Snoqualmie Pass

Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County.
Snoqualmie Pass has the lowest elevation of the three east–west mountain routes across Washington State that are kept open year-round, along with Stevens Pass (US 2) to the north, and White Pass (US 12) to the south. I-90 is the primary commercial artery between Seattle and points east, carrying an average of 29,000 vehicles through the pass per day. I-90 is the only divided highway crossing east–west through the state.
The pass lends its name to a census-designated place (CDP) located at the summit (Snoqualmie Pass, Washington). Both the CDP and Snoqualmie Pass are named after the Snoqualmie people of the valley to the west.
Climate.
Snoqualmie Pass as it climbs into the Cascades passes through a microclimate (humid continental)(Dfb) characterized by considerable precipitation, and at times hazardous conditions for travelers. The average annual precipitation is over 100 inches; snowfall averages over 400 inches. The average annual number of days with measurable precipitation is over 170.
The rapidly changing conditions require special cautions, relayed to motorists via variable message displays along I-90. Depending on traction they may call for tire chains to be installed, usually on large trucks but occasionally on smaller vehicles as well. Chain-up areas are provided along the side of the Interstate to facilitate the placement of chains. The pass has been subjected to closures when weather conditions become extreme.
A snow shed, constructed in 1950 when the road was known as US 10, formerly covered the westbound lanes, but it has been replaced by avalanche bridges that stand away from the slope to allow slides to pass under the road, as of April 2014. The use of sheds (very rare on Interstates) is an admission that plowing cannot keep up with snowfall and avalanches.
WSDOT maintains cameras at selected locations along the pass to monitor weather conditions. Some of these cameras can be viewed via the internet.
Recreation.
The area around Snoqualmie Pass consists of mountain chalets that are mainly seasonally occupied by residents of the Seattle metropolitan area, with approximately 150 year-round residents. Winter sports are the main draw, but outdoor recreation is available year-round.
The Pacific Crest Trail crosses through Snoqualmie Pass and a variety of other trails are also available for hiking and climbing in the summer, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing during the winter months.
Snoqualmie Pass is also the site of the Summit at Snoqualmie, a group of alpine ski areas managed by Boyne USA Resorts. The Summit consists of four ski areas: Alpental, Summit West (formerly named Snoqualmie Summit), Summit Central (formerly Ski Acres), and Summit East (formerly Hyak). The Summit at Snoqualmie is the closest ski area to Seattle.
Snowmobiling just east of the pass is also popular during the winter months. Also in the summer and fall, paragliders and hang gliders may be seen flying above the valley, along the ridge and landing at Lake Keechelus.
History.
Snoqualmie Pass was well known to the Native Americans of the region. Hudson's Bay Company trappers and traders were active in the Snoqualmie and Yakima valleys during the early 19th century. They knew about Snoqualmie Pass but information about their use of it is vague. A possible early use of the pass was that of A.C. Anderson, who drove cattle across the Cascades in 1841, via a pass he called "Sinahomish Pass".
Captain George B. McClellan and his lieutenant Abiel W. Tinkham explored the Snoqualmie Pass region in 1853 and 1854. Their goal was to find a pass better suited for a railroad than Naches Pass, where the Naches Trail crossed the Cascade Mountains. They explored from the east side of the mountains, reaching the vicinity of Yakima Pass (). Tinkham continued down the west side via the Cedar River. McClellan decided not to examine Snoqualmie Pass itself because of unfavorable reports from Natives.
In 1856, Major J.H.H. Van Bokkelen, then of the Washington Territory Volunteers (militia), crossed Snoqualmie Pass on a scouting mission. In 1858 several large pack trains bound for mines east of the Cascades crossed the pass. In 1865 a number of Seattle citizens, including Arthur A. Denny, explored the Cedar River, Snoqualmie Pass, and Naches Pass. They reported that Snoqualmie Pass route was a better choice for a road than the old Indian trail over Yakima Pass. By 1867 a toll road had been built over Snoqualmie Pass. Intended to be suitable for wagons, for years the road was only usable by pack trains and for cattle
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") completed a line through Snoqualmie Pass in 1909, part of its Pacific Extension. This grade was soon replaced in 1914 by the 2¼-mile (3.6 km) Snoqualmie Tunnel, from Hyak due west to Rockdale, at an approximate elevation of , more than below the pass. The rail line was abandoned in 1980, and the tunnel is presently a multi-use trail for bicyclists and hikers, part of Iron Horse State Park. During tunnel construction, an improved wagon road was built over the pass. Near the original rail line, the Sunset Highway was opened through the pass in 1915.
In 1927, the road over the pass became U.S. Route 10; it began to be plowed and kept open during winter in 1931. By 1933, the first alpine ski hill was cleared at Snoqualmie Pass, and U.S. 10 was finally paved in 1934.
In 1946, tunnel engineer Ole Singstad proposed the construction a tunnel under Snoqualmie Pass to avoid the most treacherous section of the route.
In 1969, construction of U.S. 10's replacement, Interstate 90, began across the pass.
Since 1991, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust has acted to protect the scenic value of the I-90 corridor over Snoqualmie Pass.


Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad

The Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad , nicknamed the "Dolly Varden Line", was a railroad linking small towns in west central and northwestern Indiana to the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railway (C&EI) near Momence, Illinois (where traffic continued on to Chicago). Never financially strong, the CA&S nevertheless continued operating through World War II before abandonment.
History.
In the 1880s the Chicago and Great Southern Railway (C&GS) completed a rail line from the Indiana community of Fair Oaks (where it joined the Monon Railroad) south to the city of Brazil. Primarily a coal hauler, the C&GS later reorganized as the Chicago and Indiana Coal Railway (C&IC) and extended the line further north to La Crosse and Wilders in order to form connections with other railroads.
The management of the C&IC "Coal Road" became intertwined with that of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois, and a connection was built between the two that ran from Percy Junction north of Goodland (on the C&IC) northwest to Momence, Illinois (on the C&EI). By 1894 the Chicago and Eastern Illinois had absorbed the smaller C&IC.
In 1913 the C&EI went bankrupt. As part of its reorganization over the next several years, it cut free the old "Coal Road" which in turn organized itself into the Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad, selling to other railroads some of its more valuable lines for cash. The CA&S struggled through the 1920s and found itself bankrupt in 1931. It never left receivership or turned a profit again, and began to abandon its track in increments over the next fifteen years. The CA&S abandoned its connection to the C&EI in 1943, shut down operations in September 1946, and was completely abandoned shortly thereafter.
Communities.
At its height, the Chicago, Attica and Southern served the following communities, from north to south:


Louis Theophiel Duerinck

Louis Theophiel Duerinck (August 1929 – November 9, 2008) was an executive with the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (C&NW). He is best known for leading the lawsuit that allowed the railroad to access the Powder River Basin.
Duerinck was born to Belgian immigrants in Chicago, grew up in Riverside, and graduated from Fenwick High School in 1947. He then went to the University of Notre Dame for just one year, and finished getting both his Bachelor's and law degrees from DePaul University.
From 1952 to 1955, Duerinck was a lieutenant in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps stationed at Fort Sheridan.
In 1956 Duerinck was hired as a commerce lawyer for the New York Central Railroad in Chicago. He served in the same capacity for the C&NW beginning in 1965.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Duerinck was Senior Vice President of Law and Real Estate. His most notable accomplishment was a 10-year litigation against the Burlington Northern Railroad for trackage rights into the Powder River Basin.
Duerinck retired in 1989. He moved to Glen Ellyn, Illinois in 2007 and died in 2008.


Louisville and Nashville Combine Car Number 665

The Louisville and Nashville Combine Car Number 665, also known as the "Jim Crow Car", is a historic railcar on the National Register of Historic Places, currently at the Kentucky Railway Museum at New Haven, Kentucky, in southernmost Nelson County, Kentucky.
The Combine car was built at the American Car and Foundry Company located in Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1913; a custom design given to it by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It was number 865, later numbered 665. It served at least three different branches of the L&N: Maysville Branch, Glasgow Branch, and Springfield Branch.
Its nickname, the "Jim Crow Car", relates to the Jim Crow laws of pre-1965 United States, which allowed for separate facilities for blacks under the policy of separate but equal. A law passed on May 24, 1892, called the Separate Coach Law, specifically declared that railroad passenger cars must be segregated. It is the only preserved two wood side steel car; one of only two ever made. The car is by and weighs . It has a central baggage section separating two passenger sections. Each passenger section has a cast-iron stove and a bathroom. Waste from the bathrooms was deposited directly on the rails.
In 1919 the L&N was forced by law to have a separate coach for blacks; often white drunks would be placed in the black car instead of one of those for whites.
In 1958 the car was given to the Kentucky Railway Museum by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
When "The General" of Great Locomotive Chase fame was undergoing restoration in 1962 by the L&N, the Combine Car was hooked up to "The General" to test how well the engine was repaired. During the trips the Combine Car held several different artifacts related to the Chase for its passengers to admire.


Orleans Cross Roads, West Virginia

Orleans Cross Roads is an unincorporated community hamlet that lies on the western flanks of Sideling Hill on the Potomac River in Morgan County, West Virginia. To its south, Rockwell Run, a mountain stream fed by springs, empties into the Potomac. Orleans Cross Roads lies along the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad directly across the river from Little Orleans. It is accessible by way of Orleans Road (CR 18/1) from Cacapon Road (West Virginia Route 9) via Detour Road (CR 18).
Once the site of a functioning station on the B&O, Orleans Cross Roads also had its own operating post office. The community and post office were often known as Orleans Cross Roads or Orleans Crossroads while its station was known as Orleans Road Station. It is still inhabited today and is the site of the historic Orleans Cross Roads Methodist Episcopal Church, built in the 1850s.


