To take charge of the Westchester project, Leverett Miller was plucked from the New Haven’s newly acquired Central New England in 1909. Miller was well suited for the job, having pre- viously worked engineering and man- agerial jobs at railroads across the West and Midwest. He was now given the job of building a state-of-the-art railroad without concern for cost, an enviable position for any executive. The NYW&B (simply, “the West- chester”) had acquired more property during its development phase, so its route was chosen over the former NY&P survey. As the New Haven was enjoying great success with the pio- neering efforts on its newly electrified main line, it was decided that the
RIGHT: The railroad spared no expense build- ing commodious stations of the finest materi- als. This interior photo of East Third Street Station in Mount Vernon was taken just prior to the opening of the Westchester in 1912. Notice the fare control system including turn- stiles and gate attendant. JOHN TOLLEY ARCHIVE, COURTESY ROBERT A. BANG BELOW: Trains are lined up at the White Plains terminal in prepa- ration for the afternoon rush. Clearly the ter- minal was designed for a level of traffic that failed to materialize, despite increasing rider- ship year to year. By mid-century, all traces of the terminal had been removed to make way for shopping centers and parking lots. PHOTO BY GEORGE VOTAVA, COLLECTION ROBERT A. BANG
NYW&B would be powered in similar fashion using 11,000 volt a.c. overhead. To allow for high-speed operation,
the entire railroad would be grade-sep- arated. This meant the railroad would have to design and construct many costly fills and cuts, as well as bridges, viaducts, and tunnels. The impressive Hutchinson River and Columbus Av- enue viaducts spanned the valleys out- side of Mount Vernon, while the rail-
road created a 3500-foot cut-and-cover subway tunnel between Paulding and Mace avenues in The Bronx. It was also decided from early on that
the Westchester would have the finest passenger facilities possible. Design specs called for stations built of cement block and finished in smooth concrete, with marble interiors and terra cotta tile roofs. The resulting construction resembled Mediterranean style man-
42 JULY 2012 •
RAILFAN.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60