Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #785891  by dj_paige
 
Well done! Today's digital cameras do a very nice job in low light in stations!
 #787805  by L'mont
 
What's the story with Chambers ST.? I'm not familiar with the station or why half of it seems to be unused.

Those pictures look great!
 #788096  by pennsy
 
Nice photos; amazing how clean the subway stations look.
 #788181  by R36 Combine Coach
 
L'mont wrote:What's the story with Chambers ST.? I'm not familiar with the station or why half of it seems to be unused.
Chambers Street was built by the BMT in 1913 as its new downtown terminal under the newly built Municipal Building. It handled service from the Eastern Division (via WIlliamsburg Bridge), Manhattan Bridge (via Nassau loop) and in 1931 with the opening of the Broad Street line, trains from the Southern Division Brooklyn lines could access as well. By the 1950s/60s all but the Eastern routes via Williamsburg and Essex Street no longer served Chambers terminal.
 #788439  by Head-end View
 
I think the big change came in about 1967 with the opening of the Chrystie St. connection to the Manhattan Bridge. If I understand right, the tracks from Chambers to the bridge were severed, and now the 6th Ave. (IND) line fed into the bridge instead, along with the Broadway (BMT) line. This resulted in fewer routes thru Chambers St. and the subsequent use of less platforms and tracks. Any knowledgable subway historians, please feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken. :-)