Sabula Rail Bridge

The Sabula Rail Bridge is a swing bridge that carries a single rail line across the Mississippi River between the island town of Sabula, Iowa and Savanna, Illinois. Originally built for the Milwaukee Road, and subsequently owned by the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad, the bridge is operational and is currently owned by Canadian Pacific Railway.
2014 Barge Accident.
On April 8, 2014 the Sabula Railway bridge was struck by the Marquette Transportation Barge "Wisconsin". No one was injured. The Sabula Fire Department was called alongside the Sabula ambulance crew to search for a missing bargeman but he was later found on the barge unharmed. The protective wooden barrier was almost completely destroyed by the barge. The incident as of the day of the accident was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Pacific Railway Police with assistance by the Sabula Fire Department who provided their rescue boat as transportation until additional boats arrived. As of 2015 the bridge has been completely repaired.


New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the world's oldest public transit systems, one of the most-used, and the one with the most stations. The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world by number of stations, with 472 stations in operation (424 if stations connected by transfers are counted as single stations). Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
The system has operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history, barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership, the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and the Western world, as well as the seventh-busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. In 2017, the subway delivered over 1.72 billion rides, averaging approximately 5.6 million daily rides on weekdays and a combined 5.7 million rides each weekend (3.2 million on Saturdays, 2.5 million on Sundays). On September 23, 2014, more than 6.1 million people rode the subway system, establishing the highest single-day ridership since ridership was regularly monitored in 1985.
The system is also one of the world's longest. Overall, the system contains of routes, translating into of revenue track and a total of including non-revenue trackage. Of the system's routes or "services" (which usually share track or "lines" with other services), pass through Manhattan, the exceptions being the train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, and the Rockaway Park Shuttle. Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments, or in open cuts, and a few stretches of track run at ground level. In total, 40% of track is above ground. Many lines and stations have both express and local services. These lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the outer two are used by local trains, while the inner one or two are used by express trains. Stations served by express trains are typically major transfer points or destinations.
, the New York City Subway's budgetary burden for expenditures was $8.7 billion, supported by collection of fares, bridge tolls, and earmarked regional taxes and fees, as well as direct funding from state and local governments. As of 2020, its on-time performance rate was 89% during weekdays.
History.
Alfred Ely Beach built the first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. His Beach Pneumatic Transit only extended under Broadway in Lower Manhattan operating from Warren Street to Murray Street and exhibited his idea for an atmospheric railway as a subway. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons. Today, no part of this line remains as the tunnel was completely within the limits of the present day City Hall station under Broadway.
The Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, and construction began in 1900. Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of the modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then. The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line. The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek, was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road.
The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27, 1904, built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City (which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line). The subway line, then called the "Manhattan Main Line", ran from City Hall station northward under Lafayette Street (then named Elm Street) and Park Avenue (then named Fourth Avenue) before turning westward at 42nd Street. It then curved northward again at Times Square, continuing under Broadway before terminating at 145th Street station in Harlem. Its operation was leased to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and over 150,000 passengers paid the 5¢ fare to ride it on the first day of operation.
By the late 1900s and early 1910s, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the IRT and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT, later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, BMT). The city built most of the lines and leased them to the companies. The first line of the city-owned and operated Independent Subway System (IND) opened in 1932; this system was intended to compete with the private systems and allow some of the elevated railways to be torn down but stayed within the core of the city due to its small startup capital. This required it to be run 'at cost', necessitating fares up to double the five-cent fare of the time.
In 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after. Integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT; these now operate as one division called the B Division. Since the IRT tunnels, sharper curves, and stations are too small and therefore can not accommodate B Division cars, the IRT remains its own division, the A Division. Many passenger transfers between stations of all three former companies have been created, allowing the entire network to be treated as a single unit.
During the late 1940s, the system recorded high ridership, and on December 23, 1946, the system-wide record of 8,872,249 fares was set.
The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), a public authority presided by New York City, was created in 1953 to take over subway, bus, and streetcar operations from the city, and placed under control of the state-level Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968.
Organized in 1934 by transit workers of the BRT, IRT, and IND, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 remains the largest and most influential local of the labor unions. Since the union's founding, there have been three union strikes over contract disputes with the MTA: 12 days in 1966, 11 days in 1980, and three days in 2005.
By the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway was at an all-time low. Ridership had dropped to 1910s levels, and graffiti and crime were rampant. Maintenance was poor, and delays and track problems were common. Still, the NYCTA managed to open six new subway stations in the 1980s, make the current fleet of subway cars graffiti-free, as well as order 1,775 new subway cars. By the early 1990s, conditions had improved significantly, although maintenance backlogs accumulated during those 20 years are still being fixed today.
Entering the 21st century, progress continued despite several disasters. The September 11 attacks resulted in service disruptions on lines running through Lower Manhattan, particularly the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, which ran directly underneath the World Trade Center. Sections of the tunnel, as well as the Cortlandt Street station, which was directly underneath the Twin Towers, were severely damaged. Rebuilding required the suspension of service on that line south of Chambers Street. Ten other nearby stations were closed for cleanup. By March 2002, seven of those stations had reopened. Except for Cortlandt Street, the rest reopened on September 15, 2002, along with service south of Chambers Street. Cortlandt Street reopened on September 8, 2018.
In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded several underwater tunnels and other facilities near New York Harbor, as well as trackage over Jamaica Bay. The immediate damage was fixed within six months but long-term resiliency and rehabilitation projects continue. The recovery projects after the hurricane included the restoration of the new South Ferry station from 2012 to 2017; the full closure of the Montague Street Tunnel from 2013 to 2014; and the partial 14th Street Tunnel shutdown from 2019 to 2020.
Construction methods.
When the IRT subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover. The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. Traffic on the street above would be interrupted due to the digging up of the street. Temporary steel and wooden bridges carried surface traffic above the construction.
Contractors in this type of construction faced many obstacles, both natural and man-made. They had to deal with rock formations and groundwater, which required pumps. Twelve miles of sewers, as well as water and gas mains, electric conduits, and steam pipes had to be rerouted. Street railways had to be torn up to allow the work. The foundations of tall buildings often ran near the subway construction, and in some cases needed underpinning to ensure stability.
This method worked well for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface. Tunnelling shields were required for deeper sections, such as the Harlem and East River tunnels, which used cast-iron tubes. Rock or concrete-lined tunnels were used on segments from 33rd to 42nd streets under Park Avenue; 116th to 120th Streets under Broadway; 145th to Dyckman Streets (Fort George) under Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue; and 96th Street and Broadway to Central Park North and Lenox Avenue.
About 40% of the subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast iron elevated structures, concrete viaducts, embankments, open cuts and surface routes. , there are of elevated tracks. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions. The sole exceptions of at-grade junctions of two lines in regular service are the 142nd Street and Myrtle Avenue junctions, whose tracks intersect at the same level, as well as the same-direction pairs of tracks on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Rogers Junction.
The 7,700 workers who built the original subway lines were mostly immigrants living in Manhattan.
More recent projects use tunnel boring machines, which increase the cost. They minimize disruption at street level and avoid already existing utilities. Examples of such projects include the extension of the IRT Flushing Line and the IND Second Avenue Line.
Expansion.
Since the opening of the original New York City Subway line in 1904, multiple official and planning agencies have proposed numerous extensions to the subway system. One of the more expansive proposals was the "IND Second System", part of a plan to construct new subway lines in addition to taking over existing subway lines and railroad rights-of-way. The most grandiose IND Second Subway plan, conceived in 1929, was to be part of the city-operated IND, and was to comprise almost of the current subway system. By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included within the plan, which was ultimately never carried out. Many different plans were proposed over the years of the subway's existence, but expansion of the subway system mostly stopped during World War II.
Though most of the routes proposed over the decades have never seen construction, discussion remains strong to develop some of these lines, to alleviate existing subway capacity constraints and overcrowding, the most notable being the proposals for the Second Avenue Subway. Plans for new lines date back to the early 1910s, and expansion plans have been proposed during many years of the system's existence.
After the IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed in 1940, the city went into great debt, and only 33 new stations have been added to the system since, nineteen of which were part of defunct railways that already existed. Five stations were on the abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, which was incorporated into the system in 1941 as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line. Fourteen more stations were on the abandoned LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch (now the IND Rockaway Line), which opened in 1955. Two stations (57th Street and Grand Street) were part of the Chrystie Street Connection, and opened in 1968; the Harlem–148th Street terminal opened that same year in an unrelated project. Six were built as part of a 1968 plan: three on the Archer Avenue Lines, opened in 1988, and three on the 63rd Street Lines, opened in 1989. The new South Ferry station was built and connected to the existing Whitehall Street–South Ferry station in 2009. The one-stop 7 Subway Extension to the west side of Manhattan, consisting of the 34th Street–Hudson Yards station, was opened in 2015, and three stations on the Second Avenue Subway in the Upper East Side were opened in the beginning of 2017.
