-I recently asked about this, but no no one seemed to have data. Stan Fischler, in his subway histories mentions Mineola, the private subway car of IRT president August Belmont, which is presently in storage at Branford CT. It was supposedly stored in a siding under the Hotel Belmont, which stood on the SW corner of 42nd St. and Park Ave, built 1906, demolished around 1930.
-I looked at some maps showing subway track alignments on the IRT, original line 1904-1918, and current lines, after 1918 when the west side and east side lines were extended, and the 42nd St. line was cut off to become a crosstown shuttle.
-as nearly as I can tell, no connection on 42nd St. would have been possible, the station platforms and the curve would block this out. The original southbound local track curves southward down Park Ave. It is possible that a turnout could have been placed here between 41-42nd Street .
-I have yet to find any contemporary accounts of the Hotel Belmont siding.
-Anybody have further data, or access to old track diagrams in the Transit Museum collection?
-The time frame for the siding would be May 7,1906 when the Hotel opened and August 2, 1918 when shuttle service started, with the southbound local track definitely cut off. I wonder if there is an abandoned section of the original IRT tunnel under Park Ave, west side?
It probably was just filled in when the present Lexington Ave alignment was completed in 1918.
-old mysteries.....
Roger
-
-I looked at some maps showing subway track alignments on the IRT, original line 1904-1918, and current lines, after 1918 when the west side and east side lines were extended, and the 42nd St. line was cut off to become a crosstown shuttle.
-as nearly as I can tell, no connection on 42nd St. would have been possible, the station platforms and the curve would block this out. The original southbound local track curves southward down Park Ave. It is possible that a turnout could have been placed here between 41-42nd Street .
-I have yet to find any contemporary accounts of the Hotel Belmont siding.
-Anybody have further data, or access to old track diagrams in the Transit Museum collection?
-The time frame for the siding would be May 7,1906 when the Hotel opened and August 2, 1918 when shuttle service started, with the southbound local track definitely cut off. I wonder if there is an abandoned section of the original IRT tunnel under Park Ave, west side?
It probably was just filled in when the present Lexington Ave alignment was completed in 1918.
-old mysteries.....
Roger
-
