The Wheels That Drove New York pp 89-138 | Cite as
To “El” and Back: The Era of the Elevated Railroad
Abstract
The story of New York’s elevated rail rapid transit system is a critical juncture in the history of the city. Surrounded by water on a long, narrow island, the city needed to expand, and it needed a transportation system to enable it to do so. The elevated railway would provide the only answer for the thirty-four year period between 1870 and 1904, when the first subway was opened. The story of the “Els” is one of great innovation and invention, dedicated (even if often misguided) engineers and scientists, and both political and financial intrigue involving some of the most well-known names in the city’s history. Always controversial, the elevated railroads paved the way for New York to rapidly expand, particularly to the north, while creating significant environmental problems virtually from their very beginnings.
Keywords
Rapid Transit Steam Engine Roller Coaster Elevated System Elevated LineReferences
- 1.Reed, R.C.: The New York Elevated. A.S. Barnes & Co., Cranberry (1978)Google Scholar
- 2.Genin’s Bridge. Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, vol. 3(26), Boston, MA, December 25 (1852) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 3.Abuses in Public Conveyances. Scientific American, March 14, vol. VIII(11). Munn & Co., New York (1863) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 4.Suspension Railway. Mechanic’s Magazine and Journal of the Mechanical Institute, vol. 3(1). D. K Munn & George C. Schaeffer, New York, NY (1834) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 5.Mechanic’s Register. Journal of the Franklin Institute of the State of Penn-sylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanical Arts, vol. 19(6), Philadelphia, PA (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 6.Broadway Elevated Railroad. Scientific American, January 1, vol. 1(16). Munn & Co., New York (1846) (American Periodicals On-lLine) Google Scholar
- 7.Dewitt’s Elevated Railway and Suspension Car. The Literary World, New York, NY, December 11, vol. 2(15) (1847) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 8.(Title Unknown). Scientific American, November 26, vol. IX(11). Munn & Co., New York (1853) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 9.Swett’s Elevated Railroad for Broadway. Scientific American, October 15, vol. IX(5). Munn & Co., New York (1853) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 10.Elevated Promenade and Railroad for Broadway. Scientific American, January 21, vol. IX(19). Munn & Co., New York (1854) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 11.Elevated Railroad. Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, Boston, MA, April 1, vol. 6(13) (1854) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 12.Elevated Railway for Broadway. Scientific American, September 9, vol. XIII(11). Munn & Co., New York (1865) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 13.Reeves, W.: The First Elevated Railroads in Manhattan and the Bronx in the City of New York. New York Historical Society, New York (1936)Google Scholar
- 14.The Arcade Railway. Scientific American, February 9, vol. XVI(6). Munn & Co., New York (1867) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 15.Hannah’s Patent Metropolitan Railway. Scientific American, May 13, vol. XXIV(20). Munn & Co., New York (1871) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 16.Endless Traveling or Railway Sidewalks. Scientific American, April 20, vol. XXVI(17). Munn & Co., New York (1872) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 17.Rapid Transit. Harper’s Weekly, February 9, New York, NY (1878) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 18.Christiero, G.J.: An Early History of New York City’s First Elevated Railway, http://www.nycsubway.org
- 19.Running Elevated Railroad Trains by Electricity, December 8, vol. LIX(23). Munn & Co., New York (1888) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 20.The Meigs Elevated Railway. Scientific American, July 10, vol. LV(2). Munn & Co., New York (1886) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 21.Thompson’s Gravity System for Rapid Transit in Towns and Cities. Scientific American, September 8, vol. LIX(10). Munn & Co., New York (1888) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 22.Gibard’s Sliding Railway. Scientific American, November 23, vol. LXI(21) (1889) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 23.New Elevated Railway. Scientific American, May 10, vol. LXII(19). Munn & Co., New York (1890) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 24.An Improved Elevated Railway. Scientific American, April 2, vol. LXVI(14). Munn & Co., New York (1892) (American Periodicals On-Line) Google Scholar
- 25.The Chase-Kirschner Aerodrome Railway. Scientific American, May 5, vol. LXX(18). Munn & Co., New York (1894) (American Periodicals On-Line)Google Scholar
- 26.Hood, C.: 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (1993) Google Scholar
- 27.Bobrick, B.: Labyrinths of Iron: A History of the World’s Subways. Newsweek Books, New York (1981)Google Scholar
- 28.Reeves, W.: The First Elevated Railroads in Manhattan and the Bronx of the City of New York. J.J. Little and Ives Company, New York (1936) Google Scholar
- 29.Cunningham, J.: Second Avenue El in Manhattan. NJ International Inc., Hicks-ville (1995) Google Scholar
- 30.Geller, J., Watson, E.: The Brooklyn Elevated. NJ International Inc., Hicks-ville (1995) Google Scholar
- 31.Feinman, M.: Early Rapid Transit in Brooklyn, 1878 to 1913, http://www.nycsubway.org
- 32.Walker, J.: Fifty Years of Rapid Transit (1918), http://www.nycsubway.org