Lines and routes.
Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train "line" is more or less synonymous with a train "route". In New York City, routings change often, for various reasons. Within the nomenclature of the subway, the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by a letter or a number and "Lines" have names. Trains display their route designation.
There are train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles. Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the particular service. New York City residents seldom refer to services by color (e.g., Blue Line or Green Line) but out-of-towners and tourists often do.
The , , , , , , and trains are fully local and make all stops. The , , , , , , , , , , and trains have portions of express and local service. , , , and trains vary by day or time of day. The letter is used for three shuttle services: Franklin Avenue Shuttle, Rockaway Park Shuttle, and 42nd Street Shuttle.
Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis, during late night hours some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route (often referred to as the 'shuttle train' version of its full-length counterpart) or run with a different stopping pattern. These are usually indicated by smaller, secondary route signage on station platforms. Because there is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. This work sometimes necessitates service changes during midday, overnight hours, and weekends.
When parts of lines are temporarily shut down for construction purposes, the transit authority can substitute free shuttle buses (using MTA Regional Bus Operations bus fleet) to replace the routes that would normally run on these lines. The Transit Authority announces planned service changes through its website, via placards that are posted on station and interior subway-car walls, and through its Twitter page.
Subway map.
Current official transit maps of the New York City Subway are based on a 1979 design by Michael Hertz Associates. The maps are not geographically accurate due to the complexity of the system (Manhattan being the smallest borough, but having the most services), but they do show major city streets as an aid to navigation. The newest edition took effect on June 27, 2010, and makes Manhattan bigger and Staten Island smaller, with minor tweaks happening to the map when more permanent changes occur. Earlier diagrams of the subway (the first being produced in 1958) had the perception of being more geographically inaccurate than the diagrams today. The design of the subway map by Massimo Vignelli, published by the MTA between 1972 and 1979, has become a modern classic but the MTA deemed the map flawed due to its placement of geographical elements.
A late night-only version of the map was introduced on January 30, 2012. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced a Vignelli-style interactive subway map, "The Weekender", to its website; as the title suggests, the online map provides information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning.
Several privately produced schematics are available online or in printed form, such as those by Hagstrom Map.
Stations.
Out of the 472 stations, 470 are served 24 hours a day. Underground stations in the New York City Subway are typically accessed by staircases going down from street level. Many of these staircases are painted in a common shade of green, with slight or significant variations in design. Other stations have unique entrances reflective of their location or date of construction. Several station entrance stairs, for example, are built into adjacent buildings. Nearly all station entrances feature color-coded globe or square lamps signifying their status as an entrance. The current number of stations is smaller than the peak of the system. In addition to the demolition of former elevated lines, which collectively have resulted in the demolition of over a hundred stations, other closed stations and unused portions of existing stations remain in parts of the system.
Concourse.
Many stations in the subway system have mezzanines. Mezzanines allow for passengers to enter from multiple locations at an intersection and proceed to the correct platform without having to cross the street before entering. Inside mezzanines are fare control areas, where passengers physically pay their fare to enter the subway system. In many older stations, the fare control area is at platform level with no mezzanine crossovers. Many elevated stations also have platform-level fare control with no common station house between directions of service.
Upon entering a station, passengers may use station booths (formerly known as token booths) or vending machines to buy their fare, which is currently stored in a MetroCard. Each station has at least one booth, typically located at the busiest entrance. After swiping the card at a turnstile, customers enter the fare-controlled area of the station and continue to the platforms. Inside fare control are "Off-Hours Waiting Areas", which consist of benches and are identified by a yellow sign.
Platforms.
A typical subway station has waiting platforms ranging from long. Some are longer. Platforms of former commuter rail stations—such as those on the IND Rockaway Line, are even longer. With the many different lines in the system, one platform often serves more than one service. Passengers need to look at the overhead signs to see which trains stop there and when, and at the arriving train to identify it.
There are a number of common platform configurations. On a double track line, a station may have one center island platform used for trains in both directions, or two side platforms, one for each direction. For lines with three or four tracks with express service, local stops will have side platforms and the middle one or two tracks will not stop at the station. On these lines, express stations typically have two island platforms, one for each direction. Each island platform provides a cross-platform interchange between local and express services. Some lines with four-track express service have two tracks each on two levels and use both island and side platforms.
Accessibility.
Since the majority of the system was built before 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect, many New York City Subway stations were not designed to be handicapped-accessible. Since then, elevators have been built in newly constructed stations to comply with the ADA. (Most grade-level stations required little modification to meet ADA standards.) In addition, the MTA identified "key stations", high-traffic and/or geographically important stations, which must conform to the ADA when they are extensively renovated. As of January 2017, there are currently accessible stations; many of them have AutoGate access. Under the current MTA plans, the number of ADA accessible stations will go up to 144 by 2020.
In June 2016, the MTA was sued by a disability rights group for not including an elevator during the $21 million renovation of the Middletown Road station in the Bronx. Only 19% of all of the subway system's stations were fully accessible to people with disabilities at the time, a number that rose to 24% the next year. In April 2017, two simultaneous lawsuits against the MTA, one in state court and one in federal court, claimed that the system was breaking one of the city's human-rights laws by violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a result, the suits said, the MTA failed to "eliminate and prevent discrimination from playing any role in actions relating to employment, public accommodations and housing and other real estate."
Rolling stock.
, the New York City Subway has cars on the roster.
A typical New York City Subway train consists of 8 to 11 cars, although shuttles can have as few as two, and the train can range from in length.
The system maintains two separate fleets of cars, one for the A Division routes and another for the B Division routes. All B Division equipment is about wide and either or long, whereas A Division equipment is approximately wide and long. A portion of the 60-foot B Division fleet is used for operation in the BMT Eastern Division, where long cars are not permitted.
Cars purchased by the City of New York since the inception of the IND and the other divisions beginning in 1948 are identified by the letter "R" followed by a number; e.g.: R32. This number is the contract number under which the cars were purchased. Cars with nearby contract numbers (e.g.: R1 through R9, or R26 through R29, or R143 through R179) may be relatively identical, despite being purchased under different contracts and possibly built by different manufacturers.
Since 1999, the R142, R142A, R143, R160, R179 and R188 cars have been placed into service. These cars are collectively known as New Technology Trains (NTTs) due to modern innovations such as LED and LCD route signs and information screens, as well as recorded train announcements and the ability to facilitate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC).
As part of the 2017–2020 MTA Financial Plan, 600 subway cars will have electronic display signs installed to improve customer experience.
Fares.
Riders pay a single fare to enter the subway system and may transfer between trains at no extra cost until they exit via station turnstiles; the fare is a flat rate regardless of how far or how long the rider travels. Thus, riders must swipe their MetroCard or tap a contactless payment card or smartphone on an OMNY reader upon entering the subway system, but not a second time upon leaving.
, nearly all fares are paid by MetroCard or OMNY. The base fare is $2.75 when purchased in the form of a reusable "pay per ride" MetroCard, with the last fare increase occurring on March 22, 2015. Single-use cards may be purchased for $3.00, and 7-day and 30-day unlimited ride cards can lower the effective per-ride fare significantly. Reduced fares are available for the elderly and people with disabilities. Fares paid with OMNY are identical to those paid with a pay-per-ride MetroCard; there are no options for single-ride or unlimited OMNY payments .
Fares were stored in a money room at 370 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn starting in 1951, when the building opened as a headquarters for the New York City Board of Transportation. The building is close to the lines of all three subway divisions (the IRT, BMT, and IND) and thus was a convenient location to collect fares, including tokens and cash, via money trains. Passageways from the subway stations, including a visible door in the Jay Street IND station, lead to a money sorting room in the basement of the building. The money trains were replaced by armored trucks in 2006.
MetroCard.
In November 1993, a fare system called the MetroCard was introduced, which allows riders to use magnetic stripe cards that store the value equal to the amount paid to a subway station booth clerk or vending machine. The MetroCard was enhanced in 1997 to allow passengers to make free transfers between subways and buses within two hours; several MetroCard-only transfers between subway stations were added in 2001. With the addition of unlimited-ride MetroCards in 1998, the New York City Transit system was the last major transit system in the United States with the exception of BART in San Francisco to introduce passes for unlimited bus and rapid transit travel.
Unlimited-ride MetroCards are available for 7-day and 30-day periods. One-day "Fun Pass" and 14-day cards were also introduced, but have since been discontinued.
OMNY.
On October 23, 2017, it was announced that the MetroCard would be phased out and replaced by OMNY, a contactless fare payment system by San Diego-based Cubic Transportation Systems, with fare payment being made using Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit/credit cards with near-field communication technology, or radio-frequency identification cards. All buses and subway stations will be compatible with electronic fare collection by late 2020 or early 2021. Support of the MetroCard is intended to remain until 2023.
Modernization.
