1905 plans for system expansion

[Think twice]

Plans engineered by William Barclay Parsons to expand the subway while the original IRT was under construction and introduced just after it opened. Includes subways under 1st Ave, 3rd Ave, 9th Ave, as well as crosstowns under 34th St and 23rd St as well as connections to existing private railroad lines. Enjoy.

[Think twice]

This is officially called "Route No. 1" to be built after Contract 2. The RTC and later PSC deemed it—in light of the then existing 2nd and 3rd Ave els—as less imperative than getting the Broadway, Lexington, 7th Ave, and 14th Street lines done first.

[Think twice]

The next route William Barclay Parsons laid out while the IRT was being constructed was one that would weave through northern Manhattan, run down 9th Avenue, then veer west right up against the waterfront along West Street. Like the First Avenue Subway (Route #1), the Rapid Transit Commission and Public Service Commission did not consider it a priority (most likely because of the existing 9th Avenue elevated) and kept the plans on the back burner. The IND however would give life to certain stretches of it. Enjoy.

[3rdavenueEL]

The plans look very well thought-out. The crosstown connection would've been perfect. But, they went ahead and tore down 3 elevated line and never went through with promised underground lines. The East side is still bulging under there with the overloading of the Lexington Avenue line. The far West side, with the 8th Avenue line, is also all by itself. New York City and The State of New York have greedily taken profits from the system year after year. Financial blunders and fiscal mismanagement have been the nrom there for years. Promising services to be built by the time the old lines were removed kept the public satisfied for the moment. Not delivering, with the usual excuses, is the norm. I don't have answeres. I just hope they get the job done after 91 years of talk.

[Think twice]

My apologies for the now missing image links. I've reposted it below, along with a new overlay to highlight each route. The colors I chose reflect how I think each line would evolve as time, politics, and budgets evolved. The old elevated lines and already built IRT subway and H&M (PATH) tubes are in light gray. I like how the 34th Street crosstown proposed here is effectively a Manhattan extension of the B'klyn-Queens Crosstown (G train) via today's Queens-Midtown Tunnel.

[darthdoosh]

The plans look very well thought-out.

Aye, this looks like the system we need now. Shame it didn't come to fruition.

[Think twice]

I'm made a blog post on the proposed 3rd Avenue Subway. It would have had connections to the Pelham Line in the Bronx, the Centre Street Line in Lower Manhattan, and an interesting crosstown in Midtown. Enjoy.