Third Avenue Railway

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other places with the same name, see Third Avenue (disambiguation).
Third Avenue Railway System
New York, New York
Dates of operation1853–1956
PredecessorThird Avenue Railroad Company
SuccessorNew York City Omnibus Corporation
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification600v DC

The Third Avenue Railway System (TARS), founded 1852, was a

Westchester County. For a brief period of time, TARS also operated the Steinway Lines in Long Island City.[1]

The conversion from

Yonkers city lines were shut down in 1952. Third Avenue Railway was purchased by New York City Omnibus Corporation
in 1956, and transferred the remaining transit operating franchises to subsidiary Surface Transportation, Inc.

Early history

1909 3rd Avenue Gasoline-Electric streetcar.

The origins of the Third Avenue Railway System can be traced back to a simple horsecar line operated by the Third Avenue Railroad Company between City Hall and 62nd Street in Manhattan in 1853. By the 1870s, routes had been extended as far north as 129th Street and across the length of 125th Street. At its peak, more than 1,700 horses were stabled by the railway to keep up with demand. By 1885, Third Avenue Railroad had opened its first cable car line on Amsterdam Avenue. The 125th Street and Third Avenue lines were converted to cable car operation by 1893. The lines were converted to electric operation in 1899. Because of a ban on overhead trolley wires in Manhattan, streetcars collected power from a conduit in between the rails, by means of a plow, a method also used in Washington, D.C., and London. Some cars were equipped with trolley poles for operation on lines outside Manhattan into the Bronx. In many cases the conduit was run in the former channel occupied by the propulsion cable.

The Third Avenue Railroad expanded in 1898 with the acquisition of the Dry Dock, East Broadway and Battery Railroad and the Forty-Second Street, Manhattanville and St. Nicholas Railroad. Additional properties include the Belt Line Railway Corporation, the Mid-Crosstown Railway, the

New York Railways, and TARS operating streetcars over the Manhattan Bridge
), the Kingsbridge Railroad, the Westchester Electric Railroad, and the Yonkers Railroad:

After acquisition

The cost of rapid expansion led to financial problems, and Third Avenue Railroad came under the control of the

Interborough Rapid Transit
, further expanding the railway's reach into The Bronx. This extension was short-lived as the line ceased operation in 1919.

By 1915 Frederick Whitridge was president of the company.[2] Labor unrest caused strikes that disrupted trolley service system-wide, and Whitridge and his policies were under scrutiny. Edward A. Maher succeeded Whitridge, but tendered his resignation at the end of 1917. Slaughter W. Huff, former vice president of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, was elected to take over as president of TARS. Huff was an experienced transit executive, working his way through streetcar lines in California, Maryland, and Virginia, before returning to New York City. He was also the longest serving president of TARS.

Steinway Railway

See also: Queens Surface Corporation § Steinway Railway

The Steinway Railway Company was founded in 1892, as part of the development of Steinway Village, a company town located in

MTA Bus Company
.

Westchester Electric Railroad

Chartered in 1891, the Westchester Electric Railroad was a subsidiary of the Union Railway, and made up the majority of the local streetcar lines in New Rochelle, Pelham, and Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon and Eastchester Railway (an 1887 reorganization of the Mount Vernon and East Chester Rail Road founded in 1885) and the New Rochelle Railway and Transit Company (an 1890 reorganization of the New Rochelle and Pelham Railway founded in 1885 and the New Rochelle Street Horse Railroad founded in 1885) were merged into the Westchester Electric in 1893, which in turn was leased to the Union Railway. It came under control of Third Avenue Railway in 1898, the same year the Mount Vernon and New Rochelle operations were electrified. The main carbarn was located at Sanford Boulevard and Garden Avenue in Mount Vernon. A joint trolley terminal operated with the New York and Stamford Railway was located on Mechanic Street in New Rochelle. The company entered receivership in 1908, and emerged in 1912. Most of the local lines had been closed and converted to bus by 1931. Route J (Glen Island) and Route P (Webster Avenue) were converted to bus operation in June 1939. Route A (Main Street-New Rochelle) and Route B (Mount Vernon Railroad Station-229th Street) were the busiest lines and remained in operation until December 17, 1950.

