IRT White Plains Road Line

IRT White Plains Road Line

The 2 train serves the entire IRT White Plains Road Line at all times. The 5 train serves most of the IRT White Plains Road Line.
Overview
Type Rapid transit
System New York City Subway
Termini Wakefield – 241st Street
149th Street – Grand Concourse
Stations 20
Daily ridership 307,666[1]
Operation
Opened 1904-1920
Owner City of New York
Operator(s) New York City Transit Authority
Character Elevated (Most of the line)
Underground (3rd Ave and Grand Concourse stations only)
Technical
No. of tracks 2-3
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification 600V DC third rail
West Farms Square station is a southern station of the White Plains Road Line.

The White Plains Road Line (sometimes referred to as WPR Line) is a rapid transit line of the IRT division of the New York City Subway serving the central Bronx. It is mostly elevated and served both subway and elevated trains until 1952.[2]

It is currently being used by the 2 as the local at all times and the 5 as the local at all times except rush hours in peak direction (when it runs express between East 180th Street and Third Avenue – 149th Street) and late nights (when it runs as a shuttle between Eastchester – Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street).

Extent and service

The following services use part or all of the White Plains Road Line:

Route Services
  Time period West of
E 149 St		 Between
E 149 St
and
E 180 St		 E 180 St Between
E 180 St
and
Nereid Ave		 241 St
2
All times
Local
5
Rush peak
No service
Express
Local
No service
Off-peak
(except nights)
No service
Local
No service
Nights
No service
Local
No service
IRT White Plains Road Line
Legend
 Wakefield – 241st Street
 239th Street Yard
 Nereid Avenue
 233rd Street
 225th Street
 219th Street
Gun Hill Road
Burke Avenue former IRT Third Avenue Line
 Allerton Avenue
 Pelham Parkway IRT Dyre Avenue Line
Bronx Park East
Unionport Yard
East 180th Street Yard
East 180th Street Yard & Shops
East 180th Street
remainder of IRT Dyre Avenue Line demolished
180th Street – Bronx Park (demolished)
West Farms Yard (demolished)
 West Farms Square – East Tremont Avenue
 174th Street
 Freeman Street
 Simpson Street
 Intervale Avenue
 Prospect Avenue
 Jackson Avenue
former IRT Third Avenue Line
 Third Avenue – 149th Street
 IRT Jerome Avenue Line
149th Street – Grand Concourse
IRT Jerome Avenue Line
149th Street Tunnel under Harlem River
IRT Lenox Avenue Line
IRT Lenox Avenue Line

The IRT White Plains Road Line begins at the Wakefield – 241st Street terminal, with two tracks, one island platform, and two closed side platforms. Crossovers just south of the station take trains to the correct tracks and a center express track comes out of those crossovers. Between Wakefield – 241st Street and Nereid Avenue, a connection comes in from the 239th Street Yard.

Just north of Gun Hill Road, the now demolished IRT Third Avenue Line split from the local tracks (with crossovers to the express tracks just to the north). The line went to a lower level of Gun Hill Road and then turned west.

The IRT Dyre Avenue Line merges to the local tracks just north of East 180th Street, and then crossovers allow those trains to reach the express tracks. The 5 late-night Dyre Avenue Shuttle uses the center track to end its run, and rush hour 5 trains in the peak direction change to the express track here. On the west side of this junction is the East 180th Street Yard while the Unionport Yard is to the east.

The now-gone three-track Bronx Park Spur merged from the west after East 180th Street with one track into each of the mainline tracks. Just after this on the east side was a connection to the West Farms Yard, also gone.

The express track ends north of Third Avenue – 149th Street, and from there to the end the line has two tracks. Formerly in that area there was a connection just to the north to the local tracks of the IRT Third Avenue Line, and a connection to the south, bypassing 149th Street on the Third Avenue Line. Just past those former connections, the White Plains Road Line goes underground.

Just after 149th Street – Grand Concourse, the tracks split off and the two currently used by the 5 train turn south to merge with the local tracks of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line. The other tracks, currently used by the 2 train, pass under the Harlem River via the 149th Street Tunnel and end at the at-grade 142nd Street Junction, connecting to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line.

History

The part of the line from the IRT Lenox Avenue Line to 180th Street – Bronx Park was built as part of Contract 1. Service on the IRT White Plains Road Line was extended from East 177th Street – East Tremont Avenue to East 219th Street – White Plains Road beginning on March 3, 1917.[3] Service on the new portion of the line was operated as a four-car shuttle from 177th Street due to the power conditions at the time. Service was extended to East 238th Street on March 31, 1917[4] The part of the line from the S-curve north of West Farms Square – East Tremont Avenue to the terminal at 241st Street was built as a part of the Dual Contracts.[5]

A 1929 proposal included a spur off the line that would have run from Van Nest to Baychester. The spur was to begin near Garfield Street as an elevated line then run underground beneath Morris Park Avenue and Wilson Avenue, finally terminating at Boston Road, where it was to connect to the formerly proposed Concourse Line extension. This proposal was never carried out, however the IRT acquired the former New York, Westchester and Boston Railway right-of-way to create the IRT Dyre Avenue Line instead.

