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Reviews
| New York Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars. By Gene Sansone. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2004 (orig. publ. 1997). xiii+508 pp., 336 halftones, 173 line drawings, 16 color illus., appens., glossary, index to cars. $49.95 hb (ISBN 0-8018-7922-1).
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Gene Sansone's latest work regarding the New York subway system and its rolling stock is a welcome addition and technical guide for those interested in heavy rail interurban and subway technology and history. In particular, this work serves to supplement the large body of literature devoted to the New York subway system. This book provides a brief overview of the history of the subway system, including the companies, technologies, and political climate associated with different periods in New York transit history. Sansone fills an important gap by providing an explicit discussion of the subway cars themselves.
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This book includes a brief discussion and extensive pictorial representation of all the transit cars used by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, and the newer trains associated with public ownership. The photographs depict both the exteriors and interiors of many cars, giving the reader a deeper appreciation of the rider's experience. These car types are further illustrated by elevation drawings and described by technical data in the appendix.
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After introducing this volume, Sansone discusses what he terms the "locomotive era" of public transportation, where private companies built elevated railroads powered by steam locomotives to serve the needs of urban dwellers. This section is succinct yet contextualized. He discusses key issues such as the reasons for political opposition to steam traction, elevated railways versus subways, and the technological elements of steam locomotives designed specifically for urban rapid transit. Sansone integrates a number of photographs illustrating the different types of motive power into this discussion, in the process demonstrating the unique nature of urban transit locomotives.
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After this preliminary narrative, Sansone launches into what is to be the focus of this work: the discussion and typology of the railcars used in the New York subway system. He begins this discussion by examining the history of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and its predecessor company, the Manhattan Railway Company (MRC). This discussion of MRC is important because its relatively large fleet of wooden elevated cars, dating from as early as 1868, were acquired by the IRT when it assumed ownership over MRC, whose lines served as a test bed for the IRT's new subway cars prior to opening in 1904. Moreover, former MRC cars continued to be used in elevated service until 1940, owned and operated by one of the subway companies and thus offering an interesting addition to this comprehensive study of subway cars.
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Sansone then reviews the subway cars purchased and used by the IRT, beginning with the Manhattan Standard Cars, purchased starting in 1901, and ending with the 1938 World's Fair Steinway cars, which were the last purchased by the IRT.
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Following this comprehensive review of the IRT, the author turns his attention to the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) and the predecessor Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT). Sansone treats this subject matter in a similar manner to the IRT by discussing the older cars acquired by the BMT through mergers. Sansone notes that his typology and history are complicated by a lack of sources for the Brooklyn elevated lines. Thus, his typology reflects the car's final number series rather than "as delivered" categories (p. 109). His discussion of BMT cars ranges to the 1940 Blue Bird series and is comprehensive.
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The final section of the book is devoted to the "R" type New York City cars as used by the municipal subway system (IND) from its inception to the last order of cars made in 2002. The author provides a brief yet informative description of the history of the IND and how its character differed from the IRT and the BMT, differences reflected in the technology and engineering of the cars themselves. Particularly interesting is Sansone's discussion of the social construction of comfort and proper car design, which provides the type of context needed in such a technical text to prevent loss of the human perspective. This section also chronicles the background of decisions made related to car construction and the use of the cars following the initiation of the era of public ownership. For those interested in learning about complicated systems, such as straight air and dynamic braking, Sansone also provides brief explanations of the technologies used in each car and how new technologies differed from those previously in service.
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Sansone discusses the demographic and social changes that faced the subway system between the 1960s and 1980s, when economic crises allowed the system to deteriorate, and crime and graffiti became commonplace. Finally, he reviews the revitalization of the subway and explains the process by which public opinion shifted today's New York subway system.
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The last third of the volume is devoted to appendices, which cover diverse topics. These include technical discussions of how subway cars work, the collection of historic subway cars held at the MTA museum, a glossary, and the story of the Red Bird fleet reefing project, as well as elevation drawings and specifications for the subway cars discussed in previous chapters. Indeed, some readers may find that the appendices alone more than justify purchasing this book. This reviewer certainly appreciated the information contained in the appendices.
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| In sum, Sansone's latest work will satisfy those seeking information on the rolling stock associated with the New York Subway system. It is well organized and provides an abundance of data in both written and pictorial form. Moreover, far from merely providing a roster of subway cars, Sansone puts the evolution of these cars into a broader context and, in the process, creates a work worth reading by rail historians and the public. The quality of the scholarship is generally quite good, although it is marred somewhat by lack of citations. |
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