The New York Rapid-transit Subway

Proceedings.] PARSONS ON NEW YORK RAPID-TRANSIT SUBWAY. 31 removed, at South Ferry, where the trains run around a loop and so reverse their direction. At Bowling Green the two tracks to Brooklyn dip rapidly on a gradient of 1 in 33 passing under the line to South Ferry. The second junction is at the Brooklyn Bridge station, which is the south terminus of the four-track service, and from which point a two-track line extends southward to the lower part of Broadway and to Brooklyn. Track-arrangements had to be made at this point to permit either express or local trains to be reversed in direction at the Brooklyn Bridge station, or to proceed to Brooklyn. Reversal on the express service is effected by means of a centre track, on to winch a south-bound express can pass and then be returned to the north-bound express track, or can wait on such track in the event of the north-bound track being occupied, and yet stand clear of the south-bound express track. Ordinary confluent junctions were made between the express tracks and local tracks in both directions. In order to turn the local trains without a level crossing of the other systems of tracks, a curved line was run westward on a continually descending spiral curve, passing beneath the main tracks under Park Row and then rising to a connection with the north-bound local track at the southern end of the Brooklyn Bridge station. The City Hall station is situated on this curve. Thus at the Brooklyn Bridge station, either express or local trains can be continued southward to the two-track line to Brooklyn, or can be reversed in direction without a level crossing. The third junction was the northern terminal of the four-track lines just previous to the branching-off of the East Side line from the West Side line under Broadway at 103rd Street. At the north end of 96th Street station each pair of express and local tracks is cross-connected by interlocked double cross-overs, so that the operator can place a train, whether on local or express service, in either direction, to continue northward by either the East or the West line, or southward by either the express or the local track. Immedi- ately north of the double- cross-overs the two inside tracks are depressed and the outside tracks rise. As soon as the inner tracks are sufficiently depressed to permit of their being passed under the outer tracks, the inner tracks turn sharply to the east, and become the East Side line. By this arrangement, trains coming from the south are made to take either the West or the East Side line, and trains south-bound from either branch are passed either to the local or to express service according to the character of the train. Although every arrangement is made to facilitate this interchange, and there is no crossing of trains on the same level in opposite