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PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
NEW YORK TUNNEL EXTENSION
HISTORICAL OUTLINE
REMARKS OF MP. SAMUEL REA,
SECONT) VICE-PRESIDENT, AT THE ANNUAL
DINNER TO THE PRESIDENT GIVEN BY
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD CO.
DECEMBER 15, 1909
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
NEW YORK TUNNEL EXTENSION
HISTORICAL OUTLINE
REMARKS OF MR. SAMUEL REA,
SECOND WICE-PRESIDENT, AT THE ANNUAL
DINNER TO THE PRESIDENT GIVEN BY
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD CO.
DECEMBER 15, 1909
MR. CHAIRMAN, MR. PRESIDENT AND ASSOCIATES:-
The approaching completion of our New York Tunnel
Extension, which has been proceeding for the past eight
years, and your recent inspection of the work, make it
appropriate to review the history preceding the deter-
mination of this board to extend the system into New
York City. My forte—if I have any in the railroad pro-
fession—is not, as you know, that of delivering addresses,
but, being conversant with all the facts connected with
the early history of this great work, and closely identi-
fied with its execution, I feel that a brief talk on the
subject is due you, and the invitation from our Chairman
and this occasion impel me to make the effort.
From popular published accounts of our New York Tun-
nel Extension one would infer that this exceptional work
was suddenly evolved as if by inspiration in the adminis-
tration of Mr. Cassatt, our late President, whereas it was
the logical result of long studied plans in which he partici-
pated from the beginning, and the consummation of what
was realized as a future necessity by the executive officers,
and doubtless many directors of this company, from the
time of the lease in 1871 of the United Railroads of New
Jersey. I hope to presently demonstrate this statement,
for out of those thirty-eight years I can, for the past
twenty-six years, speak from personal knowledge.
Mr Cassatt was the last man to be accused of hasty
action on such an important matter, or to feel compli-
mented by the suggestion referred to. He was a man
of extended experience in the railroad profession, in which
he spent his life in the Engineering, Operating and Execu-
(3)
sy ºry 593 -
* 3 *- :
ºn { } { * * ~ *
4 Pennsylvania Railroad
tive Departments, of rare knowledge of principles and
keen observation, prompt in decision and possessing a
cultivated mind and a splendid memory. When he
reached conclusions quickly—as he did daily with us—and
gave decisions which he rarely had to revise, they were
not haphazard, but founded on knowledge, and were the
result of exercising instantly the faculty of combining sim-
ilar experiences and concentrating their teachings on the
subject before him—and that is genius.
Let us first briefly review the development of our Com-
pany. Chartered in 1846, to build a railroad from Har-
risburg to Pittsburgh, it did, after many trials and strug-
gles to provide funds, complete the same in sections,
and opened a through rail line for traffic between both
cities on December Ioth, 1852, thus paralleling the
line of public works owned and operated by the State.
Until it purchased from the State its moribund canals
and railroads it was handicapped by an iniquitous tonnage
tax, assessed each year, of five mills per ton per mile
from the months of March to December, inclusive,
on the tonnage carried over its lines—about two-
thirds of the present average rate per ton per mile. This
charter provision naively stated that the Winter months
—December to February, inclusive—were excluded, be-
cause of the impossibility of operating the line during
those months with a profit. The facts of course being that
the public works as a through route, the canals forming
the greater part thereof, were closed during those months.
The purchase from the State was consummated in 1857.
The Incline Plane Railroad, known as the “Old Portage
Railroad,” from Johnstown to Hollidaysburg, had been
abandoned in 1855, in favor of the New Portage Rail-
road, a standard steam road, and upon purchase by the
New York Tunnel Extension. 5
Pennsylvania Railroad, there being no need of two rail-
roads across the mountains, the track on the New Portage
Railroad was taken up and the rails used to aid in com-
pleting the Fort Wayne Railroad between Plymouth and
Chicago. A part of the Act of Purchase having been
declared unconstitutional, the matter was not finally
settled until 1859, and the payments to the State were
Spread over a long period thereafter. -
Early in the 60's came the Civil War, but notwithstand-
ing this disturbance to business, considerable progress was
made in this decade, notably the leases of the Harrisburg,
Portsmouth, Mt. Joy and Lancaster Railroad, the West-
ern Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Philadelphia and Erie
Railroad, and the construction and opening for traffic Of
the Connecting Railway and the Junction Railroad, which
gave the Pennsylvania Railroad a through route to New
York via Philadelphia, instead of via Harrisburg and the
“Allentown Route,” and also provided a direct connection
with the South at Philadelphia. The Steubenville Exten-
sion under Pittsburgh and across the Monongahela River
was completed, and furnished the connection with the “Pan-
handle” System, which since 1869, the Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company has controlled. Tn the same year, the Pitts-
burgh, Ft. Wayne and Chicago Railway was leased, quickly
followed by the lease of the Erie and Pittsburgh and the
Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad Companies, and
the formation of the Pennsylvania Company to unify the
operation and management of the Lines West of Pitts-
burgh. At the beginning of 1871, these acquisitions had
given the system a place of first rank in that important
territory between Pittsburgh, the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, while at the same time other
leases and acquisitions had extended it into the Monon-
6 Pennsylvania Railroad
gahela and Allegheny valleys and other coal fields of
Pennsylvania.
Surely the officers and directors of the Company at that
time deserve the greatest credit for assuming these obli-
gations, their judgment and courage being based largely
on their estimates of the future of the country. These ac-
quisitions, however, only brought them to the city of Phila-
delphia, and they must have looked longingly towards
New York, and wondered how they would ultimately ex-
tend the System to the growing commercial metropolis.
The only way to reach New York was over the United
Railroads of New Jersey or to build their own line.
Doubtless grave consideration was given to this feature
by those far-seeing men—the directors and officers of that
day—but suddenly, as I have been told, they were con-
fronted with the information that if they did not lease the
United Railroads, their rival, the Philadelphia and Read-
ing Railway, would, and so the lease was promptly made,
to date from June 30th, 1871, but, as usual under such cir-
cumstances, on terms very favorable to the lessor. It
was at first burdensome to a degree, making heavy an-
nual losses for about seventeen years with the single
exception of the Centennial year. Nevertheless it ex-
tended the Pennsylvania Railroad to the shores of the
Hudson River and by ferriage into New York City, and
forever established it there as one of the principal trunk
lines. This was vital to its future as an Eastern Trunk
Line, and while the direct operations under the lease at
first resulted in yearly deficits, the indirect benefits more
than compensated for its losses, and of course in recent
years the results have been highly profitable. The New
York Central, the principal rival of the Pennsylvania, was
located in the heart of New York City, and it must have
New York Tunnel Extension. /
been a bitter trial to our officers to constantly realize
that fact and to have to meet it in a competitive way,
which in those early days meant so much more, particu-
larly in passenger traffic, than it does to-day.
We must assume that from the time that lease was
made, men like John Edgar Thomson, Thomas A. Scott
and George B. Roberts, and the directors who so ably
Seconded and supported their measures of expansion,
must have looked forward to extending the railroad into
New York, but the difficulty was not only the great ex-
pense but also the lack of a feasible plan, for at that
time the engineering obstacles seemed to be insur-
mountable. Shortly after this lease was made came
the panic of 1873, the effect of which lasted for many
years, and I believe culminated, so far as our Company
was concerned, in the riots and loss of property and busi-
ness in 1877. During these troublous times no thought
could be given to large extensions or to large future re-
quiements, but nevertheless the Company completed its
purchase of the Allegheny Valley Railroad, and in this
disturbed period continued to develop its local territory
by the building of branch roads for coal and coke and
other industries, and furnishing improved facilities on its
lines.
Specie payments were resumed January Ist, 1879, and
the recovery from the effects of the 1873 panic began.
The difficulties between the Trunk Lines were a disturb-
ing factor, but there was marked improvement in busi-
ness and in the speculative markets, which however was
interrupted by the assassination of President Garfield in
July, 1881. Sharp Trunk Line competition continued and
culminated in 1883 and 1884 in a disastrous situation
which taxed the resources of the leading lines.
8 Pennsylvania Railroad
This brings us to President Roberts’ administration.
He was elected president in 1880, and in 1881 took quick
advantage of an opportunity to acquire the Philadelphia,
Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, the purchase of which
had been almost consummated by the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company.
In 1883 I was appointed the immediate assistant of Vice-
President J. N. DuBarry. He had charge of branch lines
and the promotion and construction of new lines, and it
has been my good fortune to be closely attached to the
executive department since that date, except for a few years
while out of the Company's service. Mr. Roberts, and
other officials of the Company, had already been interested
in securing an entrance into New York, because we know
that the Hudson Tunnel scheme was brought to his at-
tention. DeWitt C. Haskins started it in 1874, work was
later stopped by injunction and not resumed until 1879,
and was abandoned in July, 1880, when the community
was startled by the loss of twenty lives in the New Jersey
shaft due to a “blow out,” which stifled the North River
Tunnel enterprise for many years.
In 1884 I brought before Mr. Roberts a proposition of
Mr. Gustav Lindenthal, C. E., then of Pittsburgh, who had
recently rebuilt the Smithfield Street Bridge in that city,
maintaining traffic over that notable old Suspension Bridge
during construction, whereby the Pennsylvania Railroad
could extend its line into New York by a high level bridge
over the Hudson. His route was over the Harsimus Cove
Branch, rising to a height of one hundred and thirty-five
feet above the river and landing at a terminal in the vicinity
of Desbrosses and Canal Streets. Mr. Roberts evinced
much interest in the presentation of the scheme, and showed
a detailed knowledge, which could only have been acquired
New York Tunnel Extension. Q
by personal study. He seemed to think that while the
spans for the bridge were of excessive length—longer
than any theretofore built—it might be feasible. At all
events he accepted Mr. Lindenthal’s dictum that this
was practicable, but whether we could locate piers in the
river, as contemplated, was at the time an undecided ques-
tion. He, however, directed me to join Mr. Lindenthal
and make a study and report on the subject. This we did
and with the shipping men considered the question as to
piers in the river, Mr. C. A. Griscom, among other ship-
ping representatives, being consulted, and the United
States engineers as well. They all said that piers would
never be permitted in the harbor so far down as Canal
Street, and they questioned whether any piers would be
permitted within the pierhead lines of the Hudson River at
New York. We reported this to Mr. Roberts, who seemed
disappointed that we should so quickly stop our efforts
for a bridge with piers in the harbor, but having canvassed
the matter we were firm in our view, and while Mr. Lin-
denthal assured him that by going further up the river to
Castle Point, a bridge could be built with a single span, it
did not obtain his approval. To propose a bridge
with a span almost twice that of the Brooklyn
Bridge was so unprecedented and would have involved so
much money, that I wonder now he took as much
interest in it as he did; but the panic of 1884
occurring about that time—probably the worst panic
experienced in this country as to failures of banks and
brokerage houses—put a damper on all new undertak-
ings. Mr. Lindenthal, however, associated with others, all
Of whom were advocates of a scheme to build a bridge,
continued to develop his project for a single span bridge.
All thoughtful persons realized at that time that so long as
10 Pennsylvania Railroad
steam locomotives were the only motive power, the con-
struction of tunnels was out of the question. Work on
the Old Hudson tunnel opposite Christopher Street had
again been stopped in 1882 for lack of funds, though, for
the reasons stated, it did not receive any support from our
company, and we all looked favorably at that time on a
bridge. But we listened to any scheme to get into New
York, and I remember giving considerable attention to the
Hudson Tunnel at the instance of Mr. Frank Thomson
and Mr. Cassatt in connection with General James H. Wil-
son, who for the time being had taken it in hand.
Mr. Lindenthal and friends in due course applied to
Congress for a charter on broad grounds of interstate traf-
fic and the necessity for Federal authority to cross the
Hudson and reach the great City of New York, and the
project was received with favor; but they did not secure
their charter until 1890, and subsequently had the plans
for the bridge and approaches approved by the Secretary of
War for a crossing at or near Twenty-third Street, with
a single span between pierhead lines, and with a termi-
nus in the vicinity of Sixth Avenue and Twenty-sixth
Street. Mr. Roberts, Mr. Du Barry, Mr. Cassatt, Mr.
Frank Thomson and Mr. Prevost were frequently con-
sulted in regard to the matter, and were always interested,
and helpful with advice.
Mr. H. C. Frick and Mr. Percival Roberts, Jr., now
Directors of this Company, will recall, on more than one
Gccasion, when they were active in the steel and bridge
business, being consulted as to material for this great
structure and invited to have their Companies become in-
terested, which was not uncommon in those days in the
promotion of bridge companies.
In 1889 I left the service of the Company and went
New York Tunnel Extension. 11
to Baltimore as Chief Engineer of the Belt Line for the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, and other work,
and was able to devote some time to the North River
Bridge Company, of which I was one of the incorporators,
having assisted in the tedious work before Congress and
during the promotion period which followed. Mr. Frank
Thomson, I remember, gave me letters of introduction to
the late Samuel Sloan, the President of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, and other rail-
road Presidents, whom I saw personally and tried to in-
terest in this scheme. We all felt that by reason of the great
cost, it could only be carried out by the co-operation and
support of all the trunk line railroad companies, especially
as the Company had a Federal Charter and the bridge was
to be open to all roads. Along about 1890 a test suit in
condemnation was started at the suggestion of Mr. Cassatt,
in Order to finally ascertain the validity of the charter, there
being grave doubt as to whether the Federal Government
had a right to charter such a company, and Mr. Cassatt be-
ing satisfied that we could never make a successful financial
plan until the validity of the charter was fully established.
Condemnation proceedings were thereupon incepted in Ho-
boken for the land upon which the construction of the New
Jersey anchorage had been commenced, and the case was
carried up and finally decided by the United States Supreme
Court confirming absolutely the charter powers of the Com-
pany. Meantime two other bridge companies were formed
in the States of New Jersey and New York to build a bridge
at Fifty-ninth Street, and from time to time they solicited
support from our Company. This bridge, however, by rea-
son of its location, did not appeal to any of our officers,
and while we kept posted about its affairs, we were not
allied with it in any way.
12 Pennsylvania Railroad
In 1891 I resigned my position in Baltimore on account
of ill health, and on the same day I had a message from Mr.
Roberts asking me to refrain from committing myself
to any professional engagement until he could see me.
This was exceedingly gratifying to me, as well as a sur-
prise, for when I left the Pennsylvania Railroad I felt
it unlikely that I would ever be invited to return to the
service. I immediately saw Mr. Roberts and Mr. Du.
Barry, and they told me that they would be glad to have
me in the service, as there were many engineering ques-
tions then pressing them, and others that were coming
up, which they desired me to consider in connection with
the executive officers. I promised not to make any fixed
engagement, and after a needed vacation, to see them before
I accepted any other offer. Meanwhile I saw much of Mr.
Thomson and Mr. Cassatt, in certain special work for them
concerning the anthracite coal transportation questions
following the Reading Company’s lease of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
In the Spring of 1892 Mr. Cassatt asked me whether
I had seen Mr. Roberts lately, and I told him that I had
not, but as I was ready to return to work I would, ac-
cording to promise, see him, which I did immediately.
I remember the conversation very well and how Mr.
Roberts said, “Well, Mr. Rea, we want you to return to
the service, but we cannot pay you as much salary as you
received at Baltimore. I think, however, the position wiłł
be agreeable to you as well as the work, but we are at a
loss as to how to place you in the organization. You
know the organization, what have you to suggest?” I
said, “Mr. Roberts, the work which you have assigned to
me, as I understand it, is to take directions from you on the
larger engineering and corporate questions, and also from
Vice-Presidents Thomson and DuBarry and co-operate
New York Tunnel Extension. 13
with them, and, therefore, it seems to me that you should
revive the position of Assistant to the President, which
has not been filled since the promotion of Messrs. Du-
Barry and Green to Vice-Presidents, and the death of
Mr. Strickland Kneass;” he promptly said, “If satisfac-
tory to you we will do that.” We then agreed upon the
salary and arranged that I was to make my contemplated
trip to Europe, and immediately upon my return take up
this work. Mr. Cassatt suggested that I should be elected
before going to Europe, so as to be properly accredited by
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which might help
my studies in London of the rapid transit tunnels then build-
ing and proposed, and especially the City and South Lon-
don Railway Company, then in course of construction from
the Monument southward under the Thames River.
I sailed on May 25th, 1892, and On the same day was
elected Assistant to the President. Upon arriving in Lon-
don, through my friends, Sir Benjamin Baker and Mr.
Greathead, prominent engineers, I was enabled to examine
the said tunnel works and other engineering work, and on
my return made a report to President Roberts. (See Ap-
pendix “A.”)
Mr. Austin Corbin, then President of the Long Island
Xailroad Company, had retained Mr. Charles M. Jacobs,
C. E., of London, to make surveys and studies for rapid
transit lines in New York and Brooklyn in connection with
the Long Island Railroad, and Mr. Roberts was ap-
proached with the view of constructing a connecting
tunnel from underneath our Jersey City Station, thence
under the Hudson River, to a connection with the Long
Island Railroad at Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn. So when
I wrote to Mr. Roberts from England, telling him of the
work I had seen and how it might be adapted for rapid
transit between Jersey City and New York and Brooklyn,
14 Pennsylvania Railroad
using electric locomotives, as multiple unit cars had not
yet been developed, he evidently was impressed; and
doubtless had during my absence considered the matter
further with Mr. Corbin and others, for on my arrival in
Philadelphia I found a characteristic letter of instruc-
tions from him, which I shall read. It shows, I think, how
firmly he was then convinced—seventeen years ago—of
the necessity for our Company to extend its lines into
New York: but the connection then proposed from Jer-
sey City was only for rapid transit and not for regular
trains, Mr. Roberts realizing, I have no doubt, that for
the latter a different location must be had, and probably
hoping that some means would be found to build the
bridge. From this rapid transit feature of these tunnels
he never Swerved, although Mr. Corbin frequently urged
him to adopt tunnels of full size.
The letter from President Roberts, dated June 27th,
I892, reads as follows:—
“MR. SAMUEL REA,
“Assistant to the President.
“MY DEAR SIR:—I duly received your letter of the
IOth instant from London, acquainting me of the fact
that you will sail from the other side on the same day
that I will sail from this side. I am going abroad and
expect to be back by the middle of September. In the
meantime I would be pleased to have you look after such
general matters as the Vice-Presidents may indicate,
that may require attention, and especially would I be
glad to have you see Mr. Cassatt, who has had more or
1ess to do with the question of reaching New York, and
take up this subject in its broadest sense. There are
three schemes, one a tunnel by which passengers can
reach New York and Brooklyn, from Jersey City by
New York Tunnel Extension. 15
rapid transit cars; the other a bridge scheme, and the
last a scheme which has been in my mind of taking
such trains as we may wish to run from the upper part
of New York across to some suitable locality upon prop-
erly constructed ferry boats establishing, in that part of
New York, a suitable passenger station.
“All of these matters are in a somewhat crude condi-
tion, but the time seems to be rapidly approaching when
it would be wise to do something in some one of these
directions.
“There are other matters relating to the connection or
extension of our lines in one or two directions (which
will be indicated to you by Mr. Thomson and Mr. Du-
Barry), which will require some thorough investigation
before we would be prepared to reach any satisfactory
conclusion. I have no doubt, however, that you will
find plenty to do in my absence in these, or kindred,
directions, which will be of much advantage to the Com-
pany.
“Very truly yours,
“(Signed) G. B. ROBERTS,
“President.”
Pursuant to these instructions I made a careful investi-
gation and report on the schemes outlined by Mr. Rob-
erts (See Appendix “B” for full text), and in addition
on one plan that had been suggested by Mr. Cassatt,
and to which he had given much thought. It avoided
crossing the Hudson River by 1eaving the main line near
Rahway and crossing to Staten Island, but involved a
tunnel under the “Narrows” and thence around Brook-
lyn via the Bay Ridge route, and by bridge across the
East River to a terminus at Thirty-eighth Street and
Madison Avenue, and a survey of the route had been made
16 Pennsylvania Railroad
by Mr. Joseph T. Richards, then Assistant Chief Engineer,
and now our Chief Engineer of Maintenance of Way. This
scheme was inviting to Mr. Cassatt, for while it put the
Pennsylvania Railroad into New York, it also made possi-
ble a connection with New England either by a tunnel un-
der the East River or via the New York Connecting Rail-
road, which had been chartered that year—1892—by Mr.
O. W. Barnes, C. E. This company, as you know, was
afterward purchased jointly by our Company and the New
York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. In this
report I recommended the North River Bridge project,
and gave my reasons therefor, as the best solution of
the problem for our Company.
With respect to a floating service for trains to which
Mr. Roberts made especial reference, it was very care-
fully investigated for operation between Jersey City and
the foot of West Thirty-fourth Street, where, with trans-
fer bridges, the cars would be placed on tracks that would
run in a tunnel under Thirty-fourth Street to a point near
Ninth Avenue and turn in under the Blind Asylum prop-
erty, which flanks our present station yard on the north,
where a suitable station was to be located—extending
to Eighth Avenue. This appealed to none of us except
Mr. Roberts, who evidently thought we must wait so
long before a bridge would be built that we should mean-
while use this scheme for part of our service: but we con-
vinced him that it was inappropriate, and as I was fresh
from Baltimore and from building an expensive tun-
nel to supplant an excellent transport service, I could hardly
advocate it. As all of our Officers favored an uptown
Station and believed the time had come to establish it,
the Twenty-third Street ferry was taken up as a tempo-
rary measure until such time as a permanent extension
New York Tunnel Extension. 17
into New York could be had. Mr. Roberts, however,
did not live to see the ferry opened, as he died in January,
I897, and it was not completed for traffic until May of
that year.
Mr. Roberts, General Sewell, Mr. Cassatt, Mr. Frank
Thomson, Mr. Wayne MacVeagh, and others, in 1892,
took a lively interest in the scheme with Mr. Austin Cor-
bin to build a line from underneath our Station in Jersey
City, via Cortlandt Street and Maiden Lane, and under
the East River to Flatbush Avenue, making their own
private subscriptions, and Mr. Jacobs and myself were
directed to make the surveys, studies and estimates. This
we did, completed the same and organized two com-
panies which afterwards were consolidated. I prepared
the financial scheme and the construction contracts and
we were ready to go forward, but only for small sized cars
doing a local suburban business, as Mr. Roberts always
stipulated, although Mr. Corbin was most anxious to have
it a full size tunnel.
This was the state of affairs when the silver panic of
1893 struck the country and further consideration was de-
ferred. This scheme, so far as our Company was con-
cerned, while seriously considered at that time, did not
appeal to us later, for we all felt that we should devote our
energies first towards extending our system directly into
a central part of New York City.
Matters drifted along in this way, with Mr. Lindenthal
and his friends promoting the North River Bridge pro-
ject and coming to us frequently for advice and help,
which we always gave freely, although as a Company We
never contributed anything towards it, but we gave Our
statistics and used our good offices to interest other rail-
road companies. It was slow work, and besides it took
four or five years to recover from the panic of 1893;
18 Pennsylvania Railroad
furthermore, the tendency of rates was still downward,
and this constant fall in rates caused great anxiety to
Mr. Roberts and Mr. Thomson during the latter’s brief
term as President, and to Mr. Cassatt as well, when he
became President in 1899. You are all familiar with
the steps he took, which resulted in stopping the cutting
of rates, especially in the coal business, in which our Com-
pany was so largely interested, and with the investments
made in the coal carrying companies, which restored rates
and abolished the rebate system. When he saw his way
clear to check the fall in rates and get rid of ruinous com-
petition and thus increase the net income of the Company,
and Of the Other companies as well, and enable them
to pay a reasonable return to their shareholders, he thought
the time had come to seriously consider many improve-
ments and extensions, and among them an extension into
New York.
The first evidence of this was the purchasing of a major-
ity of the Long Island Railroad stock in May, 1900, so as
to obtain the necessary passenger and freight terminals
in the part of New York City best suited to future de-
velopment. That railroad, its equipment and facilities,
were in poor condition, but from his former investigations
Mr. Cassatt realized its future as a terminal railroad for
the Pennsylvania system, with New England connections.
The result of our Company’s expenditure in the Long
Island Railroad has changed it from a road which made
its principal earnings in the three Summer months of the
year, with losses in the remaining months, and which did
not earn its fixed charges, to a road which now does an
all-the-year-round business, and will this year not only
earn all of its fixed and obligatory charges, but possibly
a small surplus.
The North River Bridge being the only plan which
New York Tunnel Extension. 19
seemed feasible, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company took
the initiative in agreeing to use the bridge with other
connecting railroad lines and making its share of the guar-
antees upon the investment.
The general Scheme of the bridge company was to pro-
vide for the transportation of nine hundred thousand
1oaded passenger equipment cars per annum. This traffic
was to be furnished by the railroads reaching the west bank
of the Hudson River, the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany being requested to furnish two hundred thousand
of that number per annum, and to pay therefor four dol-
lars per car, with the understanding that the rate per car
was to be appropriately reduced when the aggregate num-
ber of cars using the bridge facilities exceeded nine hun-
dred thousand per annum. It was estimated that the
bridge and approaches, connections and station complete
would cost $90,000,000 to $100,000,000; and the general
financial scheme of the bridge company was to issue that
amount of first mortgage three and one-half per cent. Or
four per cent. fifty year bonds, and also $50,000,000 of
income bonds, of which latter one-half would go to the
promoters of the enterprise, and the other half be held
as a reserve in the treasury against future contingencies,
to pay off existing indebtedness, and for a bonus to the
railroads in proportion to the traffic to be furnished by
them; the stock of the bridge company to be $1,000,000,
and a majority thereof to be held by parties satisfactory
to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company acted upon the matter in September, 1900, and
Mr. Cassatt was authorized to agree to the request made
by the bridge company, and also to ascertain what guar-
antees of traffic would be made by other lines proposing
to use the bridge facilities, and he was requested to report
20 Pennsylvania Railroad
to the Board from time to time such action as it might
be proper for the Company to take in making effective
the general arrangement above proposed.
It is needless to say that notwithstanding this action, at
the expiration of a year the promoters of the North River
Bridge Company were unable to secure the support or co-
Operation of any other railroad company, and the project
seemed too large for the Pennsylvania Railroad to under-
take alone, especially as the bridge would be open to other
roads.
Matters were, therefore, at a standstill, when in the
Summer of 1901, Mr. Cassatt being in Europe, the open-
ing of the Extension of the Orleans Railway in Paris
Suggested to me that perhaps with the advance in elec-
tric traction, thus obviating the use of steam locomo-
tives, we might be able to carry out a satisfactory tunnel
Scheme Ourselves, and I cabled and wrote Mr. Cassatt
asking him to 10ok over the Orleans work. This he did,
and immediately replied that he was much impressed with
it, and he believed it might offer the solution of our prob-
lem. The inability to carry out the bridge scheme was a
severe disappointment to me as well as to its other advo-
cates, because at that time I believed it was the best prop-
osition, but I realized that if we were ever to build into
New York we must do it alone, as we could not get a
bridge scheme authorized for any one company. Further,
its extension to Long Island, which was then desired
by our Company, was not free from difficulties. In fact
we intended bringing the Long Island Railroad into New
York by tunnel and to a terminus under the proposed
North River Bridge Station. Therefore, while disap-
pointed, as I have said, it was my duty to support the
tunnel scheme provided it was feasible and would fulfill
our requirements. Mr. Cassatt conferred in London with
New York Tunnel Extension. - 21
Mr. Jacobs, who was very familiar with the Hudson River,
as he had been retained by parties interested in complet-
ing the old Hudson Tunnels for rapid transit, and they
returned together: and we immediately started on sur-
veys and estimates for a tunnel extension into New York,
and thence to a connection with the Long Island Rail-
road. At the close of 1901 the Board of Engineers was
appointed, and formally organized on January II, IOO2, Con-
sisting of General Chas. W. Raymond, chairman; Messrs.
Chas. M. Jacobs, Alfred Noble, Gustav Lindenthal, and
our Chief Engineer, William H. Brown; and later George
Gibbs, then with the Westinghouse Company. The men
were eminent in their profession and because of their ex-
perience were best qualified for the tunnel work. Mr.
Jacobs was made Chief Engineer of the North River Di-
vision from the west side of Bergen Hill to the Station
Yard, Ninth Avenue, New York; Mr. Noble, Chief En-
gineer, East River Division, from the New York Station
site to and including Sunnyside Yard, Long Island; Mr.
Brown, Chief Engineer of the New Jersey Meadows Divi-
Sion, from Harrison to Bergen Hill, and on his retirement
was succeeded by Mr. A. C. Shand. Mr. Gibbs was ap-
pointed Chief Engineer of Electric Traction and of the
New York Station Construction. These men gave fully
two consecutive years of consideration to the project, Mr.
Cassatt and myself being always at their call, before any
part of the work was placed under construction.
You will recall that at the inception of this work we
believed it could be carried out with sufficient capacity,
through an investment of not exceeding forty to fifty mil-
lions of dollars; and I may say that an extension into and
through New York, with the station, could have been con-
structed for that sum. But after an exhaustive examina-
22 Pennsylvania Railroad
tion it was clearly demonstrated that it would not provide
tunnels, stations or yards of the size and character of con-
struction of those we required, nor for future growth, but
would have been inadequate after a few years, just as our
Filbert Street Extension and Broad Street Station proved
to be, and had to be reconstructed nine years after com-
pletion. We could not afford to have this happen, and it
soon became evident that if we were to extend our System
into New York we must do it on a comprehensive basis;
and as it was to be constructed for the long future, we
had to take into account what the necessities would be twenty
or thirty years hence, and build a station and tunnels con-
nected with it that would at least fulfill these conditions,
and it is my belief that when the facilities of the present
tunnel line, including the additional Thirty-first Street
line, for which we have rights, are fully occupied, and the
growth of the Company demands additional facilities, other
connections and new sites will have to be acquired. This
seems to be the correct principle, because there is a limit
to the size of a large city station, and the growth of
buildings around such a centre and the enhanced values
make its future enlargement almost impossible.
You are all familiar with the manner in which the work
has been carried out, the difficulties in getting a franchise,
the amendment of the Rapid Transit Act, requiring us to go
twice to the Legislature of New York, and as our work-
ing organization has been detailed in able papers by our en-
gineers, we need not do more than refer to it here. You
are also familiar with the severe criticism—written and
spoken—which rained upon the Company for a so-called
needless and extravagant expenditure of money that would
never bring any return directly or indirectly, but happily
that is past, and we should be gratified that none of this
New York Tunnel Extension. 23
criticism came from our stockholders at their annual meet-
ings, and that we have retained their full confidence. I for
years had my doubts whether the present generation would
fully appreciate this work, and more than once remarked
to Mr. Cassatt that it would be like the lease of the New
Jersey roads—only fully appreciated long after it was done.
I am happy to feel, however, as the work is nearing Com-
pletion, that people are beginning to see and appreciate
what it really means to this great system and to the West-
ern and Southern railroad systems connecting with the
Pennsylvania Railroad, and to a large extent dependent on
it for New York and New England connections, to have
this extension into and through New York City, and a
station erected there creditable to our system and well
worthy of the greatest city of the country, if not of the
world, and ready to acknowledge that if it had not been
undertaken at the proper time, it would be practically pro-
hibitive to-day by reason of cost and physical impediments.
The whole work speaks for itself and will stand for all
time as a monument to the Company, and to the Directors
and stockholders who have so loyally supported it through-
out; to the engineers in charge of construction and to the
whole staff of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, for
in carrying out the work every department of its service
has been utilized, and has done splendid service in bringing
to the work its very best experience and judgment, and
they have been thus thoroughly familiarised with it in
anticipation of its completion and operation.
We early realized that some executive officers must al-
ways be in charge ready to give decisions and directions,
and while Mr. Cassatt lived he was fully informed and in
my absence directed the work. When Mr. McCrea
became President the work was well advanced, and while
24 Pennsylvania Railroad
he was kept in touch with it at all times, it was not nec-
essary for him to then go into the detail, which often en-
grossed Mr. Cassatt in the earlier days of the work.
The disbursements up to the present time amount to
about $102,OOO,OOO. The total outlay will doubtless be
about $1 II,OOO,OOO, but when we have disposed of our sur-
plus property, I expect the net cost finally to be about
$IOO,OOO,OOO, with nearly half that amount written off,
so that the book cost will not be much above what we
set out to spend.
I can Say personally that all questions pertaining to the
Tunnel Extension and Station have been carefully con-
sidered by the management; every agreement negotiated
by the best talent we could secure, and every expenditure
so scrutinized that adequate value has been obtained, and
every dollar of this large sum has been 1egularly aud
properly disbursed and audited.
From this recital of facts, I think you will agree with
me that far-sighted men like John Edgar Thomson and
Thomas A. Scott must have realized in the early days—
as we know Mr. Roberts and his successors did—the
necessity for this company to extend its lines into New
York, and it should be a great satisfaction to us to have
lived to see the great work completed, and the anticipa-
tions of so many years realized. But with this satis-
faction is the sorrow ever present that Mr. Cassatt was
not to see the completion of the work in which he took
such a deep interest, and in the plans for which he
utilized his ripe experience for the lasting benefit of
the public that will use the Station and other facilities.
Notable as were his achievements, many responsibilities
and duties are left to us before we can realize the full
advantage of so many years of forethought.
New York Tunnel Extension. 25
It remains for Mr. Cassatt's successor, our worthy Presi-
dent, and for you, the members of the Board, to author-
ize the remaining feature of the work, namely, the con-
nection with the New Haven System, and I am gratified
to see that in this work Mr. McCrea is now engaged. The
immediate responsibility is also left to him and to the
transportation and traffic officers to successfully operate
the Tunnel Extension and demonstrate its great possibil-
ities, and just as the engineering and corporate difficulties
were overcome, so I have full confidence that these officers
will make it a success that will redound to their credit
and to the lasting welfare of the Company.
26 Pennsylvania Railroad
APPENDIX “A.”
A report on the new system of underground transit in
London, England, made by Samuel Rea, M. Inst. C. E.,
Assistant to President Pennsylvania Railroad Company,
to G. B. Roberts, President, Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany. October, I892.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
MR. G. B. ROBERTs,
President, Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
MY DEAR SIR:—Your letter of May 27th, 1892, ad-
dressed to me in London, with instructions to obtain an
insight into such railway matters as might be of use or
interest to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and es-
pecially to devote some time to an examination of exist-
ing and proposed underground lines of intercommunica-
tion, was duly received.
I spent about eighteen days in London looking into
the proposed new system of underground transit, and beg
to present the following report on same.
Respectfully submitted,
SAM’L REA,
Assistant to President.
OCTOBER I5th, 1892.
New York Tunnel Extension. 27
REPORT ON NEW SYSTEM OF UNDERGROUND
TRANSIT IN LONDON.
The completion, in 1884, of the “Inner Circle” of the
“Underground Railway System” of London was the
culmination of a plan for intra-metropolitan railways pro-
posed many years before. From 1884 to 1891 nothing in
a comprehensive way was done towards improving the
transit facilities between the termini of the trunk rail-
roads, nor for the convenience of crossing London in a
north and south direction. In the latter year the City
and South London Railway of standard gauge was com-
pleted and put in operation with electric locomotives for
motive power. The opening of this line marked an era in
transit facilities in London, as it inaugurated a new and
distinct system of inter-communication without the use
of the very objectionable coal-burning locomotive. Four
companies have already been chartered, and four or five
more will doubtless be authorized by the next Parliament
to construct and operate railways similar to the City and
South London Railway. -
The fact that the street traffic of London had become
unmanageable, and passage through the city greatly
retarded, doubtless had much to do with the adoption of
the new system, for it will certainly reduce the traffic On
the streets enormously, and, at the same time, expedite
travel.
In speaking of the system as new and distinct, it is
in contradistinction of the present “Underground Rail-
way System,” operated with steam locomotives, which
was originally designed, and indeed carried out, so as to
abut upon, if not actually join, nearly all the principal
railway termini in the metropolis on the north side of the
28 Pennsylvania Railroad
Thames. Owing to the location of the said termini this
necessitated a roundabout line, which, when joined to-
gether, formed what is now known as the “Inner Circle,”
which affords reasonably rapid communication between
the West End and City, and also between the said termini,
but does not properly accommodate the densely popu-
lated section of the city lying within the lines of the
“Inner Circle.”
The “Inner Circle” was very difficult to construct and
was very expensive, as throughout its length of thirteen
miles it was built mostly through and under private prop-
erty which it was compelled to acquire, and being gener-
ally at a depth close to the street surface, it encountered
difficulties with sewers, pipes, and the foundations of
adjacent buildings, which added materially to its cost.
This is not the case with the new system. In designing
it the endeavor has been to avoid private property as
much as possible, except for station purposes, thus re-
ducing the cost of right of way and real estate to a mini-
mum, and to locate the lines entirely beneath the beds
of streets some fifty to eighty feet below their surface,
and to there construct two parallel tunnels in a safe and
economical way, so as not to interfere with traffic or in-
jure buildings at the street level, nor encroach on rights
of abutting property.
In locating the lines of the new system the engineers
fit them to such routes of travel and in such sections of
the city as were not accommodated by other means of
transit, except vehicular, and endeavored to supply transit
facilities in localities where the “Inner Circle” has always
been deficient. It is an inviting field, and once the new
lines are well established they will in all probability earn
fair returns on the capital invested, and will in a great
measure solve the rapid transit problem of London for
a generation at least.
New York Tunnel Extension. 29
The present “Underground Railway System” is con-
nected, directly or indirectly, with most of the trunk rail-
roads terminating in London, and many suburban trains
to and from the trunk railroads run into the city over parts
of the “Underground System.” This will be quite differ-
ent on the new system, for with one exception, herein-
after referred to, the new system of railways in low level
tunnels will not make direct connection with the existing
Steam railways, but where the same are intersected,
crossed, or approached sufficiently close, exchange sta-
tions will be established for the transfer of passengers.
The new system, so far as it has been projected, will
comprise nine double lines of railway, namely:-
The City and South London Railway.
The Central London Railway.
The Baker Street and Waterloo Railway.
The Great Northern and City Railway.
The City and South London Ry. (Islington Extension).
The Hamstead, St. Pancras and Charing Cross Rail-
way.
The Waterloo and City Railway.
The Clapham Junction and Paddington Railway.
The Edgeware Road and Victoria Railway.
THE CITY AND SOUTH LONDON RAILWAY.
This is the only railway of the new system which has
been completed and put in operation. Parliament author-
ized its construction by Acts passed in 1884 and I 887,
specifying that steam locomotives should not be used in
the subways; the language of the Act reading, “Traffic
shall be worked by means of carriages propelled upon the
system of the Patent Cable Tramways Corporation, Lim-
ited, or by such means, other than steam locomotives, as the
Board of Trade may from time to time approve.”
30 Pennsylvania Railroad
Mr. James H. Greathead was the engineer who de-
signed and carried out the construction of the City and
South London Railway. He was also the engineer of
the company that constructed the small tunnel, some-
what similar to that of the City and South London Rail-
way, under the Thames at the Tower, in the years 1868–
69. This small tunnel was driven through the London
clay, and therefore no provision was necessary for tun-
neling through water-bearing strata, such as was re-
quired in the construction of the City and South London
Railway. The apparatus invented by Mr. Greathead
made the City and South London Railway possible, and
through its use the work was carried out more safely,
rapidly, and economically than was possible with the
means employed on the tunnel previously constructed.
Mr. Greathead is the crgineer, or joint engineer, of
all the lines herein described as forming the new sys-
tem of underground transit in London. In addition, he
is the associate engineer on a much larger tunnel of
similar design for road traffic and pedestrians (hereinafter
described), under the Thames at Blackwall, which is
being constructed by the London County Council.
When the City and South London Railway was pro-
jected and laid out it was intended to use cable power in
moving the traffic, and the grades and curves were es-
tablished with that in view. The maximum gradient
against the traffic is one in thirty, or three and one-third
per cent., while the heaviest gradient in favor of, or with,
the traffic is one in fourteen, or seven per cent., which
is a very heavy grade for a railroad. Curves of one hun-
dred and forty feet radius, equivalent to forty degree
curves, or much the same as are found on our street
railways, are used on the lines. Before the work was
New York Tunnel Extension. 31
completed electric traction had advanced so far that it
was determined to adopt electric power instead of the
cable, but it was then too late to revise the curves or
lighten the gradients, and the tunnels were therefore
completed as originally designed.
The two lines of railway are carried throughout their
length in separate tunnels of ten feet and ten feet six
inches internal diameter each, and formed of rings of
cast-iron segments bolted together through internal
flanges. The two tunnels being separate structures and
capable of being carried in any position relative to each
other, the engineer was thus enabled to construct a dou-
ble line at some points where otherwise it would be inad-
missible without the acquisition of considerable private
property. This is well illustrated in this line on the north
side of the Thames. After leaving the City terminus the
line passes under the narrow way called Swan Lane,
at which point the down line is immediately under the
up line, and both below the bed of Swan Lane, thus
avoiding any encroachment upon private property or
rights. At each intermediate station, except one on the
line, the tunnels are also constructed at different levels.
The manner of constructing these tunnels has been
published in the technical journals from time to time, and
a detailed statement with diagrams is, therefore, unnec-
essary in this report. The excavation in the tunnel drift
was made with a shield with a cutting edge at its forward
end, which was forced forward by six hydraulic rams
butting against the finished iron lining of the tunnel, and
as the shield advanced the iron lining was placed in
position. The iron lining is formed of cast-iron rings of
ten feet diameter, and twenty inches wide, composed of
six segments and a key piece at the top. The average
32 Pennsylvania Railroad
rate of progress was thirteen feet six inches per day,
but at One face a maximum of sixteen feet per day was
maintained for several weeks. The portion under the
Thames was constructed without difficulty, and was re-
markably free from water—less water being encountered
in the workings under the river than occurred at some
other points on the route. Where gravel was pierced,
compressed air was used to keep back the water. The
shield used in the advanced working of the tunnel exca-
vated a circular section somewhat larger than the outside
diameter of the iron lining of the tunnel. The annular
space surrounding the iron lining was then filled with
grout, which was forced in, through holes left in the lin-
ing for that purpose, by means of air pressure from a
machine in the tunnel. The work of construction was
carried out expeditiously and without any delays. The
two tunnels cross under the Thames close to and at a
lower depth than the foundations of London Bridge,
without in any way injuring the stability of that structure.
The line was completed in November, 1890, and
opened for traffic on December 18th, 1890. It is three
and one-quarter miles long, running from the Monument,
near the north end of London Bridge, under the Thames,
thence under Borough High Street, Newington Cause-
way, Elephant and Castle, Newington Butts and Ken-
nington Road to Stockwell.
The track is laid without ballast, and trains passing
through the tunnel cause considerable noise; it being of
a different sound, however, than usually heard in tun-
nels, owing to the metal lining.
In addition to the terminal stations at Monument and
Stockwell, there are four others, viz.: Borough, Elephant
and Castle, Kennington, and The Oval, and the fare for
New York Tunnel Extension. 33
the whole distance, or between any two stations, is, at
certain periods of the day, one penny (equal to two cents
our money), but during the busy hours the fare is double
this. -*
All of the station platforms are reached from the
Street level by means of elevators capable of accommo-
dating a full train load of one hundred persons. Stairs
are also provided for those desiring to walk. In order to
avoid having stations on both sides of the line, the tun-
nels at the intermediate stations are constructed at dif-
ferent levels, so that passengers pass readily from the
lifts, or stairs, on One side of the road to the platforms
of the up and down lines.
At Stockwell, the southern terminus, is located a large
plant that generates the electricity used by the locomotives
in hauling the trains; it also supplies the hydraulic power
for working the lifts at the several stations and for the
water ejectors used for clearing the tunnels of any water
that may accumulate therein. There are four Edison-
Hopkinson dynamos in the power station (at Stockwell),
each driven by cylinders seventeen by twenty-seven inches
diameter and twenty-seven inch stroke, the steam pressure
being one hundred and forty pounds and the piston speed
ſour hundred and fifty feet per minute. At the time
this power plant was established at Stockwell the dynamo
machines were the largest in use in England for electric
traction.
The working conductor which transmits the electricity
throughout the line consists of an inverted channel made
of steel of high conductivity and laid between the rails.
It is fed at intervals by conductors consisting of sixty-one
copper wires of No. 14 Birmingham wire gauge, the rails
forming the return conductor.
34 Pennsylvania Railroad
The locomotives are of One hundred horse-power each,
and ten tons in weight. They are capable of drawing a
train at the rate of twenty-five miles per hour, but the
actual schedule time is only about thirteen miles per hour,
including Stoppages, as it Occupies fifteen minutes in
going from the monument to the terminus at Stockwell
There are sixteen locomotives in use (including spares)
and they cost about $7000 each. The axles of the wheels
are used as the shafts of the armatures.
The cars used on the line are of the longitudinal type,
with platform and entrance at the end, and somewhat sim-
ilar to the American car. The platforms are wider, how-
ever, and are protected with folding gates. The seats run
lengthwise of the car, and the height and width is greater
than that of the second and third class carriages used on
the Metropolitan Railway. To each passenger is allotted
about thirty cubic feet of car capacity, while but twenty
feet are required by the Board of Trade regulations.
The cars are lighted with electricity and run smoothly
considering the sharp curvature of the line. The super-
structure of the cars seems light, however, as compared
with the trucks, and in passing around the sharp curves
they seem to work and wobble, more or less. This will
doubtless be much improved on the new lines, as the tun-
nels on those lines will be eighteen inches larger diameter,
the gradients will be lighter and the curves have much
larger radii, thus permitting the use of a larger and better
proportioned car.
The City and South London Railway was opened for
traffic so late in the year 1890 that no returns were given
except as to the number of passengers carried, which was
188,182. We are now enabled to give the returns for the
year 1891 and the capitalization as of December 31st, 1891,
viz.:-
New York Tunnel Extension. 35
Ordinary Stock . . . $3,149,51O Dividends, Nil.
Preferential . . . . . . 46,080 & 4 Five per cent.
Loans . . . . . . . . . . . 858,000 Interest, Five per cent.
*-
Total capital . . . $4,053,590
Gross earnings . . . . $199,400
Working expenses . I 55,185
Net receipts . . . . . . 44,215
Total number of passengers carried, 5,161,398. In
June of the present year, 1892, the company paid one-
half per cent. dividend on the ordinary stock, and reports
that the traffic is improving.
The cost, therefore, of constructing and equipping the
City and South London Railway, including land, act, pre-
liminary expenses, financing the company, &c. (three and
one-quarter miles of double lines), as officially stated and
as represented by its paid-up Stock and share capital and
loans, is $4,053,590. This is equivalent to $1,247,258 per
mile, while the cost of the Metropolitan Railway and the
Metropolitan District Railway, as they now exist and as
represented by their capital and funded debt, is $2,360,000
and $2,250,000, respectively, per mile of line. But it must
be borne in mind that these two railways now are, to a
large extent, suburban and even country lines. It may
be said that this is hardly a fair comparison, for the reason
that the metropolitan railways are standard gauge rail-
ways, built for and capable of doing a general freight and
passenger business in connection with all the other rail-
roads of London, while the City and South London Rail-
way is a separate system and purely a local passenger
line. Still, as the metropolitan railways derive more than
ninety per cent. Of their gross earnings from passengers,
they are essentially local passenger lines, and therefore
comparable.
36 Pennsylvania Railroad
Perhaps a fairer comparison would be between the cost
of the City and South London Railway and the “Inner-
Circle” of the metropolitan railways, which is still more
striking, as the latter did not fall much short of $5,000,-
Ooo per mile, and according to Sir Edward Watkins,
chairman of the Metropolitan Railway Company, the cost
of the latest portion of the “Inner Circle” was about
$10,000,000 per mile, and these figures would certainly be
greater to-day than when the works were constructed.
There can be no doubt, however, of the enormous sav-
ing in the laying out of the line and in the method of
construction employed on the City and South London line,
where the right of way is practically free, as against the
Metropolitan railways, which run largely through and
under private property and are built for the most part in
excavations made from the surface.
The City and South London Railway, with its narrow
tunnels, small cars and locomotives, does not impress one
favorably when compared with the steam railways. It
must be remembered, however, that it is the first line of
its kind constructed and operated with electric motive
power, and that those which are to follow will have many
improvements. The tunnels will be larger, the cars may
be larger and more of them to a train, and the average
speed faster, although the average speed on the City and
South London is faster than on the Metropolitan rail-
ways. The engine builders state they can furnish electric
locomotives that will haul a train twice the size of those
of the New York Elevated Railways, over grades of
seventy feet per mile, at an average speed of twenty-five
miles per hour, not including stoppages for stations.
In discussions on the subject of underground transit
in New York some time ago, a pertinent question was
asked as to the probable results of precipitating pas-
New York Tunnel Extension. 37
sengers from the street level in hot summer weather to
the lower temperature that would exist in the low level
of a tunnel. The writer looked into this matter in Lon-
don, and learned that on the City and South London
line there had been no detrimental effects from this cause
that had so far been discovered; that in reality the pub-
lic, during the hot season, preferred transit through the
cool atmosphere of the tunnel to other modes of transit
on the surface. In the Winter season the temperature is
comfortably warm at all times. On June Ioth, 1891, the
temperature was taken on the street surface and on the
platforms in the tunnels, and the following is the record
of same, Fahrenheit scale, viz.:-
STATIONs. OUTSIDE. PLATFORM. DIFFER-
EN CE.
Stockwell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.5 62.6 22.9
Elephant and Castle. . . . . . 87.5 58. I 29.4
TLondon City Station. . . . . . 9I. O 63.9 27. I
showing an average variation of about twenty-five de-
grees.
THE CENTRAL LONDON RAILWAY.
The Central London Railway will be the longest of any
of the lines of the new system of underground railways.
The main line, extending from Shepherd's Bush to the
Royal Exchange, was authorized in 1891, and the exten-
sion from the Royal Exchange, underneath old Broad
Street, to a terminus underneath the train-sheds and
platforms of Liverpool Street Station, Great Eastern
Railway, was authorized this Summer of 1892, a total
length of about six and one-half miles. The line is shown
on the accompanying map in purple, and runs from Shep-
38 Pennsylvania Railroad
herd's Bush, underneath Uxbridge Road to the Marble
Arch, thence under Oxford Street to Bloomsbury, thence
under High Holborn, Holborn Viaduct, Newgate Street,
and Cheapside to Royal Exchange, thence via the exten-
Sion under Old Broad Street, to the terminus under Liv-
erpool Street Station. As all of the lines of the new
System will be authorized to construct similar works, a
description of the powers granted this company will apply
equally to the others.
In the act of incorporation it is stated that:-
“WHEREAS, Increased facilities for passenger traffic in
the central districts of London lying between Shepherd's
Bush and the City of London would be of public and local
advantage;
“AND WHEREAs, Such facilities can be conveniently
provided by means of underground railways constructed
in two tunnels (for separate up and down traffic), and to
be worked by electricity and to be approached by stairs
and lifts, and to be constructed at such depth and in
such manner under the public highways as to avoid any
interference with the surface or roadway thereof;
“AND WHEREAs, Plans and sections showing the lines
and levels of the works authorized by this Act, and also
a book of reference to the plans containing the names
of the owners and lessees, or reputed owners and lessees,
and of the Occupiers of the lands required or which may
be taken for the purpose or under the powers of this
Act, were duly deposited with the clerk of the peace for
the county of London, and are hereinafter respectively
referred to as the deposited plans, sections, and book of
reference.”
“Subject to the provisions of this Act the company
may make and maintain in the lines and according to the
New York Tunnel Extension. 39
levels shown on the deposited plans and sections the rail-
ways and other works hereinafter described, with all
necessary and proper stations, platforms, approaches,
passages, subways, tunnels, sidings, shafts, lifts, buildings,
apparatus, generating plant, depots, machinery, appli-
ances, works and conveniences connected therewith, and
may, subject as aforesaid, enter upon, take, and use such
of the lands delineated on the said plans and described in
the deposited book of reference as may be required for
those purposes;
“Provided always, That nothing in this Act shall author-
ize the company to enter upon, take, or use the surface
of any public street or road (other than any street or
road which they are by this Act authorized to stop up),
but (subject as aforesaid) the company may enter upon,
take, and use the subsoil and under surface of any public
street, road, or footway shown on the deposited plans
and described in the deposited book of reference or so
much thereof as shall be necessary for the purposes afore-
said.”
The general provisions in said Act as to the mode of
constructing the tunnel are as follows:–
“Each railway shall be constructed in two tunnels for
separate up and down traffic, and shall be approached by
means of stairs and hydraulic or other lifts.
“The tunnels of which the railways consists (including
those for the stations) and all tunnels, whether temporary
or permanent, shall be constructed by means of steel
or other sufficient metal shields driven forward or onward
by hydraulic pressure as the work proceeds, such shields
being of sufficient length to protect the whole of the soil
for a reasonable distance both in front of and behind
the working forces. All such tunnels shall be lined
40 Pennsylvania Railroad
throughout with iron or other sufficient metal plates
properly joined throughout.
“Every shaft shall be constructed as a cylinder of iron
sunk from the surface of the earth to a depth of at least
eight feet below the surface of the London clay at each
such shaft. Every such shaft shall, below the said depths,
be constructed in manner aforesaid or by underpinning.
“The station tunnels shall not have an internal diame-
ter exceeding twenty-three feet, and the tunnels between
the stations shall not (except when necessary for adjust-
ment at curves) have an internal diameter exceeding
eleven feet six inches, and the internal diameter of the
shafts shall not exceed ſorty feet.
“Sufficient trial borings shall be kept ahead of the
works in all tunnels and shafts in order to ascertain by
frequent examinations the nature of the soil in advance
of the working faces, and the company may make such
borings, subject to such reasonable restrictions as to
surface borings as the local authority having the main-
tenance of the streets may impose.
“Any space between the lining of the tunnels (includ-
ing stations) and the surrounding soil shall be properly
filled up with lime or cement grouting placed therein
under pressure.
“Before commencing any of the above works at any
point the company shall provide air-compressing machin-
ery sufficient to provide a proper quantity of air at such
pressure as will prevent the advent or inflow of any sand,
gravel, water, or soil, and the company shall take such
precautions that they may at any time during the progress
of the work be able to carry out the tunneling under com-
pressed air. All such machinery shall be kept in full
working order until the completion of the works in re-
New York Tunnel Extension. 41
spect of which it is to be used, and shall be used at the
working faces whenever the use thereof is for any reason
reasonably necessary or prudent.
“Should the nature of the soil extracted by means of
the said trial borings be such as to show that it would be
reasonably necessary or prudent to work at any working
face under compressed air, then the company shall imme-
diately stop all further excavating work and the further
driving of the tunnel at such working face until the said
machinery and apparatus is in position and in full working
order, and the work at such working face shall be carried
on under compressed air until the said trial borings shall
show that such precautions may be reasonably and pru-
dently dispensed with.
“Except in the case of unforeseen accident or for the
purpose of removing rain-water or other trifling amounts
of water, no use shall be made of pumping or other modes
of removing water from the work. The compressed air
shall be used as hereinbefore provided, and so as to re-
strain the advent or inflow of water into the tunnels.”
As to the motive power to be used in the tunnel, the
Act provides that “The traffic on the railways shall be
worked by means of carriages propelled by electricity.”
The capital of the company shall be £2,700,000 of two
hundred and seventy thousand shares of ten pounds each.
The company also has power to borrow money on
Imortgage not exceeding £900,000, with certain restric-
tions in respect to the capital, all of which said capital
must have been first issued and accepted, and one-fifth
thereon paid up.
The depth of the railway shall be not less than twenty
feet below the surface of any road, measured from the
surface thereof, to the extreme top of the tunnel.
42 Pennsylvania Railroad
The company shall not break up or destroy the sur-
face of any street or road for the purpose of constructing
the railway; nor can the company make any openings or
ventilators, air shafts, or any similar openings in any
roadway or footway.
“The entrances and exits to and from the station
buildings, and the waiting accommodations to be provided
therein for passengers, shall be so designed and of such
extent as to secure the least practicable inconvenience to
the public traffic in the adjoining streets, and before the
works are commenced plans thereof shall be 'submitted to
the Council in respect of all stations outside the city of
London, and in default of agreement the same shall be
determined by an arbitrator to be appointed on the ap-
plication of either party by the president for the time
being of the Institution of Civil Engineers.”
“In the construction of the railway and works the com-
pany shall not permit or suffer any cart or wagon or other
vehicle employed in removing from or bringing to the
Said works any soil, materials, or plant to be loaded or
unloaded in any part of the public thoroughfare, and shall
not permit or suffer any cart, wagon or other vehicle to
carry any soil excavated from the railway or works
through the public streets outside the city of London,
except in carts or wagons so constructed and managed as
to prevent any of such soil dropping therefrom, under
penalty of fine for each offense.”
“If the railway is not completed within five years from
the date of the Act of Incorporation, then on the expira–
tion of that period the powers granted to the company
for making and completing the same, or otherwise in
relation thereto, shall cease, except as to so much thereof
as is then completed.”
New York Tunnel Extension. 43
As to the tolls for passengers, the Act provides that:—
“The company may demand and take for the convey-
ance of passengers upon the railway any rates or charges
not exceeding the following (that is to say):-
“For every passenger conveyed in a first-class carriage
the sum of two pence per mile.
“For every passenger conveyed in a second class car-
riage the sum of one penny per mile.”
As to the tolls to be charged for small parcels, the Act
provides as follows:—
“The company may demand and take for small parcels
conveyed upon the railway any rates or charges not ex-
ceeding the following (that is to say):—
“For any parcel not exceeding seven pounds in weight
three pence.
“For any parcel exceeding seven pounds, but not ex-
ceeding fourteen pounds in weight, five pence.
“For any parcel exceeding fourteen pounds, but not
exceeding twenty-eight pounds in weight, seven pence.
“For any parcel exceeding twenty-eight pounds, but
11ot exceeding fifty-six pounds in weight, nine pence.
“Provided always, That articles sent in large aggre-
gate quantities, although made up in separate parcels,
Such as bags of Sugar, coffee, meal, and the like, shall
not be deemed small parcels, but that term shall apply
Only to single parcels in Separate packages.”
As to the regulations of tolls, the Act provides that:—
“The following provisions and regulations shall apply
to the fixing of all rates and charges payable under this
Act (that is to say) —
“For all passengers conveyed on the railway for a less
distance than two miles the company may demand tolls
and charges as for two miles.
44 Pennsylvania Railroad
“Every fraction of a mile beyond an integral number
of miles shall be deemed a mile.”
With respect to parcels, the weight shall be deter-
mined according to the imperial avoirdupois weight.
As to the luggage of passengers, the Act provides
that:—
“Every passenger traveling upon the railway may take
with him his personal luggage, not exceeding twenty-
eight pounds in weight, without any charge being made
for the carriage thereof, all such personal luggage to be
carried by hand and at the responsibility of the passen-
ger, and not to Occupy any part of a seat or to be of a
form or description to annoy or inconvenience any other
passenger.”
“The restrictions as to the charges to be made for
passengers shall not extend to any special train run upon
the railway in respect of which the company may take
such charges as they think fit, but shall apply only to the
Ordinary and express trains appointed from time to time
by the company for the conveyance of passengers upon
the railway.”
“The company shall not carry on the railway any
cattle or other animals, or any goods, articles, or mer-
chandise other than parcels not exceeding fifty-six pounds
in weight.”
As to cheap fares for the laboring classes, the Act
provides as follows:—
“The company at all times after the opening of the
railway for public traffic shall, and they are hereby re-
quired, to run at least three trains which shall call at
every station each way every morning in the week and
every evening in the week (Sundays, Christmas Day, and
Good Friday and Bank Holidays always excepted,) at such
New York Tunnel Extension. 45
hours, not being later than seven in the morning or earlier
than six in the evening respectively, as the company
think most convenient for artisans, mechanics, and daily
laborers, at fares not exceeding one penny for each jour-
ney. Provided, That in case of any complaint made to
the Board of Trade of the hours appointed by the com-
pany for the running of such trains the said board shall
have power to fix and regulate the same from time to
time. Provided, also, That the liability of the company,
under any claim to compensation for injury or otherwise
in respect of each passenger traveling by such trains,
shall be limited to a sum not exceeding one hundred
pounds.”
Mr. J. H. Greathead and Sir Benjamin Baker, asso-
ciated, are the engineers of this railway, and are now
engaged in preparing it for construction. The railway
will serve a densely populated section of the city, run-
ning, as it does, underneath the great thoroughfare which
bisects London and connects the whole West End with
the City. It will command an enormous traffic from the
day of opening and ought to become popular and profit-
able. It will cross the West London Railway at Shep-
herd's Bush, the “Inner Circle” at Notting Hill Gate, the
proposed Baker Street and Waterloo Railway at Oxford
Circus, the proposed Hamstead, Saint Pancras and Char-
ing Cross Railway at Tottenham Court Road, the Lon-
don, Chatham and Dover Railway at Holborn Viaduct,
the proposed “Islington Extension” of the South London
Railway at the Royal Exchange, and the “Inner Circle”
at Bishopsgate Street, at all of which points of crossing
exchange stations, with platforms at different levels, will
be established. The station at the Royal Exchange will
be arranged so as to exchange traffic with the proposed
Waterloo and City Railway.
46 Pennsylvania Railroad
THE BAKER STREET AND WATERLOO
RAILWAY.
This line was authorized by Parliament in June of
this year, and is now being prepared for construction.
It is shown on the accompanying ſhap in green, and will
be three miles in length. It extends from Baker Street,
just west of the southern limits of Regent Park, thence
eastwardly underneath the said park to its eastern limits,
thence curving southward it passes underneath Portland
Place, Regent Street, Haymarket, Cockspur Street,
Northumberland Avenue, and the River Thames to its
terminus under Waterloo Station, the terminus of the
London and Southwestern Railway. Exchange Stations
will be established underneath the Thames Embankment
with the Metropolitan District Railway, at Oxford Circus
with the Central London Railway, and at Baker Street
with the Metropolitan Railway and St. John's Wood Line.
Traffic will also be exchanged at this station with the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway when
the same has been constructed to a terminus at this point,
as authorized by last Parliament. There will be but one
Other station on this line, and that, an important one, will
be located at Piccadilly Circus. The depth of the tunnels
will average from sixty to eighty feet below the surface
of the streets.
THE GREAT NORTHERN AND CITY RAILWAY.
This line, shown on the map herewith in red, differs
from the others of the new system, in that the tunnels will
have sixteen feet internal diameter as against eleven and
five-tenths feet (and on curves twelve feet) for the others.
The Great Northern Railway Company, with its terminus
New York Tunnel Extension. 47
at King's Cross, has a very large and constantly increas-
ing local and suburban traffic. It has six lines approach-
ing King's Cross terminus, two of which are connected
underground with the Metropolitan Railway, over which
the Great Northern run frequent local trains to and from
Moorgate Street Station in the City. When the Great
Northern and City Line of the “New System” was pro-
posed, and the Great Northern Railway Company was
apprised of same, the latter company decided to aid in
the construction of the new line if the same would ac-
commodate their rolling stock. Whereupon it was agreed
between the two companies that the new line should be
SO built as to accommodate their cars, but not their steam
locomotives, and to this end the tunnel sections were
enlarged.
The Great Northern and City Line was authorized by
the last Parliament to construct a double line from a con-
nection with the Great Northern Railway at Finsbury
Park Station, thence parallel with a branch line of the
Great Northern Railway, but on a different level, to
Canonbury Road, thence underneath said road, New
North Road, East Road and City Road to a terminus at
Finsbury Circus, adjacent to Moorgate Station on the
Metropolitan Railway. Its total length will be about
three miles. This line will be purely for local and subur-
ban trains, but will connect with all main line trains at
Finsbury Park Station, a prominent junction station on
the northern edge of London, and is to be constructed
on the Greathead system. The Great Northern Railway
Company will deliver its trains to and receive them from
the Great Northern and City Line at Finsbury Park Junc-
tion, and as steam locomotives will not be permitted to
run over the new line, the Great Northern and City Com-
pany will operate the trains with electric locomotives
between said junction and the terminus of its line in the
City at Finsbury Circus.
& *.
*
48 Pennsylvania Railroad
THE CITY AND SOUTH LONDON RAILWAY
ISLINGTON EXTENSION.
This line, shown in yellow on map herewith, has not
yet been authorized. The bill for same was suspended
last session owing to the dissolution of Parliament, and
will be proceeded with in the new Parliament, when it
will doubtless be passed.
To avoid the sharp curvature and heavy grades of the
completed City and South London Railway, in connection
with its Islington Extension, it is proposed to start the
said extension from a point under Borough Road, Surrey,
thence by a new line with easy gradients, to pass through
11ew tunnels under the Thames immediately below London
Bridge, and thence under King William, Princes, and
Moorgate Streets and City Road to the Angel in Isling-
ton, a total length of two and one-half miles. This would
seem to be a valuable link in the new system. The only
wonder is that while they were about it the extension
was not projected farther to the westward of the Angel,
so as to catch the enormous traffic at King’s Cross and
vicinity and furnish an additional connection for same
with the City.
THE HAMSTEAD, SAINT PANCRAS AND CHAR-
ING CROSS RAILWAY.
This line, like the “Islington Extension,” has not been
authorized, but will be, no doubt, by the next Parliament.
The main line will extend from Charing Cross via and
underneath Charing Cross Road, Tottenham Court Road,
Hamstead Road, High Street, Haverstock Hill, and Ros-
lyn Street to a terminus near Hamstead Heath, a distance
of four and one-half miles. A very important branch of
New York Tunnel Extension. 49
this line, three-quarters of a mile long, is projected from
a point just north of the Euston Road, and will run east-
wardly along and underneath Drummond Street (the
location of the famous Railway Clearing House) and
through private property, with exchange stations to
accommodate the great railway terminals of the North-
western, the Midland and Great Northern Railways;
namely, Euston Station, St. Pancras Station, and King's
Cross Station. This line is well conceived and will com-
1mand an enormous traffic at its opening that will greatly
relieve the street traffic, and at the same time furnish
quick transit between Charing Cross and the termini of
the three northern trunk lines—a much needed service.
THE WATERLOO AND CITY RAILWAY.
This line will doubtless be authorized next session of
Parliament, as there is no opposition to it beyond that of
the South Eastern Railway Company. It is shown in blue
on map herewith, and will be in the interest of the London
and South Western Railway Company. It will start un-
derneath Waterloo Station, adjacent to the terminus of
the proposed Baker Street and Waterloo Railway, and
will run thence to the Mansion House, passing under
Stamford Street, the River Thames, north end of Black-
friars' Bridge, and thence under Queen Victoria Street
below the level of the District Railway (which is already
constructed immediately under the surface of that street)
to the Mansion House, a distance of one and one-half
niles.
There will be no intermediate stations on the line, the
principal object being to accommodate the enormous traf-
fic now passing between Waterloo Station and the City, it
50 Pennsylvania Railroad
being stated upon good authority that fifty thousand pas-
sengers arrive daily over the lines of the London and
South Western Railway Company at Waterloo Station,
and an equal number depart therefrom. As the latter
road enjoys a very large local and suburban traffic, it is
presumed that a large part of it is made up of people en-
gaged in business in the City who will use the Waterloo
and City Railway when the same is completed, as it will
afford quick transportation from Lambeth to the City,
as well as from Waterloo Station. The journey now
occupies perhaps twenty-five minutes by Omnibus, and
fifteen or twenty minutes by cab, whereas it should not
occupy more than five or six minutes when the proposed
railway is completed.
******
The Clapham Junction and Paddington Railway,
to run from Clapham Junction to Paddington Station, the
terminus of the Great Western Railway, and the EDGE-
waRE ROAD AND VICTORIA RAILWAY, from Victoria Station
to Brondesbury, via Edgeware Road, each about four
and one-half miles in length, are projected lines, and plans
will be deposited and bills authorizing their construction
introduced in next session of Parliament.
- - - -
THE BLACKWALL TUNNEL.
The Blackwall Tunnel, hereinbefore referred to, which
has recently been put under contract for construction, is
not intended for railway traffic, but for street traffic
only, and has no connection with the new railway sys-
tem. Its progress, however, will be watched with great
New York Tunnel Extension. 51
interest, as the tunnel section will be the largest yet con-
structed on the Greathead plan.
The London County Council, controlling the matter,
determined that a bridge over the Thames at Blackwall
was not admissible, and, after mature consideration,
adopted the plan for a tunnel to accommodate the street
and pedestrian traffic on both sides of the Thames in the
vicinity of Blackwall, London.
The tunnel will have an outside diameter of twenty-
seven feet and an internal diameter of twenty-four and
one-quarter feet. It will consist of a castiron tube built
of segmental rings, bolted together through deep flanges
and lined with brick and concrete. The total length of
the works will be six thousand two hundred feet, four
thousand four hundred and sixty-five feet of which will
be tunnel (twelve hundred feet only under the river), and
an open approach cut on the north side of eight hundred
and seventy-five feet, and on the south side of eight hun-
dred and sixty feet.
It will be observed that the new system of under-
ground transit herein described contemplates the con-
struction of a network of railroads located in low level
tunnels and aggregating about twenty-five miles in
length, and that the routes have been carefully selected,
running in many instances under thoroughfares that are
at present overcrowded with surface traffic.
Judging from the completed City and South London
Railway, and in view of the proposed improvements that
will be made on the new lines, it can be truthfully as-
serted that this system will prove a success in London,
or in any other city where the conditions are similar
52 Pennsylvania Railroad
and the underlying strata the same or of similar material
to that underneath the city of London. It must not be
supposed, however, that the system is suitable every-
where.
It would be, perhaps, the best adapted of any yet
devised for furnishing rapid transit (separate and distinct
from the steam railroads and not accommodating their
locomotives or cars) between the termini of the trunk
railroads in Jersey City and Hoboken and New York
City and Brooklyn; the form of construction of the tun-
nels, however, being adapted to the local conditions, and
governed wholly by circumstances and the character of
the material through which they would be driven.
If a tunnel is to be constructed through water-bearing
strata, the shield method of construction with iron lining
would be cheaper in the end than any other, modified,
of course, to meet the circumstances, as it can be made
to exclude the water, and the permanent cost of pump-
ing many millions of gallons of water daily can thus be
avoided. The Severn Tunnel might have been so con-
structed more cheaply than it was, and the enormous
cost of permanently pumping twenty-seven million gal-
lons of water daily from a depth of one hundred and
eighty feet would then have been saved. A subway for
general traffic, carts, horses, &c., has been authorized
under the River Mersey at Liverpool, alongside the Mer-
sey Tunnel—which tunnel is through rock and lined en-
tirely with brickwork—and it is intended to construct it
in iron by means of shields of Mr. Greathead's design,
he being the engineer of the undertaking.
It is assumed that the cost of these subways is ap-
proximately in proportion as the squares of their diam-
eters. Therefore the section of the tunnel has been held
New York Tunnel Extension. 53
gººf
down to the minimum. In the case of the City and South
London Railway the tunnels are only ten feet and ten
feet six inches internal diameter, which is too small for
the proper accommodation of the passengers. The newer
Ones, as herein stated, will be larger by eighteen inches.
Any similar subways built in this country will hardly
have a less diameter than fourteen feet, so as to properly
accommodate our rapid transit cars, such as are used on
the Elevated Railways and the Brooklyn Bridge, New
York.
The real secret of the success of the system lies in
the fact that the trains are propelled by electricity, and
that the coal-burning locomotives are excluded from the
tunnels. Tunnels accommodating steam locomotives can
be ventilated; that is to say, the smoke can be drawn
Out and the air renewed as often as required; neverthe-
less, a tunnel that is subject to the passage of steam lo-
comotives, while perhaps not smoky, soon becomes
grimy and disagreeable. The Mersey Tunnel, at Liver-
pool, is doubtless the best artificially ventilated tunnel in
the world. The air throughout its length is renewed
about every seven minutes, and the smoke is drawn out
almost as rapidly as it comes from the locomotive, but
still the sides and arch of the tunnel become grimy and
passage through it is more or less diagreeable, owing to
the dank smell and to the fine particles of unconsumed
coal which are not carried out by the draught so readily
—if at all—as is the smoke.
A tunnel operated with electric power can be kept clean
and pure at all times, and while the air therein will not
be quite as pleasant as on the surface, but more or less
musty as Occurs in any underground chamber, its ad-
vantages are so far ahead of any tunnel operated by steam
54 Pennsylvania Railroad
locomotives that there is really no comparison. In the
City and South London Railway Tunnel no artificial
ventilation is necessary. The section being small, and the
lines separate, the passage of a train acts as a piston and
clears the tunnel, fresh air rushing in at the stations in
the wake of the train.
The underground railways of the Metropolitan Com-
panies in London, as at present operated, are dingy,
smoky, dirty, and disagreeable, and certainly no one
rides through them from choice. This is almost entirely
due to the use of steam locomotives. If the management
of these railways were alive to the situation they would
immediately take steps to change the motive power of
their lines, clean out their tunnels, purify them, and after-
wards operate their trains with electric power and at
higher speed than at present. There can be no question
as to the results from such a change—a substantial in-
crease in the passenger business would surely follow. As
it is, the companies are barely holding their own, cer-
tainly not increasing their passenger traffic as such old es-
tablished lines running through central London should.
The Metropolitan District Railway has actually lost
ground. For in 1886 the total number of passengers car-
ried by it, excluding season and periodical traffic, was
about forty-one millions, whereas in 1890 it only carried
thirty-six millions.
In the case of the Metropolitan Railway, for the same
period it only increased one million four hundred and
Seventy-eight thousand eight hundred and twenty passen-
gers in the total number conveyed, or about two per cent.
The above is not a good showing at all when it is
known that in the five years, 1885 to 1890, all the trunk
lines in London increased materially the number of pas-
New York Tunnel Extension. 55
sengers conveyed; some of them making a very heavy
increase. The Great Eastern Railway in 1890 carried
about fourteen million more passengers than it did in
1885, or an increase of twenty per cent. In the same
period the Great Western Railway increased the number
of passengers conveyed sixteen and two-tenths per cent. ;
the London and Northwestern ten and four-tenths per
cent.; the Midland Railway about twenty per cent. ; the
Great Northern Railway nineteen and three-tenths per
cent. ; the London, Chatham and Dover Railway five and
eight-tenths per cent. ; the London and Southwestern
Railway seventeen and nine-tenths per cent. ; and the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway the heavy in-
crease of twenty-five and one-tenth per cent. The traffic
on the City and South London Railway is steadily in-
creasing at the rate of about ten per cent. per annum.
Considering these large increases in the passengers
carried by the trunk lines, the steady growth of London,
the Overcrowded condition of its streets, is anything more
forcible needed to show that there must be some hin-
drance to a constant increase in the passenger business of
these Metropolitan railways. In the writer's judgment it
is accounted for by the use of steam locomotives for mo-
tive power, and the consequent disagreeable effect there-
from. Therefore, in proposing to build any tunnels, where
large numbers of passengers are expected to use the
Same, particularly in or near cities, some other motive
power than steam locomotives must be provided, else
satisfactory results will not follow.
56 Pennsylvania Railroad
APPENDIX B.
THE QUESTION OF AN ENTRANCE INTO NEW YORK
CITY FOR RAILROADS THAT TERMINATE ON THE
WEST SIDE OF THE NORTH RIVER,
OCTOBER 5th, 1892.
MR. G. B. ROBERTS,
President Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
DEAR SIR:—Responding to your letter of June 27th,
1892, conveying instructions to take up “in its broadest
sense” the question of “Establishing and Reaching a Rail-
road Terminal in New York City,” I desire to say I fully
realize, as you have, that this is not a simple task, its
study involving what is recognized as one the “World's
great undertakings”—on a parity with such works as the
Suez and Manchester Ship Canals, and of equal, if not
of greater, importance. It has, therefore, been an en-
grossing subject, and after much investigation and care-
ful consideration I beg to report as follows:—
Many plans have been proposed in the past and a
goodly number are now before the public, and particu-
larly before the railroad companies, in one shape or
another; some for the purpose of reaching a central
terminal station in New York similar to the Grand Central
in New York, or the ideal high-level entrance of the
Pennsylvania Railroad into Philadelphia, for the railroad
companies whose tracks now stop on the New Jersey
shore opposite that city; while others, content with a
partial solution, propose that the termini of the said rail-
roads shall remain on the New Jersey side, but shall be
connected with New York by some transit system other
than the present ferries.
New York Tunnel Extension. 57
The railroad situation at New York is unique: A paral-
lel does not exist. Here is a great seaport, with an ag-
gregate population and of commercial importance second
to none in the world, separated by the navigable waters
of a river from all the rail transportation systems of its
country, with but a single exception, namely, the New
York Central system. -
The completion and success of the Elevated Railways
of New York and Brooklyn, together with the comple-
tion of the Brooklyn Bridge and other great engineering
works elsewhere—notably, the Mersey, Severn and Sarnia
Subaqueous tunnels and the Forth Bridge (the latter at
a cost of nearly $17,000,000, and making a saving of only
twenty-five miles in through distance)—calls pointed at-
tention to the unsolved problem of an entrance and a
terminus in New York for the railroads stopping at the º,
edge of that city.
To show the great necessity for an entrance into New
York City (from the standpoint of passengers only) that
will provide for the enormous traffic crossing the North
River, and for the large increase that will surely follow
the completion of such an undertaking, the following
statement is submitted giving the number of passengers
crossing the North River in 1890 (local and railroad pas-
sengers separately), also the number of trains running on
the several railroads connecting with the ferries. This
statement was compiled with great care, and is based on
the best and most reliable data obtainable:–
58
Pennsylvania Railroad
STATEMENT OF PASSENGER TRAFFIC ACROSS THE
NORTH RIVER
IN THE YEAR 1890 :
As PREPARED BY THE NORTH RIVER BRIDGE CoMPANY.

Location of ferry and railroads
connecting there with.
Local passen-
gers between
New York,
Jersey City,
and Hoboken.
Railroad pas-
sengers
arriving and
departing.
TOTAL.
Number of
passenger
trains
per year,
Liberty St. Ferry con-
nects with Jersey Cen-
tral R. R., Phila. &
Bound Brook R. R.,
and other railroads. . . .
2,680,500
8,519,500
11,200,000
80,371
Cortlandt St. and Des-
tyrosses St. Ferries con-
rect with Pa. R. R.,
Lehigh Valley R. R.,
Susquehanna & West-
crn R. R., and other
railroads. . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,603,800
7,418,100
19,021,900
70,044
Chambers St. and West
23d St. Ferries con-
nect with N. Y., L. E.
& W. R. R., Northern
R. R. of New Jersey,
and other railroads. . . .
2,071,500
8,608,000
10,679,500
81,207
Barclay St. and Christo-
pher St. Ferries con-
nect with D., L. & W.
R. R., Morris & Essex
R. R., and other rail-
16,912,000
7,728,000
24,640,000
72,905
Jay St. and West 42d
St. Ferries connect
with the West Shore
R. R., Ont. & Western
R. R., and other rail-
1,857,000
2,051,000
3,908,000
West 14th St. Ferry to
14th St., Hoboken. . . . .
2,810,000
tº a tº 4 g º ſº $ & s
2,810,000
* @ 9 g g g º º
Total. . . . . . . . . .
. 37,934,800
34,324,600
72,259,400
*323,876
* Total passenger trains on all roads in the year 1890.
New York Tunnel Extension. 59
The annual number of ferry passengers on the North
River has grown from 58,894,300 in the year 1886 to
72,259,400 in the year 1890, being an increase of 23,364,-
900 passengers, or forty per cent, during the last five
years. Four-fifths of this increase was made up of rail-
road passengers. The increase of the next five years will
be at least equal, if not greater, so that the number of
ferry passengers on the North River in 1897 ) about the
date of completion of any entrance into New York that
may be begun soon) will probably exceed one hundred
million, of which forty-five million can be taken as rail-
road and fifty-five million as local passengers.
It is presumed that New York will in the near future
be well provided with local transit facilities. Cable rail-
ways are being constructed on Broadway and Third Ave-
nue; consolidation of surface lines is going on constantly,
with the expectation that one company will ultimately
control the whole system and then adopt electric or other
suitable power in lieu of horses; the Elevated Railways
doubtless will secure additional powers, not to extend, but
to widen their lines, and thus be enabled to provide better
facilities and furnish real rapid transit for their phenom-
enal traffic, which seems to be limited only by the facil-
ities afforded; then it is possible that an underground
system may also be established and operated by electric
power: all of which is mentioned for the reason that any
terminal established in New York must be accessible from
all parts of that city and Brooklyn, and necessarily closely
connected with the rapid transit systems of both those
cities. Furthermore, any entrance into New York should
provide for local transit between that city and the nearby
cities in New Jersey.
At the outset we must assume that it is not worth
while to consider the question of running “solid” pas-
60 Pennsylvania Railroad
senger trains through tunnels underneath the Hudson
River drawn by steam locomotives, with their attendant
Smoke and dirt, vitiating the air and requiring expensive
provisions for ventilating, which, after all, will not do
away with the inconvenience and discomfort to pas-
sengers. Even if coke or oil should be used for fuel,
the result would be practically the same, for, while there
would be less smoke, the gases emitted from the loco-
motives would be quite as deleterious as if coal were used.
Having reviewed the situation, we are now prepared
to take up the various projects that have been presented
as a solution, or a partial solution, of the problem of a
railroad entrance into New York and the establishment
therein of a terminal station. Certainly the first thing
to do is to outline all feasible projects worthy of consider-
ation, discuss them practically, furnish estimate of cost,
and then endeavor to reach some conclusions of practical
value.
There are before us only five projects which are con-
sidered worthy of special consideration. Three of these
would furnish an indirect entrance or, as before stated, a
partial solution of the problem, while two contemplate a
direct entrance for “solid” trains running at express speed
to a suitable city terminus in New York, making im-
portant connections with other existing steam railroads
and with certain proposed lines, and also connected with
the rapid transit systems of both New York and Brook-
lyn. One project, which has been spoken of frequently
in the public prints, known as the New York and New
Jersey Bridge Company, is not herein considered, for the
following reasons: First, because its location, as shown in
dotted line on map here with, is SO roundabout, as it crosses
the North River five miles above Jersey City and then
descends two or three miles southward into New York
New York Tunnel Extension. r 61
to a proposed terminus, that it would not be a proper
entrance for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and has
never been seriously considered by it. Second, because
that bridge company has no authority to build a bridge
with railroad tracks, and has not received any national
sanction therefor. Third, because there is nothing to
indicate that the company has ever designed or adopted
a suitable plan for bridging the Hudson River, which at
that point is wider than below at Hoboken, and would
necessarily require an extraordinary structure. All of
these five projects, marked A, B, C, D, and E respectively,
are shown on map herewith, together with proposed con-
nections, and outlined as follows:–
(a.) An underground system of rapid transit, separate
and distinct from the steam railroads, similar to the City
and South London Railway, London, connecting Jersey
City Station with New York and Brooklyn or with New
York alone.
(b.) The completion of the partially constructed Hud-
son River tunnel (for one track), to be followed by the
construction of others parallel therewith, the tracks
through the same to be connected with the existing
steam railroads on the New Jersey side, for the accom-
modation of passenger traffic only. The steam locomo-
tives to be detached on New Jersey side and trains hauled
through tunnels by cable power to a terminus in New
York, south of Washington Square.
(c.) The establishment in New York, on the west side,
of a suitable railroad terminus, connected with the Elev-
enth Avenue tracks of the New York Central Railroad,
the proposed Forty-second Street tunnel line to Long
Tsland, and also reached by the elevated railways, and
62 Pennsylvania Railroad
connected with Jersey City Station by means of floating
equipment carrying “solid” trains similar to the present
steamer “Maryland” service.
(d.) The establishment of a terminus in New York,
fronting Madison Avenue, and between Thirty-seventh
and Thirty-eighth Streets, to be reached by a double-
track railroad thirty and one-half miles long, extending
from a connection with Pennsylvania Railroad at Hout-
enville, just west of Rahway, to and over or under Arthur
Kill to Staten Island, and thence by subaqueous tunnels
three and one-half miles long under “The Narrows,” be-
tween Upper and Lower New York Bay, to a connec-
tion with the railroads on Long Island, and thence by
same and new lines through, or rather around Brooklyn
to Hunter's Point, to a high-level crossing of the East
River, the several streets and the East Side elevated
railroads to the proposed terminus. Said terminus could
also be utilized for New England railroads via the pro-
posed line from a connection with the Forty-second
Street tunnel line and the Long Island Railroad in Long
Island City; thence to a high-level crossing of the East
River at Hell Gate via Ward’s and Randall’s Islands,
and thence to the main shore to a connection with the
New Haven or New England railroad systems, as shown
On map.
(e.) By a high-level bridge over the Hudson (or North)
River to a terminus, for passenger and freight business,
at suitable points between the said river and Broadway,
the passenger station to be located on Sixth avenue in
the vicinity of Madison Square. Said bridge and ter-
minus to have ample tracks and to accommodate the
regular trains and traffic now running to Jersey City
New York Tunnel Extension. 63
terminus, or as much thereof as may be deemed advan-
tageous to send into New York. Bridge to accommodate
the heaviest trains at express speed and to have assigned
tracks for rapid transit, said tracks to connect with
all rapid transit systems thereabouts, including Jersey
City, Bergen, Staten Island, Newark, &c. The station
in New York to be directly connected with the elevated
trains of the Ninth and Sixth Avenue lines, and with the
rapid transit surface lines. Station also to be connected
by a spur with the tracks of the New York Central and
Hudson River Railroad on Eleventh Avenue, and the
tracks through the proposed tunnel under Forty-second
Street, and thence with the Long Island Railroad system,
the city of Brooklyn, and the proposed “Hell Gate Line”
for New England.
Having outlined the several projects under consid-
eration, we will now take them up seriatim:
PROJECT A.
This project, proposed as a connection for the exist-
ing steam railroads, has been thoroughly examined by
Mr. Austin Corbin, and under your direction Chief En-
gineer Brown also made some investigations and re-
ported thereon with an approximate estimate of cost.
As a partial solution of the problem under consideration,
this project is perhaps the best of any we have before
us. Eliminating the idea of connecting it directly with
any existing railroad (as was proposed by Mr. Corbin)
we will consider it solely from the rapid transit stand-
point. The line from Jersey City Station to a terminus
on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn will be two and seventy-
four one-hundredths miles long, and will be in tunnel
throughout. As about one-third of the length of the
64 Pennsylvania Railroad
line will be through “soft ground,” that portion at least
should be constructed with two tunnels, each carrying
a single-track railroad. That mode of construction has
many advantages, both during construction and in the
operation of the railroad. The grades can be so ar-
ranged if desirable as to have the steepest part always
with the traffic. Tn case the line runs under a narrow
street the two tunnels can be put in the same vertical
plane (one above the other), and encroachments on abut-
ting property thus avoided. The section of tunnel being
much smaller for single than for double track, the struc-
ture can be made more secure and stable, particularly in
“soft ground,” where it should be lined with iron, and
being grouted around its outer circumference there would
be scarcely any leakage, and in consequence the pump-
ing for drainage would be a small item. Then in a single-
track tunnel, with traffic operated by electric power, no
Special ventilating plant is likely to be required, as the
passage of a train would act as a piston, and the air
within the tunnel would practically be renewed by the
passage of every train.
Stations on a railroad of this character are expensive
appurtenances, and there should be as few as proper re-
gard for the traffic will admit. It would seem that a
terminal station at each end of this line, with one large
intermediate station in lower New York—the latter
properly located to exchange traffic with all the transit
lines in that city—would be sufficient.
The western terminal station of this underground rail-
road should be immediately underneath or in proximity to
the train hall of the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Jer-
sey City, and at such depth as would be determined upon
after the grades of the lines were established; the station
to be reached by stairs and elevators located in or near the
New York Tunnel Extension. 65
lobby of the Pennsylvania Railroad Station, each elevator
or pair of elevators to have a capacity equal to the capacity
of a train on the underground railroad. The terminal sta-
tion in Brooklyn should be of similar design to the one in
Jersey City, taking into account the traffic of the Brooklyn
elevated railways and of the surface lines. The station in
New York would be a “through” station, and should be
ample in size, with rapid-running elevators, and the whole
place kept scrupulously clean and light. Notwithstanding
the line through New York would be within rock forma-
tion, and at such depth that it would cause no damage to
any buildings if it were constructed underneath same, it
would be advisable to avoid any complications of this kind;
therefore the line through New York should follow the
line of the streets, if possible.
The portion of the line from New York to Brooklyn is
So simple of construction lying wholly within the rock, that
it might be advisable to build it first; besides, there is not
much doubt of the profitableness of that portion of the line
when completed. That part, however, underneath the North
River, while feasible, will cost more, and the result is some-
what uncertain as compared with the other, or might re-
quire a longer time before it becomes profitable. But as it
is the essential part for the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany, there is no reason from its standpoint why it should
be delayed beyond the commencement of the Brooklyn end.
The cost of such a double-track line complete, ready for
traffic, from Jersey City to Brooklyn, via the Battery, with
stations at the termini, and with one intermediate station in
New York, would not exceed $6,500,000. It might be de-
sirable for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to promote
the construction of a double line of this character straight
across the river from Jersey City to a point, say, under
Cortlandt Street, leaving the Brooklyn end to be taken up
66. Pennsylvania Railroad
as a separate undertaking, and, if so, it can be constructed
ready for traffic for about $4,000,000. There is consider-
ably more silt formation and correspondingly less rock on
this route than to the Battery, and as the iron-lined tunnel
costs a great deal more than ordinary tunnel work, this
accounts for the disparity in estimates.
PROJECT B.
Work on the Hudson River tunnel was commenced some
thirteen years ago and has been continued ever since, with
Occasional stoppages on account of accidents or lack of
funds to carry it forward. The original project was for
two separate tunnels, each having an average horizontal
diameter of fifteen feet and vertical diameter of about twen-
ty-two feet, and each designed to carry a single track, con-
structed with an Outer lining of wrought-iron segmental
plates bolted together and an internal lining of brick ma-
sonry. Owing to the insufficiency of the thin wrought-
iron skin the design was afterwards changed and strength-
ened. One tunnel has been completed for the greater
part of the distance under the river, but recently all
work has again been suspended.
One peculiar feature of this project is that no deſinite
arrangements have ever been made for the terminus on
the New York side. The original intention was to con-
nect with the existing steam railroads on the New Jersey
Side, and arrange for the running of trains from those rail-
roads through the tunnels to a terminus in New York
City.
There is a well-grounded theory among engineers
and railroad men that it is not desirable, even if it is
practicable, to run “Solid” steam railroad trains without
change of power through such a tunnel so close to the
New York Tunnel Extension. 67
terminus in New York, and therefore, as heretofore
Stated, this feature will not be considered.
We have evidence recently of a revival of interest in
this tunnel in the printed report made by Mr. C. W. Buch-
holz, C. E., and late chief engineer of the New York, Lake
Erie and Western Railroad Company, to Mr. James H.
Wilson, who is either now the president of the Tunnel
Company or is looking into the project with a view of
accepting that office. This report, with diagram of pro-
posed Station, appeared in the “Railroad Gazette” of
August 12th, 1892. The substance of the report was as
follows: That there should be constructed under the river
four tunnels, each carrying a single-track railroad, to be
connected on the Jersey side with the New Jersey Junc-
tion Railroad running along the foot of Bergen Hill, so
as to connect with and accommodate the traffic of all the
trunk lines on that side of the river, the tunnels to extend
under New York City to a point south of Washington
Square, where they would connect with station tracks to
be located between Third Street on the north, Bleecker
Street on the south, and between Green Street on the east
and Sixth Avenue on the west; there to establish a large
passenger station with twenty tracks and ten platforms,
all to be located below the street level. In order to obviate
some of the disadvantages of a stub-station, Mr. Buchholz
proposed to divide the terminus into arrival and depart-
ure stations, the tracks in these respective stations to con-
nect by curves running in opposite directions, with tracks
laid at right angles to the axis of the station and under
Green Street, thus forming a “Y,” around which the
arriving trains will be “tail switched” to the departure
side of station. For the traffic through the tunnel it is pro-
posed to use cable power running at a speed of fifteen
miles per hour and driven by large stationary engines, and
68 Pennsylvania Railroad
for the “tail switching” in the station he proposes to use
compressed air motors. The maximum gradient on the
line would be two and a quarter per cent., which rate of
grade is not heavy for cable power.
We are not advised in Mr. Buchholz's report as to
the approximate cost of this work. It would, however,
hardly fall short of $25,000,000, completed and ready for
traffic, considering the number of tunnels proposed and
the amount of property required.
The plan is open to serious objections, notably the
change of motive power at the entrance to the tunnels at
a point where stoppage would not otherwise be required,
the use of cable power in the tunnels (necessarily at slow
speed), and the “tail switching” in the station. The ac-
quisition of such a large amount of property, which could
not be utilized for other than passenger station purposes,
is quite a drawback; and the proposition to accommodate
the bulk of the passenger traffic of all the railroads now
stopping on the New Jersey side seems to be preposter-
ous, in view of the limited facilities proposed for the pur-
pose. -
It is not possible to satisfactorily concentrate the traffic
of all the railroads on the New Jersey side, or as much
thereof as would go into New York, through four single-
track tunnels, nor is it at all likely that the officers of the
railroad companies would submit to the propulsion of the
trains by moving cables.
Tunnels, if built under the North River, should be con-
fined to rapid transit uses. Therefore in order to utilize
as much of the Hudson River tunnel as has been com-
pleted, it should be joined with a rapid transit system con-
necting Jersey City and Hoboken with New York City,
and give up entirely the idea of running regular steam
railroad trains in that way to New York.
New York Tunnel Extension. 69
PROJECT C.
If this project had been presented ten years ago it
would doubtless have been adopted and carried out im-
mediately, and would have proved measureably successful.
At this time, however, it certainly cannot be considered a
proper Solution, or even a satisfactory partial solution of
the problem. The transportation of railroad passenger
trains on steam transports is a first-rate method where an
all-rail line is for some reason or other unattainable. Its
liability to delay, however, from fogs, storms, ice and inter-
ference from other river traffic makes it much more unre-
liable than transportation by rail, and wherever such a
system is in operation we find continued efforts to sub-
stitute a bridge or a tunnel therefor, or to mitigate the vexa-
tion of irregularity in the service by constructing a round-
about rail line as an alternate route. -
The Thames River at New London has been bridged to
obviate the use of a steam transport at that point. The
Grand Trunk Railway Company has tunneled under the
St. Clair River for the same purpose. Bridges and tun-
nels have been suggested and considered in lieu of the Steam
transport at Detroit, and one or the other will sooner or
later be built. The most expeditious, and perhaps the most
regular train transport in operation is the one at Baltimore,
accommodating the trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road (both freight and passenger) to and from New York
and Washington. There the trip is frequently made in ten
minutes from the time of stopping on One side to the time
of starting on the opposite side, the route covering the
Patapsco River for about one mile, and it is a frequent oc-
currence that people pass over the same seated in the trains
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and are not aware of
70 Pennsylvania Railroad
the fact that they have been off the main land; and yet,
withal, there is a break in the continuity of the railroad,
and the traffic cannot be controlled nearly so well as if the
rails were continuous. Unless a company using such a sys-
tem is willing to put a large investment in spare transports,
they are constantly facing the possibility of a wreck or the
destruction of their transports by fire, thus cutting off their
traffic entirely until new boats can be secured. The Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad Company take this risk and are
in terror all the time, as it has but one steam transport.
If it should be destroyed, it would break up the schedule of
trains, and it would be compelled to split the trains and
carry them over on the freight barges until another trans-
port could be secured.
To obviate the use of the Patapsco transport, and inci-
dentally to get its main line through the city of Baltimore,
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company is now building
the Baltimore Belt Railroad at a cost of at least $6,000,000.
For the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to adopt such a
system at New York would seem like going backward,
and with the exception of its providing a through route
through New York to New England, instead of by way of
the East River and the steamer “Maryland” service, it
would present no improvements over the present plan of
reaching that city.
To carry out the project properly, it would be necessary
to construct steam transports to carry a solid express
train, capable of high speed and of making time in all
sorts of weather. That part of the river where they
would ply is very much crowded with ferryboats, tugs
ocean steamers, canal boats, and all other kinds of river
craft not in the control of the railroad company, thus
making the operation of a transport service such as out-
New York Tunnel Extension. 71
lined more or less hazardous. The landing on the New
York side would necessitate crossing some streets with
railroad tracks at grade, of itself a serious objection,
and would locate the terminus in an undesirable part
of the city. It would be quite as much of a hardship
to reach this new terminus from the hotel centre as to
reach either Cortlandt Street or Desbrosses Street Fer-
ries, and the only saving a passenger would make would
be the hurried transfer and long walk from the ferry at
Jersey City to the train.
It is true that a union station could be established up
town, in connection with such a transport service, that
would have good connections with the Ninth Avenue
Elevated Railroad, with the surface lines, with the New
York Central and Hudson River Railroad (by way of its
Eleventh Avenue line), and also with Brooklyn and Long
Island by way of the proposed Forty-second Street tun-
nel; but with all these resultant advantages the company
would not be justified in establishing the transport system
as a connection for such station. This project cannot be
set down in the same category with those purporting to
“partially solve” this great problem, for it aims at the
whole solution. It would, however, prove a temporary
expedient only—a makeshift—when the demand is for a
final and complete solution. Either Project D or E would
provide what is sought—it is true at a very much greater
outlay, but the result would be a complete system Of rail-
roads with adequate terminals in New York, and not a
combination of railroads and transports.
I am far from being favorably impressed with Project
C. It seems to me the day for its adoption at New York
has passed, and it would prove a serious mistake to carry
it out.
72 Pennsylvania Railroad
PROJECT D.
We now come to the consideration of the first of two
propositions, either of which would furnish a good all-rail
entrance into the city of New York and suitable terminals
in desirable locations.
This project has been investigated by Mr. Joseph T.
Richards, of your Company, and reported on quite fully
It is, therefore, now unnecessary to go into the details
further than is required to give a proper understanding
of the project.
The recommended line, known as “The North Shore
Route,” would involve the construction of thirty and one-
half miles of new double-track railroad, estimated by Mr.
Richards to cost $52,656,508 if the Arthur Kill is tun-
neled, but if bridged (instead of tunneled) the total cost
is estimated at $51,555.500. The through distance would
be increased over the present line to the terminus at
Jersey City fully ten miles, and it would be eight and one-
half miles longer than to the proposed terminus of the
North River Bridge Company at Sixth Avenue and
Twenty-fifth to Twenty-eighth Streets, as described under
Project E. The only serious obstacle to the construction
of this railroad would be the tunnel, three and one-half
miles long, under “The Narrows” between Staten Island
and Long Island. The investigation of Mr. Richards
shows that it would be impracticable to locate a tunnel
within the rock formation, owing to its great depth
below the surface, and he has fixed the grade for a tunnel
through the silt formation at one hundred and twenty-five
feet below ocean level.
The same question presents itself here that has always
arisen in any discussions or examinations for tunnels
under the waters of New York Harbor, i. e., can a proper
New York Tunnel Extension. 73
tunnel be constructed through the silt formation which
is there encountered that will, after completion, with-
stand the rack and wear and tear of heavy trains passing
through it at high speed? Would not the structure
“work” under the action of heavy trains? We have no
precedent to go by, as all subaqueous tunnels of like con-
struction are through a different formation than is found
at New York. Therefore, it is largely a matter of spec-
ulation. In my opinion it is feasible and practicable, but
would be very expensive. The grade should be raised
Over that proposed by Mr. Richards, so as not to exceed
at any one point one hundred or, at the most, one hun-
dred and ten feet below mean tide, for the reason that it
is not right to work men in compressed air by the present
known methods under higher pressure than would exist
at that depth. Col. James Andrews, the contractor who
constructed the foundations of the St. Louis Bridge, re-
cently informed me that they worked men there under
compressed air at the depth of one hundred and fifteen
feet, and that no inducement in the world could persuade
him to go one foot lower than that depth, nor to even
again construct subaqueous works at the same depth.
If this line were adopted it should be built as two sep-
arate tunnels, circular in form, each carrying a single
track, and lined with extraordinarily heavy cast-iron seg-
mental plates with heavy internal flanges thoroughly
bolted together, similar to but much stronger than the
tunnel construction adopted at Sarnia, on the Grand
Trunk Railway, on account of the difference in the char-
acter of the material through which these tunnels would
be built.
The other obstacles on this route are the bridges Over
the Arthur Kill and the East River, neither of which,
however, could be considered as extraordinary, except in
the way of cost.
74 Pennsylvania Railroad
The principal advantages of the line would be a direct
entrance to Brooklyn for railroad trains—something that
is not at present enjoyed by any trunk line—and the fav-
orable terminus in New York City.
The line would not accommodate any suburban or rapid
transit traffic originating in or adjacent to Jersey City or
Hoboken, so that the two tracks through the tunnel under
“The Narrows,” operated as an auxiliary line in connec-
tion with the present terminus at Jersey City, would per-
haps answer for such traffic as would go to Brooklyn and
the new terminus at Thirty-eighth Street in New York
for many years to come.
PROJECT E.
The bridging of the North River has in the past been
contemplated by different railroad companies, but the
cost has always deterred them from undertaking it. In
the course of time, however, it is almost certain to be
accomplished in some manner, and in that case would
undoubtedly be the preferred route into New York.
The North River Bridge Company, acting under a
charter from the Congress of the United States, ap-
proved April IIth, 1890, has this project in hand. As
it is a legally organized company, and as the location of
the bridge and approaches thereto and the terminals
therefor have been carefully made, approved by the Sec-
retary of War and adopted by the Company, we can
quote from the annual reports of the Company as filed
with the Interstate Commerce Commission, as provided
in Act of Congress authorizing same, and also from other
reports of the Company to which we have access.
Referring to the national charter for this undertaking
the Company says:—
New York Tunnel Extension. 75
“For such a great and commanding undertaking the
incorporation powers of the two States of New York and
New Jersey do not appear to be sufficient to insure legal
Stability for the investment of private capital.
“The Company has the most ample powers, all con-
tained in one national charter, and does not require ad-
ditional legislation, either from the States or from the
cities.
“The right of eminent domain is given in the most
unequivocal terms, and is based on the decisions of the
Supreme Court of the United States, and therefore on
the adjudicated supreme law of the land.
“The charter contains no limit to the cost of the under-
taking, or to the amount of stock or bonds to be issued.
“The Company is permitted to earn net ten per cent.
on the cash cost of the entire undertaking, but the ten
per cent. applies only to the toll from connecting railroads,
and does not apply to the income from local traffic on the
line of the Bridge Company, nor to the income from real
estate, so that virtually the net income of the Company
may be twice as large within the meaning of its charter.
“The Company, by the express terms of its charter,
contains provisions whereby it may in addition have all
the powers, rights, and privileges, that other railroad or
or bridge companies, chartered in the States of New
York and New Jersey, may now have or hereafter ac-
quire.
“The Company has an expressed right to enlarge its
facilities and grounds whenever necessary in the future.
It has the right to build and operate works and appur-
tenances connected with the bridge approaches and ter-
minals, and use its real estate for any lawful purpose,
besides using it for trackage room.”
During the fall of 1890 the Company completed the
76 Pennsylvania Railroad
preliminary surveys and definitely located the bridge and
approaches and submitted the plans to the Secretary of
War, as provided in the Act of Congress. These plans
were then referred to the Board of Army Engineers sta-
tioned in New York City, who held public hearings, and
in the Spring of 1891 made their report, the substance of
which was the approval of the general plans and loca-
tion of the bridge, approaches, and terminals, with a rec-
ommendation that the clear height of the bridge at the
centre of the middle span be fixed at one hundred and
fifty feet above high water. Although the Company
could have appealed from this decision and endeavored
to hold the height of bridge down to the same as the
Brooklyn Bridge, it was not considered advisable to do
so. The plans were then revised, resubmitted to the
Secretary of War for his approval, which was promptly
given, and copies placed on file in the War Department
at Washington. The plans for the bridge, approaches,
and terminals, as approved by the Secretary of War, con-
template connections with all the railroads terminating
on the New Jersey side at various points in the Hacken-
sack Meadows, immediately west of Bergen Hill, and
also a connection with the New York Central in New
York and with the proposed Forty-second Street tunnel
line. The distance from a connection with the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad in the meadows to the terminus in New
York on Sixth Avenue and Twenty-fifth Street (one
block from Madison Square) would be only one and
three-quarter miles longer than from the same point to
the present terminus of Pennsylvania Railroad in Jersey
City.
The line would ascend from the meadows (along the
Hackensack) and pass through Bergen Hill west of
Hoboken, with an open cut forty-five hundred feet long
New York Tunnel Extension. 77
crossing underneath all the streets in Jersey City Heights.
Emerging from the Bergen Bluffs it would cross Hobo-
ken Flats on a steel viaduct high above the buildings of
the city to the western anchorage of the bridge, located
at Twelfth and Bloomfield Streets, Hoboken. On the
New York side the bridge would land at the foot of West
Twenty-third Street, and thence the line would pass
diagonally to the terminus.
The bridge will be of the type known as an Arch Sus-
pension, having a central span thirty-one hundred feet
between centres of towers, and end spans each about
eighteen hundred feet. The bridge is designed with three
decks; the first or lower deck of sufficient width to ac-
commodate eight steam railroad tracks, while the second
will accommodate six tracks, four of which will likely be
assigned for rapid transit trains operated with electric
power, and the other two for steam railroad trains. The
third deck to be a promenade extending from anchor-
age to anchorage, reached by elevators running up
through the anchorages, and also connected with the
towers by elevators.
The connection with the New York Central track on
Eleventh Avenue can be so arranged that through traffic
need not necessarily run in and out of the station, but
could pass down under the main tracks, and curving
northward join the tracks on the viaduct running from
the station down to Eleventh Avenue.
The great height of the bridge and approaches would
permit the use of the real estate under same on New
York side to be utilized for freight and storage ware-
houses. Property in cities like New York is far too
valuable to be utilized only one story high for freight
purposes. Great freight warehouses could be built on
property which must necessarily be acquired, and the
78 Pennsylvania Railroad
cars lowered by elevators to the several stories thereof
could be loaded or unloaded. The revenues from this
bridge on passenger traffic alone would not be sufficient
to meet the interest on the cost for many years, but the
development of the real estate which is necessary, and
the interchanged business with the New York Central
and New England Railroads, ought to work Out Satis-
factorily financially in a reasonable time after comple-
tion.
This passenger terminus would have a frontage on
Sixth Avenue of the three blocks from Twenty-fifth to
Twenty-eighth Streets, and extending from Sixth to
Eighth Avenue. It could be arranged in two decks—one
for through trains and one for local and suburban transit.
The entire electric transit system of Jersey City, Bergen,
the Palisades Plateau, Staten Island, Newark, and other
nearby centers would be connected with the bridge and
land passengers at this terminus in New York. The
Ninth and Sixth Avenue Elevated Railways could run
into the station if desired, or in any event would ex-
change traffic at that point. When the Forty-second
Street tunnel to Long Island has been completed (and it
has been granted all necessary powers), connections could
be made between this terminus and Brooklyn, and rapid
transit service and freight service maintained between
these points.
This project for reaching New York and establishing a
terminus therein is the best yet evolved. It solves the
problem. It would furnish an ideal terminus in the heart
of our greatest city for passenger traffic, and in addition
would develop freight facilities of inestimable value, an es-
sential feature as to the revenue. Its cost would be very
great, but, when compared with the advantages, no more
than its worth. It is probably more than any one
New York Tunnel Extension. 79
railroad company would feel justified in undertaking.
Several, if not all, the railroads on the New Jersey side
ought to use it and furnish their share of business towards
providing for the interest on the cost. The estimated
cost of the undertaking is $100,000,000, and made up as
follows:— -
1. Right of Way and Real Estate, assessed
value $7,482,500, liberal market value
$15,500,000. Estimated to cost. . . . . . . $23,OOO,OOO
2. Structures and Works, including station for
twenty-eight tracks, hotel for one thou-
sand guests, warehouses and coal and
freight stations underneath tracks. . . . . . I5,500,000
Bridge seventy-four hundred feet long, ca-
pacity for ten steam railroad tracks and
four rapid transit tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,OOO,OOO
(A double-track structure would cost $12,-
OOO,OOO.)
Viaduct in New Jersey and cut through
Bergen Hill and yard in meadows. . . . . 4,500,000
Viaduct connecting New York Central
and Hudson River Railroad at Eleventh .
Avenue and Thirty-seventh Street. . . . . I,OOO,OOO
3. Interest account during construction. . . . IO,750,000
4. Incidentals, including connections with
Other railroads, discount on bonds, inter-
est for first year after completion, en-
gineering, equipment, contingent and re-
serve funds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I8,250,000
Total Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $IOO,OOO,OOO
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company is the most power-
ful and has been recognized as the most progressive on
the continent. It should have a proper entrance to and ter-
minal in the metropolis of the continent, and not be satis-
fied to wait for other companies with less resources and
80 Pennsylvania Railroad
much less need of such an improvement to point the way,
as they will Surely do unless it is alive and takes the inita-
tive.
No half-way solution should be attempted by the Penn-
Sylvania Railroad Company. It should ultimately go into
New York in such a manner as to answer the needs of the
Company for the next half century at least, and on an
equality with, if not on a more elaborate scale, than the
New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company;
notwithstanding, it may be advisable in the meantime to
promote some means of rapid rail transit between the ter-
minus in Jersey City and New York. The cost will be so
great, no matter how an entrance for steam railroads to
New York is effected, that anything short of furnishing
facilities and accommodations for the period named would
hardly justify the undertaking. Furthermore, unless such
a complete plan shall be adopted and carried out, it were
better to adhere to the present ferriage and lighterage sys-
tems, which, with recent improvements, are good of their
kind, rather than adopt a substitute of doubtful expediency.
Every year the undertaking is postponed must add enor-
mously to the cost thereof, as property values are increasing
rapidly, and the real estate required for such a work
amounts to a large percentage of the total cost. If exam-
ples were needed to show the importance of the improve-
ment, they may be found in other cities; London, for in-
stance, is replete with railroad termini, passenger and
freight. A new trunk line entrance is now proposed there,
penetrating the city from the north, and the Manchester,
Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, one of the trunk lines
of England, was authorized by last Parliament to construct
it. The enlargement of Waverly Station, Edinburgh, will
involve an expenditure estimated at $4,000,000: the en-
largement of Liverpool Street Station, London, about $10,-
New York Tunnel Extension. 81
OOO,OOO. To these we may add the new terminal station
in St. Louis, the radical improvements to and enlargement
of Broad Street Station, Philadelphia, the Reading Ter-
minal in the same city, not to mention particularly many
others long since made, as in Liverpool, Glasgow, Frank-
fort-On-Main, Hanover, Berlin, Cologne, and Paris. Traf-
fic follows these improvements inevitably, as instanced in
the inadequacy of such works as the Elevated Railways,
the Brooklyn Bridge and Broad Street Station a few years
after completion. Therefore in considering this question
one must not be contracted, but must view it broadly, and
summon all the experience of similar undertakings to prop-
erly lay out and plan this one—the greatest of its kind ever
yet proposed. Then we should not be satisfied in simply
doing something which any other railroad company may in
a few years afterwards imitate. Let the Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company take the lead in solving the whole problem,
but in so doing, as the outlay will be so enormous, it might
be wise to also provide facilities for such other trunk lines
as it may elect to use the same—subordinate, of course, and
under its direction—and thus utilize the traffic of such lines
in helping to pay the interest on the cost of the undertak-
ing, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, however, dom-
inating the whole project. The railroad company that
once gets control of such an entrance to New York will
have much to say in, if not actually controlling, the rail-
road situation in the eastern part of the United States.
Tt is not too much to say that some other railroad com-
pany, or perhaps combination of companies, may secure
such an entrance to the detriment of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company, if the latter does not take immediate
action in the matter.
Respectfully submitted,
SAMUEL REA,
Assistant to President.
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