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Manhattan El is a term used to describe Interborough Rapid Transit Company (RT) elevated gate cars used on predecessor lines of the New York City Subway system. These cars were built by the Pullman, Wason, Gilbert & Bush, Bowers & Dure, Barney & Smith, Jewett, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and American Car and Foundry companies.
The Manhattan El cars consisted of a variety of equipment used on the IRT. The majority of the cars were originally built for the predecessor companies that became part of the IRT system in 1903, while other cars were built brand new between 1902 and 1911. Upon the arrival of the first steel cars, no more Manhattan El cars were produced after 1911.
The term Manhattan El was derived from the Manhattan Railway Company, the predecessor railway to the IRT. The term was originally used to describe the gate cars, which had six pairs of four windows. The term would later be extended to refer to the entire series of IRT gated cars. When they were delivered, the word Manhattan was written on the roof of the car. The lettering was later changed to Interborough within a short period.
The fleet comprised both motor cars and trailer cars. The older cars were intermixed with the newer cars upon the latter's delivery. Trains initially comprised three to six cars. An extra motor car would later be added to create a seven-car train. [1]
It is unclear as to whether the term "Manhattan El" was commonly used before the IRT was purchased by the City of New York in 1940, or whether it was mainly an introduced term to describe the wooden elevated cars of the former private company.
The primary distinguishing feature of Manhattan El cars is that they were elevated cars built mostly or substantially of wood, with or without steel frames, where passenger access to the cars was provided by open platforms at both ends of each car. A trainman between each pair of cars manually opened and closed folding gates to allow or prevent passengers from entering or leaving. [2] [3]
All gate cars used in IRT elevated service can be described as Manhattan Els. This excludes two classes of elevated equipment:
The Manhattan El cars should not be confused with the BU cars, a series of gate cars that were operated by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company.
While most Manhattan El cars were either scrapped or rebuilt as MUDCs, a few cars have been preserved. [5]
Car 782 was preserved at the Knox & Kane Railroad in Marienville, PA, but was destroyed in an arsonist attack in 2008. [6]
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway system, it forms the B Division of the modern New York City Subway.
The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. As part of the Dual Contracts, the IRT and BRT would build or upgrade several subway lines in New York City, then operate them for 49 years.
The Bedford Park Boulevard–Lehman College station is a local station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Bedford Park Boulevard immediately west of Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, it is served by the 4 train at all times. It is also the only station on the Jerome Avenue Line north of 170th Street that is not located above Jerome Avenue. This station was constructed by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company as part of the Dual Contracts and opened in 1918.
The 167th Street station is a local station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 167th Street and River Avenue in the Bronx, it is served by the 4 train at all times. This station was constructed by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company as part of the Dual Contracts and opened in 1917.
BU cars is the generic term for BRT elevated gate cars used on predecessor lines of the New York City Subway system. Various orders of these cars were built by the Osgood-Bradley, Brill, Cincinnati, Laconia, Pullman, Gilbert & Bush, Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wason, Pressed Steel, Brooklyn Heights Railroad, John Stephenson, and Jewett car companies.
The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, often called the Ninth Avenue Elevated or Ninth Avenue El, was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened in July 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, as an experimental single-track cable-powered elevated railway from Battery Place, at the south end of Manhattan Island, northward up Greenwich Street to Cortlandt Street. By 1879 the line was extended to the Harlem River at 155th Street. It was electrified and taken over by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in 1903.
The IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue Elevated, Third Avenue El, or Bronx El, was an elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City. Originally operated by the New York Elevated Railway, an independent railway company, it was acquired by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and eventually became part of the New York City Subway system.
The BMT Astoria Line is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway, serving the Queens neighborhood of Astoria. It runs south from Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria to 39th Avenue in Long Island City above 31st Street. It then turns west and serves Queensboro Plaza over Queens Plaza.
The IRT Nostrand Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the A Division of the New York City Subway running under Nostrand Avenue in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is served by the 2 train at all times and is also served by the 5 train during the daytime on weekdays.
The 238th Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 238th Street and Broadway in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 1 train at all times.
The Q-type and QX were a New York City Subway car class originally built by the Osgood-Bradley, Brill, Laconia, and Jewett car companies, and rebuilt in 1938 by the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) from former BU cars.
The Gibbs Hi-V was a New York City Subway car class built from 1904 to 1905 by American Car and Foundry for the IRT and its successors, the New York City Board of Transportation and the New York City Transit Authority. It was the first all-steel subway car ordered for New York City.
The World's Fair Lo-V was a New York City Subway car type built in 1938 by the St. Louis Car Company in St. Louis, Missouri. These 50 cars were ordered for the IRT Flushing Line in preparation for the 1939 World's Fair. They were the fourth and last "Lo-V" type cars that were ordered, and the last cars ordered for the IRT before the city takeover in 1940.
The Steinway Lo-V was a New York City Subway car type built from 1915 to 1925 by the Pressed Steel Car Company, American Car and Foundry, and Pullman Company. These cars were built specifically for use on the IRT Corona Line, and the IRT Astoria Line. They had special gear ratios to climb the steep grades (4.5%) in the Steinway Tunnels, something standard IRT equipment could not do.
The Standard Lo-V was a New York City Subway car type built from 1916 to 1925 by the Pressed Steel Car Company, American Car and Foundry, and Pullman Company for the IRT. A total of 1,020 cars were built, which consisted of 725 motors and 295 trailers. It was the third and most common "Lo-V" type car ordered for the IRT.
The Grand Central station was the terminal for some trains of the IRT Third Avenue Line, also known as the Third Avenue El, in Manhattan, New York City. This station originally had one island platform and two side platforms, all connected at the west end. The tracks ended just east of the Park Avenue Viaduct ramp over Pershing Square.
The Flivver Lo-V was a New York City Subway car type built in 1915 by the Pullman Company for the IRT and its successors, which included the New York City Board of Transportation and the New York City Transit Authority. The name Flivver originates from a slang term of the same name used during the early part of the 20th century to refer to any small car that gave a rough ride.
The MUDC was a series of New York City Subway cars originally built by the St. Louis, Wason, Jewett, Cincinnati, and Barney and Smith companies, and rebuilt by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in 1923–1924 from former Manhattan El gate cars.
The Idlib Revolutionaries Brigade is an active armed Syrian group part of the Syrian Democratic Forces and associates itself with the Free Syrian Army, the group is mainly composed of individuals from the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria and opposes Turkey and its presence in Syria, as well as many of the groups it backs most of which are based or also operate in Idlib.