Manhattan Farley PO

[wanswheel]

Excerpt from The New York Tunnel Extension of The Pennsylvania Railroad (1910)

Cabin "A" is the main interlocking station of the Terminal, controlling all the movements to and from the west and the main-ladder switching movements. In order to obtain a central location and unrestricted view, the building was placed on a bridge over the throat of the ladder tracks about midway between the Post Office Building and Ninth Avenue. This gives the cabin a prominent position in the open yard, and it was thought to justify the design of a somewhat pretentious structure. The building is of the monolithic concrete type, and perhaps might be termed a reinforced concrete building, although, because of its spanning the tracks, and the fact that it serves as a support for the overhead third-rail and signal structures, a considerable quantity of structural steel is buried in its walls; thus it is not a purely reinforced concrete structure. The architecture is of the Mission type, with wide overhanging eaves and low ridged roof, covered with red Spanish tile. Owing to its location over and adjoining the switchwork of the tracks, special care was taken to protect the supporting walls in case of train derailment. At the east the station platforms perform this function, and on the west were placed very massive wedge-shaped fenders composed of 80-lb. T-rails embedded in concrete and carried below and under the track system. The entire floor space of the cabin is occupied by the operating-room, containing the interlocking machine on the floor and the relays and wiring in a gallery above; the gallery girders also act as anchor arms for the cantilever structures attached to the cabin and used for supporting the overhead rail and signal. All signal wiring is carried in a false floor above the concrete floor of the cabin and in ducts through the side-walls and into a basement extending under the entire cabin below the tracks, where switch-boards, storage batteries, and other apparatus are located. From this basement the wire conduits are carried in a special subway (referred to elsewhere) which communicates with the subways under the yard.

Pictures of new stairway to Cabin A

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/90d83581f8f5b779_large

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/53374a6ddca4fb16_large

Moynihan Station

http://www.esd.ny.gov/Subsidiaries_Projects/MSDC/MSDCRenderings.html

[daveklepper]

Sincerest apologies.  Just because I did not see it , doesn't mean it didn't happen or exist!  The photo of the DD-1, with open-platform wood coaches, yet, indicates overhead third rail must have been in place when Penn Sta. opened .  Interesting to learn when the small pantographs on the DD-1's and the overhead third rail were removed.   The DD-1's did have four pickup shoes, one on each side of each pony truck, so they could bridge gaps a bit better than a T-1.   Anyone have photos or whatever to see if the overhead third rail did last until the overhead wire AC electrification?

 

The photo must have been before the Station's opening, because it opened with steel coaches.

 

I remember DD-1's very well.   In addition to the wire train, they were still in use in the post-WWII period on the LIRR with change to steam at Jamaica for Penn Station passenger trains, and also used on freight trains .  They definitely did not have the small pantographs at that time.  I think I rode behind one once or twice.  Other than the wire train, they did not work for the PRR anymore.

 

Incidentally, there have been occasions where Amtrak has borrowed a set of LIRR M-1 commuter coaches, with adapter coupler-air, to power the wire train.

[wjstix]

Keep in mind - especially younger forumites - that virtually all inter-city mail travelled by rail at the time the station was built. Almost every big city post office was built next to (or very close to) a railway station, so mail could be picked up and sent out by train.

[daveklepper]

On second (or third) thought, the picture of the DD-1 with small pantographs may not be evidence that overhead third rail was actually ever used in Penn Station.  The picture is obviously a test run, or roll-out, since wood open-platform coaches were never used in revenue service behind DD-1's.   The PRR was very careful that only steel equpment operated through the tunnels into Penn Station, and this applied both to PRR and to LIRR trains.   And much later to NYNH&H, LV, and B&O trains, although possibly they were forced by the US Government to make exceptions for the B&O, but this is doubtful.

The PRR copied the NYC as to intended use of overhead third rail .  But possibly they did try out the DD-1's on the throat and yard trackage without installing the overhead third rail over switch leads during the period that only LIRR MU cars provided revenue service into the station.   They were pragmatists, and certainly there was no overhead third rail in place during the period that I experienced when DD-1's were still handling through LIRR trains from lines still steam (Montauk, Greenpoint, Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay) into Penn Station.  If overhead third rail was actually installed, obviouly it was removed beforer the Trenton - Sunnyside electrification extension, probably well before that, possibly at the time of the first Philadelphia suburban area 11000V AC electrification.

The two prototype New Haven FL-9's were also equpped with small pantographs for opertion on overhead third rail in GCT.   These were removed and were not installed on other 58 FL-9's.