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| Re: Question About The (8) Third Avenue El (905864) | |||
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Re: Question About The (8) Third Avenue El |
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Posted by Larry,RedbirdR33 on Sat Feb 27 15:56:12 2010, in response to Question About The (8) Third Avenue El, posted by Union Turnpike on Thu Feb 11 21:11:02 2010. Prior to the introduction of the R-12's the 3rd Avenue El in The Bronx did run with eleven five car trains during the morning and evening rush. Below is a post a made a few weeks ago which may answer some of your questions.Steinway Cars on the Third Avenue El The IRT Steinway Car was a low-voltage car designed to operate in the Queensboro Subway Lines under the East River. They were equipped with special gearing to enable them to maintain speed on the steep gradients of the Steinway Tunnels under the East River. All Steinways were motor cars and until 1960 trailers were never included in Steinway consists. The original group of Steinways included twelve cars numbered 4025 to 4036. They were built in 1915 by the Pressed Steel Car Company. They were nicknamed "The Boilers." They were placed in service in the Steinway Tunnels on June 22, 1915. The Steinway Tunnels were extended to Queensboro Plaza in 1916 a connected to the Astoria and Corona Lines . (When the Corona Line was extended to Main Street in 1928 it became known as the Flushing Line.) An order for was placed for 71 more cars. These were built by the Pullman Company and were numbered 4700 through 4770. The next group of Steinways were built in 1925 by the American Car and Foundry Company and were numbered 5628 to 5652. They were part of the "150 Lot' purchase. As rider-ship on the IRT Queens Lines continued to grown the IRT decided to convert 30 trailer cars to Steinway motor cars and this was done at 129 Street Shops of the Manhattan Railway. Eight Flivver trailers (4215-4222) and twenty two Lo-V trailers (4555-4576) were so converted. All of the above groups were later referred to as "standard" Steinways as the followed the standard IRT car design and to differentiate them from the next and last group of cars. The World's Fair of 1938 was a major event in New York City and promised to be a significant revenue generator for the IRT and the Flushing Line in particular. There would be a need for increased train service and accordingly an order was placed with the Saint Louis Car Company for fifty motor cars built to a new design. These cars were numbered 5653 to 5702 and were became known as the "World's Fair Steinway Motors" or more simply "The World's Fair Cars." Although the car body was very different from the earlier cars, they were electrically and mechanically Steinways and the could and did operate with the earlier Steinways when necessary. With the arrival of new cars in the late 1940's and early 1950's the Steinways were transferred back to the main IRT lines and used in different services. On December 15, 1956 the first train of standard Steinway cars was placed in service on the Third Avenue El in The Bronx. The consist was 4757,5642,4700,4716,5638, and 4768. They ran in six cars trains. In the period between December 1960 and January 1961, a Lo-V trailer replaced a motor car, although train lengths remained the same. The declining number of motor cars was given as the reason. In January 1962 a second motor car was cut from the consist thereby reducing train length to five cars. On February 4, 1962 the World's Fair - Steinway Motors began to appear on the el and soon all fifty were transferred to the El. The usual consist was four World's Fair - Steinway motors and one Lo-V trailer or a mixture of World's Fair and standard Steinway motors, again with a Lo-V trailer. The trailer was almost always in the center of the consist. In 1963 two of the World's Fair cars, 5660 and 5689 were placed in work service as motors for the R-31 Vacuum Cleaner. The availability of the standard Steinway motors continued to decline and in the spring of 1968 the five museum IRT Lo-V motors were placed in service on the El. At first there were kept in separate trains but later they ran in mixed consists with the other types. . The last train of old cars ran made one trip during the morning rush of November 3, 1969. The consist was 5641,5670,5353,5636 and 5676 (north to south). Larry, RedbirdR33 Addendum 1: The following standard Steinway motors were in use on the Third Avenue El until November 1969; 5628,5631,5633,5636,5638,5641,5647,5649,5650, and 5651. Addendum 2: How did 4719 become a Lo-V? Looking at the above you will note that the rosters numbers for the 1916 Steinways are given as 4700-4770. Later roster show these numbers as 4700-4718 and 4720-4771. The explanation I have heard is this. When the Second Avenue El ceased operation across the Queensborough Bridge in June 1942 the IRT Queens Line lost the direct connection to the main IRT system. It was still possible to transfer cars between the main IRT and the Queens Line utilizing the railroads and car -floats. This however was a time consuming and costly process. After the connection was broken it was found that motor car 4719 was on the main land and rather then ship her back to Queens it was decided to convert her to a regular Lo-V. To take her place car 4771 a Lo-V motor which was in Queens was converted to a Steinway motor. If anyone has more details on this I would like to hear from them. Credits must be given to Mr Bill Zucker, Mr Berard Linder, Mr Gene Sansone, the late Mr Arthur Lonto, Mr H Pinsker and Mr Joe Cunningham for the books and articles that they wrote and which I researched. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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