to allow passengers to go between the subway mezzanine and the entrance to Grand Central Terminal at the shuttle without paying a fare. This was accomplished by moving the turnstiles at the eastern end of the passageway. In March, members of the Metallic Lathers Union Local 46 sought to halt construction on the project, which was 80 percent complete, as the union objected to having the work done by city employees who made less than union workers. The rebuilt passageway opened on March 18, 1946. 1950s to 1960s On March 2, 1950, a new type of stainless steel portable newsstand was installed at the Flushing Line platform at Grand Central. The newsstand was owned by the Union News Company. In April 1954, the Bowery Savings Bank completed the installation of a two-speed, reversible escalator from the ground floor of the building from the south side of 42nd Street between Pershing Square and Lexington Avenue to the station mezzanine. The construction of the escalator, which required digging into solid rock, cost about $135,000. The bank also installed teller windows into the mezzanine that would be open during rush hours, and installed slot machines in the wall where riders could exchange a quarter for a subway token and ten cents in change. On August 9, 1954, two new -wide escalators connecting the Flushing Line platform and the main mezzanine were placed into service. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) installed them for $1,235,000. The high escalators covered a distance of at a speed of per minute during rush hours, and at a speed of during other times, and could accommodate 20,000 people per hour. Both escalators traveled upwards in the morning rush hour on weekdays, and downward during the evening rush hour. During middays and weekends, the two escalators handled two-way traffic. The escalators were lit with fluorescent lighting, which would later be installed throughout the Grand Central station complex. The Flushing Line platforms at Grand Central, and all other stations on the Flushing Line with the exception of Queensboro Plaza, were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains. In 1955, the NYCTA had a scheme to make a lower level to the Lexington Avenue Line station, also of four tracks. It would have tapped into the express tracks beyond the station and been used as an intermediate terminal stop for certain services. There was room between the Lexington Avenue and