchise have been summarized substantially as follows in the report of the Committee of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners of the City of New York, dated June 14th, 1902:

_First._--A grant by the city in perpetuity of rights, subject, however, to a periodic readjustment of payments at intervals of twenty-five years, as follows:

(_a_) To construct and operate a railroad of two tracks from the boundary between New York and New Jersey under the Hudson River opposite the westerly foot of Thirty-first Street, Borough of Manhattan, thence running under the Hudson River and Thirty-first Street to the East River and under the East River to a terminus in Queens Borough. The Company is permitted on notice within ten years to give up the right to these two tracks.

(_b_) A like right for a railroad of two tracks beginning near the same point under the Hudson River, thence running under Thirty-second Street to the East River, and under that river to the terminus in Queens Borough, with a right for two additional tracks in Thirty-second Street, west of Ninth Avenue, and one additional track between Seventh and Fifth Avenues in Manhattan.

(_c_) A like right for a railroad of two tracks beginning at the station terminal site at Thirty-third Street and Seventh Avenue and thence running under Thirty-third Street and the East River to the terminal in Queens Borough, with a right for one additional track on Thirty-third Street, between Seventh and Fifth Avenues.

(_d_) A right to maintain a terminal station occupying the four blocks bounded by Thirty-first Street, Seventh Avenue, Thirty-third Street and Ninth Avenue, the lots on the east side of Seventh Avenue between Thirty-first and Thirty-third Streets, and the underground portions of Thirty-first and Thirty-third Streets, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues and between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, the Company having itself acquired the land included in such four blocks and lots on the east side of Seventh Avenue.

(_e_) To occupy for such terminal facilities all of Thirty-second Street lying between the westerly side of Seventh Avenue and the easterly side of Eighth Avenue, and between the westerly side of Eighth Avenue and the easterly side of Ninth Avenue. As soon as the statutory right of the city authorities to make the conveyance shall be put beyond doubt the Railroad Company is obliged to buy such two portions of Thirty-second Street, which will then become completely dedicated to the purposes of their station. (These portions of Thirty-second Street were subsequently purchased by the Railroad Company.)

(_f_) To have along such routes the necessary facilities for the operation of passenger and freight trains, including telegraph wires and the various wires and cables for the distribution of power, heat, and light.

_Second._--The requirement of the consent of the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and the other authorities of the city having control of the streets.

_Third._--The obligation of the Pennsylvania Company to begin construction within three months after obtaining the necessary consents and complete the railroad within five years after construction shall begin, except the route under Thirty-first Street, for the completion of which the company is allowed ten years after the completion of the remainder of the railroad.

_Fourth._--Payments by the Pennsylvania Company for the first twenty-five years, as follows: A rental of $200 per annum for the right to occupy land under the Hudson and East Rivers outside of pier lines. A rental for ground within pier lines and for underground portions of streets in Manhattan Borough, at fifty cents per linear foot of single track per annum, for the first ten years, and during the next fifteen years one dollar per annum per linear foot. A rental for ground within pier lines and for underground portions of streets in Queens Borough at one-half the rates payable for Manhattan Borough. A rental for underground portions of Thirty-first and Thirty-third Streets, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, and between Eighth and Ninth Avenues (such portions extending almost up to the surface, except under the south sidewalk of Thirty-first Street and north sidewalk of Thirty-third Street) at $14,000 per annum for the first ten years, and at $28,000 per annum for the next fifteen years.

For the portions of Thirty-second Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, and between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, when the statutory power of the city to make a sale shall be put beyond doubt, the city is to sell and the Railroad Company is required to buy such portions for the sum of $788,600. The rentals for river and track rights begin at the date of operation. For the underground spaces under Thirty-first and Thirty-third Streets, used for station extension, the rentals begin at the commencement of construction, or when the company entered thereon.

Such annual payments may be summarized as follows: