IRT Ninth Avenue Line

The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, often called the Ninth Avenue Elevated or Ninth Avenue El,^[1] was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened in July 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, as an experimental single-track cable-powered elevated railway from Battery Place, at the south end of Manhattan Island, northward up Greenwich Street to Cortlandt Street. By 1879 the line was extended to the Harlem River at 155th Street. It was electrified and taken over by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in 1903.

IRT Ninth Avenue Elevated
The Ninth Avenue El's "suicide curve" at 110th Street, in 1896
Overview
Other name(s)	West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway West Side and Yonkers Patent Elevated Railway Company Westside Patented Elevated Railway Company Ninth Avenue El
History
Commenced	July 1, 1867 (1867-07-01)
Opened	July 1, 1868 (1868-07-01)
Completed	April 1868 (1868-04)
Cable railway	1868
Regular Service	February 14, 1870
Electrification	1903
Closed	June 11, 1940 (1940-06-11) (South of 155th Street) August 31, 1958 (1958-08-31) (North of 155th Street)
Technical
Number of tracks	2–3
Character	elevated railway
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	DC third rail
Route map Legend Jerome Avenue Line 167th Street Jerome Avenue Line Anderson–Jerome Avenues Sedgwick Avenue Putnam Bridge (Harlem River) 159th Street Yard 155th Street 151st Street 145th Street 140th Street 135th Street 130th Street 125th Street 116th Street 110th Street Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line Lenox Avenue Line 104th Street 99th Street 93rd Street 86th Street 81st Street 72nd Street 66th Street Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line 59th Street Sixth Avenue Line 50th Street 42nd Street 34th Street 30th Street 23rd Street 14th Street Christopher Street Houston Street Desbrosses Street Franklin Street Warren Street Barclay Street Cortlandt Street Rector Street Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line Sixth Avenue Line Battery Place Second & Third Avenue Lines South Ferry (subway) This diagram: view talk edit

The main line ceased operation in June 1940,^[2][3] after it was replaced by the IND Eighth Avenue Line which had opened in 1932. The last section in use, over the Harlem River, was known as the Polo Grounds Shuttle. It closed in August 1958.^[4] This portion used a now-removed swing bridge called the Putnam Bridge,^[5][6] and went through a still-extant tunnel with two partially underground stations.^[7]

The line had the worst accident in the history of New York City elevated railways, on September 11, 1905, when a train derailed and fell to the street. There were 61 casualties.^[8]

History

West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway

West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway test run, 1867

The predecessor of the Ninth Avenue Elevated was the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, which was built on Greenwich Street by Charles T. Harvey and ran from July 1, 1868, to 1870. The line used multiple one-mile-long (1.6 km-long) cable loops, driven by steam engines in cellars of buildings adjacent to the track. Each loop was started when a car neared it and stopped when it had passed. The cables were equipped with collars that the car connected to with "claws". As the claws could not be "slipped" the car was jerked each time it moved to the next cable. The system proved cumbersome, broke down several times and eventually the company ran out of money and the system was abandoned. The new owners replaced the cable cars with steam locomotives.

In 1885, the first demonstration of an electric traction engine in New York took place on the Ninth Avenue El.^[9]

Extension

The Ninth Avenue Elevated was extended up Greenwich Street and Ninth Avenue by 1891. The Ninth Avenue El and several other lines of the Manhattan Railway Company were taken over with a 99-year lease by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company on April 1, 1903.^[10][11] The Ninth Avenue Elevated extended over 100 feet (30 m) above the street at "Suicide Curve", where the line made two 90-degree turns above 110th Street to travel from Columbus Avenue to Eighth Avenue.^[12] On September 11, 1905, the worst accident in the history of New York's elevated railways took place at a curve at 53rd street, resulting in 13 deaths and 48 serious injuries.^[13] The rebuilding project was extended all the way north to 116th St., creating Manhattan's first three-track elevated, although center-track express service did not begin until 1916.