Westchester Street Railroad Co.

The city of

Fifth Avenue Coach Lines in 1956 when it bought out the remaining TARS operation. In 1969 WST was acquired by Liberty Lines Transit and the transit franchises are now part of Westchester County's Bee-Line Bus System.[4]

New York, Westchester & Connecticut Traction

Chartered in

Metropolitan Street Railway
and renamed itself New York City Railways. The company entered receivership in 1908. Ownership of the franchise was directed by John Johnston Railroad Company until 1912 when lines were conveyed to the New York, Westchester & Connecticut Traction. This line was consolidated into the new Union Railway in 1908, which in turn came under the control of Third Avenue Railway. The NYW&CT was operated by TARS subsidiary Westchester Electric Railroad.

Yonkers Railroad Company

Incorporated in 1896, the Yonkers Railroad Company was the consolidation of the Yonkers Railroad, the North and South Electric Railway, and the Yonkers and Tarrytown Electric Railroad. The line was operated by Third Avenue Railway and consisted of nine routes serving New York State's third largest city.

Litigation over the transit franchises extended streetcar service in Westchester County for years after the Manhattan and Bronx lines were converted. Routes in New Rochelle and Mount Vernon were closed in 1950, leaving only the Yonkers city lines in operation. Lines 5, 6, 8, and 9 were converted to bus on October 25, 1952. On November 1, Line 4 was closed. Lines 1, 2 and 3 followed the next day. On November 9, the streetcar era on TARS came to an end when Line 7 was shut down and converted to bus operation. The transit franchises were transferred to the new Yonkers Transit Corporation, organized by TARS general manager Samuel S. Schreiber. Liberty Lines Transit acquired Yonkers Transit Corporation in 1972, and continues to operate its routes as part of the Bee-Line Bus System.

The Yonkers Trolley Barn at the foot of Main Street, built by TARS in 1903 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the only remaining such structure in the county.[5]

Conversion from trolley to bus (1924–1952)

As early as the 1920s, public officials were advocating for the increase in bus service as the answer to relieving traffic congestion in New York City. The Third Avenue Railway looked to buses in 1920 when the company made an application to operate a bus line on Dyckman Street, Nagle Avenue, and Tenth Avenue north to 207th Street as an extension of its existing trolley line that served Dyckman Ferry.

PCC trolley
cars were introduced in nearby Brooklyn in 1936, TARS did not have the resources to procure new equipment. Instead, older trolleys were rebuilt with new aluminum bodies and reconditioned for extended service. The 138th Street crosstown line in The Bronx was discontinued in 1938.

By 1942 Surface Transportation System was operating one of the world's largest fleets of diesel-powered buses. In 1943, Third Avenue Railway System was renamed Third Avenue Transit System and had taken over direct operation of STS. After years of litigation regarding transit franchises and purchases of stock by board members, Victor McQuistion had taken control of the company by 1946, and implemented a plan to replace the remaining streetcar routes with buses. On November 10, buses replaced trolleys on the busy 59th Street crosstown line in Manhattan.

Third Avenue Transit made national news on March 28, 1947, when diesel bus 1310 and driver William Lawrence Cimillo went missing from its normal route and did not return to the garage. The bus was discovered in

telegram
back to headquarters in New York requesting cash. He was taken into custody by local police, and blamed mental fatigue for his momentary lapse in judgement. Cimillo and the bus were returned to New York, where the wayward driver was received as a celebrity. Further investigation revealed Cimillo had run up a substantial gambling debt. He was arraigned in Bronx County Court on larceny charges for stealing the bus, but given a suspended sentence. The company gave him a second chance and reinstated him as a driver a month later. The larceny charges were dropped in 1950, and Cimillo continued in his career without any further incident.

In 1948, Samuel S. Schreiber was appointed as general manager of the Third Avenue Transit Corporation. An experienced transit executive, he was hired to implement the orderly conversion of the remaining trolley lines to bus operation.[7] Slowed briefly by wartime restrictions on gasoline and tires, all streetcar lines in Manhattan and the Bronx were converted to bus by the end of 1948. The remaining Mount Vernon and New Rochelle trolley lines followed on December 16, 1950.[8][9] The last TARS streetcar operation came to an end in November 1952 with the closure of the former Yonkers Railroad lines.

Bus transit operations (1952–1962)

Third Avenue Transit System continued operating its transit franchises through its subsidiary

Fifth Avenue Coach Lines and New York City Omnibus to NYMOC. In 1956, New York City Omnibus Corporation
bought out the remaining shares of Third Avenue Transit System and gained control of the Surface Transportation Corporation's bus transit routes. Surface Transportation Corporation was dissolved and Third Avenue Transit was renamed Surface Transit, Incorporated. The same year, New York City Omnibus changed its name to Fifth Avenue Coach Lines.

In 1962, all Fifth Avenue Coach Lines routes were taken over by the

MTA Bus Company. Fifth Avenue Coach Lines continued to own and operate the old TARS subsidiary Westchester Street Transportation Company in White Plains until it was sold to Liberty Lines Transit in 1969. Compensation for the condemnation of its bus routes in New York City was paid in 1970, and Fifth Avenue Coach Lines emerged from receivership in 1971. It was reorganized as the South Bay Corporation in 1973, a privately held investment group.[10]

Disposition of rail equipment

An ex-Third Avenue car in service in Vienna, Austria, in 1955

After the system's abandonment, 42 cars of the largest and newest type, built by TARS itself in 1938–1939 (on

pantographs in place of their trolley poles. They did not use conduit current collection in Vienna. They entered service there in 1949–1950, exclusively on the 17/217/317 single track suburban service to Gross-Enzersdorf.[12] They were too wide to run on double track city lines. They were retired in 1969 when track brakes became mandatory.[11]

Surviving equipment

A number of cars formerly operated by TARS have been preserved.[13]

Lines

Manhattan

The following lines existed in later days:

The Bronx

The following lines operated in The Bronx. The final streetcar lines were converted to bus operation in 1948.

  • A Westchester Avenue, formerly Bx42 – now Bx4/Bx4A
  • B Bailey Avenue, formerly Bx24 – now mostly covered by Bx10
  • B Boston Road, formerly Bx26 – now Bx21
  • C Bronx-Van Cortlandt Park Crosstown, formerly Bx20 – now Bx9
  • L St. Anns Avenue, formerly Bx32 – route discontinued in 1984. due to poor ridership
  • O Ogden Avenue, formerly Bx37 – now Bx13
  • S Sedgwick Avenue, now combined with University Avenue route, formerly Bx38 – now Bx3
  • S Southern Boulevard, now combined with 149th Street Crosstown, formerly Bx31 – now Bx19
  • T Tremont Avenue, currently Bx40/Bx42, Bx36/Bx36LTD effective July 2022
  • U University Avenue, now combined with Sedgwick Avenue route, formerly Bx38 – now Bx3
  • V Williamsbridge, formerly Bx28 – now Bx39, extended to Wakefield to cover White Plains Road portion of Bx41/Bx41SBS on June 28, 2009
  • W Webster Avenue-White Plains Avenue, now Bx41/Bx41SBS, White Plains Road portion of line discontinued, and is now covered by the Bx39 as of June 28, 2009
  • X 138th Street Crosstown, now Bx33
  • X 149th Street Crosstown, now combined with Southern Boulevard, formerly Bx31 – now Bx19
  • X 163rd Street Crosstown, formerly Bx34 – now Bx6
  • Z 180th Street Crosstown, currently Bx36, Bx40/Bx42 effective July 2022

New Rochelle and Mount Vernon

The following lines operated in New Rochelle, New York and Mount Vernon, New York, until they were converted to bus operation in 1950.

  • A Main Street, New Rochelle, to Subway/241st Street – Closed 1950
  • B Mount Vernon Railroad Station to Subway/241st Street – Closed 1950
  • J Glen Island – Closed 1930
  • P Webster Avenue – Closed 1939

Yonkers

The following lines operated in Yonkers, New York:[20] All were converted to bus operation in 1952.

  1. Broadway-Warburton
  2. Broadway-Park Ave.
  3. Broadway
  4. McLean Ave.
  5. Nepperhan Ave.
  6. Tuckahoe Road
  7. Yonkers Ave.
  8. Riverdale Ave.
  9. Elm-Walnut Sts.

Affiliated companies

  • Third Avenue Railway Company
  • The Forty-Second Street, Manhattanville and St. Nicholas Railway
  • The Dry Dock, East Broadway and Battery Railroad
  • Belt Line Railway
  • Union Railway Company of New York City
  • Southern Boulevard Railroad
  • New York City Interborough Railway
  • Westchester Electric Railroad
  • Yonkers Railroad
  • New York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction
  • Kingsbridge Railway
  • Third Avenue Bridge Company
  • Bronx Traction Company
  • Pelham Park and City Island Railway

See also

  • Berkey v. Third Avenue Railway Co

References

  1. ^ a b Ballard, C: "Metropolitan New York's Third Avenue Railway System", Arcadia Publishing, 2005
  2. New York Times
    . August 29, 1916. Retrieved 2011-03-12. Frederick W. Whitridge, President of the Third Avenue Railway Company, who was blamed by the Public Service Commission for the street car strikes that spread recently from Westchester County to Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, returned from Scotland on the American liner New York yesterday in response to urgent messages from the directors of his company.
  3. ^ a b Miller, Richard (July 28, 2006). "When the Trolleys Ran in Tarrytown". River Journal. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  4. ISBN 978-0-9762797-3-0
    .
  5. ^ Peter D. Shaver (December 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Registration:Yonkers Trolley Barn". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  6. ^ "Third Av. Railway Asks Bus Franchise" (PDF). New York Times. 1920-07-17. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  7. ^ Honan, William H. (Feb 26, 2000). "Samuel S. Schreiber, 91; Modernized Mass Transit". The New York Times. Retrieved Sep 7, 2020 – via NYTimes.com.
  8. ^ "Car Named Expire Makes Last Trip; Pallbearers and Crape Signify New Rochelle's Sorrow as Old Line Becomes Bus Route". New York Times. 1950-12-17. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  9. ^ "New Rochelle, in Big Way, Is Going Off Its Trolley". New York Times. 1950-12-15. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  10. ^ "www.nycsubway.org: Local Bus Routes of Manhattan". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved Sep 7, 2020.
  11. ^
    ISBN 0-89024-013-2
    .
  12. ^ Claude Jeanmaire und Hans Lehnhart (1971). Die Wiener Strassenbahn 1945-1971, p. 104. Verlag Eisenbahn/Strassenbahn, Basel.
  13. ^ "Preserved North America Electric Railway Cars".
  14. ^ www.shorelinetrolley.com
  15. ^ www.shorelinetrolley.com
  16. ^ www.Shorelinetrolley.com
  17. ^ a b "Willkommen bei der höchstgelegenen Museumstramway Österreichs - Museumstramway Mariazell". www.museumstramway.at. Retrieved Sep 7, 2020.
  18. ^ "Museumsfahrzeuge der Sammlung Wiener Tramwaymuseum". Retrieved Sep 7, 2020.
  19. ^ http://www.shorelinetrolley.com
  20. ^ "Third Avenue Railway System (TARS)". www.nycsubway.org.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Third_Avenue_Railway&oldid=1184645163"