Since the late 20th century, the MTA has started several projects to maintain and improve the subway. In the 1990s, it started converting the BMT Canarsie Line to use communications-based train control, utilizing a moving block signal system that allowed more trains to use the tracks and thus increasing passenger capacity. After the Canarsie Line tests were successful, the MTA expanded the automation program in the 2000s and 2010s to include other lines. As part of another program called FASTRACK, the MTA started closing sections of lines during weekday nights in 2012,
in order to allow workers to clean these lines without being hindered by train movements. It expanded the program beyond Manhattan the next year after noticing how efficient the FASTRACK program was compared to previous service diversions. In 2015, the MTA announced a wide-ranging improvement program as part of the 2015–2019 Capital Program. Thirty stations would be extensively rebuilt under the Enhanced Station Initiative, and new R211 subway cars would be able to fit more passengers.
The MTA has also started some projects to improve passenger amenities. It added train arrival "countdown clocks" to most A Division stations (except on the IRT Flushing Line, serving the ) and the BMT Canarsie Line () by late 2011, allowing passengers on these routes to see train arrival times using real-time data. A similar countdown-clock project for the B Division and the Flushing Line was deferred until 2016, when a new Bluetooth-based clock system was tested successfully. Beginning in 2011, the MTA also started "Help Point" to aid with emergency calls or station agent assistance. The Help Point project was deemed successful, and the MTA subsequently installed Help Points in all stations. Interactive touchscreen "On The Go! Travel Station" kiosks, which give station advisories, itineraries, and timetables, were installed starting in 2011, with the program also being expanded after a successful pilot. Cellular phone and wireless data in stations, first installed in 2011 as part of yet another pilot program, was also expanded systemwide due to positive passenger feedback. Finally, credit-card trials at several subway stations in 2006 and 2010 led to proposals for contactless payment to replace the aging MetroCard.
Safety and security.
Signaling.
Signaling has evolved during a century of operation, and MTA uses a mixture of old and new systems. Most routes use block signaling but a few routes are also being retrofitted with communications-based train control (CBTC), which would allow trains to run without conductor input.
Wayside block signaling.
The system currently uses automatic block signaling with fixed wayside signals and automatic train stops in order to provide safe train operation across the whole system. The New York City Subway system has, for the most part, used block signalling since its first line opened, and many portions of the current signaling system were installed between the 1930s and 1960s. These signals work by preventing trains from entering a "block" occupied by another train. Typically, the blocks are long. Red and green lights show whether a block is occupied or vacant. The train's maximum speed will depend on how many blocks are open in front of it. The signals do not register a train's speed, nor where in the block the train is located.
Subway trains are stopped mechanically at all signals showing "stop". Although this is a simple principle of train stops, that wayside trippers must not be moved to trip ("stop") position until the train has fully passed.
Communications-based train control.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the MTA began automating the subway by installing CBTC, which supplements rather than replaces the fixed-block signal system; it allows trains to operate more closely together with lower headways. The BMT Canarsie Line, on which the runs, was chosen for pilot testing because it is a self-contained line that does not operate in conjunction with other lines. CBTC became operational in February 2009. Due to an unexpected ridership increase, the MTA ordered additional cars, and increased service from 15 trains to 26 trains per hour, an achievement beyond the capability of the block system. The total cost of the project was $340 million.
After the success of the BMT Canarsie Line automation, the IRT Flushing Line, carrying the , was next chosen to get CBTC. The plan is estimated to cost US$1.4 billion. It was scheduled to be completed in September 2017, but was delayed to November 2018.
By 2018, CBTC was in the process of being installed on several other routes as well, particularly the IND Queens Boulevard Line () and IND Culver Line (). Eventually, the MTA has plans to automate a much larger portion, using One Person Train Operation (OPTO) in conjunction with CBTC. At the current pace of installation, it would take 175 years for CBTC to be installed at a cost of $20 billion. The Flushing line operated at almost 30 trains an hour using the signal system installed when the line was built, but after CBTC is installed it is possible that an additional two trains per hour could be operated. In March 2018, New York City Transit Authority president Andy Byford announced a new plan for resignaling the subway with CBTC, which would only take 10 to 15 years, compared to the previous estimate of 40 years. This would cost $8 to $15 billion.
The New York City Subway uses a system known as Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) for dispatching and train routing on the A Division (the Flushing line and the trains used on the do not have ATS.) ATS allows dispatchers in the Operations Control Center (OCC) to see where trains are in real time, and whether each individual train is running early or late. Dispatchers can hold trains for connections, re-route trains, or short-turn trains to provide better service when a disruption causes delays.
Train accidents.
Despite the signal system, there have been at least 64 major train accidents since 1918, when a train bound for South Ferry collided with two trains halted near Jackson Avenue on the IRT White Plains Road Line in the Bronx. Several accidents resulted when the train operator ran through red signals and rear-ended the subway train in front of it; this resulted from the signaling practice of "keying by", which allowed train operators to bypass red signals. The deadliest accident, the Malbone Street Wreck, occurred on November 1, 1918 beneath the intersection of Flatbush Avenue, Ocean Avenue, and Malbone Street (the latter of which is now Empire Boulevard) near the Prospect Park station of the then-BRT Brighton Line in Brooklyn, killing 93 people. As a result of accidents, especially more recent ones such as the 1995 Williamsburg Bridge crash, timer signals were installed. These signals have resulted in reduced speeds across the system. Accidents such as derailments are also due to broken equipment, such as the rails and the train itself.
Passenger safety.
Track safety and suicides.
A portion of subway-related deaths in New York consists of suicides committed by jumping in front of an oncoming train. Between 1990 and 2003, 343 subway-related suicides were registered out of a citywide total of 7,394 (4.6%) and subway-related suicides increased by 30%, despite a decline in overall suicide numbers.
Due to increase in people hit by trains in 2013, in late 2013 and early 2014 the MTA started a test program at one undisclosed station, with four systems and strategies to eliminate the number of people hit by trains. Closed-circuit television cameras, a web of laser beams stretched across the tracks, radio frequencies transmitted across the tracks, and thermal imaging cameras focused on the station's tracks were set to be installed at that station. At the undisclosed station, tests have gone so well that these track protection systems will be installed system-wide as part of the 2015–2019 capital program.
The MTA also expressed interest in starting a pilot program to install platform edge doors. Several planned stations in the New York City Subway may possibly feature platform screen doors, including at future stations such as those part of the Second Avenue Subway. Currently, the MTA is planning a test program to install screen doors at a subway station on the BMT Canarsie Line. As part of the 2010–2014 capital program, the station was going to be Sixth Avenue, but it is uncertain if this will be the chosen station. Following a series of incidents during a week in November 2016, in which three people were injured or killed after being pushed onto the tracks, the MTA started to consider installing platform edge doors for the 42nd Street Shuttle. Numerous challenges come with platform doors. Some subway lines operate multiple subway car models, and their doors do not line up. Many platforms are not strong enough to hold the additional weight of a platform barrier, thus requiring extensive renovations if they were to be installed.
Crime.
Crime rates have varied, but a downward trend has been observed starting in the 1990s up until 2014. In order to fight crime, various approaches have been used over the years, including an "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign and, starting in 2016, banning people who commit a crime in the subway system from entering the system for a certain length of time.
In July 1985, the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City published a study showing riders abandoning the subway, fearing the frequent robberies and generally bad circumstances.
To counter these developments, a policy that was rooted in the late 1980s and early 1990s was implemented. In line with this "Fixing Broken Windows" philosophy, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) began a five-year program to eradicate graffiti from subway trains in 1984. In 1993, Mayor Rudy Giuliani took office and with Police Commissioner Howard Safir, the strategy was more widely deployed in New York. Crime rates in the subway and the city dropped to an extent during this time and Giuliani's campaign credited this success to his policy. The extent to which his policies deserve the credit is disputed. New York City Police Department Commissioner, William J. Bratton and the author of "Fixing Broken Windows", George L. Kelling have stated that the police played an "important, even central, role" in the declining crime rates.
The trend continued and Giuliani's successor, Michael Bloomberg, stated in a November 2004 press release: "Today, the subway system is safer than it has been at any time since we started tabulating subway crime statistics nearly 40 years ago."
Photography.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, the MTA exercised extreme caution regarding anyone taking photographs or recording video inside the system and proposed banning all photography and recording in a meeting around June 2004. Due to strong response from both the public and from civil rights groups, the rule of conduct was dropped. In November 2004, the MTA again put this rule up for approval, but was again denied, though many police officers and transit workers still confront or harass people taking photographs or videos. On April 3, 2009, the NYPD issued a directive to officers stating that it is legal to take pictures within the subway system so long as it is not accompanied with suspicious activity.
Currently, the MTA Rules of Conduct, Restricted Areas and Activities section states that anyone may take pictures or record videos, provided that they do not use any of three tools: lights, reflectors, or tripods. These three tools are permitted only by members of the press who have identification issued by the NYPD.
Terrorism prevention.
On July 22, 2005, in response to bombings in London, the New York City Transit Police introduced a new policy of randomly searching passengers' bags as they approached turnstiles. The NYPD claimed that no form of racial profiling would be conducted when these searches actually took place. The NYPD has come under fire from some groups that claim purely random searches without any form of threat assessment would be ineffectual. Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU, stated, "This NYPD bag search policy is unprecedented, unlawful and ineffective. It is essential that police be aggressive in maintaining security in public transportation. But our very real concerns about terrorism do not justify the NYPD subjecting millions of innocent people to suspicionless searches in a way that does not identify any person seeking to engage in terrorist activity and is unlikely to have any meaningful deterrent effect on terrorist activity." The searches were upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in "MacWade v. Kelly".
On April 11, 2008, MTA received a Ferrara Fire Apparatus Hazardous Materials Response Truck, which went into service three days later. It will be used in the case of a chemical or bioterrorist attack.
Najibullah Zazi and others were arrested in September 2009 and pleaded guilty in 2010 to being part of an al-Qaeda plan to undertake suicide bombings on the New York City subway system.
