Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 February 1897 — GREATER NEW YORK. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GREATER NEW YORK.

AN ERA IN THE HISTORTOF THE METROPOLIS. Completion of the New York Central’s Four-Track Draw-Bridge Over the Harlem River, and of the $3,000,000 Steel Viaduct. Remarkable Engineering Feat. One of the most remarkable feats of engineering on record is nearing completion, and the passenger entering New York City from the north will soon ride over one of the grandest examples of steel railway construction yet accomplished in this age of marvelous results in that direction. Going south at 149th street, the tracks of the New York Central begin to rise gradually, and at 135th street they cross the Harlem river on the new four-track

steel drawbridge, at an elevation of 24 feet above high tide. This massive structure is remarkable in being the first four-track drawbridge ever constructed, and is the largest bridge of the kind in the world. It is 400 feet long and weighs 2,500 tons. The drawbridge is 58 feet 6 inches wide, from center to center of outside trusses, and is carried on three very heavy trusses. Between the central and each of the two side trusses is a clear space of 26 feet, which permits the passage of two sets of double tracks. The floor is corrugated, and the rails are bolted to it on steel tie plates. . The trusses of the drawbridge span are 64 feet high in the cqpter and 25 feet high at each end. At the highest •;,art of these trusses is situated the engine house, which contains two oscillating double-cylinder engines, which turn the draw, and can be worked together or sep-

arately, so that if one should break down at any time the other can do the work. Prom One Hundred and Thirty-eighth street south the four new tracks run over the steel viaduct to One Hundred and Tenth street, and thence by the stone viaduct to One Hundred and Sixth street, where they strike the level of the present four-track line. The work of building this massive structure, which is here illustrated, began Sept. 1, 1893, and has continued without cessation until now, and will cost when completed considerably more than $3,000,000. The completion of the new work will permit the opening of all cross streets under the railway and so admit a perfectly free passage for street traffic. One Hundred and Thirty-eighth street, which has become a great thoroughfare, will be entirely free, as the trains which heretofore crossed it at grade will pass over it at an elevation that will allow street cars and all traffic perfect freedom. At One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street,

the tracks will cross the street fourtasß feet above the level of the street, and at 4 this point a magnificat passenger station ' is to be built, extending from One Hundred and Twenty-fifth to One Hundred and Twenty-sixth street, under the fourtrack viaduct. This improvement will be of immense value to the entire State—in fact, to the whole country —as the bridge, being se high above the water, will never have to be opened, except when large steamers or vessels with masts are to pass through; all tugs, canal boats, barges, etc., will have ample room to go under the bridge while it is closed. The Harlem river, having been declared by Congress n ship canal, the Secretary of War has issued orders that all tugs and barges shall joint their smokestacks and flag poles, to enable them to pass under the bridge while it is closed. He has also ordered that the bridge shall not be opened between the hours of seven and ten o’clock in the morning, and four and seven in the afternoon, except for police, fire or Government vessels, the hours named

covering the great business traffic in and out of the city, the important through trains as well as the principal suburban trains arriving and departing during those hours. This will avoid delays, which have been, at times, very annoying, and permit of much faster service than could have been maintained under the old arrangements; and, as speed is one of the principal factors in travel in this age, this feature will prove an important one. Quite a number of the great improvements which have recently been made in the northern part of the city can be seen from the trains as they pass over the new viaduct. Among them are Grant’s Tomb, St. Luke’s Hospital and the buildings of Barnard College and Columbia College, on Moruingside Heights, and very soon the grand structure of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine will be observed. Further north, and on the west side of the

Harlem river, the now famous speedway is under construction and approaching completion; the magnificent High Bridge, Washington Bridge, McComb’s Dam Bridge and the viaduct leading to it, from the north, are works of art as well as of great utility, under which the trains pass, and on the right may be seen the buildings of the University of the City of New York, Webb’s Sailors’ Home, and hundreds of other new buildings of less importance. North of the Harlem river, on the Harlem division, is Bronx Park, which is to contain the great Botanical Gardens and Zoological Gardens of Greater New York, and within a few years this portion of the city will offer attractions which will be unsurpassed in their character by any city in the world. Greater New York, which is nineteen miles wide by thirty-five miles long, certainly offers to the tourist and seeker after knowledge or pleasure more inducements than any other American city, and few cities in Europe can equal it.

End view of the New York Central’s new four-track steel draw-bridge over the Harl[?m] River at 135th street Greater New York. The largest structure of its kind in the world

Side view of the new four-track steel draw-bridge over the Harlem River.