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(rshsdepot) NY Stations That Never Were
Paul's digging around Brooklyn Railroads -- particularly inquiries on the
various stations at 36th St and at 20th St on PP&CI brings up a related
topic -- the stations that never were . . .
The NY Regional Plan 0f 1929 (A surprising amount of which came to pass --
except in rail-related proposals) called for several large passenger
terminals, in addition to Grand Cantral and Penn Station. The idea would be
to better spread out the crowds -- and distribute long distance passengers
to final destinations better.
For the record, the Regional Plan Contemplated large "Architecturally
Significant" stations at:
Paterson -- NYS&W/Erie/DL&W
Hackensack -- NYS&W/NJ&NY/East-West belt to 178th St and LI/CT
New Durham -- West Shore, NYS&W, Northern
Jersey City -- Near Croxton Yard/Tonnele Circle
Newark -- PRR/LV/DL&W/Erie (Newark Branch to Paterson)
Clifton -- DL&W/Erie (Newark Branch)
178th & Amsterdam Ave -- East West Trunk from Bogota to Throgs Neck and to
LI at Springfield Jct.
149th St Mott Haven -- NYC/NH/NYW&B
Queens Plaza-Sunnyside -- LIRR/PRR (this one is still kicking around!)
Prospect Park Plaza -- on N/S Belt between Narrows Tunnel and Sunnyside --
and right near the PP&CI location that Paul has mentioned.
South of Port Richmond -- At Jct of N/S Belt from Perth Amboy to CNJ at
Bayonne, and connection to Brooklyn line through Narrows Tunnel.
Keep in mind that the Regional Plan is quite different than Wilgus' plan for
the Port of NY published a few years earlier, retaining some of the features
like the inner belt line, but eschewing fanciful; schemes like a railroad
from the Rockaways to Sandy Hook.
Alas, for those looking for villains in the lack of rail development, the
list does not include either the Port Authority or Robert Moses -- but does
include the officers of the railroads that served New York City.
There's a wonderful book titled "The City that Never Was" that chronicles
among other things the earlier plans for passenger terminals in Manhattan
with some pretty neat drawings, but I wonder if any of the locals ever took
up the suggestions and made renderings of, say, an "Architectualy
Significant" station, say, at New Durham?
Cheers,
Jim
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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