Railroad Forums 

  • Mott Haven improvement

  • Discussion relating to the NYC and subsidiaries, up to 1968. Visit the NYCS Historical Society for more information.
Discussion relating to the NYC and subsidiaries, up to 1968. Visit the NYCS Historical Society for more information.

Moderator: Otto Vondrak

 #927917  by chnhrr
 
At the beginning of the 20th Century, it appears that as part of the New York Central’s Mott Haven improvements a grand station was planned at 149th Street. The estimated cost most likely relegated this plan to an architectural fantasy and 138th Street remained the main station in the Bronx. Judging by the birds eye view, the design requirements would have included a transfer point to the other NYC lines and the New Haven.
 #927920  by chnhrr
 
Here is an architectural render of the station. You may have to save the images to view them, since they appear to be too wide for this format.
 #929545  by Tommy Meehan
 
Thanks for posting these images! Very nice.

Btw, the plan for the Bronx station came about because of the desire to electrify through the Park Avenue tunnel and into Grand Central. The difficulty of operating more than 500 steam-powered trains per day in the tunnel plus the smoke problem at the Grand Cenral yards convinced Central's Chief Engineer William Wilgus that "something had to be done." Wilgus believed only electrification was "a practical solution."

The initial plan in about 1902 was to change engines in the Bronx. In the William Wilgus papers at the New York Public Library I have read memos on the subject, written by Wilgus and other NYC officials.

Wilgus, the railroad's President William Newman and senior vice-president William Brown debated whether they should change power at Mott Haven or have riders make the change -to and from MU car trains that would operate between 149th Street and Grand Central. The Interborough subway was then being built and terminating trains at Mott Haven and having the IRT provide a connection was even considered.

Along with consultants Frank Sprague and Bion Arnold, William Wilgus came up with a preliminary design for the large station that would be required in the Bronx if the railroad was to change engines and, for the local service, originate MU trains there. Don't forget, in addition to the Harlem and Hudson Division trains, the station and yards would have to be large enough to handle all the New Haven trains, too.

It was not a satisfactory plan and was soon dropped in favor of "carrying" the electrification further out into the suburbs. This would allow Central to operate an entirely electrified "base service" for their suburban customers and allow for smaller yards in places where land was readily available and at much lower cost.
 #930144  by Tommy Meehan
 
chnhrr I took the liberty of resizing your illustrations to make them a bit more managable. I'm not really sure what they are supposed to be since I don't know your source. They look like renditions of the Bronx station proposed about 1901-02 by William Wilgus for the purpose of providing electric service to Grand Central. If that's what this is the artist left out the expanded yard area that would've been required. There was already a large yard located compass north of the junction (it would be on the right hand side of figure 2) between the Harlem and Hudson Divisions which seems to have been left out of figure 2.

Image

Image


In thinking it over I realized that back around the turn of the 20th century Bronx political figures and business leaders also wanted a grand station for their borough. So perhaps that is what this illustrates? Not what Central planned but what the Bronx wanted?

Knowing the source for these drawings would be helpful.

Nonetheless, I thank you for ferreting them out and especially for posting them here. :)
 #932813  by chnhrr
 
Thanks Tommy for that Information.
I appreciate the background and your knowledge of rail history. Your original assumption for the planning of this elaborate structure may be correct, since the rendering came from a magazine article dated 1904.
Often architectural renderers don’t incorporate all the appropriate site details in a drawing so as to focus attention on the architect’s design. The station also may have been part of the Bronx’s version of the ‘City Beautiful’ movement and an extension of The Grand Concourse. It would be interesting to know the names of the architects, possibly Fellheimer or Reed and Stem. Thanks for resizing the pictures. I can usually master that exercise, but for some reason these pictures gave me trouble (I think I had too much wine at dinner). I only clipped the pictures from a Google book, but I’ll see if I can find the link to the original article.

Chuck AKA chnhrr
 #933766  by Tommy Meehan
 
Glad to be of service as well as take part in this interesting discussion.

In a month or two I plan to revisit the New York Public Library's Special Collections Division (I have to renew the special card you need) and I want to look at Wilgus' Bronx plan in more detail. When he listed the various alternatives to providing electric service through the Park Avenue tunnel to Grand Central he called the Bronx option "the clearing house" plan.

Also, if I can diverge slightly, as to why the Bronx civic leaders desired a large and elaborate passenger station at 149th Street. The Bronx was then (especially the southeast Bronx) literally booming with new industry. The Bronx leaders believed that a supporting office district would sprout up too (it never did) and hoped to guide it to the area around E.149th and the Grand Concourse, anchored by a large passenger station.

The thinking by 1900 was that Manhattan's office district would continue to expand as it had done over the previous fifty years. The commercial or office district in Manhattan had expanded over the second half of the 19th century from Lower Manhattan to the 42nd Street area. Many planners in the early 1900s fully expected this trend of northward expansion to continue. Many believed by 1950 E.125th Street would be a major business corridor. Bronxites hoped a satelite district would be established near 149th Street.

This was part of the reason why, around the same time period, the New York Westchester & Boston was comfortable with locating their city passenger terminal at E.132nd Street, just north of the Harlem River in the Bronx.

What the planners did not foresee was the evolution of the modern skyscaper. Manhattan continued to grow alright, but up not out. :)