On April 23, 1953, express service began on the White Plains Road line; it skipped all stops between East 180th Street and Third Avenue – 149th Street.[6]

In 1956, 180th Street – Bronx Park was closed and was demolished. Former trackways of this station can still be seen north of the current West Farms Square – East Tremont Avenue Station.[7]

The Dyre Avenue Line was connected directly to the White Plains Road Line north of East 180th Street for $3 million and through service began on May 6, 1957. Night service would continue to be operated by a shuttle.[8] Through service was operated by Seventh Avenue express trains between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM. Between 8:30 and 1:15 shuttle trains operated from East 180th Street to Dyre Avenue, and in the early morning hours no trains operated over the line.[9]

Due to rehabilitation of East 180th Street and signal replacements along the line, rush hour peak direction 5 express service was suspended from March 29 to September 3, 2010. PM northbound express service was suspended again on March 28, 2011 to allow for the second phase of the signal replacement project. Normal service was restored on August 8, 2011.

Station listing

Station service legend
Stops all times
Stops all times except late nights
Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Time period details
Neighborhood
(approximate)		 Station Tracks Services Opened Transfers and notes
Wakefield Wakefield – 241st Street 2  December 13, 1920 originally East 241st Street
Connection to Metro-North Railroad (Harlem Line at Wakefield)
Center Express track begins (no regular service)
connecting tracks to 239th Street Yard
Nereid Avenue local 2  5  March 31, 1917 originally East 238th Street
233rd Street local 2  5  March 31, 1917 originally East 233rd Street
Connection to Metro-North Railroad (Harlem Line at Woodlawn)
225th Street local 2  5  March 31, 1917 originally East 225th Street
Williamsbridge 219th Street local 2  5  March 3, 1917 originally East 219th Street
Gun Hill Road all 2  5  March 3, 1917 Connection to Metro-North Railroad (Harlem Line at Williams Bridge)

Bx41 Select Bus Service

Allerton Burke Avenue local 2  5  March 3, 1917
Allerton Avenue local 2  5  March 3, 1917
Pelham Parkway Pelham Parkway local 2  5  March 3, 1917 Bx12 Select Bus Service
Van Nest Bronx Park East local 2  5  March 3, 1917
Merge from IRT Dyre Avenue Line (5 )
connecting tracks to Unionport Yard (east of the line)
connecting tracks to East 180th Street Yard (west of the line)
West Farms East 180th Street all 2  5  March 3, 1917
180th Street – Bronx Park Bronx Park spur November 26, 1904 Closed August 4, 1952; later demolished.
West Farms Square – East Tremont Avenue local 2  5  November 26, 1904 originally 177th Street, then East Tremont Avenue–Boston Road
Q44 Select Bus Service
Crotona Park East 174th Street local 2  5  November 26, 1904
Freeman Street local 2  5  November 26, 1904
Longwood Simpson Street local 2  5  November 26, 1904 Elevators are temporarily out of service for repairs until June 2016.
Intervale Avenue local 2  5  November 26, 1904 originally Intervale Avenue–163rd Street
Prospect Avenue local 2  5  November 26, 1904
Mott Haven Jackson Avenue local 2  5  November 26, 1904
Center Express track ends
Third Avenue – 149th Street all 2  5  July 10, 1905 originally Third Avenue

Bx41 Select Bus Service

149th Street – Grand Concourse all 2  5  July 10, 1905 4  (IRT Jerome Avenue Line)
originally Mott Avenue
Split with connection to IRT Jerome Avenue Line (5 )
149th Street Tunnel
Merge with IRT Lenox Avenue Line (2 )

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
  2. ↑ "Old Subways". Community-2.webtv.net. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  3. ↑ "WHITE PLAINS ROAD EXTENSION OF SUBWAY OPENED TO THE PUBLIC; New Branch, Which Runs from 177th to 219th Street, Gives the Williamsbridge and Wakefield Sections of the East Bronx Rapid Transit for the First Time". The New York Times. March 4, 1917.
  4. ↑ "New Subway Line Opened: White Plains Extension is Now Running to 238th Street". New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)". nycsubway.org.
  6. ↑ "I.R.T. Express Service: Rush-Hour Schedule Started on White Plains Rd. Line". New York Times. April 24, 1953. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Showing Image 102096". Nycsubway.org. 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  8. ↑ "IRT Spur Opens Today: Dyre Avenue Line in Bronx Will Have Five Stations". New York Times. May 6, 1957. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Subway Trains Run to Dyre Avenue: Through Service Replacing Shuttle for Part of Each Day on Bronx Line". New York Times. May 7, 1957. Retrieved 20 December 2015.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IRT White Plains Road Line.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, December 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.