Abandoned subway tunnels

How many subway tunnels does the subway have and where are they about?

peanut1 wrote:How many subway tunnels does the subway have and where are they about?

Abandoned subway tunnels? There aren't any.

There are some along upper 2nd Av that are waiting to be put into service for the 2nd Av subway.



[NOTE: (and I do this as a public service) - entering any of the unused tunnel areas by unauthorized persons is illegal and the offender will be arrested and charged (at minimum) with criminal trespass. And in these days of higher security because of terrorism - it could become a federal issue.

To add to the above public service message;

it's also very unwise, even if you are authorized, to enter such spaces alone.

Plenty of abandoned stations, though

http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Allan wrote:... Abandoned subway tunnels? There aren't any. ...

Aren't there express tracks in Brooklyn that diverge from the local tracks (Skipping 15th Street & Fort Hamilton Parkway)that are abandoned.

no, those are just not used day to day. the are still active service tracks. Actually they've been getting a fair bit of use due to the Culver rebuild project.

Although technically not abandoned, there is a section of tunnel along the Nassau St. line north of Chambers St. where the 2 easternmost tracks are disused, although on an R9 nostalgia trip in 2012 our train used these tracks between Chambers and the Williamsburg Bridge, running past some heavily graffitied abandoned station platforms.

Jon

jonnhrr wrote:Although technically not abandoned, there is a section of tunnel along the Nassau St. line north of Chambers St. where the 2 easternmost tracks are disused, although on an R9 nostalgia trip in 2012 our train used these tracks between Chambers and the Williamsburg Bridge, running past some heavily graffitied abandoned station platforms.

Jon

How about the short tunnel which connected the 9th Av. El to the Jerome Av. line (Sedgewick Av.). In the broad sense it is a subway but to the purist it is part of an el. It is disconnected at both ends and therefore abandoned.

In Boston we have many abandoned sections of tunnel, and at least two whole stations abandoned outright. Boston's engineers cannot connect two tunnels together at grade, thus necessitating lengthy abandoned stub tunnels. There are two on the Orange and Blue Lines and one on the Red Line. Then there is Upper Broadway - now used for emergency training. That is a whole subway with portals at both ends and a station in between. John Arico and Brad Clarke have some related material on the web.

Gerry

How about the short tunnel which connected the 9th Av. El to the Jerome Av. line (Sedgewick Av.). In the broad sense it is a subway but to the purist it is part of an el. It is disconnected at both ends and therefore abandoned.

That tunnel is still there, HOWEVER, the Anderson-Jerome Av side has been sealed (with concrete) and the Sedgewick Av side has been sealed as well (locked steel gates). Additionally the overpass that would bring you close to the Sedgewick station has been completely fenced off.

Allan wrote:

How about the short tunnel which connected the 9th Av. El to the Jerome Av. line (Sedgewick Av.). In the broad sense it is a subway but to the purist it is part of an el. It is disconnected at both ends and therefore abandoned.

That tunnel is still there, HOWEVER, the Anderson-Jerome Av side has been sealed (with concrete) and the Sedgewick Av side has been sealed as well (locked steel gates). Additionally the overpass that would bring you close to the Sedgewick station has been completely fenced off.

Actually, both sides are concrete-sealed. This is one of very few tunnels in NYC that, so far as I know, is completely sealed up and never inspected. I read an article where the MTA disavows any ownership of it (which I can't imagine is true). One day 100 years from now maybe the street above will have a large sinkhole and something will be done...

As for other tunnels, there are no outright abandoned sections of subway tunnel, but there are small inactive segments. There's the 'dust tunnel' between manhattan bridge approaches that closed with the opening of the christie (sp?) st. connection, a small piece of the ole trolley loop on the 7 line, and the chinatown segment of SAS which will likely never see a subway. There's a few real mystery tunnels too - such as LOMEX (which is on at least one internal MTA map), and the infamous 76 st. tunnel mystery (which is a huge can of worms).

There's lots of photos of some of these obscure spots on this page:
http://ltvsquad.com/subways/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And that tunnel section on the Polo Grounds / Yankee Stadium shuttle will never be used again; the New Yankee Stadium blocks any connection back to the Jerome Avenue line. Related: it's a shame some of the accompanying "subway" Harlem River bridges such as the Third Avenue El and the Polo Grounds shuttle are gone; they could be useful today.