MTA LIRR marks centennial of East River Tunnels, Penn Station

On September 8, 1910, the first Long Island Rail Road trains departed from a grand structure dedicated to transportation-Pennsylvania Station-and traveled under the East River using four tunnels. Long Island celebrated. LIRR is celebrating that century-old achievement with the opening of a special photo display in the 34th Street Entrance Corridor, one of the LIRR's newest Penn Station areas.

The exhibit includes
photographs of the construction of Penn Station and the East River Tunnels
along with depictions of various related documents. The exhibit is meant to
remind the public about the vital role the LIRR plays in the region.

LIRR President Helena
Williams said, "More than 100,000 of our customers use the East River
Tunnels and Penn Station each work day to go to their jobs and visit New York
City making it a major part of the busiest commuter network in North America.
It’s only right that we recognize the great achievement of those engineers, transportation
experts and sandhogs that made today’s Long Island Rail Road system possible.
This anniversary and this photo exhibit reminds us of our responsibility as a region
to continue to invest in transportation infrastructure to protect what we have in
our transit system and to pave the way for future improvements."

The East River Tunnels
and Penn Station were part of a plan by Pennsylvania Railroad President Alexander
Casatt to have the giant railroad enter the New York City market in grand style
to compete with the Vanderbilt-owned New York Central Railroad. The plan
included purchase of the Long Island Rail Road since the LIRR owned land in
Sunnyside, Queens, that the Pennsylvania needed to acquire for a giant rail
yard. They were also attracted by the potential of the Long Island market.

The cost for what was
officially called "The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania
Railroad" was approximately $114-million. This included Pennsylvania
Station, the East River and North River (Hudson) Tunnels, and the Sunnyside
Yard. The cost in 2010 dollars would be approximately $2.5 to $3-billion.


The four East River
Tunnels along with the two North River (Hudson) Tunnels replaced the ferry
boats used by the LIRR to transport their passengers between Manhattan and
Queens. With the tunnels, rail travelers would now have a one-seat, no ferry
transfer ride. The LIRR tunnels began at 7th Avenue in Manhattan and ended at
Hunter’s Point Avenue in Queens, almost three miles long. Tunneling took six
long years of dangerous work some 50-feet under the bottom of the East River
using 23-foot high steel shields to push through layers of quicksand, sand,
gravel, stone and mud.

In addition to the bends,
sandhogs (construction workers building the tunnels) had to deal with occasional
misfired dynamite charges blasting through bedrock. When completed in early
1910, the tunnels were an engineering marvel built to last.

Still a testimonial to
construction ingenuity and longevity, the East River Tunnels have undergone
capital improvements in recent years. The modifications, totaling more than
$147 million in MTA LIRR Capital Improvement Program funds, include upgraded
ventilation and electrical systems, improved tunnel lighting, handrails and
communication systems-all designed to improve safety.

Pennsylvania Railroad
officials envisioned their New York City station as a building that would be a
dramatic symbol of their company’s greatness and that of the City. When
completed in 1910, Pennsylvania Station was all that and more. Designed by the
prestigious New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, the station
reminded many of the Greek and Roman structures of old. The main concourse had
150-foot ceilings and huge stone columns supported the exterior. Granite,
limestone, and steel were the construction materials of choice with specially
crafted statuary, including 22 two-ton carved granite eagles, inside and out.

As the years went by and
more travelers turned to automobiles and airplanes, abandoning trains, the
Pennsylvania Railroad ran into difficult financial times. The once-grand Pennsylvania
Station became a huge fiscal liability to the debt-ridden Pennsy, maintenance
suffered, the famous interior became shabby. Commercial developers wanted the
valuable land the once great station stood upon and in 1961 a deal was struck.
The great building would come down starting in 1963 and Madison Square Garden would
take its place by 1966, with a below ground train station replacing the
familiar Beaux-Arts style structure. The destruction of the old Penn Station
was considered a great loss and its demise kicked off the modern day landmarks
preservation movement.