Challenges.
2009–2010 budget cuts.
The MTA faced a budget deficit of US$1.2 billion in 2009. This resulted in fare increases (three times from 2008 to 2010) and service reductions (including the elimination of two part-time subway services, the and ). Several other routes were modified as a result of the deficit. The was made a full-time local in Manhattan (in contrast to being a weekend local/weekday express before 2010), while the was extended nine stations north to Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard on weekdays, both to cover the discontinued . The was combined with the , routing it over the Chrystie Street Connection, IND Sixth Avenue Line and IND Queens Boulevard Line to Forest Hills–71st Avenue on weekdays instead of via the BMT Fourth Avenue Line and BMT West End Line to Bay Parkway. The was truncated to Court Square full-time. Construction headways on eleven routes were lengthened, and off-peak service on seven routes were lengthened.
2017 state of emergency.
In June 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for the New York City Subway after a series of derailments, track fires, and overcrowding incidents. On June 27, 2017, thirty-nine people were injured when an A train derailed at 125th Street, damaging tracks and signals then catching on fire. On July 21, 2017, the second set of wheels on a southbound Q train jumped the track near Brighton Beach, with nine people suffering injuries due to improper maintenance of the car in question. To solve the system's problems, the MTA officially announced the Genius Transit Challenge on June 28, where contestants could submit ideas to improve signals, communications infrastructure, or rolling stock.
On July 25, 2017, Chairman Joe Lhota announced a two-phase, $9 billion New York City Subway Action Plan to stabilize the subway system and to prevent the continuing decline of the system. The first phase, costing $836 million, consisted of five categories of improvements in Signal and Track Maintenance, Car Reliability, System Safety and Cleanliness, Customer Communication, and Critical Management Group. The $8 billion second phase would implement the winning proposals from the Genius Transit Challenge and fix more widespread problems. Six winning submissions for the Genius Transit Challenge were announced in March 2018.
In October 2017, city comptroller Scott Stringer released an analysis that subway delays could cost up to $389 million or $243.1 million or $170.2 million per year depending on the length of the delays.
In November 2017, "The New York Times" published its investigation into the crisis. It found that the crisis had arisen as a result of financially unsound decisions by local and state politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties. According to the "Times", these decisions included overspending; overpaying unions and interest groups; advertising superficial improvement projects while ignoring more important infrastructure; and agreeing to high-interest loans that would have been unnecessary without these politicians' other interventions. By this time, the subway's 65% average on-time performance was the lowest among all major cities' transit systems, and every non-shuttle subway route's on-time performance had declined in the previous ten years.
Capacity constraints.
Several subway lines have reached their operational limits in terms of train frequency and passengers, according to data released by the Transit Authority. , all of the A Division services except the 42nd Street Shuttle, as well as the E and L trains, were beyond capacity, as well as portions of the train. In April 2013, "New York" magazine reported that the system was more crowded than it had been in the previous 66 years. The subway reached a daily ridership of 6 million for 29 days in 2014, and was expected to record a similar ridership level for 55 days in 2015; by comparison, in 2013, daily ridership never reached 6 million. In particular, the express tracks of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and IND Queens Boulevard Line are noted for operating at full capacity during peak hours. The Long Island Rail Road East Side Access project is expected to bring many more commuters to the Lexington Avenue Line when it opens around the year 2022, further overwhelming its capacity.
By early 2016, delays as a result of overcrowding were up to more than 20,000 every month, four times the amount in 2012. The overcrowded trains have resulted in an increase of assaults because of tense commuters. With less platform space, more passengers are forced to be on the edge of the platform resulting in the increased possibility of passengers falling on the track. The MTA is considering platform screen doors, which exist on the AirTrain JFK to prevent passengers falling onto the tracks. In order to prevent hitting passengers who could fall onto the tracks, train operators are being instructed to go into stations at lower speeds. The increased proximity of riders could result in the spread of contagious diseases.
Expanding service frequency via CBTC.
The Second Avenue Subway, which has provisions for communications-based train control (CBTC), was built to relieve pressure on the Lexington Avenue Line () by shifting an estimated 225,000 passengers. In addition, CBTC installation on the Flushing Line is expected to increase the rate of trains per hour on the , but little relief will come to other crowded lines until later. CBTC on the Flushing Line is expected to be completed in September 2017. The , which is overcrowded during rush hours, already has CBTC operation. The installation of CBTC has reduced the L's running time by 3%. Even with CBTC, there are limits on the potential increased service. For L service to be increased further, a power upgrade as well as additional space for the L to turn around at its Manhattan terminus, Eighth Avenue, are needed.
The MTA is also seeking to implement CBTC on the IND Queens Boulevard Line. CBTC is to be installed on this line in five phases, with phase one (50th Street/8th Avenue and 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center to Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike) being included in the 2010–2014 capital budget. The $205.8 million contract for the installment of phase one was awarded in 2015 to Siemens and Thales. Planning for phase one started in 2015, with major engineering work to follow in 2017. The total cost for the entire Queens Boulevard Line is estimated at over $900 million. The Queens Boulevard CBTC project is expected to be completed in 2021. Funding for CBTC on the IND Eighth Avenue Line is also provided in the 2015–2019 capital project. The MTA projects that 355 miles of track will receive CBTC signals by 2029, including most of the IND, as well as the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and the BMT Broadway Line. The MTA also is planning to install CBTC equipment on the IND Crosstown Line, the BMT Fourth Avenue Line and the BMT Brighton Line before 2025. As part of the installation of CBTC, the whole fleet of subway cars needs to be remodeled or replaced.
Service frequency and car capacity.
Due to an increase of ridership, the MTA has tried to increase capacity wherever possible by adding more frequent service, specifically during the evening hours. This increase will not likely keep up with the growth of subway ridership. Some lines have capacity for additional trains during peak times, but there are too few subway cars for this additional service to be operated.
As part of the R211 subway car order, the MTA is planning to test a train of 10 open-gangway experimental prototype cars, which could increase capacity by up to 10% by utilizing space between cars. The order could be expanded to include up to 750 open-gangway cars.
Platform crowd control.
The MTA is also testing smaller ideas on some services. Starting in late 2015, 100 "station platform controllers" were deployed for the F, 6, and 7 trains, to manage the flow of passengers on and off crowded trains during morning rush hours. There were a total of 129 such employees, who also answer passengers' questions about subway directions, rather than having conductors answer them and thus delaying the trains. In early 2017, the test was expanded to the afternoon peak period with an increase of 35 platform conductors. In November of the same year, 140 platform controllers and 90 conductors gained iPhone 6S devices so they could receive notifications of, and tell riders about, subway disruptions. Subway guards, the predecessors to the platform controllers, were first used during the Great Depression and World War II.
Shortened "next stop" announcements on trains were being tested on the 2 and 5 trains. "Step aside" signs on the platforms, reminding boarding passengers to let departing passengers off the train first, are being tested at Grand Central–42nd Street, 51st Street, and 86th Street on the Lexington Avenue Line. Cameras would also be installed so the MTA could observe passenger overcrowding.
In systems like the London Underground, stations are simply closed off when they are overcrowded, such as the busy Oxford Circus tube station, which had to close more than 100 times in a year. That type of restriction is not necessary yet on the New York City Subway, according to MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz.
Subway flooding.
Service on the subway system is occasionally disrupted by flooding from rainstorms, even minor ones. Rainwater can disrupt signals underground and require the electrified third rail to be shut off. Every day, the MTA moves 13 million gallons of water when it is not raining. Since 1992, $357 million has been used to improve 269 pump rooms. By August 2007, $115 million was earmarked to upgrade the remaining 18 pump rooms.
Despite these improvements, the transit system continues to experience flooding problems. On August 8, 2007, after more than of rain fell within an hour, the subway system flooded, causing almost every subway service to either be disabled or seriously disrupted, effectively halting the morning rush. This was the third incident in 2007 in which rain disrupted service. The system was disrupted on this occasion because the pumps and drainage system can handle only a rainfall rate of per hour; the incident's severity was aggravated by the scant warning as to the severity of the storm.
In addition, as part of a $130 million and an estimated 18-month project, the MTA began installing new subway grates in September 2008 in an attempt to prevent rain from overflowing into the subway system. The metallic structures, designed with the help of architectural firms and meant as a piece of public art, are placed atop existing grates but with a sleeve to prevent debris and rain from flooding the subway. The racks will at first be installed in the three most flood-prone areas as determined by hydrologists: Jamaica, Tribeca, and the Upper West Side. Each neighborhood has its own distinct design, some featuring a wave-like deck which increases in height and features seating (as in Jamaica), others with a flatter deck that includes seating and a bike rack.
In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused significant damage to New York City, and many subway tunnels were inundated with floodwater. The subway opened with limited service two days after the storm and was running at 80 percent capacity within five days; some infrastructure needed years to repair. A year after the storm, MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said, "This was unprecedented in terms of the amount of damage that we were seeing throughout the system." The storm flooded nine of the system's 14 underwater tunnels, many subway lines, and several subway yards, as well as completely destroying a portion of the IND Rockaway Line and much of the South Ferry terminal station. Reconstruction required many weekend closures on several lines as well as the 53rd Street Tunnel, Clark Street Tunnel, Cranberry Street Tunnel, Joralemon Street Tunnel and Steinway Tunnel; several long-term closures were also included on the Greenpoint Tunnel, Montague Street Tunnel, Rockaway Line, and the South Ferry station, with a partial closure planned for the 14th Street Tunnel; some reconstruction is expected to last until at least 2020.
Full and partial subway closures.
Before 2011 there have been some full subway closures for transit strikes (January 1–13, 1966, April 1–11, 1980, December 20–22, 2005) and blackouts (November 9–10, 1965, July 13–14, 1977, August 14–16, 2003).
On August 27, 2011, due to the approach of Hurricane Irene, the MTA suspended subway service at noon in anticipation of heavy flooding on tracks and in tunnels. It was the first weather-caused shutdown in the history of the system. Service was restored by August 29.
