IRT Dyre Avenue Line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IRT Dyre Avenue Line
Info
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Terminals	Eastchester–Dyre Avenue Morris Park
No. of stations	5
Operation
Opened	1941
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Elevated, open–cut, embankment, underground
Rolling stock	R142
Technical
No. of tracks	2–4
Gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Direct Current traction

The IRT Dyre Avenue Line is a New York City Subway rapid transit line as part of the A Division (IRT). The line serves part of the northern Bronx, splitting from the IRT White Plains Road Line north of East 180th Street.

[edit] Extent and service

The Dyre Avenue Line is served only by the 5 train, which makes all stops.

For revenue purposes, the line is double-tracked. Two center "express" tracks exist in two places - between Eastchester–Dyre Avenue and Baychester Avenue, and from Pelham Parkway to just south of the Morris Park Avenue station.

In the late 1990's the southbound express track was extended from south of Dyre Avenue and connected to the stub end track at Pelham Parkway for the purpose of testing new subway cars for the A division. The southbound express track is also used for turning trains at Dyre Avenue, as the southbound local track is no longer present. The current platform is built over the northbound express track. Small portions of the original side platforms remain on both sides of Dyre Avenue station.

The northbound express track is now a stub end track at Pelham Parkway has been used for storage but this use has largely been made redundant by the expansion of Unionport Yard. A small portion of this track also exists between Baychester and Dyre Avenue stations.

The north end of the line is a simple two-track stub, with crossover tracks south of the Dyre Avenue terminal station. The south end is a flying junction into the local tracks of the IRT White Plains Road Line (with crossovers to the express track).

[edit] History

IRT Dyre Avenue Line
Legend (Remainder of line demolished) Eastchester–Dyre Avenue Baychester Avenue Gun Hill Road Pelham Parkway Morris Park IRT White Plains Road Line Unionport Yard East 180th Street IRT White Plains Road Line (Remainder of line demolished)

The Dyre Avenue Line was originally part of the four-track main line of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, an Electric commuter rail system that connected White Plains and Port Chester to a station at the Harlem River adjacent to the IRT Third Avenue Line. The NYW&B opened on May 29, 1912. Soon a transfer station opened at East 180th Street, with transfers to the IRT White Plains Road Line and various surface lines. Express trains stopped only at Pelham Parkway and East 180th Street, within the Bronx.[1] The NYW&B was abandoned on December 31, 1937 due to bankruptcy.

Plans were made for a parallel subway line even before the NYW&B's abandonment; a 1929 expansion plan includes a line along Morris Park Avenue, Wilson Avenue and Boston Road to Baychester Avenue, being fed by the IND Second Avenue Line. In 1939, after abandonment, the plan was to integrate the former NYW&B to Dyre Avenue into the IRT system (as it has been), but to branch it off the IRT Pelham Line as the Westchester and Boston Line.

The New York City Board of Transportation bought the NYW&B within the Bronx north of East 180th Street, and opened it for service on May 15, 1941 as a shuttle, with a transfer to the IRT White Plains Road Line at East 180th Street. Plans for restoring the old line north into Westchester County failed.

A direct track connection was opened on May 6, 1957, and the old NYW&B station was closed. At first, direct service used the express tracks of the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line, running during the day; the shuttle continued to run evenings, and the line did not run at nights. In 1966, Dyre Avenue service was moved to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in its current form. (This sentence conflicts with the statement in the Line 5 article which says Dyre Ave service connected directly already in 1960 - something the writer himself recalls). The line is still operated as a shuttle late nights; for more information on current and past services on the line see the articles for the 2, 5 and 9 services.

[edit] Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
Time period details

	Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Notes
	Eastchester–Dyre Avenue		5	May 29, 1912 (NYW&B) May 15, 1941 (IRT)	Originally a local station with 2 side platforms on the NYW&B. Converted to a center island platform by the NYCTA.
	Baychester Avenue	local	5	May 29, 1912 (NYW&B) May 15, 1941 (IRT)
	Gun Hill Road	local	5	May 29, 1912 (NYW&B) May 15, 1941 (IRT)
	Pelham Parkway	all	5	May 29, 1912 (NYW&B) May 15, 1941 (IRT)	Was an express station on the NYW&B
	Morris Park	local	5	May 29, 1912 (NYW&B) May 15, 1941 (IRT)
Merges with IRT White Plains Road Line (5 )

[edit] External links

• NYCsubway.org - IRT Dyre Avenue Line
• NYCsubway.org - New York, Westchester & Boston Railway
• - New York, Westchester & Boston Railway

[edit] References

• Westchester Line Passes with 1937, New York Times January 1, 1938 page 36
• Rail Line is Added to Subway System, New York Times May 16, 1941 page 25
• Subway Trains Run to Dyre Ave., New York Times May 7, 1957 page 37