Via Transport Politic, I find this ambitious 1939 NYC Subway Expansion Plan Map.
1939 NYC Subway Expansion Map
Here’s what the system looks like today and here’s a timeline of the system maps. Its interesting to see that basically nothing has changed from 1954, and that even New York has had ambitious transit expansion plans that have gone basically no where.
Actually not too shabby. Add in the LIRR http://www.mta.info/lirr/html/lirrmap.htm
What is really a bit scary to me is how to consider transit, how we build it, what modes we use, and where it goes, in light of the needs to constrain, as opposed to support, the growth of suburbia. Most of the older systems were just part of an effort to, first develop suburbs and later develop suburbs while providing non-auto transit options. The realization that we need to limit the human habitation area, while certainly a view of many, is a more recent legal construct and may still have not hit a true ‘tipping point’.
I just noticed that Staten Island is still called “Richmond” in this map.
That is interesting since Brooklyn is not labeled as Kings (County).
Actually, the map has changed substantially since 1954! Notice the missing 2nd Ave. elevated line from the current map. The lack of a 2nd Ave. line has a tremendous effect on the daily commute of 100,000s of folks everyday. Also, the “Culver ramp” was built but the Culver Shuttle is not on either map, but provided access between the BMT and IND lines in Brooklyn.
As a side, the era of the construction of the subway is obvious given the density of lines in downtown Manhattan and the congregation of lines on Coney Island. Also, the problems of such a Manhattan-centric are obvious in that it is impossible to travel on train from South Brooklyn to North Brooklyn, unless you live on the G.
or between Queens and Brooklyn, let alone Staten Island.
I guess that just shows that it’s an American problem, not just a local one.
Predates this plan, but I hear it’s a good read:
http://www.amazon.com/Tunneling-Future-Story-Subway-Expansion/dp/0814719546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239162945&sr=8-1
On the other hand, it’s nice to see just how much the system developed along the lines of the “original” plan.
What’s frustrating is how long it takes to get the funding and political will to do expansions.
It’s the same here and I’m sure in other cities. Sound Transit’s plans for expansion are basically the same corridors that were identified in the 1960′s rail plan, which itself can be traced back to plans in the 20′s and 30′s.
Actually this map was not that ambitious. It shows some lines that are closed has been destroyed now. There were a bunch of inefficient elevated lines, most of them are closed now. Of course they were not replaced by underground lines.