On October 29, 2012, another full closure was ordered before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. All services on the subway, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North were gradually shut down that day at 7:00 P.M., to protect passengers, employees and equipment from the coming storm. The storm caused serious damage to the system, especially the IND Rockaway Line, upon which many sections between Howard Beach–JFK Airport and Hammels Wye on the Rockaway Peninsula were heavily damaged, leaving it essentially isolated from the rest of the system. This required the NYCTA to truck in 20 R32 subway cars to the line to provide some interim service (temporarily designated the ). Also, several of the system's tunnels under the East River were flooded by the storm surge. South Ferry suffered serious water damage and did not reopen until April 4, 2013 by restoring service to the older loop-configured station that had been replaced in 2009; the stub-end terminal tracks remained out of service until June 2017.
Since 2015, there have been several blizzard-related subway shutdowns. On January 26, 2015, another full closure was ordered by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo due to the January 2015 nor'easter, originally projected to leave New York City with of snow; this was the first shutdown in the system's history to be ordered due to snow. The next day, the subway system was partially reopened. Several residents criticized the decision to shut down the subway system due to snow, as the nor'easter dropped much less snow in the city than originally expected, totaling only in Central Park. For subsequent snowstorms, the MTA published a winter underground-only subway service plan. When this plan is in effect, all above-ground stations would be closed and all above-ground service suspended, except at 125th Street and Broadway, where trains would run above ground but skip the station. Underground service would remain operational, except at a small number of stations that would be closed because of their proximity to above-ground portions of the system. This plan was first used on January 23, 2016, during the January 2016 United States blizzard; it was also used on March 14, 2017, due to the March 2017 nor'easter. On August 4, 2020, service at above-ground stations was suspended due to the high wind gusts brought by Tropical Storm Isaias.
Starting on May 6, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, stations were closed between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. for cleaning and disinfecting; the overnight closures will be a temporary measure that will end once the pandemic is over. Over 500 trains continue to run between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. every 20 minutes, carrying only transit workers and emergency personnel. The trains keep running because there is not enough space in the system to store all trains simultaneously, and so that they can easily resume service upon the start of rush hour at 5 a.m. In February 2021, the overnight closures were shortened to between 2 and 4 a.m. In early May 2021, Cuomo announced that the overnight closures would end on May 17, 2021, with 24-hour service resuming on that date. This was the longest shutdown in the subway's history.
Litter and rodents.
Litter accumulation in the subway system is perennial. In the 1970s and 1980s, dirty trains and platforms, as well as graffiti, were a serious problem. The situation had improved since then, but the 2010 budget crisis, which caused over 100 of the cleaning staff to lose their jobs, threatened to curtail trash removal. Every day, the MTA removes 40 tons of trash from 3,500 trash receptacles.
The New York City Subway system is infested with rats. Rats are sometimes seen on platforms, and are commonly seen foraging through garbage thrown onto the tracks. They are believed to pose a health hazard, and on rare instances have been known to bite humans. Subway stations notorious for rat infestation include Chambers Street, Jay Street–MetroTech, West Fourth Street, Spring Street and 145th Street.
Decades of efforts to eradicate or simply thin the rat population in the system have been unsuccessful. In March 2009, the Transit Authority announced a series of changes to its vermin control strategy, including new poison formulas and experimental trap designs. In October 2011, they announced a new initiative to clean 25 subway stations, along with their garbage rooms, of rat infestations. That same month, the MTA announced a pilot program aimed at reducing levels of garbage in the subways by removing all garbage bins from the subway platforms. The initiative was tested at the Eighth Street–New York University and Flushing–Main Street stations. As of March 2016, stations along the BMT Jamaica Line, BMT Myrtle Avenue Line, and various other stations had their garbage cans removed due to the success of the program. In March 2017 the program was ended as a failure.
The old vacuum trains that are designed to remove trash from the tracks are ineffective and often broken. A 2016 study by Travel Math had the New York City Subway listed as the dirtiest subway system in the country based on the number of viable bacteria cells. In August 2016, the MTA announced that it had initiated Operation Track Sweep, an aggressive plan to dramatically reduce the amount of trash on the tracks and in the subway environment. This was expected to reduce track fires and train delays. As part of the plan, the frequency of station track cleaning would be increased, and 94 stations would be cleaned per two-week period, an increase from the previous rate of 34 stations every two weeks. The MTA launched an intensive two-week, system-wide cleaning on September 12, 2016. Three new powerful vacuum trains were later ordered; one arrived in 2018, and the others are expected in 2019. The operation will also include 27 new refuse cars.
On March 28, 2017, the New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, announced the MTA's pilot program to remove trash cans had been scrapped. His office had criticized the agency for the program.
Noise.
Rolling stock on the New York City Subway produces high levels of noise that exceed guidelines set by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2006, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found noise levels averaged 95 decibel (dB) inside subway cars and 94 dB on platforms. Daily exposure to noise at such levels for as little as 30 minutes can lead to hearing loss. Noise on one in 10 platforms exceeded 100 dB. Under WHO and EPA guidelines, noise exposure at that level is limited to 1.5 minutes. A subsequent study by Columbia and the University of Washington found higher average noise levels in the subway (80.4 dB) than on commuter trains including Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) (79.4 dB), Metro-North (75.1 dB) and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) (74.9 dB). Since the decibel scale is a logarithmic scale, sound at 95 dB is 10 times more intense than at 85 dB, 100 times more intense than at 75 dB, and so forth. In the second study, peak subway noise registered at 102.1 dB.
For the construction of the Second Avenue Subway, the MTA, with the engineering firm Arup, worked to reduce the noise levels in stations. In order to reduce noise for all future stations starting with the Second Avenue Subway, the MTA is investing in low-vibration track using ties encased in concrete-covered rubber and neoprene pads. Continuously welded rail, which is also being installed, reduces the noise being made by the wheels of trains. The biggest change that is going to be made is in the design of stations. Current stations were built with tile and stone, which bounce sound everywhere, while newer stations will have the ceilings lined with absorbent fiberglass or mineral wool that will direct sound toward the train and not the platform. With less noise from the trains, platform announcements could be heard more clearly. They will be clearer with speakers spaced periodically on the platform, angled so that announcements can be heard by the riders. The Second Avenue Subway has the first stations to test this technology.
Public relations and cultural impact.
Entertainment.
The subway is a popular venue for busking. A permit is not required to perform, but certain codes of conduct are required. Some buskers are affiliated with Music Under New York (MUNY), a part of the Arts & Design program by the MTA. Since 1987, MTA has sponsored the MUNY program in which street musicians enter a competitive contest to be assigned to the preferred high traffic locations. Each year, applications are reviewed and approximately 70 eligible performers are selected and contacted to participate in live auditions held for one day.
Miss Subways.
From 1941 to 1976, the Board of Transportation/New York City Transit Authority sponsored the "Miss Subways" publicity campaign. In the musical "On the Town", the character Miss Turnstiles is based on the Miss Subways campaign. The campaign was resurrected in 2004, for one year, as "Ms. Subways". It was part of the 100th anniversary celebrations. The monthly campaign, which included the winners' photos and biographical blurbs on placards in subway cards, featured such winners as Mona Freeman and prominent New York City restaurateur Ellen Goodman. The winner of this contest was Caroline Sanchez-Bernat, an actress from Morningside Heights.
Subway Series.
Subway Series is a term applied to any series of baseball games between New York City teams, as opposing teams can travel to compete merely by using the subway system. Subway Series is a term long used in New York, going back to series between the Brooklyn Dodgers or New York Giants and the New York Yankees in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, the term is used to describe the rivalry between the Yankees and the New York Mets. During the 2000 World Series, cars on the 4 train (which stopped at Yankee Stadium) were painted with Yankee colors, while cars on the 7 train (which stopped at Shea Stadium) had Mets colors. The term could also be applied to the rivalry between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association, or the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League ever since the Nets and the Islanders moved to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Holiday Nostalgia Train.
Since 2003, the MTA has operated a Holiday Nostalgia Train on Sundays in November and December, from the first Sunday after Thanksgiving to the Sunday before Christmas Day. This train is made of vintage cars from the R1 through R9 series, which have been preserved by Railway Preservation Corp. and the New York Transit Museum. The route made all stops between Second Avenue in Manhattan and Queens Plaza in Queens via the IND Sixth Avenue Line and the IND Queens Boulevard Line. In 2011, the train operated on Saturdays instead of Sundays. In 2017, the train ran between Second Avenue and 96th Street.
The contract, car numbers (and year built) used were Arnines, specifically R1 100 (built 1930), R1 103 (1930), R1 381 (1931), R4 401 (1932), R4 484 (1932) – Bulls Eye lighting and a test P.A. system added in 1946, R6-3 1000 (1935), R6-1 1300 (1937), R7A 1575 (1938) – rebuilt in 1947 as a prototype for the R10 subway car, and R9 1802 (1940).
Full train wraps.
Since 2008, the MTA has tested full train wraps on 42nd Street Shuttle rolling stock. In full train wraps, advertising entirely covers the interiors and exteriors of the train, as opposed to other routes, whose stock generally only displays advertising on placards inside the train. While most advertisements are well received, a few advertisements have been controversial. Among the more contentious wraps that were withdrawn are a 2015 ad for the TV show "The Man in the High Castle", which featured a Nazi flag, and an ad for Fox Sports 1, in which a shuttle train and half of its seats were plastered with negative quotes about the New York Knicks, one of the city's NBA teams.
Other routes have seen limited implementation of full train wraps. For instance, in 2010, one R142A train set on the 6 route was wrapped with a Target advertisement. In 2014, the Jaguar F-Type was advertised on train sets running on the F route. Some of these wraps have also been controversial, such as a Lane Bryant wrap in 2015 that displayed lingerie models on the exteriors of train cars.
LGBT Pride-themed trains and MetroCards.
The New York City Subway system commemorates Pride Month in June with Pride-themed posters. The MTA celebrated Stonewall 50 - WorldPride NYC 2019 in June 2019 with rainbow-themed Pride logos on the subway trains as well as Pride-themed MetroCards.


Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad

The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E) was a Class II railroad operating in the north central United States. It has been controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway and operated as a part of its system since October 30, 2008. Formerly, the IC&E was jointly owned with the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad by Cedar American Rail Holdings (CARH), making the combined system the largest class II railroad in the United States. Created by the purchase of I&M Rail Link, IC&E commenced operations on July 30, 2002. The line, based in Davenport, Iowa, serves the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Principal commodities include chemicals, coal, steel, automobiles, and agricultural products. Train dispatching is performed at a joint DM&E/IC&E facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On December 26, 2008, the IC&E was merged into parent CARH, which immediately merged into the DM&E.
History.
The IC&E was formed in 2002 to take over the operations of the I&M Rail Link (IMRL). The Illinois and the majority of the Iowa portions of the ICE were originally part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road). In 1986, the Soo Line Railroad, a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific, purchased the Milwaukee Road, and began operations on these lines. Canadian Pacific then assumed full ownership of the lines after absorbing the Soo.
Facing operating losses, the northern Illinois and Iowa lines were offered for sale by Canadian Pacific in 1997, and the I&M Rail Link purchased the line later that year. However, the Washington Corporation stated that the I&M's operations were not as profitably sound as expected, so Washington sold the I&M to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad in 2002, which acquired the assets of the I&M, rechristening it to the IC&E.
In contrast to the two previous owners, the IC&E was able to turn a profit, and after five years of growth, Canadian Pacific announced its intentions to purchase both the IC&E and its sister company the DM&E in late 2007. This effectively allowed CP to reacquire the same lines it had sold only a decade prior.
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), a division of the Teamsters, gained a contract with the transportation crews on January 24, 2005. Railroad employees first organized under the labor union on December 17, 2003.
Acquisition.
On September 4, 2007, Canadian Pacific Railway announced its intention to purchase the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad in a transaction that would include the IC&E and other affiliated companies.
On September 30, 2008, the United States Surface Transportation Board announced its approval of Canadian Pacific's proposed purchase of the DM&E, IC&E and Cedar American Rail Holdings, with the official last day of operations for DM&E and IC&E scheduled for October 30, 2008.
Equipment.
Motive power consisted of mostly ex-UP EMD SD40-2s rebuilt by General Electric and ex-SP EMD GP40-2s rebuilt by National Rail Equipment in Silvis, Illinois. Four DM&E EMD GP38s along with several ex-IMRL engines rounded out the roster. The SD40-2s and GP40-2s were painted in a DM&E inspired blue and yellow scheme with the name of the railroad spelled out on the sides of the locomotive. Starting in 2005, many of the "new" engines carried names of the towns that IC&E served, a practice utilized on the DM&E.


Bellefontaine Bridge

The Bellefontaine Bridge is a four-span truss railroad bridge over the Missouri River between St. Charles County, Missouri, and St. Louis County, Missouri. It has four spans. Construction started on July 4, 1892, and the bridge opened on December 27, 1893.
The bridge was built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and is now owned and operated by BNSF Railway. New Jersey Steel and Iron Company of Trenton, New Jersey, served as the contractor for the original construction, and George S. Morison designed the structure. Notably, the bridge was one of the first to use a Baltimore truss design; the nearby Merchants Bridge (also designed by Morison) used a Pennsylvania through truss design and had opened just a few years prior. The truss spans are found on masonry piers, which were constructed atop caissons founded into bedrock below the river.
The structure is the last railroad structure over the Missouri River before its confluence with the Mississippi River.


Watsonville Junction, California

Watsonville Junction is an unincorporated community in Pajaro, Monterey County, California. It is named for the Union Pacific Railroad (and formerly the Southern Pacific Railroad) junction at Pajaro. It is located south of Watsonville and west of Aromas, at an elevation of 33 feet (10 m).
The former passenger train station here was initially named "Pajaro" when the railway was built in 1871, but Southern Pacific changed the name to Watsonville Junction in 1913 to aide travellers unfamiliar with Spanish pronunciation.
The Santa Cruz Branch Line that runs through Watsonville and Santa Cruz joins the main line at Watsonville Junction.
Southern Pacific's "Del Monte" served the old station until service was discontinued on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak took over intercity passenger train service in the United States. The overnight passenger train "The Lark" stopped at Watsonville Junction between 1941 and 1968.
A proposed new station at this location, which would serve both Caltrain and Amtrak's Capitol Corridor trains when extended to Salinas, is under planning.


Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway

The Carolina, Atlantic and Western Railway was a South Carolina railroad that operated in the early part of the 20th century.
The Carolina, Atlantic and Western was created in 1914 when the South Carolina Western Railway, the South Carolina Western Extension Railway and the Charleston Northern Railway were merged into the North and South Carolina Railway. The name of the consolidated railroad company was then changed to the Carolina, Atlantic and Western.
In September 1915, the Charleston Southern Railway was merged into the Carolina, Atlantic and Western, and two months later the line's name was changed to the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company.


Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad

The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad is a class II railroad that operates in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.
The railroad's main route runs from the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio, to the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a distance of . The original rail ancestor of the B&LE, the Shenango and Allegheny Railroad, began operation in October 1869.
Rail operations were maintained continuously by various corporate descendants on the growing system that ultimately became the B&LE in 1900. In 2004 B&LE came under the ownership of the Canadian National Railway (CN) as part of CN's larger purchase of holding company Great Lakes Transportation. B&LE is operated by CN as their Bessemer Subdivision. As a subsidiary of CN, B&LE has been largely unchanged (though repainting of B&LE locomotives into CN paint with "BLE" sub-lettering began in April 2015) and still does business as B&LE. B&LE locomotives, especially the former Southern Pacific SD40T-3 "Tunnel Motors", have been scattered across the CN system; many are being used in the line that feeds most of B&LE's traffic, the former Duluth, Missabe, and Iron Range lines in Minnesota. The iron ore that originates on these lines is transloaded to ships at Two Harbors, Minnesota, then sent by ship to Conneaut, Ohio, where it is again transloaded to B&LE trains. It is then taken down to steel mills in the Pittsburgh region, mainly to the blast furnaces at US Steel's Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania, part of the Mon Valley Works. As of Spring 2021, the active locomotives on the B&LE are CN SD70M-2s 8800, 8804, 8827, and 8876, B&LE 862 (SD38), 868(SD38AC), 878 (SD38-2) and B&LE 905 (SD40T-3).
History.
The Pittsburgh, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company was founded in 1897 by Andrew Carnegie to haul iron ore and other products from the port at Conneaut, Ohio, on the Great Lakes to Carnegie Steel Company plants in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region. On the return trip, Pennsylvania coal was hauled north to Conneaut Harbor. The company was created largely out of a series of small predecessor companies including the Pittsburgh, Shenango and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Butler and Pittsburgh Railroad Company. The company was renamed the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad in 1900. Carnegie Steel had an exclusive 99-year lease to the PS&LE. This lease was acquired by US Steel when that company acquired Carnegie Steel in 1901.
At the end of 1925 B&LE operated 228 miles of road on 631 miles of track; at the end of 1970 mileages were 220 and 489.
In 1988 the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad became part of Transtar, Inc., a privately held transportation holding company with principal operations in railroad freight transportation, dock operations, Great Lakes shipping, and inland river barging that were formerly subsidiaries of USX, the holding company that owns U.S. Steel. In 2001 the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad became part of Great Lakes Transportation, LLC. On May 10, 2004 Canadian National Railway acquired the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad. Iron ore and coal are still the route's major freight commodities.
Route notes.
The B&LE connects with the Norfolk Southern Railway at Wallace Junction, near Girard, Pennsylvania, and at the Shenango Yard in Greenville, Pennsylvania. The Union Railroad connects at the B&LE's southern terminus at Penn Hills' North Bessemer Yard. CSX (formerly the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad) connects at Shenango Yard (the Pennsylvania Railroad may have connected here, too), and the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad connects at Calvin Yard in Butler, Pennsylvania. The B&LE formerly interchanged at Osgood, Pennsylvania with the New York Central System, later Penn Central Railroad and then Conrail, until the latter abandoned the line in 1988.
The main rail yard and locomotive and car shops are in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Although the B&LE acquired some early diesel-electric switching locomotives painted black with yellow trim, in 1950 the company adopted a locomotive color scheme of bright orange and black which is still in use. Because the B&LE's primary traffic is iron ore, it adopted rust-colored hoppers so the ore wouldn't produce noticeable stains on its cars.
The B&LE carried passengers many years ago, and indeed kept a spur line from its main line east to Conneaut Lake Park amusement park for dropping off and picking up excursionists visiting the park.
The B&LE main line divides around Greenville, between a waypoint north of the Village of Osgood called 'KO' and another waypoint near the Village of Kremis that used the telegraph call name 'KY', for the "Osgood-Kremis" cut-off ("K-O") that joined the original "Old Line" there. The latter still winds down along the Little Shenango and Shenango Rivers into downtown Greenville (where the B&LE shops are located), and then climbs back up to Kremis, en route to Fredonia and North Bessemer. The B&LE constructed the shortcut K-O Line in 1901–02 to bypass the steep, winding route through Greenville. From 'KO Junction', it runs south over a long () viaduct above the Little Shenango River, the original B&LE Old Line, the former NYC RR's JF&C Branch and the former Erie RR's Chicago—New York main line at Osgood. It then passes east of downtown Greenville at a relatively high elevation, and rejoins the original line at KY, near Kremis. The K-O Line cut-off shortened KO to KY run by 3.1 miles vs. the Old Line. Except for the Osgood Viaduct, this cut-off was double-tracked for many years but, since the arrival of CTC signaling in the Fifties, is now entirely single track.
The B&LE operated a line from Queen Junction (near Butler, Pennsylvania) to Brady's Bend, Pennsylvania. It was known as the Western Allegheny Division, and it was known as the last line that the B&LE's F-Units ran on. F-unit service on the line ended in 1992, and the last train, which was pulled by an EMD SD9 ran in November 1994. The line sat out of service until 2000, when it was abandoned. The tracks were removed in 2002, and today, the right of way is barely visible.
There was originally one tunnel on the B&LE mainline at Culmerville, but it was dug out or "daylighted" in 1922, converting it to an open cut through a hill.
As it approaches Bessemer, the B&LE is also noticeable where it crosses the Allegheny River on the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad Bridge immediately east of and parallel to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Locomotives.
In the steam era, B&LE had a fleet of 2-8-0 "Consolidation" types, classes C1 through C4; 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" types, classes D1 and D2; and 2-10-4 "Texas" type locomotives, class H1. The H1 locomotives were one of the most powerful non articulated locomotives ever constructed. The B&LE also had a number of switchers, including 0-6-0s and 0-8-0s. Two steam locomotives from the B&LE have been preserved, which are 2-10-4 No. 643 and 2-8-0 No. 154. The road dieselized in 1953. In the diesel era, B&LE's motive power has always been mostly Electro-Motive Division. It dieselized with many EMD F-units, which were supplemented by SD9s, SD18s and ALCo RSD15s. Later, it bought a number of EMD SD38ACs and SD38-2s to replace the F-units. In the late 1990s, it bought many EMD SD40T-3 "Tunnel Motors" from Southern Pacific Railroad to replace the 1950s-vintage SD9s.
As a subsidiary of CN, the B&LE has been largely unchanged (though repainting of B&LE locomotives into CN paint with "BLE" sub-lettering began in April 2015). Bessemer and Lake Erie's locomotives, especially the SD40T-3 "Tunnel Motors," have been scattered across the CN system in the mid-late 2000s with the majority leaving the B&LE Property in March, 2015. Many of these SD40T-3s are being used on the line that feeds most of B&LE's traffic, the former Duluth, Missabe, and Iron Range Railroad in Minnesota. The iron ore that originates on these lines is transloaded to ships at Two Harbors, Minnesota; then sent by ship to Conneaut, Ohio, where it is again transloaded to B&LE trains. It is then taken down to steel mills in the Pittsburgh area, mainly to the blast furnaces at US Steel's Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania, part of the Mon Valley Works. As of November, 2020, the locomotives on the Bessemer include a set of 4 CN EMD SD70M-2s on the ore drags, B&LE Tunnel Motor 905, and a few SD38s, still in B&LE orange. These are being kept on the line for use in P&C docks and on locals, in addition to making rare appearances on the ore trains.


Selkirk hurdle

The Selkirk Hurdle is the term used by urban planners, railroad employees, politicians, and others to describe the route that must be taken by freight trains traveling between New York City and other points in downstate New York that are east of the Hudson River, and locations in the United States to the south and west. There are no rail freight bridges or tunnels that cross the Hudson River south of Selkirk, which is 10 miles (16 km) south of Albany and the home of Selkirk Yard, a major CSX classification yard. As a result, trains from Long Island and New York City (except for the borough of Staten Island which has a rail bridge to New Jersey) must travel north to cross at Selkirk before continuing on their way. Advocates claim that this detour and the inefficiencies that result force New York City to rely more heavily on relatively inefficient trucks than most parts of the United States, where freight trains are more common. However, at least for traffic to and from the west, this route was touted for its efficiency as the "Water Level Route" by the New York Central Railroad because trains using it did not have to climb over the Appalachian Mountains, and it is still used by the New York Central's successor, CSX, for traffic to both sides of the Hudson River.
To cross the Hudson, trains must use the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge or another bridge further north near Mechanicville, New York, operated by Pan Am Southern railroad. A 1974 fire ended service across a railroad bridge at Poughkeepsie, north of New York City. Because of the height of the bridge, trains still had to travel west to Maybrook, New York and back, limiting its use when it was in service. Although the bridge at Poughkeepsie still stands, the rails have been removed and it became Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park in 2009.
The only alternative to the Selkirk Hurdle is for rail cars to be floated across Upper New York Bay, an operation run until 2006 by the New York Cross Harbor Railroad, and currently by New York New Jersey Rail, LLC, now owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority is investing in improvements to its decayed infrastructure, much of which was washed away by Hurricane Sandy. As trucking has become more prevalent, rail float operations across the bay have dwindled over the decades from 600,000 cars per year to 1,600 cars per year. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hopes some day to transport as many as 25,000 cars annually.
Eliminating the Selkirk Hurdle is a primary objective of the Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel proposed to span Upper New York Bay between Brooklyn and either Jersey City, New Jersey. A draft environmental impact study for the project was released in November 2014.


Erdman Act

The Erdman Act of 1898 was a United States federal law pertaining to railroad labor disputes. The law provided for arbitration for disputes between the interstate railroads and their workers organized into unions.
Major provisions.
The most significant portion of the act was its provision prohibiting a railroad company from demanding that a worker not join a union as a condition for employment (Section 10).
The interstate requirement meant that the law affected individuals who worked on the moving trains, such as firemen, brakemen, telegraphers, and conductors, providing that the train transported freight and passengers between states. Workers who maintained railroad cars and station clerks did not come under the statute's jurisdiction. While the arbitration system created by the act was voluntary, the results were binding if all sides agreed to arbitration.
Capital and labor each chose one of three arbitrators under the act; if they could not agree upon a third, the government would. The Chair of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the United States Commissioner of Labor, acting in concert, made that choice under those circumstances.
The act made it unlawful to strike or fire a worker during the arbitration process; it also made it illegal to terminate the employment of a worker involved in the dispute while arbitration was pending, except for neglecting duty or inefficiency.
In "Adair v. United States" (1908), the United States Supreme Court declared Section 10 of the Erdman Act unconstitutional.


Kaydeross Railroad

The Kaydeross Railroad, earlier known as the Eastern New York Railroad and Ballston Terminal Railroad, was an electric-powered trolley line that served industries along the Kayaderosseras Creek in the town of Milton, Saratoga County, New York. It was a "terminal railroad", which means it had an interchange at one end (in Ballston Spa) but terminated without any other interchange.
The railroad's primary purpose was to serve the dozen water-powered paper mills and a large tool factory that were situated along the creek. These included the paper mills and bag factory of "Paper Bag King" George West, the famous Ballston Scythe & Axe Works of Isaiah Blood, the paper box mill of the National Folding Paper Box Company, and the straw paper mill of Chauncey Kilmer (later the Cottrell Paper Company).
The railroad was unique for being one of the few trolley railroads in the country to have a primary function of hauling freight cars. At least eight freight cars could be hauled by the George West trolley car to the Delaware and Hudson Railway interchange track on present day New York State Route 50.
Construction started in 1896 when an investor group headed by Arthur B. Paine was granted a franchise by the Village of Ballston Spa. By 1902 the railroad reached its greatest extent of twelve miles. It served the villages and hamlets of Ballston Spa, Bloodville, Factory Village, Craneville, Milton Center, West Milton, Rock City Falls, and Middle Grove. A regular schedule was instituted to accommodate passengers.
The railroad was never a financial success. The Ballston Terminal Railroad Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1904, but a new corporation was formed called the Eastern New York Railroad, and operations continued uninterrupted. In 1918 the line was sold to I. W. Wiswall for $25,000 ($430,000 in 2018 dollars). Another reorganization occurred when several paper mill owners banded together and purchased the ailing railroad. It was thereafter called the Kaydeross Railroad. This line operated until 1929, when it shut down for the last time. By then, only three paper mills had survived. However, the railroad served its primary purpose of providing inexpensive transportation and distribution and contributed to the longevity of the industries it served.
Little of the railroad remains today. The brick powerhouse still survives in Factory Village, and approximately one mile of the former railroad bed is now a walking trail in Boice Park in Milton.