Berenice Abbott photograph of Ninth Avenue El station at 72nd Street, 1936

The line began at South Ferry and ran along Greenwich Street from Battery Place to Gansevoort Street in lower Manhattan, Ninth Avenue in midtown (joining with the Sixth Avenue El at 53rd Street, continuing along Columbus Avenue in upper Manhattan between 59th Street and 110th, turning east on 110th and running north on Eighth Avenue (Central Park West and Frederick Douglass Boulevard) until the Harlem River.^[14]

In January 1917, the installation of a third track was completed.^[15] The third track allowed the IRT to begin running express trains on the line in July 1918, from 125th Street to 155th Street; trains began using the new express station at 145th Street for the first time.^[16] At the same time, the line was extended to 162nd Street in the Bronx, and stations were opened at Sedgwick Avenue and Anderson–Jerome Avenues.^[16] In December 1921, Lexington Avenue–Jerome Avenue subway trains began running north of 167th Street at all times, replacing elevated trains, which ran to Woodlawn during rush hours, but terminated at 167th Street during non-rush hours.^[17]

As of 1934, the following services were being operated:

• 9th Avenue Local — South Ferry to 155th Street all hours, extended Sundays and late nights to Burnside Avenue via Jerome Avenue Line.
• 9th Avenue Express — Rector Street to Burnside Avenue via Jerome Avenue Line weekdays and Saturdays daytime, extended to Fordham Road weekday rush periods, also Saturday morning rush and afternoon thru PM peak. These trains ran express south of 155th Street southbound until noon and northbound after noon, and made all stops in the opposite direction.

Closing and Polo Grounds Shuttle

Most of the line was closed June 11, 1940, and dismantled, following the purchase of the IRT by the City of New York.^[2][3] A small portion of the line north of 155th Street remained in service as the "Polo Grounds Shuttle".^[18][19] Service ended in August 1958 as a result of the departure of the New York Giants baseball team, which had relocated to San Francisco, and the ending of passenger service on the New York Central's Putnam Division.^[4][20]

Station listing

From north to south, the stations were:

Station	Tracks	Opening date	Closing date	Transfers and notes
Anderson–Jerome Avenues	Express	July 1, 1918[16]	August 31, 1958[4]	Still exists in ruins; continued north via the Jerome Avenue Line to 167th Street, and later to Woodlawn on January 2, 1919[21]
Sedgwick Avenue	Express	July 1, 1918[16]	August 31, 1958[4]	Still exists in ruins; transfer point with NYC Putnam Division[21]
155th Street	Express	December 1, 1879[22]	August 31, 1958[4]	Built next to NYC Putnam Division southern terminus, former transfer point until Putnam Division service to Manhattan ended in 1918[21]
151st Street	Local	November 15, 1917	June 11, 1940[2]
145th Street	Express	December 1, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
140th Street	Local	September 27, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
135th Street	Local	September 27, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
130th Street	Local	September 27, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
125th Street	Express	September 17, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
116th Street	Express	September 17, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
110th Street	Local	June 3, 1903	June 11, 1940[2]
104th Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
99th Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
93rd Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
86th Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940[2]
81st Street	Local	June 9, 1879[23]	June 11, 1940[2]
72nd Street	Local	June 9, 1879[23]	June 11, 1940[2]
66th Street	Express		June 11, 1940[2]
59th Street	Local	June 9, 1879[23]	June 11, 1940[2]	Transfer to Sixth Avenue Elevated
55th Street	Local	January 18, 1876	Before 1887
53rd Street	Local	June 2, 1878	Before 1887
50th Street	Local	January 18, 1876	June 11, 1940[2]
42nd Street	Local	November 6, 1875[21]	June 11, 1940[2]
34th Street	Express	July 30, 1873[21]	June 11, 1940[2]
30th Street	Local	December 13, 1873	June 11, 1940[2]
29th Street		July 3, 1868[24]	1873	Original northern terminus
23rd Street	Local	October 21, 1873	June 11, 1940[2]
21st Street	Local	October 21, 1873	Before 1887
14th Street	Express		June 11, 1940[2]
Little West 12th Street	Local	June 17, 1872	1880?
Bethune Street	Local	November 5, 1875	Before 1887
Christopher Street	Express	November 3, 1873	June 11, 1940[2]
Houston Street	Local	November 3, 1873	June 11, 1940[2]
Watts Street	Local	May 6, 1872	Before 1887
Desbrosses Street	Express	November 23, 1873	June 11, 1940[2]
Franklin Street	Local	January 21, 1873	June 11, 1940[2]
Warren Street	Express	February 14, 1870	June 11, 1940[2]
Barclay Street	Local	February 14, 1870	June 11, 1940[2]
Dey Street		July 3, 1868[24]	1874	Original southern terminus
Cortlandt Street	Express	May 25, 1874	June 11, 1940[2]
Rector Street	Local	May 25, 1874	June 11, 1940[2]
Morris Street	Local	August 15, 1872 April 15, 1877	March 19, 1873 September 27, 1879
Battery Place	Express	June 5, 1883[25]	June 11, 1940[2]	Sixth Avenue Line
South Ferry	Express	April 5, 1877	June 11, 1940 (9th Avenue) December 22, 1950 (other services)[2]	Second, Third and Sixth Avenue Lines; various ferries

References

1. "Remembering the 9th Avenue El". MTA.info. October 26, 2011. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
2. Ninth Avenue Elevated Closure Poster
3. "Two 'El' Lines End Transit Service". New York Times. June 12, 1940. p. 27.
4. "imagejpg1_zpse1f8a458.jpg Photo by JavierMitty – Photobucket". Photobucket.
5. "Image 8282". nycsubway.org. June 14, 1958. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
6. "Image 8296". nycsubway.org. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
7. Walsh, Kevin (December 25, 1999). "When Is a Subway Not a Subway?". Forgotten NY. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
8. Shaw, Robert B. (1961). Down Brakes: A History of Railroad Accidents, Safety Precautions and Operating Practices in the United States of America. London: P. R. Macmillan. OCLC 2641112.
9. Sansone, Gene; P. Roess, Roger (August 23, 2012). 9783642304842. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642304842.
10. Feinman, Mark S. "Continuing the Story of the 9th Avenue El". Retrieved August 4, 2009. On April 1, 1903, the entire Manhattan Elevated system was leased to the IRT Company for 999 years. Subway system construction was planned to connect with the Els at various points. By June 25, 1903, the last steam-powered elevated train was operated in passenger service on the 9th Ave El.
11. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917. pp. 182–186.
12. History, Bloomingdale (September 13, 2013). "The Ninth Avenue El". bloomingdalehistory.com. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
13. Robert C. Reed, The New York Elevated, South Brunswick, NJ and New York: Barnes, 1978, ISBN 0-498-02138-6, p. 138.
14. The Red Book: New York. New York: Interstate Map Co. 1935.
15. Senate, New York (State) Legislature (1917). Documents of the Senate of the State of New York.
16. "Open New Subway To Regular Traffic — First Train On Seventh Avenue Line Carries Mayor And Other Officials — To Serve Lower West Side — Whitney Predicts An Awakening Of The District — New Extensions Of Elevated Railroad Service" (PDF). New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
17. "An Improvement in Service for Passengers on the Jerome Avenue Line North of 167th Street". pudl.princeton.edu. Interborough Rapid Transit Company. December 11, 1921. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
18. Norwood, Stephen (2018). New York Sports: Glamour and Grit in the Empire City. Sport, Culture, and Society. University of Arkansas Press. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-61075-635-8.
19. Sansone, G. (2004). New York Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8018-7922-7. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
20. "Annual Report For The Year Ended June 30, 1959". New York City Transit Authority. October 1959. p. 15. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
21. "The 9th Avenue Elevated-Polo Grounds Shuttle". nycsubway.org. 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
22. Brennan, Joseph. ""The two roads are in perfect accord" 1878-1879". Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
23. "The Manhattan Company — Opening of the West Side to Eighty-first Street — The Sunday Trains" (PDF). New York Times. June 10, 1879. p. 8. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
24. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917. Law Print. Company.
25. "A Station at Battery Place". New York Times. June 5, 1883. p. 5. Retrieved September 22, 2020.

External links

• Beach Pneumatic Transit Co by Joseph Brennan Full of Photographs and information about the line, particularly Chapter 14.
• NYCsubway.org — The 9th Avenue Elevated
• 1939 track map
• Time Traveling on the NYC Ninth Ave El^{[permanent dead link]} — A History of New York City (Manhattan) Elevated Railways